Saturday, July 10, 2010

Check out your Kid's Room

No, you are not searching for things...just take inventory of what they have at hand. Is it a television set? Is there a bookshelf with books? Do you have action figures and train sets or the Wii?

Think about it. Whatever is right there and available is what they will gravitate towards. I think of it like my refrigerator and pantry. I need to make sure the majority of the items are "healthy foods" and they are located at eye level -- the "junk" or extras that I should eat rarely should be harder to reach.

Same with kids and their activities. If there are bikes, balls, books, puzzles and games available, they will be more apt to use them.

On the other hand, if electronics are the easiest to get to, that's what they will do.

I am so glad we have no plug in items in the kids' rooms (aside from their lamps and clocks). If they want to use the Wii, or their Ipods, or the TV, they have to come into one of our two family rooms -- where I can see what's going on and monitor the time.

The one wild card is the computer. They have the tendency to sneak into the corner office and "play." I have to keep an eye on that. Maybe I should consider moving the computer to the kitchen desk. That's not a bad idea.

So take inventory. Make good choices. Your kids may be pretty upset if you move their TV from their rooms, but it will be better for them in the end.

That's my two cents for today.

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