Harry H. Harrison Jr. - 1001 Things Your Kids Should See and Do

1001 Things
Your Kids
Should See & Do

(Or Else Theyll Never Leave Home)

HARRY H. HARRISON JR.

1001 Things Your Kids Should See & Do
Copyright 2007 by Harry H. Harrison Jr.

Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee
Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Project Editor: Lisa Stilwell

Designed by ThinkPen Design, LLC

ISBN-10: 1404104186
ISBN-13: 9781404104181

Printed and bound in China

www.thomasnelson.com

Table of Contents

The purpose of childhood is training for adulthood.

All kids talk about how they are so out of here after graduation. They announce theyre going to college, going to Borneo, traveling around Europe, spending time in New York City.

These are the same teenagers who get so turned around on their way home at night, they call you wondering if taking the highway to North Dakota was the right exit. And they know home means free food. Air conditioning. Nice bed. Moms shoulder. Dads money. And as long as they stay home, they can avoid the messy complications of adulthood.

Thats when many start saying, Im so out of here after a year or two of junior college.

Later, Im so out of here after my MBA. Then, Youll never see me again once I get my second PhD.

Thats typically when parents resign themselves to reality, build a bedroom over the garage, and move into it.

There are over a thousand things every kid needs to see and do to have the faith and courage and skills and confidence to walk out that door when adulthood beckons. And you can either start preparing them for adulthood early in their life, or deal with a thirty-year-old waiting for dinner downstairs. In their pajamas.

They Need to Visit
Mister Rogers
Neighborhood

1. They need to see that you love them completely. The way they are.

2. They need to catch moonbeams.

3. They need to see you light up when they get home from school. Or when you get home from work.

4. They need to tell the truth.

5. They need to read. Fast. And remember.

6. They need to dig a hole to China.

7. They need to take a nap with their dog.

8. They need to search for the end of a rainbow.

9. They need to trust, at a very early age, that home is safe.

10. They need to see your face in the crowd at their soccer games and band concerts. Cheering. Not yelling.

11. They need to build a birdhouse.

12. They need to develop their curiosity about things.

13. They need to look at a leaf through a magnifying glass.

And see wonder exists out of ordinary sight.

14. They need to collect a jar of lightning bugs at night.

15. They need to tell the difference between cicada and cricket sounds. Theyll be hearing things all their lives that sound like one thing, but are actually another.

16. They need to play flashlight tag with their friends and discover the joys of summer nights.

17. They need to develop a sense of adventure. The younger the better.

18. They need to be assigned chores. Even if its just cleaning their rooms.

19. They need to spend hours building a sand castle on the beach, then watch the evening tide wash it away.

20. They need to climb up the inside of a lighthouse.

21. They need to watch a chrysalis turn into a butterfly. You can buy them on-line.

22. They need to find their way out of a maze.

23. They need to watch a windmill.

24. They need to see you reading your Bible. At home.

25. They need to learn proper grammar.

26. They need to know who they are: their full name, address, their mom and dads full names, and phone number. (Ask them this all the time.)

27. They need to learn when to call 911.

28. They need to see you struggle with difficulties.

29. They need to go to camp. To learn they can live without you. And you, without them.

30. They need to listen to a storyteller at the library.

31. They need to pray. First with you. Then without you. (And hopefully for you.)

32. They need to get along with their brothers and sisters and other kids. This will pay dividends in adulthood.

33. They need to ride a bike. And fall down. And get up and ride some more.

34. They need to conquer their fears.

35. They need to learn life is not all about them.

36. They need manners. This will carry them far in the adult world.

37. They need to go fishing. And learn the mystery of anticipation.

38. They need to hear for themselves that a Monster Truck Show just may be the noisiest thing in the world.

39. They need to bait a hook. And take a fish off one. Learn that life is messy. Even some of the best parts.

40. They need to learn to not keep secrets from you.

41. They need to take care of another living thing. A goldfish is the beginning of responsibility.

42. They need to stand up for themselves.

43. They need to do the hokey-pokey on Rollerblades.

44. They need to roll in the snow. Even if they live in Florida.

45. They need to share an apple with a horse.

46. They need to stare into the eyes of a gorilla. Either in Africa or at a good zoo.

47. They need to say nice things about people instead of hurtful things.

48. They need to make a best friend. And be one.

49. They need to sit on the roof and get another perspective of their world.

50. They need to sell cookies for their team or club or band.

51. They need to sleep outside and watch for falling stars.

52. They need to sit around a campfire and hear ghost stories that will keep them scared witless all night.

53. They need to listen to Mozart or Beethoven every morning before school.

54. They need to write to pen pals. Across the state. Across the country. Across the world.

55. They need to watch a tree grow from a seedling over several years. And see that pretty much describes the mystery of life.

56. They need to watch a colt find its legs.

57. They need to open a Kool-Aid stand.

58. They need to learn to say, Im sorry.

59. They need to develop the courage to support a friend.

60. They need to grow a vegetable garden. And battle birds, grasshoppers, and bugs.

61. They need to eat weird foods: Tofu. Miniature corn. And dried bananas.

62. They need to spend time with their grandparents. To hear stories about you.

63. They need to see you at work. (Right now, they think you just read a newspaper all day.)

64. They need to respect their curfew. Television curfew. Computer curfew. Be-home-by-9-p.m. curfew.

65. They need to develop minor culinary skills. Like the ability to make a butter sandwich.

66. They need to sign with a deaf person.

67. They need to learn how to cross a stream. There will be plenty in life.

68. They need to learn to dry their hands on towels. Not the walls or furniture.

69. They need to learn whats flushable. Tissue is. Root beer bottles, dolls, and toy cars are not.

70. They need to develop the art of listening. Without interrupting. And remembering whats being said.

71. They need to change their underwear without being told.