Hilariously Photographed Romney And Girl

Yes, I want to know what you're thinking..."

South Park Honey Boo Boo

If she does not already know and understand it, this girl will see this clip and other things in the media about her and realize that her whole world is one huge joke that she is the center of...

How terrible.

I'm sure she will have enough money to not really care...

Michelle Obama Opens Conversation on Gardening Programs with American Grown

Michelle Obama was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight promoting a new book she wrote called American Grown. I have not read her book yet – I do plan to – but the message that she is promoting is something that I agree with and feel strongly about. Americans need to eat healthy, natural, whole foods. We poison our bodies with too much fast food, too many preservatives, and too much processed foods that over time, wear our bodies down, increase body fat, and make us susceptible to a plethora of health diseases including diabetes and various types of cancer.

On the show, Michelle Obama mentioned that children, when involved with the gardening process and contributing to their food preparation, become engaged and enthusiastic about the foods and the benefits they will receive from them. It also makes them more inclined to make healthier decisions regarding food when they are out on their own.

I also feel like this concept of gardening is something that should be encouraged within our school systems. These same values would be taught to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in such an activity. In addition to learning a gardening skill and learning the importance of good nutrition, the gardens can actually be used to prepare healthy, natural foods in the school lunch programs, which could even extend into economics and business conversations.

(The concept of gardening within school systems was first shared with me by Debra K. Norwood of Estero, Florida, who recently worked with a school in Miami to start a gardening program. She also shared other great ideas for enhancing the educational experience through gardening and farming with me like making sure every classroom has four or five plants in them to replenish the oxygen supply, helping to keep children more focused and productive.)

Teaching children to garden in schools and providing for the lunches that they will eat each day is the beginning of a lifelong system of values that could enhance the lives of each student and our communities at large. This system of values could organically help us reduce the demand for processed foods and the urge to overeat fast and junk foods, leading to a decline in health care costs related to illnesses spawned by obesity and unhealthy diets. It could even encourage more local farming and more people who seek natural, organic foods from local suppliers.

Simply put: teaching gardening skills and engaging children in their nutrition programs could help stimulate local economies and help reduce health care costs while creating healthier Americans.

This is definitely an idea that should be discussed within our school systems and we really need to start opening that dialog with Board of Education members, teachers, and local organizations that could help contribute with time, equipment, donations, etc.

Talking to Children “Like Children” Is Not Good

On Fox News this morning there was a brief segment about a six year old girl who won a spelling bee and qualified for finals. She is the youngest person to qualify, no surprise from a girl who began reading at the age of two. Her mother describes her as a teenager in a six year old body.

I have always had the theory that we raise children to be just as bright or just as dumb as they seem to be, based on how we interact with them, and as it turns out – it’s true! Now obviously, there are going to be unique circumstances and no two children are alike, but think about this:

When a mom walks up to a group of friends with a small, adorable, googly eyed little baby, all of the adults immediately drop down to the level of the small child. Even the most masculine of tuff, macho, manly men will coo, say cutesy little things, and talk in a silly sounding, high pitched voice.

Although it is acceptable and normal with infants, I do feel that it is sort of silly. A small baby is easily amused, and of course they need this kind of activity, and feelings of love and closeness from family, but I feel it should be very limited. I also feel like the way we “talk down” to children lasts far too long after infancy.

Studies suggest that talking to children “like chilredn” can actually be harmful to their ability to express themselves later on in life. According to Peter Ernest Haiman, Ph.D.:

When parents talk to their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, they should use complex sentences. Complex sentences have adverbs, adjectives, and modifying phrases and clauses. Rather than “bring me your shirt,” say “bring me your red shirt.” Rather than saying, “Mommy is coming,” say “Mommy will come as soon as she dries her hands.”

The optimum development of language is fostered if parents use complete and complex sentence structures when interacting with their children during their first five or six years of life. Numerous studies that focused on the language development of children have consistently demonstrated that how parents talk to their youngsters shapes the children’s language and ability to communicate. Language, in turn, shapes thought processes and mental problem solving.

I cannot say how the family of the little girl who won the spelling bee raised her, but I imagine that her creativity and desire to learn was sparked by positive, meaningful interaction from them.