BufBloPoFo 09 Topic for Day 12

Lisa, Maeve, Addie and I had Unkie BAStart and Auntie Outgrabes over for some vino and pastries last night. The girls, happy to have an audience, but happier to have cookies, took their time heading for bed. Parental wherewithal can come from years of childrearing, or it can apparently be pulled from a bag of goodies bought at Starbucks. That kind of knowledge doesn’t come automatically for parents, so for day 12 (three more days!) I want to hear your best advice for those of us raising kids.

So, I was all set to say, “I’ve got nothin’.” After all, I don’t have kids. I certainly don’t know anything about raising them.

But then, I thought…wait a minute. I’m a teacher. I should have a thing or two to say about this topic, right? Granted, I don’t get the little darlings until they’ve reached puberty, and that’s a whole different ballgame than raising little ones. 😉

So yeah, here’s my advice, for whatever it’s worth:

Read. Read to your kids. Read with your kids. Let your kids see you reading. Take them to the library. Surround them with books. If reading is a normal part of their life from the start, they’ll be less likely to hate it later on. Also, there is no end to the benefits kids get from reading. Their vocabulary skills will be stronger. They’ll be better writers. They’ll be better thinkers, better communicators, better equipped for the future. They’ll be more curious about the world, and they’ll know where to turn when they have questions.

But hey, you’re bloggers…I don’t really have to tell you any of this, do I? 😉

Oh, and when they’re teenagers? Don’t let them wear flip-flops to school in the middle of winter. Seriously.