Health to the Bones Mark Hamby

When I grew up, my mother always wanted me to drink my milk. She said it would help me grow strong and healthy bones. The milk industry must have had some great commercial campaigns during the 50s and 60s, because we not only had to drink a glass of milk every morning and every night at home, but even in school we were forced to drink a bottle of milk. Looking back, Im not sure pasteurized milk was the best thing for us, but I dont think the cows were as contaminated with all of the growth hormones and chemicals that are used today. I find it amazing how advertisers can manipulate an entire generation of adults to believe in something that is supposed to be beneficial to children, when it could actually be harmful. Toothpaste is another exampleor watching TV or video games. So much of what is harmful to children is packaged in the guise of good. But theres something far greater that is robbing our children of their health. There is a deadly disease that is harming our children, stunting, and in some cases depleting, the density of their bones. The disease that I am describing is called discouragementitis. Allow me to explain. Would you believe it if I told you that children whose parents are professionals are exposed, on an average, to 1,500 more spoken words per hour than children in welfare homes? This means that children who are raised by parents who are professionals hear 2,153 words per hour in contrast to children from welfare homes, who hear only 616 words per hour. It was also found in a study by Raikes et al., in Mother-Child Bookreading in Low-Income Families, that parents who read to their children three to six times per week had greater vocabulary gains than children read to only once or twice a week. Children who were read to every day scored even better. And children who were read to as early as 14 months had particularly beneficial gains.1 A study conducted by Hart and Risley reveals that a 4-year-old child in a professional family will have received 560,000 more instances of encouraging feedback than discouraging feedback. An average 4-year-old child in a working-class family would have accumulated only 100,000 more encouragements than discouragements, and the average 4-year-old child in a welfare family would have accumulated a shocking 125,000 more instances of discouraging words than encouraging words.2 Statistics are helpful and give us the big picture, but they often fail to explain the heart of the problem. For example, it is important not to equate welfare and income with parental effectiveness. Children who were raised by parents who were slaves in the U.S. during the days of slavery were often raised with higher morals and ethics than the children of the slave owners. So its not a matter of income; its more a matter of morals and values. And whether we find ourselves presently with the blessing of a professional career or temporarily on welfare, lets keep in mind that our words are our greatest resource and more powerful in the raising of our children than money. Solomon, the richest man ever, reminds us that pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones (Proverbs 16:24). Lets make sure what our children hear from us are words of encouragement, kindness, and life, for truly, pleasant words are health to the bones!

Books to Read
Families Where Grace Is in Place by Jeff VanVonderen Shepherding a Childs Heart by Tedd Tripp Trusty, Tried and True by Mark and Debbie Hamby (book for ages 26) Teddys Button by Amy LeFeuvre (illustrated book or audio drama available from Lamplighter Publishing) Jack the Conqueror, or Difficulties Overcome by C. E. Bowen (book, ages 712) Basil, Or, Honesty and Industry by Charlotte OBrien (book, ages 712) The Education of a Child from The Wisdom of Fenelon by Francois de Salignac de La Mothe Fenelon, edited by Mark Hamby (seventeenth-century book for parents) Suffer then a child to play, mixing instruction with delight: let wisdom appear to him at intervals, and always with a smiling face. Be careful not to fatigue him by an indiscreet exactness . . . it is necessary to find out every means of making those things pleasing to the child which are expected of him; and should you have any thing distressing or difficult to propose, forget not to comfort him with the assurance that a little trouble will be followed by unspeakable satisfaction. But above all things, do not let it appear to the child that you demand from him unnecessary submissions . . . (The Education of a Child).

Audios to Listen To
Teddys Button audio drama (ages 412 and for adults!) The Basket of Flowers by Christoph von Schmid (audio drama for ages 8 and up) Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W. E. Cule (audio drama for ages 12 and up)

Places to Go
Lamplighter Guild for Creative Disciplines, July 1520, 2012, is a catalyst for collaboration, innovation, and compelling instruction between master teachers and apprenticesand an environment of encouraging words for students ages 16 to 99. Each learner will be inspired to cultivate a high level of excellence in order to uniquely reflect the image of God in his work and life. The Lamplighter Guild is hosted at the world-renowned Mohonk Mountain House, surrounding students with breathtaking beauty and exquisite architectural designs. Modeled after an historically proven educational approach, the Lamplighter Guild provides Dramatic and Visual Art students an unprecedented opportunity to learn side by side with master teachers who have excelled in their fields. Additionally, elective presentations in videography, photography, horticultural studies, greenhouse management, culinary art, rustic furniture making, parks and recreation, marketing, and IT offer students the opportunity to observe creative excellence in a wide variety of fields. Finally, this model opens the door for student internship and apprenticeship opportunities, providing advanced training with the masters. For more information, go to www.lamplighterguild.com. Mark Hamby is the founder and president of Lamplighter Ministries, where he serves with a dedicated staff to make Lamplighter Publishing, Lamplighter Theatre, Lamplighter Guild, Lamplighter Life-Transforming Seminars, and Lamplighter Moments Daily Radio Broadcast a reality. It is his mission to make ready a people prepared for the Lord by building Christlike character . . . one story at a time. You can read or listen to the most recent Lamplighter production at www.lamplighter.net. Endnotes: 1. MotherChild Bookreading in Low-Income Families: Correlates and Outcomes During the First Three Years of Life: Helen Raikes, Gayle Luze, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, H. Abigail Raikes,

Barbara Alexander Pan, Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda, Jill Constantine and Louisa Banks Tarullo, Eileen T. Rodriguez. p. 927, Child Development, July/August 2006, Volume 77, Number 4, pages 924953. 2. B. Hart & T. R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in Everyday Experience of Young American Children, University of Kansas, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Baltimore, p. 199. Copyright 2012, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the trade magazine for homeschool families. Read the magazine free at www.TOSMagazine .com or read it on the go and download the free apps at www.TOSApps.com to read the magazine on your mobile devices.