While celebrating Christmas, I reflected on what it means to be a parent in this ever-changing world.
Computers were a fairly new thing when I was a child and having a single family computer was exciting. Now many households have smartphones and tablets far more powerful than computers from even five years ago. The question of what type of screen time and how much, including TV, gaming systems, computers, iPads, and more can be a question that may weigh heavily on parents minds. The real question for myself is how do I teach my children that screen time is best in moderation?
I have always been an avid gamer. So I know how it feels to beat the next mission or level and unlock the (insert awesome hidden object) and it feels great. It really doesn’t matter that I died a hundred times to get there or spent numerous hours playing in front of a screen, it was totally worth it to me in that moment in time. Video games are designed to be incredibly compelling. But did my gaming habits impede the time I spent away from screen time?
To answer this question I reflected on another piece of my childhood. I was home schooled and the time and care my mother put into our education is still a little staggering to me. While I had school work to accomplish each day, learning to read doesn’t always foster a love of reading. For many students, myself included, learning to read is a task to be performed and checked off the list. And learning to read was so incredibly hard. Many tears were shed and then one day it finally clicked for me. The letters and sounds that had been so opaque were now clear and formed words and sentences. I could read but it was still hard and I certainly hadn’t developed overnight what I would describe as a love of reading.
To foster that love of reading, one technique my mother employed was that we read as a family. Curled up on the couch my mother would read aloud to my siblings and me, sometimes for hours. I knew that books could be magical because I had heard what was inside. Inside each book were lands and people, incredible events and daring deeds, words that sucked you in and made it hard to escape. I believe that being read aloud to may be the experience that helped shape my love of reading. It opened the doors to a world that I couldn’t access on my own.
As a child my family went to the library. No matter where we lived there was a public library with friendly staff, books, and programs -- which I know you will also find at the Sweetwater County Library.
The New Year brings new items to the library. Come on in and check out our displays of winter- themed books and sign-up for the Winter Reading Program. With just under a month left of the Youth Winter Reading Program it’s not too late to sign-up and earn prizes. The Youth Winter Reading Program is for all children from babies to 18 years old. The Adult Winter Reading Program kicked off on Jan. 5. Stop by, sign up and take a look at the amazing prize baskets you can win.
Here at the library we are always eager to better serve our community. We are adding a 9:30 a.m. time to our Story Time line-up. Story Time is now on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. 2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year in Story Time. I encourage all caregivers to try and share Story Time with the children in their life.
On Saturday, Jan. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m., children of all ages are invited to put their building skills to work. It’s a Super Saturday Lego Party! Try our Lego challenges or just create on your own Lego masterpieces. Kids can also win cool Lego pieces with drawings every half hour.
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