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sense! Remember-children are
-your priceless gifts from God.
Make their playtime safe.
Toys do not have to be the pur–
chased variety exclusively. Sorne
can be made from wood or cans
with plastic tops. Children enjoy
cardboard boxes too-they make
fine trains and buses. Creative toys
provide the chi ld the excitement
and satisfaction of learning. They
challenge the child to use his imag–
ination in a constructive and cre–
ative way.
Scissors should be round ended,
but really cut. This is the
time to teach proper use
of sharp objects, and your
child should soon be quite
safe with them. (If giving
pencils you should ob–
serve how the child is
holding the pencil and
forming letters.)
From your cloth rem–
nants have your child cut
odd bits of material and
match the pieces, feeling
as well as seeing the dif–
ferences.
Don't expect perfect
results from your child's
craft activities.
It
is the
activity that counts at this
time, not the result.
Be sure to have your
child clean up and put
toys away. That is each
child's responsibility-in
having toys one must
learn to take care of them! Failure
to do so is allowing a breakdown of
character.
In games with others, a child
should be taught the importance of
sharing and that winning is not as
important as being a good sport.
Games teach good sportsmanship
and how to face disappointment
gracefully. A child should be
taught to always put forth bis best
effort and to cheerfully cooperate
with others. These points should be
learned early!
·
Television
Many preschoolers are practically
weaned on television, in sorne cases
spending more than half of their
waking time with eyes glued to
their "teacher."
In the United States, before
reaching age 5, a child may have
38
already spent more time in front of
a television set than the average
student in a liberal arts program
spends in the classroom throughout
the entire four years of college
attendance!
Quickly changing scenes and the
rapid-fire delivery ·of television
shorten the attention span of chil–
dren.
Many children who watch televi–
sion extensively tend to lose their
powers of imagination. The electron–
ic video thinks for them so often,
they become unable to think for
themselves. (The simplest of toys
and a vivid imagination entertained
before television was available.)
Upon entering school, children
reared on television find their
..training" catching up with them!
With the children accustomed to
being entertained, teachers find it
difficult to hold their pupils' atten–
tion for any length of time. Add to
this possible weakened eyes from
staring at one point (sometimes
without blinking for long periods,
whereas the normal eye movement
is from side to side).
Television should not fill the vac–
uum created by a parent's neglect.
It
should not be a baby-sitter. Cbildren
need to be talked to and listened to in
their formative years. Tbe televisiÓn
set itself, however, is not the prob–
lem- if control is exercised. Watch
good programs
together.
Parents can
tben comment on any fallacies or
wrong actions that can creep into
"good" programs.
The lmportance of Listening
Children need to come to school
with tbe
habit
of giving their
undivided attention to the teach–
er-or any elder who is speaking.
This is far too often not the case
because of the impact of television,
and because parents themselves are
failing to set the example. The
child's future is
already
at a very
sad disadvantage.
Cbildren enjoy
cardboard
boxes
too-they make
fine trains and
buses.
Listening is a vital
key to learning. Start
developing this skill
early.
lt
will take work,
diligence and self-dis–
cipline, but your child's future suc–
cess depends on it.
Have your child sit still and be
quiet at certain times of the day.
Start by having him or her listen
to you for a minute or two at a
time. Make sure the child's eyes
are on you. Then ask a question
concerning what you had just
covered. Praise the child with:
"What a good hoy (or girl) you
are! Those ears just catch every
one of Mommy's (or Daddy's)
words!" A big hug will be in
order .
You will develop by experience
the ability to know how much your
child is able to take in and reiterate
in answer form. Add information
when you feel it's too easy for him,
always expanding your offspring's
knowledge and understanding. Ex–
tend his listening time to several
The PLAIN TRUTH