things i have learned from teaching that i will use as a parent

#1 - send your kids to summer camp when they are little.

don't send your kid to summer camp for the first time when they are 16 years old and the camp is four weeks long and in a foreign country.  they will get homesick.  OF COURSE.  let them get homesick when the camp is an hour away and they only have to make it through a couple days.

two days ago i had a parent ask me to help make his daughter a friend, which DOESN'T WORK because no one wants an adult to tell you who your friend is.  but whatever, i tried.  and then the parent told me that the friend i tried to set her up with was "more homesick than [his daughter]" (which just isn't true), and i had failed and could i find his daughter another friend?  NO I CANNOT.

sheesh, people.

[i actually have a lot of parenting tips saved up from 9 summers of working at summer camp and 7 years of teaching - mostly things NOT TO DO - so get ready for a very exciting series of occasional posts.  you're welcome.]