Yesterday I was going to blog about what to tell our kids about awful things in the news when they ask (of course, we hope they won't ask): Eliot Spitzer's fall from grace, Britney's 14-year-old sister's pregnancy, Lil' Romeo's USC basketball scholarship based on fame instead of ball-paying talent and need.
And don't think kids don't ask. The "New York Times," which couldn't get enough of the Spitzer scandal, asked parents what they said when their kids asked why the Governor of New York resigned. That's where I got the idea for the bad news blog post in the first place.
O.K. so I didn't write the post yesterday. I didn't write it again today. And I love posting to my blog. So what gives? Still procrastinating, and feeling a bit guilty, I stumbled onto online paper dolls which inspired blogging.
Obviously, time to lighten up. 
I kid you not, two hours later I had chosen clothes for Holly Hobby (she talks when you choose her clothes: "Ooh, cool outfit"), Disney princess dolls, a boy basketball player (not much fun since you don't get to choose earrings, purses, and tiaras.) little girl dolls, older girl dolls and my favorite "Catwalk Dress Up 3" where you get to choose skin color, lipstick, and the latest ridiculous fashions from Paris.
Now I have always loved paper dolls. I still have some paper dolls my older cousin Peggy made for me. And doing paper dolls with the granddaughters? Talk about fun!
Is having fun a brain booster? Absolutely. Add laughing to the fun and you and your kids start producing the so-called good-feeling endorphins like crazy. It's a no brainer: all of us learn faster and more effectively when we're happy.
So the next time your kids are having fun, giggling, laughing uproariously, hooting at a silly knock-knock joke, rest assured that it's good for their brains. Laugh with 'em. It's good for you too.
MaryJo
P.S. Yes, I know paper dolls also fall into those boring categories like "improves eye-hand coordination," "fosters creativity," "encourages imagination."
P.P.S. And I'm gearing up for the "They've All Got It: Managing ADHD" telechat. It's going to be fun too. Lots of non-drug alternatives for ADD and a bit of Brain Gym too. Stay tuned for more details and mark April 1 on your calendar. (No, it's not an early April Fools joke.)
1 comment:
Thanks for a pleasant reminder of my childhood. I spent hours with my sister and my cousins at my gradmother's house playing with entire paper doll families that we cut out of old mail order catalogs that she had saved forever.
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