What Adrienne Thinks About That

I miss having my little brother around, but being away means that I get those weekly Skypes on Sunday mornings where he sits down in his bathrobe and expounds on the news of his week. He's a young seventeen, and the time for that kind of hang-loose chatting-with-my-sister is ephemeral and passing quickly (I'm surprised it's not gone already). I know you cherish the Lucas Era, even losing sleep means enjoying that quirky caffeine enabler just a bit longer.

To answer your question: Nothing more is needed, methinks.

In fact, I think *I'd* want you to read Harry Potter aloud to me, especially if I can stop and have some of your coffee.

I've pulled Ada out of her Parents' Day Out program, and this kind of thing shocks and amazes some of my friends, but hey...more time with Ada to play and read and color. She's only three once. Could it get any better? (Plus, at the risk of sounding like a Super Snob, the picture books we have at our house are waaaaaay better. Not that MINE are so good, but I'm always kind of appalled at the selection of books sitting around classrooms sometimes.)

I'm totally getting off-point. Surprise. Signing off...

Tanita, I really do want to just stick Lucas in a box sometimes and keep him there so he doesn't change, but then it's fun to see him learning stuff and becoming more mature, so it's a tough thing. I hope he's still communicating with me the way your brother's communicating with you when he's seventeen.

Jules, I totally scope out the book collections in all the classrooms I visit, and then I judge them. Most of them that I visit are really wonderful, but I do have one appalling story. I went to an outreach visit at one expecting older, school-aged kids and got there to find that I would really be speaking to three-year-olds, so the selection of books I'd brought was completely inappropriate. So I said, with all the confidence in the world, "May I just browse your collection and pick out a few books?" Which is when they told me THEY DIDN'T HAVE A COLLECTION AT ALL. One of the workers had two of her own paperback picture books in her bag, so I used those. But no collection, seriously. It was a big new building, too, that probably serves a couple hundred kids.

You know, from what I've read on the topic, it seems that preschool programs do the most good for children who are experiencing significant developmental delays or are in difficult home environments, but the programs don't do a whole heck of a lot for most preschoolers. There's a big push in our state to provide universal pre-K, which has turned out to mean that a lot of kids who need Head Start all over our county are not getting in while thriving four-year-olds in affluent communities are going to subsidized preschool programs for a half day five days a week. It amazes me how frequently governmental educational policy ignores basic research about child development. It's no wonder we have budgets that can't be balanced and children still faltering and failing in school, wasting money like that.

Okay, now I'm getting off-point. Must need more coffee.

Most public policy is done either without regard to any research or while purposly ignoring research. It also amazes me that PSAs are put out without any research as to their efficacy. Most are just ineffective, but many have the exact opposite effect thatn was intended. Advertisers are smart enough to hire people to test things before they spend gobs of money, why can't government do the same?

I quite agree, Chuck. I think that sometimes the governmental policy of always going for the lowest bid does the taxpayers a disservice, because the lowest bid is often lowest for a reason. I think our goal as stewards of public funds should be to look for reasonably-priced but also high-quality goods and services, something in the mid-range. In defense of the government, regulations do prevent many agencies from doing this. Lowest bid is lowest bid is lowest bid.

In the case of children, it seems to me that a lot of governmental policy is aimed specifically at making people feel like the government is taking care of children without actually having to put too many resources into really taking care of children, especially the ones without things like food and health insurance who need fairly extensive intervention. Various forces have done an excellent job at unempowering parents, making them feel like they are incapable of making good decisions for their children and teaching them what they need to know in life, which is, of course, a bunch of hooey. But this is why many are so eager to get their kids in programs like universal pre-K; they're worried their kids will wind up at a disadvantage at some point. Many parents don't know much about child development and most need some support, information, and encouragement, but it's rare to meet the parent who does not have it in his or her power to figure this stuff out.

I hear ya. I'm definitely in the minority, at least where I live, for not sending Ada to a preschool.

Adrienne, that *is* a tragic tale, the classroom with no books. I do my part to donate good picture books to Piper's classroom. I just hope they're reading them.

Jules, I think you can say that the picture books at your house are waaaay better without any apologies. Also, everyone has to do what's best for his/her family.

Adrienne and Chuck, the research about child development juxtaposed with how we actually implement it in this country (i.e. we generally don't) makes smoke come out my ears. I want to see every child, regardless of income or background, have the advantages and resources of a developmentally-appropriate private daycare/school.

Tanita, time is passing so quickly. That article Andrea Ross on the benefits of reading to one's child and getting the cuddle time really struck home for me. It's one of the few times my daughter is cozy and still anymore-- though lately she's been Ms. Drama Queen about not wanting to be hugged by the arm that has the hand that has the missing thumb nail. Please!

Should those little plastic figures look familiar to me?

Yes. They are problematic, of course, to have Lucas playing with, but he and I are both quite attached to them. I've been thinking for years that I'll get rid of them and get some other little plastic things, but they wouldn't be the same, and I can't bear to throw these ones out. It's something I struggle with. I've been thinking lately that at the very least, I need to make sure Lucas understands why they are problematic, although I'm still mulling over how to approach the whole thing.

Do they *have* to be problematic? It made me feel kinda good to see him playing with them. Kinda connected to the whole thing in some way...