Laura on Life

The hazards of reading

By Laura Snyder

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[April 17, 2010]  When I want to stimulate my mind without stimulating the rest of me, I read. There is nothing more relaxing. Even watching TV has a certain stress factor attached to it, especially if you are not in possession of the remote or you are not technologically inclined, both of which are issues for me. The frustration of going through all 1,256 channels and finding nothing whatsoever to watch is bad for your psyche. You start to wonder what's wrong with you.

For these reasons and many others, reading will always be my choice for true relaxation.

My love of reading has extended itself to my children as well. Every one of them likes to read before falling asleep. I'm sure there is some expert on children's issues or sleep apnea who will say that reading before sleeping is not healthy. It seems that anything that makes life worth living is not good for you. Maybe their eyes will go bad if they read at night or they'll become dependent on reading to fall asleep. There's probably something, somewhere, but I really don't know.

What I do know is that children who read are smarter and do better in school. I have seen the proof of that in my own family.

You can get a kid glasses, but you can't fix dumb.

My husband only reads in the bathroom. I don't think that counts. I think there must be more harm that can come from being dependent on books to have a bowel movement.

What if he were stranded on a deserted island with no reading material? He would be near to exploding when a rescue ship finally arrived. Imagine the look on the captain's face when my husband thanked him: "Thanks a lot, man. Now, I need a book or a magazine or the back of a shampoo bottle -- anything to read! Now!"

I would not want to be a sailor on that ship if they had so much as a fortune cookie.

I digress...

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My youngest boy likes to read Calvin and Hobbes comic books. They are practically his bible and he reads them religiously. Calvin is his role model for his constitutionally granted right to the "pursuit of happiness." I tried to get him to read "Little House on the Prairie," but he wouldn't go for it. It would have been disloyal to Calvin and not half as much fun.

If any one of us had a true addiction to reading, it would be my 13-year-old. He'll start reading at bedtime and forget that the goal is to eventually sleep. He has a reading light that he straps to his forehead. Sometimes, when I wake him in the morning, the reading light is still dangling off one ear, and... it's still on.

My daughter is a big reader as well, but her comprehension is a little warped. She was reading about the huge coniferous forests that once spanned the United States until deciduous species took hold. She tried to explain to her younger brother why we have so many pines trees in our yard.

"It's because of the Confederate forests that used to be around here," she said. "Now there are a lot more delicious ones."

[By LAURA SNYDER]

Laura Snyder is a nationally syndicated columnist, author and speaker. You can reach her at lsnyder@lauraonlife.com or visit www.lauraonlife.com for more info.

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