I just saw a television commercial for a product thatpromised parents that it would teach their children (two years old) to read!The parents in the commercial were delighted that their child would be soimpressive compared to the less educated two year olds!

 I went to a local bookstore and it had a whole section ofbooks designed to help your child advance one grade level over the summer and,as they advertized, “Be Ahead of the Other Children by Fall!”

 Okay….stop! STOP!

 First of all, your child does not have to be the best,brightest and “ahead of the other children,” to be the precious and wonderfulchild they were created to be!

 Second, your child will learn lots of things this summer ifyou let them enjoy it. They will remember what it feels to run and play and beso tired that they fall into bed, exhausted. They will watch the flowers bloomand plants grow and wonder about life cycles. They will watch the rain fall andclouds pass by and wonder about weather patterns. Children learn all of thetime and much of their learning comes, not through formal education, butthrough exploring and appreciating the world around them.

 Third, pushing children to excel academically is noguarantee that they will be tops in their class, nor does pushing them topractice, guarantee they will be best at sports or music.

 We are living in this weird competitive time where everyoneis caught in a cycle of believing that we need to be the best at everything.And unfortunately, we are rushing our children, pushing them to be better, workharder, and the stress we are causing is hurting them!

I am not saying that children should not have chores or beexpected to try… but I am asking us to seek balance in their lives! Life for achild should have times of striving, trying hard and working hard…but it alsohas to have equal times of rest, play and free exploration where they simplywatch, touch, taste, feel and wonder about the world around them.

 We have the “pushing and striving part” down! We know how todo that and our structures such as competitive sports and dance, music lessons,books that make our kids smart, swim lessons, and on and on are reinforcing theidea that “pushing is what is best for kids!”

 I invite you, this summer to slow down and work on the otherhalf… the wondering part. Make sure your child has lots of time…yes, LOTS oftime to do nothing except play outside and enjoy being a kid.

 Raising a child is like a math equation. On oneside…responsibility and schedules and on the other side… nothing but play, restand wonder. 50/50, not 90/10!

 And by the way…when you slow life down for your child, youslow down for yourself… and adults need time to wonder just as badly as kidsdo! Have a great summer!