Sign of a Good Parent - Great Listening Skills

It's true, you don't have to be a doctor or a lawyer to be a good parent, just a good listener. A good listener to your child, his/her teachers, and the professionals that work around him. The other important aspect of good parenting is listening to something that many individuals may not be attuned to: your instinct.

One of the parents I know has a very wonderful relationship with her son. There was one time where I know that he was being pushed in all directions - pushed at school, pushed at baseball practice, pushed at home, and last but not least, pushed by me.

It was really hard to see him so overwhelmed with different responsibilities until one day, he just caved. He looked at his mother and said, "Mom, I can't do all of this, I need a break." I've never seen such a strong statement from a six year old but for one second, I looked at the mom and she told him, "I hear you. I know that is is hard for you buddy. Let's just take a break from this right now and we'll work on it together."

I never thought that I could hear a mother be so very diplomatic and compromising. She surprised me with her response to her youngest child and later on told me something that I never thought I would hear a parent say, "If you do not respect your child, how can you expect them to respect you?"

Amazing statement - from a parent that takes the time to listen.

Let Them Write In Cursive...

"You are not allowed to write in cursive. Start over and write that all in print!".

- I never thought that I would hear this statement from an educator. It pains me to think that students are not allowed to write in the style that they feel most comfortable with.

When I heard a student tell me this, I was in disbelief. I didn't think that it was a crime to write in cursive; it was English - not Cyrillic, Farsi or Hiragana. It was English. Also, I fail to see how not writing in cursive would be something that a teacher would even bring up in class.. It's completely ludicrous in my opinion. 

He's just practicing his penmanship - in hopes to improve his fine motor skills. Nothing more, nothing less..