Tip #8

I seriously need to be doing this more often. I need to commit. I need to focus.

Raising kids can sometimes be the most rewarding, blissful, difficult, thankless, amazing, awful, messy experience a person can have. There are ups and downs, with a few horizontal slides in the middle. It's great. It can be a little bit like planning for retirement. You put a lot in, sometimes all at once and sometimes a little bit here or there. Then you wait about 20 or 30 years and hope that it pays off.

This blog is about raising healthy kids. In addition to their healthy bodies, lets talk about their healthy minds. Everyone says it, but if there is one thing that you can do to help out a child it's to read them a book. That seems simple enough.

Reading a book to a child helps them realize that learning to read will open up doors for them. Showing them that reading a recipe helped get a delicious dinner on the table, or showing them that reading a book taught you how to build a swing set will show them that everything they need to know or want to know can be learned. It's all accessible if they just learn how to read.

Reading a book to a child shows them that you have time for them. Everyone is busy and everyone is tired. I think lately it seems that the people in society are even more busy and more tired than they have ever been. Some people don't have time to wave at neighbors. Some people don't have time to smile at the cashier at the grocery store. Some people can't even get off their phone to thank the person passing food to them from a drive-thru window. Everyone is tired and busy. When you take a moment and sit down to read a book, time stops. You are showing your child that you are not too busy to spend that time with them. When you read to them, you aren't watching TV or ignoring them. You are telling them a story and they are listening to you. Find the beauty in that moment. Your child may not listen when you tell them to pick up their dirty socks or rinse off their dinner plate, but when Snow White eats the poisoned apple, I promise, they are listening to you. Cherish that.

Reading a book to a child helps them to use their imagination. I think this is tragically becoming an underutilized part of our minds. Children need to play dress-up. They need to have sword fights with sticks in the park. They need to know that no matter what dark castle they get locked in, someone will ride up on a white horse and rescue them. They need to know there are happy endings, and they need to know that there is magic.

Children also need to see that their parents read. Read the newspaper. Read a book. Read a blog on the computer (wink wink). Read to yourself, for yourself. If a child grows up seeing their parents reading, then they will know that it is normal and acceptable to do the same. They will want to learn to read because they want to be like you.

Read children books with happy endings, someone later in life will try to tell them that there is no such thing and they will need to know different. Read children books that teach them about sharing, telling the truth, and being a good person. They can never hear those messages too many times.

Get a library card! Reading is NOT an expensive hobby. Take kids to the library. Show them the rows and rows of books filled with knowledge that they can access for free. Getting library books can also teach them about taking care of someone else's property and about returning things the way you received them. My daughter is five and thinks the library is a magical place where you can constantly get books about anything and everything and all you have to do is bring them back when your done! How awesome is that!?

So skinny kids, fat world tip #8

Raise a healthy family.... Read!