social life

It is often said that people today are more 'connected' than ever. Social networks allow friends, colleagues, and a slew of others stay in contact and be continually updated as to what's happening. Some children's toys are able to chart the child's learning and provide a quick report on how the child is progressing. Books are multi-lingual and talk about anything from aardvarks to Zen. Yet with all the tools and resources, society seems to be growing more and more uninvolved and disconnected from it's most important members, the kids.

So who is raising your children? Do you use the latest and greatest learning methods that money can buy? Are the educational programs on television teaching them everything they need to know? How about the workers at daycare who are around them the majority of the day? Maybe it's the public (or private) school that you've enrolled them in. Perhaps it's a Sunday School teacher, or maybe a grandparent.

While all of the above things can be good sources of wisdom and guidance, nothing can replace the love, care, and nurturing a child receives from a parent. Don't outsource your responsibility.

A wise man's daughter once said that her dad didn't tell her how to live life, he lived life and let her see it. When your kids get old enough to reflect upon the past, make sure you've done your part. I hope and pray that their memories aren't filled with after school programs, soccer practice, and the taxi drivers known as mom and dad who took them where they needed to be.

Live life, and love your kids.

photo courtesy of jkunz

Don't be afraid to dance like a little white girl, after all they have all the best moves. In our house there are a few signature moves. The first one starts out innocent enough, looking like an over aggressive air guitar player imitating a Pete Townshend windmill, and ends looking more like a sputtering prop plane that has lost one of its propellers. Then there are the intricate vogue-like hand movements, coupled with eyes darting back and forth. For a finale she'll roll around on the floor stopping intermittently to strike a pose.

Don't be afraid to chase ghosts, they don't belong in your house! Many nights, the three year old will go ghost hunting. This involves a flashlight, sneaking around, and a lot of shooing ghosts away. Sometimes this game creeps me out because it all seems a little too real in her mind… or maybe she really does see ghosts. At least by the end of the night, I know our house is safe from apparitions.

Most importantly, don't be afraid of your children. Often times in trying to make our kids normal, functioning members of society, we end up stifling their creativity. We end up trying to create mini versions of ourselves. While the people who know me would say that's not such a bad thing because of how awesome I am at life, it would be really boring living with a tiny version of myself. I would rather let my kids be themselves, even if that means I have to get out of the little box that I've grown accustomed to. After all, I do in fact dance like a little white girl, and try as I might, I just can't quite see these ghosts.

photo courtesy of normailtyrelief

It seems like an age old question, but should children go to preschool? I do realize that for some, this is a necessity because of situations where both parents work outside the home, or the parent is single. However, in my situation my wife stays home with our kids. The question has been on my mind a lot recently because before I know it, my eldest will be 4 years old. When weighing the pros and cons, they usually fall into 3 categories: financial, social, and academic.

Financial

If we enroll our child in the preschool we've looked at (which would be one of a few I would feel comfortable sending her to) it would cost approximately $19 per day. Put another way, around $228 per month. Is this the best use of our money? Couldn't this money be better spent on other learning experiences? From a purely financial point of view, even though this school may be cheaper than other alternatives, it doesn't help us save a dime. In the end, we are still spending money.

Social

One of the main aspects that would benefit our child would be increased interaction with peers. However, enrolling her in preschool may be filling a social void that doesn't exist. She interacts with her peers at least once a week either at church or through MOPS (mothers of preschoolers). On top of this she regularly spends time at the neighbor's house playing with their children. So does she need to be even more social?

Academic

I'm going to gloss over this one a little bit, but there is no academic benefit to sending her to preschool. We regularly work with her on counting, vocab, and basic motor skills, and according to our sources (a family friend who teaches kindergarten) she is right where she needs to be. As you can probably tell, during the course of writing this post I've pretty much made up my mind. Preschool offers no benefits that couldn't be achieved inside the home and with supplemental activities. I know this is going to be an overgeneralization, but society has shifted in such a way that we expect to only spend a few hours a day with our children. If I dropped off my child when I went to work, and picked her up on my way home, I would spend approximately 16% of the day with her. It is a scary thought that someone other than my wife would be responsible for teaching, punishing, caring for, and molding my child 84% of the time.