Raising Active Children

I just found this article that I wrote a long time ago about our experiences of raising our children. Home computers were fairly new, so we had a new option for our children's time to cope with. It really took effort to encourage our children to lead active lives instead of just sitting at the computer or playing video games. Hope our experiences are a help to you.

Our children were always busy doing something. I have been asking myself why they didn’t just sit in front of the TV or computer all day.  I think the major reason was our family policy. Watching TV or playing on the computer were considered rewards, not rights. Play time was earned.

Though I’ll admit it was tempting, especially since I was often ill,  to consider using the TV as a babysitter to keep the children quiet and passive, we didn’t. TV was mainly limited to an hour or two in the evenings. As parents we were conscious of our example, so we didn’t just turn on the TV every spare moment to amuse ourselves or just keep us company.

We tried also to set an example of spending our time doing good things, and included our children in these projects. Our children helped rewire the house, learned to cook, washed cars,  planted gardens, and picked fruit. Besides projects, we provided regular work for them to do. We divided the upkeep of the house and yard and made assignments according to ability. Even toddlers were given small jobs to do.

Spiritual Rattlesnakes

I wrote this in 2001 for a local newspaper of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Media is far worse now.

“Pornography, though billed by Satan as entertainment, is a deeply poisonous, deceptive snake that lies coiled up in magazines, the Internet, and the television.” warned Elder David E. Sorensen of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during last April’s General Conference. He further explained that it is more deadly to the spirit than a live rattlesnake since “pornography destroys self-esteem and weakens self-discipline.” Elder Sorensen urges us all to set up “fortifications” in the form of personal ground rules to protect our families.

We interviewed several families and found that they considered their major “fortification” against the evils in the world to be the Gospel. They felt that it was essential to begin teaching good values to your children at a very young age. Some use Family Home Evening as an opportunity to set family media rules, discuss things their child has seen and heard, and role play how to handle difficult situations their child may encounter such an inappropriate video at a friend’s home.