I still type entire words backwards and write words out of order at times. I am not dyslexic and am a fluent reader and was an early reader. Apparently my mind doesn't devote that much energy to output when I'm thinking hard. Provided it is gradually decreasing and there's no accompanying issues with reading, and particularly if the child is not an older third grader (i.e. did not turn 9 until December) I wouldn't worry. He might be able to write backwards. Some of us can do that, and read backwards, too. This runs in my family. We are not dyslexic--or anyway, we all read really well. We all score really amazingly at turning objects around--I scored in the top 1% for men, and I'm a woman. I have no idea what talent this is, but my cousin (a woman) also does it. And she also reverses letters and can write backwards and with both hands. Unfortunately this is not a very marketable talent since computers do that rotation for everyone nowadays and art is mass produced. :( But my thought is that maybe he's just not that spatially oriented and to him, the letters look equally good either way because his brain rotates them for him, and if he's not looking at them in relation to one another because he's going too fast (or slow), then he gets into trouble. I think that's my problem. Anyway, I'd be more concerned about his writing in general. If he forms whole words fine and can read and understand, that's more important. And yes, cursive helps.

Pre-school math was Singapore and we actually really enjoyed the math you can buy at the supermarket, Carson-Dellosa math games. They LOVED the pretty pictures and game style. DD1 (2nd) is now doing Beast Academy and it's been great for her. It's not a ton of explanation but it works in a totally different way than the public school math (which isn't bad, by the way). I hope to start DD2 on it next year or in 2nd. Language: One does one language, the other does another language in immersion school, but they'd both do language. Why? Because public school doesn't teach it until 6th. So, that's why. Language is important. They will do a 2nd language in PS. I just pay for the language school and had paid for immersion pre-school. Music: Private lessons, because public doesn't teach it until 5th, and it's important. They will do a second instrument in PS. I pay for private instruction. It is worth it to me. Geography, because they don't get a lot in school. We read national geographic books together and we also are using Evan Moor workbooks because it's cheap. Evan Moor + Google = lots of good stuff. Language, I read aloud from what I want. Both of my kids' schools are really great with science and have STEM grants from the state and the Gates foundation, so we try to talk about science but they already do a ton in school, raising animals, examining habitats, etc. Language--they both love to read now, and read nonfiction and fiction. I don't supplement much because it's more like I'm prying a book out of their hands to get them to clean their rooms. I think reading comprehension questions are bullcrap and I will just teach them how to take the test when the time comes. It's a game you play, not a life skill. So long as they enjoy reading I'm happy.

Two or three words wrong, provided his handwriting is normal sized, is average in my opinion, provided the content of the text is at grade level. I agree with the others: test again, ask him to take it seriously as you were a little concerned about the last results, and see how he does.

Yeah, we don't buy antibacterial soap. We just buy regular soap to lubricate the dirt off. I do wipe down our entire kitchen with antibacterial/antimicrobial wipes before guests come over, but we don't normally wash that down with soap except to get rid of grease, either. I use water and then wipe with a cloth diaper. But I'm not one of those people who can say my kids never get sick. They don't get sick a lot and we are extremely lucky not to have allergies. But they still get sick. My cousin's kids (I have a lot of cousins) live on a farm and the elder has allergies. I am 100% sure it is not due to lack of exposure to animals or germs or dirt because I knew him as a baby and he was plenty exposed. They live a very healthy, outdoorsy lifestyle. I think there are no guarantees but moderation is the best bet.

Isn't that a nice thing to say when someone's facing disadvantage. Would you say that to someone who's kid was sick? "Yeah, well some people die early, you know. Life's not fair." "Yeah, well you know 50% of pregnancies end in the first trimester. Life's not fair." "Oh, your child didn't get a scholarship because she's Asian and you went to college and scholarships go to first generation poor kids? Life's not fair you know." I mean come ON. What kind of post is that? We all know life isn't fair, but the definition of fair has to do with what we think ought to be. If all people are equal in rights and intrinsic worth, and if all children should be judged on sports merit and hard work (versus parental income) then it is natural to be upset that that is not the case. And indeed, there are many areas where you can join a lot of rec clubs and move from there into elite clubs, but many other areas don't have that pathway, and it sucks. It's not as though it couldn't be different for OP, if she lived in a different area. It totally could. Hence her complaint. "Life's not fair." Who says that but the extremely privileged?

Congratulations. :) You deserve to be proud.

