March is National Reading Month so why not have a list of parenting books to have by your side for guidance, support and inspiration. This month’s blogs will focus on books I have on my shelf.❤︎

Recent nontraditional learning instruction has parents wondering if their children are behind academically. I recently read, The Blessings of a B Minus, by Wendy Mogel (author of Blessings of a Skinned Knee), and couldn’t help but remind myself that grades are not what matters most.  Maybe the pandemic is making parents pause and consider what schooling is really for.   “The most reliable predictors of adult success are not grades in high school or a college pedigree.  They are the qualities that psychologist Daniel Goleman calls emotional intelligence: empathy, optimism, flexibility, a good sense of humor, the capacity to function as a team member, and a positive reaction to setbacks.”  Aren’t these the characteristics we hope our children will develop?  As they enter the real world on their own, what in fact will help them succeed?  Our goal as parents is to guide them toward independence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and confidence while teaching them basic life skills so they use their own unique abilities to make their mark in this world.  “If you teach your child that everyday work is a gift, you encourage skills that will allow him to develop his holy potential-first as a child and student, and eventually as a parent and contributing member of the community.”  Perhaps we need to refocus our parenting lens; less on academics pressures and more on life skills.  Mounting data shows that today’s teens are less prepared for living on their own than generations before.  This should be a wake-up call for parents that this is our fault!  It is our job to prepare them!  Let’s not fail our children but instead arm them to be the productive, innovative, compassionate individuals that our society needs.  And maybe don’t think about grades over the next few weeks or months ..think about thier future lives.❤︎

“Your children will always be sufficiently wealthy if they receive from you a good upbringing that is able to order their moral life and behavior. Thus, strive not to make them rich, but rather to make them pious masters of their passions, rich in virtues. Teach them not to think up illusory needs, reckoning their worth according to worldly standards. Attentively watch their deeds, their acquaintances and their attachments—and do not expect any mercy from God if you do not fulfill this duty.” Raising Children According to Saint John Chrysostom