WHEN DO YOU MAKE MEMORIES? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 109

Sundays used to be a very special day for most people in America.  Even those who did not attend church services usually spent time with family and friends.  Stores in most places were not open on Sundays, and in many states they had what was called a Blue Law limiting stores that were open to selling only necessities. Pharmacies sold only medications, and grocery stores sold food.........no toys, no gadgets, no gift items. Those days are long gone, and now many businesses are open 24/7.  While this allows people to shop when it is convenient for them based on school and work schedules, it has changed forever the knowledge that everyone (except hospital employees) could count on having one day a week to spend with family and friends.

Lots of families gathered at the home of grandparents or aunts and uncles.  Children played with their cousins and learned the safety and security of being part of an extended family.  Memories were created that lasted lifetimes.  Smaller families spent the day together and created special memories as well.  People who had no family members close by were welcomed into the family activities of their neighbors and friends.

We cannot bring those times back, but we can continue to enjoy special times for ourselves and our children.  Slow down, take time to enjoy a day, a few hours, or even an hour.  We all can find time.

Today's message is:

MAKE MEMORIES!

When To Read Books Rather Than Stories To Your Children

Initially, start out reading a short story or just telling a familiar story (like The Three Bears ) to your babies and toddlers. They have short attention spans but will respond to the pictures, the inflections in your voice, and certain words as they ask you to read or tell again and again the same story. Toddlers are very smart so if you try to skip a page or change words in the interest of time (getting them to sleep faster, for example), they will call you on it after they are familiar with the story. They will also know when you have read the words that mean it is time to turn the page. Children are just short people and much smarter than adults sometimes expect them to be at such early ages. When you tire of reading the Little Golden Book variety of stories, then read a book consisting of a number of chapters. When I had 2, 4, and 6 year-old children it was not always easy to find a short story that appealed to all of them. I decided to read Dr. Doolittle to them, and we did it night after night, chapter by chapter. The book is much, much better than any film version They remembered where each chapter stopped, and they would beg for another chapter when the one for the evening had been read. Even the two-year old would sit and listen as raptly as the older children did. When we had completed Dr. Doolittle we went on to The Bobbsey Twins which was a good choice because the key characters are both boys and girls and two different age groups. The author made the stories appealing to little ones as well as children already in elementary school. There is an entire series of Bobbsey Twin books, and we read through all of them. Not only did these reading sessions foster a love of books in my children, but also gave them a nightly ritual which made bedtime pleasant. Require baths taken, teeth brushed, and pajamas on before reading to them. Asking for promises to go right to sleep after the chapter for the night is read makes for peaceful evenings, regular bedtimes, and first understandings of what a promise is. If you start out reading or saying nursery rhymes to a baby (even as young as 4 or 5 months old) he or she will be soothed by the cadence of your voice. If you are reading from a book a baby will actually be attracted by the colors of the pictures. Being read to from early on can help a child learn to talk and sometimes when you least expect it. You may reach a certain page of a familiar story, and a little child will suddenly repeat a word after you which makes for a very special and memorable moment. As children grow up they will remember the books you read together, and if reading is something they enjoy they will be more successful in school since reading is the basis for every subject they will be taught. Time flies and before you know it children are in school, and you will have wonderful memories to last a lifetime if you regularly read to them.

Capturing Your Child's Early Antics

Even though we think we will never forget each cute, sweet, adorable, hilarious, clever, intelligent thing our babies say or do.........the truth is over time we do forget. I encourage all of you to write down even a brief description of what your little one says or does soon after it happens. In years to come you will want to recall all of them, but without a record precious moments will be lost. Whether you write with pen on paper, write in a journal, type notes in a computer file, or tuck a scrap of paper in a baby book for later..........just do it. You will be glad later on that you have captured poignant, fun, charming and joyful memories. I was recently reminded of an incident that occurred shortly after moving into our new home when our son was not quite two years old. He shocked me by bringing two same-age little neighbor boys into my bathroom, flinging back the shower curtain and saying, "That's my mom!" No lasting harm was done to any of them from my high-pitched shriek or from the view that I know of, but from that day on the bathroom door was locked when I was in it. Preventive measures were needed in case he had any inclination to do it again (there were 27 little kids on our street so lots of playmates for him and too many opportunities for more surprises for me). If you don't write things down and then another child is born and another, you will be unable to remember everything or even attribute it to the right child. Write, write, write! Who knows, you might even have enough material for a published book someday, and when the babies are grown up with children of their own they will enjoy looking back and comparing their antics to those of another generation.

Summertime Lunches For Toddlers

Little children are usually delighted about anything fun or different when it comes to eating lunch. My own children loved to eat lunch on our patio regardless of summer heat or chilly days. Whether they were eating indoors or outside they loved it when I made sandwiches using their favorite cookie cutters. Such a simple thing to do and yet they reminisce about those lunches years later. Once your oldest child starts school and is no longer home for lunch, a younger sibling will be thrilled to have lunch served in his/her very own lunchbox. No matter if the lunchbox is new, used, homemade, or passed down from older siblings there is something about having a lunchbox that makes little ones feel special and more like a "big kid" and less like a baby. There are so many ways younger children try to emulate older siblings, and having a lunchbox is a good place to start. Sweet and simple memories are part of a happy childhood so enjoy creating them with your little one(s).