Okay. So it doesn't do that automatically, which is the Kroger's system as well as some other systems. I'm sorry that is irritating to you, but frankly, you're asking him to take twice as long on your items. No it doesn't. You can usually see all the discounts applied on one screen at the end. I have used this system since like 1996 and it is really not that hard. Really. Their job isn't to give away food. It's to make money. Sales and rewards bring people in the store which increases revenues because of strategic pricing. They wouldn't do this if it didn't work. That said, the cashier was rude. Yes, it sucks to work in customer service and to be treated by an idiot by every other fool all the live long day. Yes, it does. That's customer service. It's awful. And yes, people with STEM degrees are cashiering because of lack of job opportunities, not to mention English majors. So I feel bad for him. Must be awful. But he shouldn't have taken it out on you.

Exactly my reaction. The kiss is unusual and particularly since he didn't know your name until that moment, inappropriate. If they can't resist they need professional counseling and possibly a restraining order.

"But I couldn't afford to go on my own so I had to chaperone! I'm sure I'm the only one in this situation!" Ugh. I am glad your son had a good time.

Many kids would love that advantage. It's not like OP's kids or my kids don't get it because they don't want it. It's because we don't have the money. So your son gets on the team because you have more money. And yet it's supposed to be dedication and effort. But it's not.

For "ch" sounding "tu" words I say "pic-tyuoor". The "ty" morphes into a "ch" when our lazy American tongues try to do the "t" and the "y" at the same time. Anyway, that's how I explain it and my daughter seems to get it. Funny thing--I had a Scottish friend who labeled his music "choons" instead of "tunes". Apparently with the Scottish accent, the "ch" happens even when you don't have a leading vowel.

That sucks. I also know that the camps you may be talking about are not run of the mill sports camps. Even the Sounders camp isn't that much compared to the elite training camps some people's kids go to. I don't think it's really the lessons, but the fact that tryouts are competitive at such a young age, and the competitiveness comes from money and not from dedication and hard work because the tryouts will test a lot of skills that most kids don't pick up on their own that young. I don't care who has lessons, private or not. I would share the OP's disappointment if the fact that some people had lessons meant that my kid couldn't be on any of the daily practice teams at nine, because she didn't make them. :( No, but in this big high COL areas, there are hundreds of thousands of families and thousands and thousands of kids and there are more than enough with drive to fill two varsity teams compared to the smaller towns. So money and lifelong experience can make a difference.

Not for that long a period with my kids, but yes. Trust your gut. There are things the brain can't verbalize or articulate mentally, that the brain processes. That's not woo, that's just nature. Instinct. I'm glad you did what you did.

I was a Christian in college. I went to a fairly highly ranked regional state university. I did not lose my faith in college. 1. I did not go to a school with frats or sororities. That didn't jive with my values. (Still doesn't.) 2. I joined a church that had youth groups (Campus Christian something) and rented in a Christian girls' house for the last two years, with a Christian house mom. Many large universities have such houses. I lived with some really wonderful people. 3. I hated the sciences for their intolerance. There was very much, and still is, a "team science" thing going on and they couldn't deal with threats to their worldview which was and is, in my opinion, a whole worldview. I am an atheist now (I was raised an atheist and lost my faith long after college) and my partner is a scientist. Discussing science with him irritates me because he is unable to criticize or question the framework. It's stupid. And I'm not even a Christian. He just can't believe, for example, that there could be bias in science due to funding by certain large multinationals. :001_rolleyes: Because, you know, that's never happened. I studied philosophy instead because I found people more tolerant. The key, in my opinion, is finding a good mentor within the college and department who shares your basic faith or who is willing to tolerate it and support you being who you are. 4. I didn't drink until I was legal, period. I was poor and wasn't going to risk my future being stupid. I also didn't date at all, because I knew I didn't intend to have sex before marriage, and I didn't want to lead anyone on. I am a strong-minded person and boys didn't ask me out. :) I was not alone. There are many, many Christian groups in almost every college. Community helps. Finding a mentor among faculty who treats you with respect is equally important. I would suggest reaching out to the most tolerant if possible. Best of luck to your daughter. I do think a good university will have and tolerate all kinds of people. I hope she finds her tribe there. I hope that helps.

I think it's unusual to tie a knot in K nowadays, because I taught my kids who learned quickly at five and people are amazed. But with your daughter it sounds like there might be a more general issue so I'd go for the evaluation.

You still pay for infrastructure. It's just electronic infrastructure. And I pay WAY more for health care that I don't get, not to mention giving tax breaks to churches that I don't use, than anyone is paying for public schools. So I don't really buy that complaint. You can't get civilized society a la carte. I don't mean it isn't offered. I mean it doesn't and cannot work that way.

