Random thoughts from the heart

Recently I was on a radio show in Portland called Parenting Unplugged Radio. Naturally I love the title of this show, but it’s the hosts of the show, Laura and Todd Mansfield, who really make it a success. They made me laugh, they made me sigh, and then they somehow talked me into singing the beginning of the “Brady Bunch” song. (Yes, I still know it.)

I am sitting on the deck of an old log cabin facing the San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. My husband spent nearly every summer of his childhood here. He and his siblings didn’t have television. They had books and board games and horses and forts they built from fallen branches. They also had parents who gave them the chance to run free—to explore acres and acres of prairie land, to wander through Aspen groves and climb nearby mountains.

TV-Turnoff Week is just around the corner, April 20–26, to be exact. People have been asking me for ideas on how to keep kids busy and happy (and parents sane) without television and video games.

I watched President Barack Obama’s speech Tuesday night. For those of you who missed it, he covered everything from the economy to the war in Iraq. And once again he urged parents to turn off the television and read to their kids.

I just learned about something called “Take a Child Outside Week”. It’s this week (Sept. 24-30) and it’s designed to raise awareness about childhood obesity and children’s disconnection from nature. The idea is to get kids to play outside and explore the natural world more.

I always assumed that children watch less television in the summer. I imagined that kids would be swimming, reading, playing outside and pestering their siblings all day, but apparently that’s not the case. Without school and afterschool sports, kids actually end up watching more television to fill the time, rather than less.

Well, finally another blog, and just in time for the holidays, a time when it can be difficult to cut back on television. I can remember many a Christmas or New Year’s Day with relatives when television seemed like the only way to keep everyone entertained and happy, myself included.

Well, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog entry. What can I say? I was busy reading the seventh Harry Potter book, and then before that, I was speculating with my son and his friends about what might be in the seventh Harry Potter book. Will all of the main characters live for certain? And which of the other characters near and dear to our hearts will bite the dust? Believe me, this sort of speculation takes a lot of time, but lest anyone believe it’s not time well spent, think again. As far as I’m concerned, JK Rowling and I are both working to accomplish the same thing. She’s just better at it. How many other authors could get so many kids all over the world to turn off the television in order to sit down with a 759-page book and finish it in two days? No one!