During all of my late night channel flipping, I consistently see the “Your Baby Can Read” infomercials.  I’m sorry, but I’m sticking this post under the category of “What were these parents thinking?”.

Actually, I don’t have a baby.  But I do have a 3 year old grandson who can’t read.  He can write and spell his name, and he “thinks” he can read as we’re going through his books that he’s read a million, kazillion times.  But the fact is, he cannot read and he’s still a very intelligent, healthy, happy little boy.

Personally I find this whole concept ridiculous.  The infomercials show these little babies, who are barely starting to eat solid foods,  whipping through these flash cards with their parents who think they are raising the next Einstein.  Who cares if your baby can read?

Wouldn’t you rather be spending that time with them on normal childhood activities.  There are plenty of learning activities and games that moms-dads-and babies can participate in together that don’t involve drilling and grilling them over and over again with flashcards.  Enjoy their early years doing things that are fun, yet they are still learning.

I remember when my son first started Kindergarten we were told that he was behind in his fine motor skills.  He couldn’t use scissors worth a darn.  I felt like a horrible parent for not teaching him that skill.  But he could write his own name.

Fortunately for us, he had a very good teacher who explained to us that almost all kids enter kindergarten with different skill levels.  Some have great motor skills, some can write and do a little “reading”, and some can’t do either.  She explained to us that studies have proven by the third grade all children catch up to each other in their skill levels.

That’s not to say that they all perform the same.  Obviously they don’t, as noted in their report cards (do they still call them that?).  But their level of learning is on an even platform by the time they reach the third grade no matter how much they knew when they first started school.

Frankly I realize I may tick off and rile up a few parents with these bold statements.  But every time I see those infomercials with the parents holding up those flashcards and clapping and cheering their babies on, I have to laugh.    Are these babies really enjoying this monotonous activity or would they rather be playing with their blocks and shape sorters or wire and bead manipulators where they’re having a whole lot more fun, yet learning without it being force fed to them.

Tell me what you think.  I’d love to hear what other moms and dads think about this concept.

One of our kids favorite summertime activities when they were little was to play in our good old backyard sandbox.  At the time, we were one of the only families in the neighborhood that had an outdoor sandbox, so it became a gathering place for all the neighbor kids.

We have fond memories of those times, but there were also some not so fond memories of uninvited guests visiting the old wooden sandbox daily.  The neighborhood cats!  It became a ritual every morning to go out and clean up the “presents” that the cats had left behind.  Even after we had cleaned it up, we were always worried that one of the kids might get sick from whatever else the cats had done in there (urinating).

Hubby made all kinds of homemade covers to keep out the cats, but they were either very bulky and hard to store, or difficult to get on and off all the time.  That old homemade wooden sandbox has been gone for years, but the cats still remain in the neighborhood.  We wanted to get a new backyard sandbox for the grandkids and determined not to go through the whole cat issue again.

Now there are all kinds of sandbox covers to help parents eliminate this problem.  For the grandkids we’ve decided upon a childrens sandbox that comes with it’s own cover.

This kidkraft sandbox comes with it’s own mesh cover.  The mesh cover is great because it’s porous enough that rain won’t puddle on top of it.   It’s also really easy to store and take on and off.

Kidkraft carries another childrens sandbox with it’s own mesh cover, but this sandbox is a little smaller than we wanted.

The thing we did like about this other one though is the great storage bins underneath the side seats to store all of those fun sandbox toys (which include half of my kithen utensils and bowls?).

Here’s a little tip I learned years ago for those of you who have cat problems in your uncovered sandboxes.  Sprinkle all of the sand with good old white vinegar.  Not only does it sanitize anything the cats may have left behind on previous visits, but it also helps to keep them away from the sand because they don’t like the smell of it.

Another serious safety concern with backyard sandboxes is too much sun!  Like I said, our kids used to spend hours and hours in their sandbox, and too much sun is always a concern.  You can lather them up every couple of hours with lots of sunblock, but a covered sandbox provides one more big layer of protection from the sun.  Of course you can always place your sandbox in a location under a tree where the kiddos won’t get as much sun, but then you have the problem of leaves and birds to deal with.  These covered sandboxes will assure you that the kids are having a healthy and happy playtime out of the sun.

Every sunburn a child gets is harmful and raises their chances of skin cancer.  For more information on protecting your kids from summer sun dangers, go here.

Have a fun, happy and healthy summer with your kids and their backyard sandbox.