I would like to clarify that our home is not perfect and we do not expect perfection. I personally have tried to cultivate a relationship with my kids but frankly I don't like the way they treat me and they don't seem to like me. I invent at least two games a week desperately trying to motivate them to help out without bribes or punishments. I am not willing to be their slave and they are happy to have me do it. I am sure this will lead to a ton of future unhappiness because it's hard when the expectation is that everyone else works and you don't. That could lead to a lot of trauma! But what can I do beyond continuing to remind them that I am not the maid, it's not kind to make me do all the work, and they aren't the center of the universe? The theme of this thread seems to be, if they haven't learned to be humans by the teen years, suck it up because you don't want a battle. I find that discouraging because my kids are slow learners and we are still getting to "don't hit" with the eight year old. i'd rather my kids be depressed than be selfish. If I have to choose becaus expunging the natural tendency towards being a princess requires battles, so be it. I know we are all working very hard but you don't know my kids. OP asked about rude kids, not teens who care about their families and who can be reasoned with.

They know how to do it. They don't fully get the long term consequences (global wArming) or financial aspect. We DO have the lights on all the time. Not me. Everyone else. It's frustrating and I get that teens forget, as do we all. But you're in pain, so they help. I am not in pain. I could do 100% of the work around here without a wince. They know this and therefore subconsciously take advantage. And who wouldn't? It's not like I need their help. I can do it all, and better. The only reason I don't is to teach them to take part. But unlike in your home, there is no natural limit to my team contribution. Iilt's great that your kids love you and are 't spoiled and listen and care. I know the pain sucks beyond imagining but apparently you got decent kids out of it. Our kids don't feel for us like that. They help out because of imposed consequences, though, not natural consequences. The natural consequence to their rudeness or not helping is actually nothing. We just do it. So there is no team because they don't care about us. Not like that. And why should they? we don't need them. We love them but we could do all this ourselves.

I was not an only child but I felt stifled. I wanted a life and friends beyond what my mom approved of or could get me to. We all have our limits. I would urge people to let their kids have part of the home as their own within limits. But if you just can't, you can't. Outdoors is a great compromise.

Ours provide after-school care until 6:30 p.m. and provide before-school care if you can get a spot. Otherwise, children go to third-party care centers which are very similar to the school care. Generally they differentiate themselves by being very low-cost (B&GC, YMCA) or having a specific extracurricular offering (favorites are chess, martial arts, or dance/visual arts). Many parents around here are like us: working enough in the knowledge economy that we have flexibility. So one person goes in at 6:15 and gets home at 3:45 and then works at night (like yours truly) and the other person does the drop-off and gets home at 7 p.m. to dinner. It is really, really hard on those parents who have schedules that don't allow them to be home like medical professionals, lawyers, etc. who need to be with clients until 5 and later. They have to pay a lot more in child care. I think people who managed to buy low, who have a spouse who works a good job, or live in a low COL area may think that it's their luxury, but most people work because they need to. Like, if you don't want to pay their medical, dental, retirement and their kids' college through Pell grants, they really, really need to work. And worldwide this is the norm: parents go out to work in the fields or forest or women in groups weaving or whatever, and the kids all play together. Getting to stay at home and be with your kids while only one adult works is an incredibly luxury (even if it is also hard work). Yes a million times over. We have an eight-week break. It's long enough. They try to extent the school year through up to July 1 but have to leave a week for "make-up" days in case of inclement weather since our busses don't have snow tires. This year we're taking one month off, our whole (luxurious, rare) leave, and one month the kids are with a nanny.

If they are working they'll need a nanny regardless, right? Pre-school is just a few hours a day. I though this was just to discuss educational options, not daycare options.

I have a question. Why bother teaching them to turn the lights off at all, if you give up when they are teens and it becomes a partnership in which I turn off all the lights? What is the point? Or washing dishes. Or cleaning the room. If at some point I just stop and give up and say, this is my problem, then why did I bother for the 12 years leading up to it? They didn't learn and they won't learn. I'm the light lady, the toilet seat lady. This is a serious question and not intended to sound snarky.

I would discourage you from attributing a two year old's need for constant movement and firm boundaries to sex. At that age, kids are all over the place. I think that asking kids to take responsibility for their behavior, good, bad, and neutral, without using gender or sex as an excuse, is much healthier. I agree with SKL regarding natural consequences. Two schools is a lot. I was working and studying so my kids got 5-8 hours of care, but the after school program was strictly after school to run them ragged. :) it was time-structured but the play was almost totally free. So it was okay. But if it's two part time, provided one is not immersion (he'll miss too much) sounds fine. If I had to choose one school for the whole country, like gun to my head just choose, it would be outdoor nature school with indoor free Lego, fingerprint, and gymnastics for < 20f or lightning and such. I think it sounds like forest would be good for your son as well.

ME TOO! Only the parenting part, though. My job at work, they actually treat me with a little decency and respect and sometimes say thank you, so that really keeps me going. I am sorry you had a bad day. Sometimes I really feel like I'm counting down to June 2027. (That's graduation for a kindergartener, right?)

Thank you for posting that! That's very interesting.