Pitfalls Part 4- Underestimation of Child April 26, 2007
Posted by Erin in : Family Worship Series , trackbackJoe,
We certainly had an eventful few days here, but as usual God did a good work through the valleys! I am thankful to be traveling through this journey with you!
So I will get to the fourth pitfall that I alluded to on Monday because I said it was the other side of the coin with overestimating what a child can do. So the other side of the coin is obviously UNDERestimating our children.
I think many parents fall into this trap especially when it comes to what age to start family time at. Just like reading to a child, I think this is an area that can be started right away. A newborn can sit by in a bouncy seat or lay on a blanket nearby while family time happens. Or one of the parents can hold the child on their lap, which is always a good way to begin training for sitting on a lap. Although they may not fully “get it”, the daily time will quickly become a habit.
Another area we can underestimate our children is in the area of memorization. Now I am not saying you need to drill your children or give them weekly tests, but they can begin memorizing often at a much earlier age than we expect. Children memorize simply by hearing something over and over again. Abby had memorized a number of hymns by age 2 1/2 years simply because we sang them over and over again. This was not something she was drilled on. The same goes for Scripture memory. To read a section over and over again for weeks will get it into a toddler’s mind quite easily.
Parents may also think that their children simply “cannot” sit still long enough for a 15 minute family time. It is true that maybe they “will not” right now, but that does not mean they cannot be trained to do so. Of course, there are some conditions that may prohibit a child from sitting still, but more often than not it is a lack of training.
I would like to also make a quick interjection here on the subject of television. I think many children today do not sit still due to the amount of television that is being watched. To quote John Rosemond on the problem of television watching and attention span, “The ’steady’ picture on a television screen is an optical illusion, changing, on average, every three to four seconds. Because of this constant perpetual shift, or flicker, the TV-watching child isn’t attending to any one thing for longer than a few seconds. As a result, watching television is a strangely paradoxical situation for the young child. The more time spent watching television, the shorter then attention span becomes.” And again he says, “I’d come to the inescapable conclusion that the constantly flickering image on a television screen actually disables the young brain’s ability to develop a long attention span. Since a long attention span is essential to impulse control, I further concluded that the TV-watching encumbered the development of good self-control, leading to behavior problems that in all likelihood would not have otherwise existed.” I know these are strong words for some parents, and I am not suggesting that your children can not watch television as ours do, or as John Rosemond’s didn’t, but maybe just to think about whether television is keeping your child from developing other habits that may lead them into greater godliness and love for God.
I pray we would all strive along side our children to buffet our bodies and make them our slaves lest we be disqualified from the race! Although it is never easy, let us stretch ourselves beyond what we may think is possible and press on into the fullness of Jesus!
Seeking Him,
Erin
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