When my sister and I were growing up one of the things I remember our parents drilling into us was their information. Information such as; where they worked, work numbers, addresses, home numbers, phone numbers of relatives that lived close…and later on cell phone numbers. The reason this was drilled into us was just in-case we ever needed them we would know how to get in contact with them, for emergency purposes.
As we got older one thing I remember doing my last couple of years of high school was filling out my own paperwork (emergency forms, field trip forms and any other forms) and my mom would go over them to make sure everything was correct. At the time I didnt realize what they were doing but later on I realized that she was prepping us for the real world, prepping us for times when she wouldn’t be around and we needed to get things done (we would know all the important information). I also was responsible for keeping my mother and father up to date on important dates at school that they needed to be present for (this was before the days of Google Calendar and sending an invite to their calendar…which is how we operate now)…
I had the pleasure of reviewing…
How To Raise An Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims
Lythcott-Haims served as a dead of freshman at Stanford University for over a decade. She noticed the rise in parental control over the students academic work, extracurriculars and career choices and taking matters into their hands rather than letting the child make their own choices…as a result she saw an increase of students who were poorly equipped to handle the demands of adult life.
This inspired…How to Raise An Adult
First, let me start by saying how I wish this book would be circulated at all higher education institutions…for the parents! As a former Higher Education professional I knew EXACTLY what Lythcott-Haims was referring to when she talked about poorly equipped students that weren’t ready to handle the demands of adult life. I experienced this daily in my position as an Enrollment Service Counselor. I cant tell you how many times students would come in my office and try to hand me their cell phone so I could talk to their mom or dad…NOPE I used to tell them I would give them the information and it was up to them to relay the info back to their parents. I actually used to stay in trouble with my supervisors because I felt that the students were adults and I didnt need to talk to their “Mommy or Daddy”…and especially those that were in Graduate School! I mean come on…SERIOUSLY!!!!
While reading How to Raise An Adult…
My favorite part of this book is Chapter 11-The College Admission Process is Broken
This chapter appealed to me because I have a nephew that will soon be entering the college admissions process. We often have talks about his course load in high school. Most recently we talked about him taking honors classes and one math class that is giving him the blues…well this chapter discusses that same thing. Its great if you can take these classes and can ace them, but if not take regular classes and get good grades. But as a student its no need to be completely stressed out during your high school years…that you are causing health problems to yourself from stress.
Basically there are major flaws in the admission system, from the stress of the students to the standardized testing that is required of students to culminate their entire high school career.
Another chapter that was a favorite of mine was Chapter 13-Give Them Unstructured Time
This chapter discusses the need for kids to be free. Everything doesn’t have to be scheduled or planned. This really spoke to me because I have little ones and anytime you want to go play or do anything it has to be planned or scheduled. I would love to do more things spontaneously! Besides being free to play it also gives tips for psychological health, personal development and preparedness of adulthood…such how different toys can create imaginative play with your child. How to leaving toys out for your child and letting them decide what to play with will have a great impact on being able to problem solve when they get older.
Good Stuff!!! I thought by reading this I would be thinking solely about my children’s future, but it made me realize how decisions I make with them now will help their development for later on. I will be keeping this book with my other parenting references…I really thought it was a great book full of info that parents can use with little kids as well as older ones!
If you have kids I totally recommend this book for you! No matter the Age!!
Click here for more info on How to Raise an Adult
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
