Growing Young Minds

I was at one those events recently where everyone in the room was asked to tell something about themselves that nobody else in the room would know. It’s an ice breaker and conversation starter.

I find it interesting to hear what people choose to tell about themselves. I guess most people might guess I’ll share something to do with sports. Or maybe the outdoors, if they remember that I was a Boy Scout.

This time, I think I surprised almost everybody in the room. I told them that I used to play the trumpet. Like, a lot. I chose the trumpet in the 5^th grade because I thought it was cool. I was in the high school marching band in the 7^th and 8^th grades (I was actually pretty decent and it was a really small school). When I couldn’t do both in high school, I gave up the band, but I didn’t give up the trumpet.

This was the heyday of musical groups like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Sly and the Family Stone, who used a lot of horns. I was a decent backup singer so I was in a variety of bands for the next several years. Sock hops (there really was such a thing—shoes weren’t allowed on the gym floor), tiny venues, talent shows, public events—we played lots of places.

Daryl Lunsford was the musical star of most of those bands. Daryl could play anything, but focused on the guitar. In jam sessions, he would move around the room and take other’s instruments and play them better than their owner. He was the one who made a career out of music.

College came along and the trumpet faded into the past and I finally sold it. I later got my music Jones by singing in a gospel quartet called Foothills Vocal Quartet, now defunct.

Here’s the point—we need things like music and art and good books in our lives.  We need theater and concerts and great meals. We need to get outside our comfort zone on a regular basis. It’s how we grow.

And it is incredibly important that our children experience those things. The young brain is still developing. If they aren’t allowed to explore and do those things, then their brain will not be fully developed.

That’s not an opinion, that’s medical fact. Different parts of the brain do different things. In order to be fully developed, we have to use those parts of our brain.

I know that some people, for example, are really great musicians. The part of their brain that controls their musical ability is likely well developed. Same thing for art. And theater.

Reading is another category. Study after study has shown that those that read a lot while growing up become more successful adults. Their brain is expanded by the worlds they explore through books.

I’m sure you know that physical activity is essential and that I believe that sports participation is vital in the physical and personal development of our young people. But to ignore those other parts is a mistake.

I know that parenting is tough enough without all the many activities that your kids want to participate in. Travel ball puts an all new strain on family time and resources. But (and you’re going to be surprised by this, coming from me) that music lesson or school play are just as important as the pitching lesson or time with a personal trainer.

Look at it like this: You only have a few years with your kids and when they hit double digits, your biggest job is preparing them to be good adults. So travel, visit art galleries, attend concerts, hike in the woods. Do all the things.

Do it all. Because before you can blink, they will be grown and gone.