WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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My name is Kanitra Charles and I am the mother
of four.

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My daughter’s name is Anogia and my three
boys are Lamar, John and Jalen.

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My experience with the Louisiana Children’s
Museum began about six years ago when I won

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a membership, a one year membership for me
and my kids to come to the museum.

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And initially, I thought it was just a place
for us to go and hangout and play and for

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them to just get tired and we go home, but
after our first visit I found that it was

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actually more than a place for them to just
play.

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They can become fireman, they can become eye
doctors, they can become cooks and waiters

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and waitresses.

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This introduces them to real world, real things
that happen in the world and I love it.

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These types of tools and materials that are
available at the Louisiana Children’s Museum

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are not available anywhere else.

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Outside of the children’s museum, I was
introduced to the eat, sleep, play program

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at my younger son’s childcare center and
at that program we learned about healthy eating,

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eating healthier snacks and also exercising.

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Prior to that, we didn’t really have, well
I didn’t buy healthy snacks.

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We would buy, I guess junk food as they call
it because that was what I was accustom to.

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That is what my parents bought.

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We had junk food so I knew that they were
going to like it and the healthy food is something

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that they did not express interest in before
and I was not interested in it so I didn’t

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think they would be interested in it.

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And also exercise.

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They are little, puny little boys so I was
like “ok, they don’t need exercise”,

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but not realizing how being active at a young
age would make them more active as they grow

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older.

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Because of the Louisiana Children’s Museum
work play program, they love to read and they

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are always bring me different books so we
can sit together and read them.

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Our reading time now is our bonding time so
we are together; we are cuddled together;

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we are closer.

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They are not out on the floor at a distance.

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We are actually sitting, going over the books
and they kind of know the books already by

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heart.

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They have it down.

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My youngest son, he knows the title page;
he knows the front of the book, the back of

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the book, the spine of the book so they really
picked up the basic concepts of a book from

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that program.

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I do remember visiting the Louisiana Children’s
museum a couple of times when I was smaller,

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but I did not get the same experience that
my children have.

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They are here all the time now, it seems like.

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And had I had that same experience, my life
would probably be somewhat different.

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Because of the Louisiana Children’s Museum,
as a parent, I feel empowered.

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My children are better able to read; they
have better reading skills; we have healthier

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snack ideas and we are exercising.