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How goblins could make your kids smarter
16th May 2008
Once upon a time, there lived a dashing Welsh
prince who played scrum half for Gloucester.
After scoring the winning try against Bath, he
dashed to his Rolls Royce and sped off towards
Downing Street for his meeting with Gordon
Brown.
'We have a top secret mission for you Collins,'
Gordon said, 'one that only a man of your speed,
cunning and good looks can accomplish. Here are
your papers, your Xray spectacles and a year's
supply of chocolate.
And your assistant on this mission will be Uma
Thurman....'
Okay, maybe I'm not cut out to write children's
books (though personally I still think Ray Collins
and the Magic Beer Garden has great potential), but
reading stories to our children is one of life's great
pleasures.
Even back in the days when I had a proper job, I'd
make a point of reading to the horrors (that's the
collective noun for my children) as often as I could.
It's simply the best way to help them learn the
language and stimulate their imaginations.
But as a new study shows, the benefits of reading
goes a lot further than that...
How a ten minute read every night could
give your children a huge head start in
life...
According to a report in The Times this week,
reading stories to young children triggers the
learning process and gives them a huge head start
by the time they reach school age.
But it's not just helping them with their English...
Sharing a bedtime read also helps strengthen their
memory, and boosts their emotional and social
development.
And if you get them to turn the pages, it also helps
them develop their coordination.
Not a bad pay off for spending ten minutes in the
company of wizards, princesses and Welsh secret
agents (I'm not giving up on my adventure THAT
easily).
These findings are the results of a study led by
Professor Barry Zuckerman, from the department
of paediatrics at Boston University School of
Medicine.
The study showed that children who enjoy bedtime
stories from an early age have better language
development by the time they reach school.
And once they have this head start, it tends to stay
with them for the rest of their life. They get higher
marks in language exams through out school, and
have a better use of vocabulary all the way through
adulthood.
However, the most important aspect of reading to
your kids is the social development it creates.
The theory is that reading aloud is a shared
experience between parent and child, which leaves
the child seeing it as a pleasurable activity. This
instils a love of books in the child, which will last a
lifetime. So reading for exams, for research and for
work in later life all becomes much, much easier.
'If someone came up with a widget that would
stimulate all aspects of a twoyearold's
development, everyone would want to buy it,'
Zuckerman said.
But here's a far better, more exciting, more
pleasurable way to do it and it's free.
So whether you've got young children or
grandchildren, try to make the time to read to them
as often as possible. You'll be doing them a huge
favour in later life.
And while we're on the subject of kids...
The common sense diet to give your kids
the good life!
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You know my views on eating well...
Avoid processed foods, eat natural local whole
foods - and that means ALL whole foods,
including red meat, dairy products and fat.
Here are a few of my 'must dos' for kids:
-Don't believe the scaremongering!
If you listen to certain people, you'd think that simply
walking past a cow will cause you to keel over
clutching your heart, but the truth is milk,
cheese and yoghurt are rich in calcium, which is
essential for healthy bones and teeth.
And babies NEED full fat milk, so don't go
giving them skimmed milk. They need
nourishment, not a size zero complex.
-Another fact that will have the health
nuts fainting...meat, particularly red meat
and liver is GOOD FOR KIDS. It's packed with iron,
which again is an essential. Iron is needed for
healthy blood and research has shown that some
children have low intakes of iron, particularly
older girls.
Green vegetables and pulses are also iron-rich,
so make sure you get them all slapped down on
your kid's plate during the week.
- Make sure they eat at least two portions of
fish a week. Fish are a good source of protein,
vitamins and minerals and they are low in
saturated fat - so it's win-win all the way. You
can give boys up to four portions of oily fish a
week, but it's best to give girls no more than
two portions of oily fish a week.
BUT...
Avoid giving children shark, swordfish and
marlin. These fish contain relatively high levels
of mercury, which might affect a child's
developing nervous system.
Why you should rub jelly in your kid's
hair
- Attack of the lice! If your children suffer an
onslaught of head lice, stay away from
prescription drugs. Why? Because prescription
drugs poison the lice.
Call me crazy, but I don't really want to rub
poison into my children's hair, no matter how
weak the dose.
Instead, try using petroleum jelly. Instead of
poisoning the little blighters (the lice, not the
children!), the jelly suffocates them. Just
smother your child's hair before bedtime, pop a
shower cap on their head and let the jelly do its
evil deed through the night. By morning the lice
should be dead.
- Passiflora incarnata - clinical studies have
demonstrated the effectiveness of this herb in
the treatment of anxiety and insomnia, but
apparently it works wonders on restless children
as well, because it's such a gentle treatment.
It also tackles colic. But as ever, check things
out with your doctor before trying any
alternative therapies, especially on children.
- Astragalus membranaceous (also called
huang qi) is a potent Chinese remedy that
boosts the immune system and helps the body
get well after illness, which is perfect if your
kid seems to get colds every other week.
Again, before hurtling off down to Chinese
Medicines-R-Us, make sure your doctor is okay
with this treatment.
Uh-oh. My phone's ringing.
It might Uma Thurman telling my about my next
mission (Ray Collins and the Chocolate Fountain).
I'd better go.
Take care, and I'll be back on Sunday with news of
something that could be a God send for anyone
with joint pain. |
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