“Let’s change the ending.”

Source: http://www.gozen.com/try-these-13-phrases-to-calm-your-anxious-child/

Envision yourself in a room with 300 of your very judgmental peers. The presenter unexpectedly approaches you with a microphone and a piece of the paper with the following passage on it. She then asks you to read it out loud: The bottob line it thit it doet exitt, no bitter whit nibe teotle give it (i.e. ttecific leirning ditibility, etc). In fict, iccording to Tilly Thiywitz (2003) itt trevilence it ictuilly one in five children, which it twenty tercent.

Developing Dyslexia Empathy 

http://literacyworldwide.org/blog/the-engaging-classroom/literacy-daily/2015/07/15/developing-dyslexia-empathy

I would not presume to speak for another woman on the planet. But in a paradox that is not a contradiction: I am glad for every moment I was given to spend with my children, and I have misgivings about my decision to leave the work world behind. I want to preface everything I am about to say with the caveat that I loved being home with my sons. I felt it was a gift to be their mother and to be present in their lives every day. So if the decision was of my own making, and it was made with the full support of my husband, what is so hard about the question, "What do you do?"

'What Do You Do?': A Stay-at-Home-Mother's Most Dreaded Question

A woman reflects on her decision to leave the workforce, a decade and a half later.

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/07/what-do-you-do-a-stay-at-home-mothers-most-dreaded-question/277939/

For most children, childhood isn’t about passion, but rather about exploration. Our job as parents is to nurture that exploration, not put an end to it. When we create an expectation that children must find their one true interest so early in life, we cut short a process of discovery that may easily take a lifetime.

Our Push for ‘Passion,’ and Why It Harms Kids

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/our-push-for-passion-and-why-it-harms-kids/

From http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/penguins-with-parent-problems-no-1-the-coffee-shop/

my fondest memories don’t involve my parents doing anything at all, at least not anything that could be defined as a philosophy or parenting style. They’re just memories of being — long walks or bike rides with them down to the lake, family dinners together, and also the moments when they’d stop hassling me and give me space, let me do something new on my own, like the first time I got to go to the mall without an adult, or the first time I got to spend the night at a friend’s house, or, later, go with friends to a movie, or on a date. Later, there was the adventure of going off to college, of traveling abroad on my own for the first time — the thrill of that, of feeling autonomous and alive in the world. It was like hearing my own heart beat for the first time. Those are some of the happiest memories.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kimbrooks/reclaiming-parenting

Read! 

On second thought, maybe you don’t want your kid to write a poem about you.

So what do these other countries give their new moms that the U.S. does not? In the United Kingdom, women receive 52 weeks of maternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child, 39 of which are paid. In France, women receive their full salary for 16 weeks, and can receive both more time and money from the government for Baby Number Two and beyond. In Spain, new moms also receive pay for a full 16 weeks after giving birth. The only requirement? They need to be Spanish citizens who has contributed to social security for at least 180 days in the seven years prior to having a baby. Italy provides women with 20 weeks of paid leave at 80 percent of their salary. And, as an Italian citizen, both mom and dad are able to take up to six months of the year off of work for the first 8 years of a child's life while still receiving 30 percent of their daily salary. In Canada, women can take a full year off of work after the birth of a child with guaranteed work security. Women receive about 55 percent of their salaries for 15 to 17 weeks depending on where they live. In Russia, new moms receive 20 weeks of paid leave at 100 percent of their salary -- half of which is taken before the baby comes and half of which you receive post-baby. An added bonus? You can choose to extend your leave to up to 18 months after the birth, at 40 percent of your salary. New moms in Sweden get 16 months of paid maternity leave with each child, and the entire first year of your leave you receive 80 percent of your regular salary. You can even choose to space out your parental leave throughout the years until your child turns 8.

How America is failing Families

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilary-young/how-america-is-failing-mo_b_6496462.html

"This kindergarten classroom is likely to have a wider spread of ages and abilities than ever. It may very well include children who are just under 5 years old, who have never been to preschool and can’t sit still, and in the same room, mature 6-year-olds who are fluently reading chapter books and ready for advanced math. The increased teacher burden, and the effects on the collective learning experience, seem readily apparent."

‘Redshirting’ Kindergarten-Age Kids Can Lead to Regrets

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/parenting/2015/01/07/redshirting-kindergarten-age-kids-can-lead-to-regrets/

If you needed to lose weight, what would be most motivating? You are fat. I’m not buying you any more clothes until you lose weight! Or: Let’s take a walk after dinner. I’ll let you make the salad. I love you just the way you are, exactly as you are. If you needed to learn how to swim, what would be most motivating? I don’t want to hear your crying. Get in the water and swim! Don’t be a baby! Or: I’ll be right by your side. You can do this. If not today, we’ll try again tomorrow. I love you just the way you are, exactly as you are. If you needed to practice better hygiene, what would be most motivating? What is that awful smell? It’s a wonder you have any friends. Or: Let’s go to the store and pick out some deodorant. Your hair smells so good when you wash it. I think you should wash it every day. I love you just the way you are, exactly as you are.

So important to think carefully about the language we use with kids. 

From "To build or break a child's spirit" handsfreemama.com/2014/05/20/to-build-or-break-a-childs-spirit/

Interesting—“People say, ‘well, boys are physically aggressive, but girls are aggressive in their relationships and it just does seem to be a myth.”

What Grown-Ups Are Missing About Boys

http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/what-grown-ups-are-missing-about-boys/?smid=tw-share&_r=2

"You're supposed to fall off the monkey bars while trying to learn how to get from one side to the other. That's how this crap works. It's called Trial and Error, not Trial and Repeated Help from a Scared Parent"

Five Ways to Stop Screwing Up Our Kids

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-bogle/ways-to-stop-screwing-up-our-kids_b_6016148.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000020&ir=Education

The single most important thing parents can do to encourage children to become self-directed is to guide and step aside. If a child is young, parents should point out the advantages and disadvantages of any decision the child is pondering, and then step aside (unless health or safety is at risk) and let the child make the decision. When the child gets older, parents should let the child know that they would be happy to discuss any decision that the child is contemplating, but wait until the child seeks their advice to provide guidance. Many parents find this extremely difficult to do because they worry that their child will not make the best decisions. Parents need to remember that practice makes perfect. If they encourage children when they are young to make their own decisions, they will be much more capable of making good decisions when they are older, and when their decisions are more likely to have serious consequences.

Guide and Step Aside – Fostering Independence

http://www.themotherco.com/2014/11/guide-and-step-aside/#sthash.WUCnSh1W.dpuf

Hard, isn't it? 

Their survey of large districts showed students taking an average of 113 standardized tests between pre-K and grade 12, with 11th grade the most tested. Another recent study by the Center for American Progress looked at 14 school districts. It found that students in grades 3-8 take an average of 10, up to a high of 20, standardized assessments per year.

Testing: How Much is Too Much? 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/11/17/362339421/testing-how-much-is-too-much?

(via weareteachers)