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So, we know that the environment that we start out in greatly effects how we start out in life. If our parents watched alot of t.v., then we might too. If they sat in front of it all through the afternoon and evening, then we may be tempted to, too. If they looked through the guides and picked out what they liked, then we probably do that too.
I knew a mother and son who said that they couldn't live without their t.v.! How sad! That t.v. came on at 4:00 in the afternoon and stayed on until 11:30 on weeknights, and as late as they stayed up on weekends.
I much prefer reality. My grandparents had hobbies. Alot of people do. They add purpose and joy to our lives. I loved going outside to play as a kid. I would pace back and forth like a "caged animal" (my parents words), so that I could run out into the sunshine and feel it on my skin and the breeze in my hair. Smelling the flowers, trees and unfortunately, exhaust from the cars and sometimes blacktop being put down. I loved being outdoors.
My children have always been encouraged to do anything that calls to them. My eldest is on his way to college to be a zoologist, he volunteers at our zoo in the summers. My middle child is a local soccer star and is actively "head-hunted" by coaches. He lives and breathes soccer. My little one is a movie buff, and has thoughts of being a writer and movie producer, but he's only nine, so that's subject to change probably. But I've always told them that they could try anything that they wanted to, to see if it was something for them. They've found some things that weren't, but that's how you learn what is.
We have a swingset out back and sports equipment stacked up, as well as dancing and board and video games galore. They usually self-regulate back and forth between in and outdoor activities. They oldest is getting a little more sedantary with age, as we all do, and usually it takes the middle one to challenge him to a game of basketball or football to get him outside. They all have library cards and the youngest one especially regularly checks out the max. number of books. Their father's mother takes them to the public library in the summer, while the bookmobile comes during school. They go to museums and parks all through the year. They've ridden on a bus and have been on a train. We have drums, a keyboard, a guitar, and a ukalele as well as a couple of recorders. Their father allows them to pick up magazines when he takes them shopping for the week, we've had trouble with subscriptions. I satellite school the boys for at least a half hour a day, because the schools just can't squeeze in the stuff that I seemed to have learned when I went. I leave my magazines and books out so that they can check them out if they want to. My oldest usually does. They are all learning computer literacy, which is fairly necessary nowadays, and often type reports, do research and just surf the net; things that I had to go to the school library to do when I was their age.
I fully expect that all of my children will go as far as they want to. We talk about society and political issues. They go to special functions through school, church and their clubs and volunteer groups and have awards hanging on our living room wall and in folders on the bookcase. I have done my best to break down cultural and racial prejudices that linger in our area. Sometimes we'll just sit for an hour and have a surprisingly intellectual conversation. We listen to each other's music, poetry and ideas for movies, etc.
I did take childcare and child education classes before each of them were born because #1 it took money off of my hospital bill, and #2 because I wanted to know the latest on how to "do it right". I knew that the way that I grew up was not the way that I wanted my sons to grow up. I wanted them to grow up in an open, loving, accepting, positive and compassionate environment; the kind that I wished that I had grown up in and the kind that the experts agree is the kind with the best outcomes.
If you didn't get the environment that you would have liked to have grown up in don't despair. You can give yourself that environment now, like I've done for myself and my sons. You can go back and look at your inner child and decide what made them feel good. What things that they were drawn to. What things that they got praise for. Then bring those things back into your life to nuture your own inner child and bring them up the way that you want to. It's never too late. You can be who you want to be. You just have to love yourself enough to give yourself the respect and compassion that you need to feel complete and fulfilled with your own reality.
Until next blog!
Love, Angelia
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