Monthly Archives: November 2019

A Healthy Child is a Happier Child

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book) Available from my website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Train up a child…

A Healthy Child is a Happier Child

         When children don’t feel well, they can’t be at their best.  They become grouchy, whiney, slow-moving, and often depressed.  On the other hand, children who do feel well are usually vivacious, eager to try new things, and able to keep up with the things going on around them.  There are many other symptoms of not feeling well as many mothers well know.

         Knowing that children are much more able to succeed if they are feeling well, it behooves us, as parents, to do all we can to ensure that our children are at their best.  We cannot prevent all illnesses, but we can do things that will lessen the likelihood of a child getting sick.  We can make sure a child gets good nutrition, proper exercise, and enough rest.

         It is easy to get busy and forget to watch what a child is eating.  When we allow a child to eat the wrong things, it is like putting inferior building materials in a house that is being built.  Proper nutrition develops a foundation in a child to ward off many germs that are constantly around us.  A child with poor nutrition has a poor immune system.  Good nutrition means that a child should have plenty of fruits and vegetables, milk, meat or meat substitutes to provide protein, and grains.  An examination of the diet of obese children often reveals a large amount of chips, soda, candy, and other foods that contain too much sugar and fat.  It is sad to see obese children on a playground trying to keep up running with the other children.  They get very few chances to come in first in a race.  They huff and puff when playing active games.  This affects the self-esteem of a child.

         Even though it is difficult for obese children to run and play, it is a necessity that they do attempt to get physical exercise.  They must burn up some calories to get to a normal weight.  It takes a great deal of exercise to burn very many calories.  If a person eats 3500 calories more than they use, they gain one pound.  A person must burn 3500 calories more than they take in to lose one pound.  Information is available on the Internet to show how many calories one burns with different kinds of exercise.  Information can also be found as to the caloric content of foods on the Internet.

         Parents often make children fit into their schedule for convenience. During the school year, parents need to arrange their own schedules to make sure that children go to bed at a certain time each night.  A child without enough sleep simply can’t concentrate in school.  Additional short periods of rest may be needed during the day.  I clearly remember that the teacher I had in first, second, and third grade required us to put our heads down on our desks after we came in from playing after lunch.  While we rested, she would read an inspiring story to us about Abraham Lincoln or some other heroic person.  I can still remember some of those stories that have influenced some of the decisions I have made.  She was making sure we had rest while at the same time instilling real values into young minds.

         Houses made of straw cannot stand long.  Children who have bodies built with poor nutrition cannot withstand the challenges that inevitably come their way.  We need to do what we can to help our children build strong, healthy bodies.

Children Learn Best by Doing

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book ) (Available of my website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble)

Train up a child…

Children Learn Best by Doing

       It would be much easier if children always picked up the understanding of certain things simply by observation and listening to the talk of adults.  The reality is that very few children do.  We can’t depend on children learning to be thrifty, for instance, simply by hearing us talk about the need for money to pay bills.  One of the best ways to teach thrift is to allow the children to become involved in record keeping, earning money, and watching for bargains.  There are ways this can be done fairly easily with a little thought to the matter.

       By the time a child reaches third or fourth grade, that child should be able to add and subtract.  A good learning experience for a child of this age would be to allow that child to keep a record of the electric bill for the family.  The numbers could be added each month to the total from the month before, rather than waiting until the end of the year to add a long column.  By doing this, the child observes how the bill goes up and down at various times.  It can be pointed out to the child which appliances use the most electricity and a discussion could be held as to how to lower the bill. As the child makes suggestions to the family of ways to save on electricity, a sense of importance and responsibility is fostered in the child and at the same time that child is learning the practicality of math and the importance of thrift.

       Even a very small child can help clip coupons from newspapers.  Older children can compare prices.  In some cases, parents have allowed the children to keep the money saved by using the coupons.  Keeping the money provides a real incentive to clip coupons and at the same time a method of earning money is provided.

       Many folks do not take the time to check grocery receipts for errors.  If older children are allowed to keep any money earned by finding an error, they are certainly going to be checking those bills.  As they check the bills, without realizing it, they are learning the costs of items purchased.  They become aware of the value of money and the need to watch how it is spent.

       There are many, many ways that children can learn if we let them become involved in the family activities. We need to remember that telling is not teaching.  Children learn best by experience and hands-on.

Christmas Programs are Great for Kids!

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by Pat Lamb …(Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book)

Train up a child…

         What fun to go to a Christmas program and see the children perform!  It is almost as much fun to watch the parents and grandparents stretch and strain looking to find the child that is most important to them, and then to watch their faces light up when that child is discovered!  In their mind and eyes, that might as well be the only child up front performing, for little attention is paid to the others.  Every move of the child is watched and usually admired!

