"What Are You Reading?" Thursdays-One Foot, Two Feet

I've decided to start a new weekly meme, aren't you lucky?! On Thursdays, I'll be featuring a link-up called "What Are You Reading?" (Fun Blog Badge coming),  for you to share with others what you're reading to your kids, or even what you're reading yourself. The most important thing is that you're reading! Here's my post for this first week. Link-up and leave a comment at the bottom. Can't wait to see what you're reading!

This morning's read to Little Man

Wordless Wednesday - Baby's First Trip To The Hospital

I've been MIA for a while now because life's been one heck of a mess. Since Jan 1st, there's been stroke, cancer, broken bones, surgery for bones and cancer, job loss, and hospital stays. So to segway back into normal bloggy life, here is one of my most precious photos, from probably one of the worst times of my life.

Note: I covered up his little hospital bracelet (that's why it looks weird). I didn't want any creepers stealing his info.

The Case For The Written Word: Why YOU should be reading

Watch This. No. Read It!

By Lauren Duzbow
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  From the June 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

 

In our high-speed-connection world, why bother to read when you can get it all electronically? We make the case for not closing the book.

When you can see Atonement in two hours and 10 minutes (enacted by the very appealing James McAvoy, no less) or listen to it on audiotape, why bother working through the 371-page novel? For that matter, why trudge through the newspaper when you can turn on CNN? Why puzzle over a manual when you can YouTube the instructions? Everyone knows the book is always better than the movie, but is there any real advantage to getting your information by reading it?

Yes, according to neuroscience—your mind will most definitely thank you.


This article is part of Oprah.com's 2011 Feel Good Challenge. Join now—and move closer to the life you want!

Just like muscles, the brain benefits from a good workout. And reading is more neurobiologically demanding than processing images or speech. As you're absorbing, say, this article, "parts of the brain that have evolved for other functions—such as vision, language, and associative learning—connect in a specific neural circuit for reading, which is very challenging," says Ken Pugh, PhD, president and director of research of Haskins Laboratories, which is devoted to the science of language and affiliated with Yale. "A sentence is shorthand for a lot of information that must be inferred by the brain." In general, your intelligence is called to action, as is greater concentration. "We are forced to construct, to produce narrative, to imagine," says Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University and author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. "Typically, when you read, you have more time to think. Reading gives you a unique pause button for comprehension and insight. By and large, with oral language—when you watch a film or listen to a tape—you don't press pause."

The benefits of all this mental activity include keeping your memory sharp, your learning capacity nimble, and your mind basically hardier as you age. No one's advising that you toss the DVD player—or books on tape, which, Pugh says, provide more work for your brain than seeing a movie—but print should take up part of your life too. A literate mind is a more complex one. "There's a richness that reading gives you," Wolf says, "an opportunity to probe more than any other medium I know of. Reading is about not being content with the surface." Even when it is superficial (what's a plane ride without a little celebrity gossip?), indulging in a tabloid beats watching TV—just processing the words boosts the brain. "If you had your druthers," Pugh says, "you'd rather be reading."

Keep Your Mind Sharp

• 4 ways to remember what you've learned
• This is your brain on happiness
• 11 empowering ways to strengthen your brain

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/health/How-Reading-Can-Improve-Your-Memory#ixzz1dosfhj3Q

A New Diet Book For Kids--"Maggie Goes On A Diet"

When news of this book was released, I had to do a double take. I couldn't even believe there is such a book.

Maggie Goes on a Diet, by Paul Kramer is touted by the author as a book that chronicles Maggie's journey to a healthy weight through eating right and exercise, and is aimed at the Tween, Pre-Teen demographic.

I understand that childhood obesity is on the rise, and I agree that as a nation we need to take steps to curtail the obesity trend. Kids should be taught healthy eating practices and get enough activity in their day, HOWEVER, it should not be done by a book. It should be done by their parents and/or physicians.

If you ask me this book does more harm than good. One look at the cover, and you see a "robust" Maggie looking into a mirror desiring to be thinner to fit into a dress. This depiction plays to young girls who have issues with body image and exploits them, all to make a sale. Not to mention, "Maggie Goes On A Diet"? Who the heck came up with that title? The word diet, implies a temporary change in eating habits to achieve a desired result. If this book were really concerned about healthy eating, wouldn't a title like "Maggie Eats Healthy" be better suited?

On top of all of these other tasteless representations of what health and fitness really are, I'm left wondering, why does Maggie have to go on a diet? Why can't Johnny go on a diet? After all, the book is written by a man. Wouldn't a man be more in touch with male issues with body image than female? I'd say so. So why pray on young girls? Probably because women are more easily manipulated by this type of propaganda. We are constantly bombarded with "the perfect female" in every sort of media, and this bombardment fuels the multi-billion dollar diet, health, and fitness industry. It all plays in to woman's desire to please.

Maggie Goes On A Diet, won't be released until October. And though I don't believe in censorship in media, or banning books, if I had a daughter, I'd keep her away from this one. No child ever needs to be told that they need to be skinnier, it is up to the parents to make the adjustments within the HOUSEHOLD--preparing healthier food and promoting activity TOGETHER--and let nature take it's course. I guarantee our kids would all be healthier if everyone adopted this strategy.

The Future of America?

Whether we like it or not, our children [if you don't have your own, someone else's children, which makes this thought that much scarier] are going to grow up and run our businesses and governments. And I hestitate to think what this will bring.

In a world where class sizes are getting larger, schools are closing, and libraries are closing, who is going to teach our kids the necessary skills to run these future businesses and governments successfully?

The answer.

Parents.

As parents, we owe it to our children to provide the tools they need to become successful adults. It is every parent's dream to provide thier child with the best of everything. And sadly, the best education is becoming less and less attainable as educational public services are cut.

These cuts are forcing parents to step up to the plate. Some parents are opting to home school thier children, having total control over the curriculum, but other parents just don't have the means or the time to do so. I, personally, fall into that second catagory.

Working out side of the home part-time and running a household, is a full-time job. But I refuse to let my child become "underprivledged", because of my financial in-ability to enroll him in daycare. "Lil Man" as I will affectionately refer to him, and I take time out each day, to learn new things and read together. It's created a lasting bond between him and I that I will cherish forever. However, working within a library setting, I have also gained a wealth of knowledge about early literacy and making reading fun. And I want to pass what I've learned onto you, my beloved reader. So saddle up parents, you're about to learn some stress-free ways to encourage a love of reading in your child, and the craziest part about it? You just might find you're having fun too.