Igniting a sense of wonder

I was having a discussion the other day with my husband about TV, I was trying to explain why I don't like it! I couldn't quite explain how I was really feeling and what it is about TV that I don't like. I know there are many great, beneficial and entertaining interviews, reports and shows, but in the context of our children, I am not convinced that it is always a 'good' thing for them. The next day I received a book on parenting from a friend of mine and in it was a few pages about TV, this part of a quote has helped me to work out how I feel about the whole TV issue.

"Sure, life without TV was difficult when they were all little. With five small children running around, at the time, it was tempting to turn on the TV just for a break. But the short term break would have created a TV appetite in the children that we didn't want to feed. We reasoned that once they realised that the TV does most of the imagining and thinking for them their brains and bodies become lazy.

....The sad reality is that the shows may be innocent or 'educational' when they are little but as they grow up so do their tastes. Barney may satisfy Junior when he's five, but when he's fifteen he is going to want to watch something a little more attractive than a purple dinosaur. The problem is that his habits have been established and his appetite to be entertained has been satisfied for so many years he doesn't know that to do with himself."

A TV appetite is what I don't want my children to have, and at the moment whilst my children don't watch much TV, they all love it and would easily watch it all day! That's not to say that they don't like doing other things or that they can't entertain themselves, but I just don't want to feed that appetite. I need to make an intentional effort to feed appetites that I do want them to have, and that are going to be beneficial for them throughout their life.

The biggest appetite I want them to have is for God and His word. Jesus is the bread of life, John 6:35, I want them to learn how to be completely satisfied in Him, not things in this world. For this to happen though, I need to make the time to read to them, talk to them about God, answer their questions about life, show them that He is priority in all that we do, that we give Him first place in the mornings, first place in our distribution of money, and that Sundays are the best day of the week where we go and worship Him as a family. And most of all I need to be an example of someone who is hungry for God and seeking to be satisfied in Him alone.

Another appetite I want to create within in them is a sense of wonder for God's creation. A secular book I purchased recently called The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson, has encouraged me in this.

A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood

......If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.

....If you are a parent who feels he has little nature lore at his disposal there is still much you can do for your child. With him, wherever you are and whatever your resources, you can still look up at the sky - its dawn and twilight beauties, its moving clouds, its stars by night. You can listen to the wind, whether it blows with majestic voice through a forest or sings a many-voiced chorus around the eaves of your house...You can still feel the rain on your face and think of its long journey, its many transmutations from sea to air to earth.

If I want them to love God's creation I need to be in it with them, looking for opportunities to show it to them, and tell them about God through what they can see and feel around them.

The other appetite I want to feed is one for reading. This one, requires a lot of effort on my behalf initially, I need to set aside the time to read to them, not just picture book, but words that make them think and imagine. And they need to see me reading!

So, we haven't quite booted the TV out the door, but I am making more of a conscious effort to not feed their appetite for TV, but feed and create an appetite for God, His creation and books (good ones!). I need daily, moment by moment patience, passion, and perseverance from God alone for this!