         There are many valuable things that children learn when they participate in a program such as a Christmas program.  They learn to memorize and recall information.  They learn to participate in a group, and, hopefully, they learn to get over stage fright.

         A friend of mine, who received a national award for teaching from the U.S. Department of Education, once commented that she felt that children do not do enough memorizing in school now.  Preparing to make speeches or sing songs provides an opportunity for memorization.  Memorization might be thought of as a brain exercise much as one might exercise various muscles of the body. Memorization sharpens the mind.  Depending on what material is memorized, memorization can be the storing of material in the brain that can be used throughout life. Memorization requires a child to use self-discipline and to focus.  These two qualities carry over into all areas of life.  When a child must recall the information learned to recite it before a group, the child learns that just being able to do a job half-heartedly isn’t enough.  Material must be thoroughly learned before it can be recited or mistakes will be made.  When a child learns to be thorough in a task, again this carries over into other areas of life.

         In a program presented to an audience, all program parts must fit together to make sense. Children learn that they play a vital part in a larger picture.  They learn to “fit in” and work with a team to accomplish the goal of presenting a good program.  This is a valuable component of good citizenship as over and over adults are required to work as teams at work and in projects outside of work.

         As I watch children’s programs, I envision some of those children some day standing in front of a board of directors of a company and leading discussions.  This can only be done by those who have overcome stage fright.  As children perform time and time again in programs, they learn to conquer that stage fright to prepare them to be leaders in the future.  Some will be standing before city councils, school boards, town hall meetings, etc.  In order to be effective leaders, they must be able to speak to groups.  Children’s programs help prepare them for this task.

         Bravo to those teachers in church and school who work so diligently with our children to help them give programs.  Bravo to those parents and grandparents who work at home to help children learn their parts and see that the children behave properly.  Bravo to people that no longer have children at the age to participate in programs, but who attend the programs to show their support. 

Children Need to Give

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by Pat Lamb Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book

Train up a child…

Children Need to Give

       At Christmas time each year, thoughts turn to what we can give children to make them happy and excited.  The emphasis is often simply on what toys or other things we can give children. Actually, one of the best things we can give a child is the understanding of the joy of giving itself. Children are often only recipients of gifts, but they need to learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive; otherwise, they will grow up selfishly thinking only of self pleasure.

         I learned the lesson of letting someone give, no matter how meager their means, when we lived on the Navajo reservation.  Just as we often think that children can’t give, many of us often think that grownups of meager means can’t give.  We forget the value of giving.  

Several years ago, when our two older boys were small, we worked with the Navajo Indian people.  On one occasion, we were in Gallup, NM, when a Navajo gentleman from Ramah, NM, saw us and asked us for a ride back to Ramah.  We gladly told him we would give him a ride.  As we went down the road, he said, “Lamb, stop. Get pop.”  In his broken English he was telling us to stop and buy him some soda.  My husband, Keith, said, “You buying, McDaniel??”  I was shocked!  To think that my husband would expect this poor Indian man to buy pop for us!  McDaniel was taken by surprise as well.  He grinned and kind of chuckled under his breath, and finally said, “OK”.  My husband pulled up to the trading post, McDaniel got out and went inside.  When he returned, he had soda for Keith, himself, and me and had even bought ice cream bars for our boys!  He had a big broad grin on his face of complete satisfaction!  He had bought something for those “rich” white people.  I almost choked as I drank the pop, but realized as we drove on down the road what a wonderful thing had happened.  McDaniel had changed from a dependent person to making us dependent on him.  He had found real worth and felt real pleasure in being able to give to someone else.

         It is the same way with children.  As long as they are unable to give, they have less self worth.  When children can give, they feel a real sense of accomplishment and worth in making someone else happy. There is no feeling that compares.

         Children do not have to give big, expensive gifts, but the gifts do need to be from them personally.  It is not the same for parents to give money to children to buy gifts, for then the gifts are actually from the parents.  The gifts should be something that the child has an active part in.  There are many things that children can make.  Some of them take a little help from parents, but the rewards are worth the effort.  For my birthday, I received a handmade card from our grandson.  As his mom was getting it ready to mail, he said, “Wait!”  He ran and got a quarter, a dime, and some pennies.  “I want to send these to Nana”, he said.  When I received the card, there was a little baggie stapled to the top with the change in it.  He was giving me all he had at the moment because he loved me.  I still have it in a plastic bag and will probably keep it for a long time.

         The Bible says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. (Acts 20:35)  The best way to teach this fact is to help children experience the real joy of giving. Doing so proves the point!