A few years ago we went to the pool with a friend of Amanda's and her mom and little brother. The brother was 3 years old and swam like a fish. Luke was about 3 years old and swam like a... well, he didn't swim so much as walk around the shallow end and fall over, needing to be rescued. I asked how she taught her son to swim.
"Well, every day we go to the pool for a couple of hours in the morning, and then a few more hours in the afternoon for swim team." Right. That was obviously not the path Luke would take to swimming well. They obviously really loved going to the pool. I did it as a chore out of a sense of obligation to my kids and came home as soon as I felt my duties were discharged.
Then the other mom noted that Amanda enjoyed reading a lot, and wanted to figure out how to help her daughter love reading. "I've even tried getting a magazine or two so she can see me reading, too." I told her that we just read all the time. I think she was disappointed to learn that there wasn't a magic formula.
A friend was saying goodbye to us and helping kids get buckled into the car. When I turned the car on she heard the classical music and mentioned that she thought she should listen to some classical music in the car so her kids would benefit. The problem is that we don't turn on classical music to improve the atmosphere, we turn on classical music because it's what we like. If I liked something else, that would be what we listen to in the car.
Kids learn from their parents. Sometimes this means that they don't learn some things as well, like swimming, or reading, or politics, or math, depending on the parent. Sometimes they learn things that they don't even remember learning, because it was just a part of their life: for example, my kids have been working with fractions since they could talk, and so learning it in school came easily.
Children learn from their parents. That's a good thing.
"Well, every day we go to the pool for a couple of hours in the morning, and then a few more hours in the afternoon for swim team." Right. That was obviously not the path Luke would take to swimming well. They obviously really loved going to the pool. I did it as a chore out of a sense of obligation to my kids and came home as soon as I felt my duties were discharged.
Then the other mom noted that Amanda enjoyed reading a lot, and wanted to figure out how to help her daughter love reading. "I've even tried getting a magazine or two so she can see me reading, too." I told her that we just read all the time. I think she was disappointed to learn that there wasn't a magic formula.
A friend was saying goodbye to us and helping kids get buckled into the car. When I turned the car on she heard the classical music and mentioned that she thought she should listen to some classical music in the car so her kids would benefit. The problem is that we don't turn on classical music to improve the atmosphere, we turn on classical music because it's what we like. If I liked something else, that would be what we listen to in the car.
Kids learn from their parents. Sometimes this means that they don't learn some things as well, like swimming, or reading, or politics, or math, depending on the parent. Sometimes they learn things that they don't even remember learning, because it was just a part of their life: for example, my kids have been working with fractions since they could talk, and so learning it in school came easily.
Children learn from their parents. That's a good thing.
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