hern Arizona and I needed to return somebooks to the library. However, when I pulled into the parkinglot, I didn't jump out of the car and dash into the libraryright away. My attention was captured by the site of a smallboy, probably about two years old, playing in the adjacent park.Between the library parking lot and the shady park, runs a smallgully. On a wet day such as this one, water coursed through thatgrassy gully. The object of my attention was dressed in a hoodedslicker and rubber boots. He was wading in the water andfloating sticks down the stream. Now I could plainly see that onfrequent occasions the water was trickling down inside thoselittle green rubber boots. I felt sure that the boy's caretaker(grandmother?) watching from the bank also knew that she wouldbe peeling soggy socks off those little feet when they got home.But weighing the options, she had d...

...ecided that wet feet were abargain in exchange for the glorious experiences of the day.Find a park, drive to the forest, spend time next to rivers,lakes and oceans. Take along a good book and let your child rompin the outdoors. Even if you can't get away very often, makesure that when you do, the outing lasts long enough forsatiation to set in. Of course, with some children that mightmean spending the entire day at the playground. To avoidunpleasantness at the end, agree on a time limit before you goand give a 15 minute and then 5 minute warning when the time toleave is approaching. And then stick to it! Don't mind alittle mess. Creativity and imagination need stretches ofuninterrupted time and sometimes the creative processes requirea few props. It can get pretty messy! So make a plan. Designatean area for capricious play, "No toys in the kitchen or diningroom!" Only one type of toy out at a time, "Put away all theaction figures before you get out the legos." Have a time frame,"At 5:00 everybody stops what they are doing and we become aclean team." Read stories, tell stories. Of course, read to yourchildren. I especially like fables and fairy tales. Readingtogether is fun and can often provide one of those "teachingmoments" giving you the opportunity to discuss the morals andmessages behind the story itself.But don't rely on books alone for your stories. Tell some ofyour own. Children love to hear stories of the things they didwhen they were younger. They also love to hear stories of yourown childhood. Here's a story my dad used to tell us. He was one of six children growing up on a busy farm. Everyoneworked hard. It was the end of the summer and Grandma (dad'smom) had been working in the hot kitchen all day preserving foodin jars. When dinner came around she was especially tired andcranky. In her super-sensitive emotional state, Grandma feltunappreciated. It seemed that everyone had something negative tosay about the meal. She cracked! "The next person who saysanything critical about my cooking will be preparing all themeals from now on!"The table was a quiet place after that. For weeks everyonetalked in hushed tones and made pointed compliments about thefood, but Grandma had not forgotten her threat. The family wassure of that!Dad's oldest brother, my Uncle Lee, was the kind of person wholiked to stir things up a bit. He knew that dad's other brother,my Uncle Paul, was an impulsive sort and often acted and spokebefore thinking. The evil plan was hatched. Uncle Lee dumped amountain of salt into the pot of beans cooking on the stove andwaited for dinnertime to arrive. Sure enough, when a forkful of those beans went into UnclePaul's mouth, he shouted out, "Whew, these beans are salty!"Then my dad would mimic the facial expressions of Paul as herealized what he had done and quickly back-pedaled by saying,"Just like I like 'em!" I can't guarantee that this story truly originated in myGrandmother's farm house, but we enjoyed having dad tell it timeand time again.Play games. Board games, card games, active games, educationalgames, silly games, all of them are good. Games are invaluablefor learning important life lessons such as sportsmanship. Theycan also be used to teach a wide range of subject matter--Math,Science, Social Studies, Language, there's a game for all ofthem. If your budget is tight, check with your local library. Ifthey don't already offer puzzles and games for checkout, maybethey just haven't thought of it!Are you physically able to get down on the floor to play? Do soif you can. Putting yourself on the same level as a child ispowerful non-verbal communication. A child is much more likelyto open up when you do so. The experts will all tell you that itis more important to be a parent than a friend to your child,and I will agree with them. The thought I would add, however, isthat you do want your child to see you as an ally. Knowing thathe or she has someone to talk with and depend on is vital to achild's confidence and self-esteem.Keep an art box. Put in crayons, paper, markers, scissors,paint, glitter, glue. Also put in differently-shaped cardboardboxes, rolls from paper towels, toilet paper and wrapping paper.Collect pinecones and bottle caps to add. Anything you can thinkof, really! Find an old sheet that you can use to cover thetable or spread out on the floor. Who knows, you may frame thatsheet one day!Have a dress-up trunk. Save old Halloween costumes. Large scrapsof fabric become capes or princess gowns. Hats and scarves ofall sorts belong in your dress-up kit. Do you have any oldmake-up that can be donated? Next, find a book of plays or actout your favorite story. You may not even turn on the televisionfor a change! Use parental-control media devices. Well sure,they are going to see and hear it sooner or later. But the pointis to make that later instead of sooner. Find out what theratings are and then develop a plan for adding more levels asyour child matures. Include the children when making the plan.Rules that you helped develop are always easier to follow. Perpetuate the silly childhood myths such as Santa Claus, theTooth Fairy, etc. It's not lying, it's make believe. Childrenunderstand the difference. Many children enjoy pretending theystill believe long after the truth is revealed. And most olderchildren will continue to pretend with younger children whostill do believe. Bake cookies. You have to do it, even if they are from pre-madecookie dough. The sticky texture of the dough, the delicioussmell wafting from the oven, the sizzle as a too-hot cookietouches a wet tongue, and the extra crispiness of the last batchthat got left in the oven too long--all these sensations willcontribute to lasting memories of a sweet childhood!Our childhood years are few in comparison to the decades ofadulthood. Special and precious, let's do all we can to makethose years positive and memorable....