The baby crawls across the floor. His or her domain is vast. In the view is a big box that talks and sings. A funny
little monster called Elmo makes the infant stop and look. Our young lad is hungry for
knowledge. His whole life is ahead of him, but right now he only wants to know how that cute red guy got inside the box.
Each day millions of infants and toddlers wake up with a hunger for food for their minds. They already know crying brings attention. Even in the middle of the night a mommy or daddy appears. As they get older, they learn some things are not permitted though. The big box once amazing them is a target for their little fingers. As they watch the fish in the glass tank, they may be pretty, but sure are stupid. They swim and swim and go nowhere.
What we do and say is the food their mind gets. Not all
children are so lucky to have fish tanks and elmo. Far too many must endure loud outbursts by the big people in the homes. Their ears hear the sounds and their eyes see the fright. Is this really the type of diet we want to offer our children? Once a lesson is repeated over and over, it stays etched in their brain.
Words of love and comfort soothe the air. They encourage the hunger for more. Each and every day of a child''s life is a new one for them. It can and should be an adventure. It''s a journey from one room to another with new found discoveries each time. When we nurture that time and trek with positive moods and actions, the smorgabord of knowledge is vast and delicious.
What we take for granted, children find fascinating. Those things we see as mundane, infants take as exciting. Youth is the point in our lives when we seek out answers. Our yearn for new things keeps up going. Once we get older that desire wanes. Which makes it so imperative our children never lose that hunger for more knowledge.