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06/18/2004 Archived Entry: "cough and toys"

Tabitha's minor cold has predictably turned into one nasty cough. It almost always follows the same pattern- runny nose for two days, stuffy nose for one day, horrific cough for a week. She's only on day three of her cough so she's at the worst of it. She sleeps with a humidifier, waterless vaporizer, loads of cough syrup and vapo-rub on her chest. She has trouble falling asleep, but once she's out, at least she sleeps peacefully until the morning when she resumes sounding like she's trying to expel a lung from her little body.

Last night I went to a Discovery Toys party. I've always liked their products and was hoping I could find something for Tabs and something for the baby. But I did not enjoy the way this party was done. The consultant did "games" instead of just demo'ing the products. With the amount of people that were there, it just made it drag on forever. Plus, I didn't like the way she described the products. She way overhyped the educational aspect of the toys and would say things like, "When you play this game with your kids, they don't even realize they are learning something" as if we should all be proud of ourselves for tricking our children into an education. What's wrong with kids knowing they are learning? Kids love to learn new things. It's drudgery that turns them off of learning, not the knowledge that they are learning something new. Miss Tabitha asks me on an almost daily basis to do lessons, no matter how sick she is or how nauseas I feel. You know why? Because it's fun to discover and learn new things that you never knew before, that's why! Not because I trick her with some game. Learning is fun, and it can be done with anything, not just toys that were designed with some special purpose. Don't get me wrong, I really do like the products and Tabitha has always loved her toys that came from Discovery Toys, I just think it was all presented incorrectly. If you're having fun with your kids, they will learn, regardless of the toy. And if they are learning, they are having fun, even when they know they are learning.