Doritos for dinner?
Would you ever give your child Doritos for dinner? I would hope most of us wouldn’t. Although I have actually met a mom that gave her daughter Doritos for dinner (she claimed her daughter refused anything else), I would think most of us would draw the line there. I don’t care how much my child whines and cries, no Doritos (or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in our family’s case!) for dinner.
And in case anyone is wondering, yes, my children have all asked me at one time or another for Doritos at inappropriate times, such as for dinner. Although I love my children dearly, I’m the adult. I’m not going to satisfy their desire now, at the expense of their little bodies not functioning the best they can later. I’ve told my children often, I am not their friend. I am their mother.
What are you feeding your children’s minds?
I think one can make a very similar argument about what we’re allowing our children to read. Will we give them the equivalent of Doritos to leaf through? At this time in our culture, allowing our children to peruse any book they’d like can be more like giving those children a poison like cyanide rather than just Doritos. But in either case, I think my point has been made.
I get it, though. Most parents would rather their child be reading, than not at all. So even if they’re reading the equivalent of a bag of chips, at least they’re getting something in that mind. Sort of like that mom that would give their child Doritos for dinner. At least, it’s something.
Right?
What’s good and what’s best?
Granted, it’s important to get them reading something rather than doing nothing. But we need to be cognizant of the fact that just because our children want a particular book to read, doesn’t always make it a good thing for them. Ultimately, they need books to read that will help establish good character and creativity (to name a few things) rather than be entertained with frivolity or worse, indoctrinated with secular ideologies (i.e. gender theory, America is bad, pro-choice, etc).
Just as when we decide to give our children certain things to eat at the appropriate time, we should be able to do the same with reading materials for our children. More often than not, we treat our children like adults when it comes to what they’re reading. If it’s in the school library or public library or even on Amazon, it’s fine. But again, if we were to allow our children to eat anything they’d want for their meals, they’d probably have treats and snacks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (at least, in our case!). If we wouldn’t allow that for their physical bodies, why would we allow that for their minds?
So what’s on the reading menu?
Clearly every child is different, and we shouldn’t be treating them like little robots who all consume the exact same kinds of books. We should definitely have grace and allow for their preferences (again, just like their dinner). However, we are the ones responsible for essentially shaping our children’s habits and appetites, especially when they are young. We must be intentionally looking for books they would like, while keeping in mind the fact that as parents, and especially as Believers, we are called to a very high standard. We must try to incorporate in some way books that communicate what is beautiful, good, and/or true.
MHM curated booklist
And that’s why MHM was created. It’s so hard to know which books to choose from. There seems to be so much out there that either subtly introduces concepts that are either completely inappropriate or even brazenly attempts to indoctrinate our children against everything we’re trying so hard to teach them (i.e. our faith in Christ).
We have spent countless hours online researching each title that has been added to our booklist. We carefully selected each book so that it not only had great reviews, but the messaging also minimally did not conflict with a biblical worldview. In other words, books that are fun and interesting and make us think, but are not trying to undermine our family’s values and convictions.
So if you are a parent that wants to give your child books that will help establish a good foundation based on the principals and values that are important to you, be sure to pick out your books from Mud Hen Mama! And share the site with others (friends, co-workers, or your child’s school!) with similar convictions!
