Finally a Post about Grammar (and parenting books)

So, there was this one time when I put a foot note on a post about grammar (the good news is that my landlord had no problem renting to someone who uses the wrong kind of "to" as long as they pay their rent on time so we are happily situated in our little, sunny apartment for 2 more years) and I said that I didn't dare write a whole post about grammar because that would put my own grammar under further scrutiny.  Well today is the day I break the barrier. 

When I'm being self-deprecating I call myself a lazy parent.  I'm not really, but sometimes my parenting style can seem a lazy if you don't know what's happening.  I believe in teaching children the law of action and consequence*.  I think it's a lessons that is easier to learn when you're young and that learning to make good decisions and predict their consequences will guide you more easily through teen-hood and for your whole life. 

So Claire....well...she has learned a lot about consequences.  Just a couple of weeks ago when we were camping with friends Claire was tying to jump down the 3 cement stairs that led to the fire pit.  I kept trying to stop her and help her and tell her that it was dangerous and then....I just let her try it.  She fell and bonked her head and she cried and had a bruise, but I didn't have to worry about her trying it again.  I was close by and confident that she wouldn't get REALLY injured and I just let her go.  Lesson learned.

That being said, more than once I have told the hubbs that he can't pressure her into going to his alma mater.  The hubbs' whole family went to BYU.  So did his parents.  It's kind of a family tradition.  I affectionately call Knox College (my beloved alma mater) "Hippy School" and I tell people all about this one time that we designed our own class that didn't have a professor**.  AWESOME.  I want Claire to choose where she goes to school.  If it's BYU, that's fine.  If it's Knox, that's great.  If it's UCSD, which is just down the street, that's fine too.  I just want it to be her decision.

That being said, after having to stare at this bumper sticker for the last year (on a Pontiac Aztec that is ALWAYS parked in the lot) I will do what it takes to sway her from going to the University of Arizona.  UofA marketing department...let's consider this a fail.

*I didn't come up with any of my parenting theory by myself.  The two best books I have read about being a parent are Parenting with Love and Logic and Nurture Shock.  There are lots of great books about how to help your baby sleep and what kinds of toys they should be playing with but these two book are different.  They are mind- and life-altering when it comes to trying to raise, not just a child, but someone who will become a kind, well adjusted, loved human being.  If you are thinking of joining the great parenting experiment you should read them.

**In said class-with-no-professor the Dean who oversaw the project asked me about it at the end and I said, "I hate to say it but we really needed a professor" and he said, "I knew that that was the conclusion you would come to."--talk about the perfect example of teaching someone the law of action and consequence.