Things My Kids Need - and Things They Don't

I was astounded when, passing through an aisle of baby sneakers, my 20-month-old looked down at her old, dirty, worn sneakers and said, “Bleah!”

We all want stuff, but how much of it is truly necessary for a child to grow up feeling nurtured? My kids know what sorts of things I will or will not buy for them, and even self-edit their Christmas and Birthday wish lists accordingly.

This is my top ten list of Things My Kids Need:
1. Good Food
2. Fresh Air
3. Exercise
4. Good Books
5. Paper
6. Writing and Art Instruments of all kinds
7. Balls of all shapes and sizes
8. Blocks of all shapes and sizes
9. Dolls and/or stuffed animals
10. Wheels (bikes, skates, etc., that are non-motorized)

Now, in my opinion, this is my top ten list of things my kids don’t need. I am not saying it is bad to have any of these things, or that my kids don’t have any of these things – just that they are not necessary for proper growth and development.

1. Designer Labels
2. Video Games
3. Motorized toys
4. More than one organized activity or sport
5. Television
6. Internet
7. Junk Food
8. Large House
9. Large Car
10. Jewelry

Today I accidentally uncovered a rabbit burrow while raking leaves. At first I thought they were mice, but the children quickly pointed out that they were bunnies. Four quickly scampered away. It appeared to have been their first time out, and they did not know what to do. Neither did I.

Were they supposed to be away from the nest? Would the mother rabbit be upset that I had disturbed her burrow? Was Mommy even around anymore? I took the plastic rake and gently scooped up the four bunnies, put them back in the burrow, and recovered the hole. My oldest daughter is still upset that we would not let her keep the wild bunnies.

It was great excitement for all, something that we might have missed, had we been too busy with things on my second list. Kids need time to be creative and use their imaginations, and silence to take in the wonder of nature.

Painting above:
"La maison de l'Artiste à Argenteuil"
1873 Claude Monet

Our Daily Bread

As Christians, we knew about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before he published his great epiphany. The disciples knew they couldn’t let the multitudes go hungry. We know that we have to feed the poor that come into our parish before attending to their spiritual needs. Yet how many of us have coffee for breakfast, running out the door to “do good” for others while undernourishing our own bodies?

If you believe everything you read in magazines, every woman in America designs a weekly menu, goes shopping with a specific list of ingredients, and has a square meal on the table, complete with matching dishes, every night at 6:00. Not so with most women I encounter on a daily basis. At baseball, which we go to between 5 and 8 PM a few nights per week, women are chattering about “What will I make for dinner tonight?” or mentioning McDonald’s as a stop on the way home.

I like to think I have a happy medium. My meals are simple but nutritious. We eat each of our three major meals at roughly the same time each day. By bedtime, I have taken the meat out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to defrost. If we have evening activities, I am typically starting to cook at around 2:00 in the afternoon, and serve dinner at 4:00. Fruits and vegetable are there for the taking as snacks throughout the day, and “snack attacks” are very rare.

As a family of six, we are now eating approximately 1.5 pounds of pasta as a side dish nightly. One night I could not find two boxes of matching “shapes”. I decided to mix-and-match. The result was delightful and fun, with a variety of textures a pleasure to the palate. Pictured is a pound of Barilla’s Celentanni, coupled with a pound of Barilla’s Tri-Color Fiori, tossed with 1.5 tablespoons of butter. (Feel free to substitute soy, margarine, or olive oil.)

Today’s gospel speaks about Mary and Martha, and our priest underscored the fact that both spiritual and material needs must be attended to. As mothers, prioritizing is a constant battle. Remember both to give yourself time to attend to your spiritual needs, and sit down to eat with your family.

“Give us this day our daily bread…”