Please take a moment to read this wonderful article. The link is above.
As all of you know, Cherie and I are obsessed with getting children to read. In this fast paced society, the importance of slowing down and using your imagination is a MUST! Of course we want our children to succeed in this world. Who wouldn't? Who doesn't want the best for them? We want our children to experience each and everything life has to offer. Whether this be through sports, the arts, or technology. Somewhere along the line though we are getting lost in the shuffle. All running, no down time.
I watch children running from activity to activity each day. Sometimes more than one in a day. I am all for being healthy and active. But what is all this running costing our children? Before we know it, our children will be grown. What will the memories be? Will the memories be of car rides while watching TV or playing the DS? Will it be drive through s and homework in the car? Or will your child remember times when imagination was a best friend. An adventure outside where anything was possible? Traveling to far off lands was normal and saving the princess was a must. So how do we bridge this gap? We don't want our children to be sheltered from the world. But do we want them to be sheltered from themselves?
Reading provides a place where imagination goes wild. Where a story is weaved into a child's head. A story that starts conversations between parents and children. A story that starts a game on the playground. A story that let's a child enjoy the magic of childhood.
So my blog is this today. Allow your children to grab life and run with it. Enrich them with many experiences that will round them out as a well spoken, well traveled, well educated adults. Just remember in all this running that childhood is fleeting. There won't always be time for make believe and story reading. Don't forget to enrich your child's life through books. Don't forget to allow your child to be a child and just...slow...down.
I hope today is a wonderful day for you filled with wonderful memories, family game times and story sharing. I wish you happiness and dreams coming true!
Deena
