Reply to Parents of teens-what (if anything)would you have done different during the elementary school years?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Just sent my oldest to college, so this is a great time to reflect:
1.  No phones until middle school.  No electronics in room (tablets, computers, etc.)--they would get up in the middle of the night and play.
2.  Adhere to a schedule of chores that must be done every day/every week.  
3.  Lessen the number of times I swooped in to "save" them from a bad grade or missed assignment.  A C or D on their elementary school report card is worth the lesson learned about responsibility and consequences.  
4.  Invited other kids over more often.  I'm an introvert, and so is my kid, so this was really hard for us.  But I wish I had made more effort to make our house a more welcoming one for kids to drop in on a casual basis.  
5.  Started a musical instrument early, and been stricter about practice.
6.  Started a foreign language very early, either in a formal setting (if not school, some language class) or an informal way like videos, so that they could develop true proficiency.  
7.  Done more family game or activity nights.  We did do this fairly regularly, but they are the things I miss most now.  
8. Lived our faith at home, with prayers, talking about God, etc.  We were lazy about this, and now our children are casual churchgoers at best.  
9.  Only volunteered at school for activities that I was either really interested in or that directly served my kid.  I wasted too many hours on PTA meetings and fundraisers, when I was happiest working in the library or chaperoning field trips.  
10. Been less embarrassed and anxious about bad or unusual behavior.  All kids are a little odd at times.

[/quote]

#10 was super helpful to hear today. Thanks![/quote]

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