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Your Daughter Is Weird
1y 10m I was teaching at a school here in Cambodia with my daughter in my class. One of my students was 3 and speaking in broken one to four word phrases. I asked my boss if his speech was delayed. She said, “No, your daughter is weird.” The director of the school holds degrees…
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She Will Never Wonder If Her Voice Matters
I grew up with because I said so. Not once. Not occasionally. As a default. As the end of every conversation I tried to start. I learned early that my questions weren’t always welcome, and that asking too many of them had consequences. So I stopped asking. I stored them instead. I don’t know if…
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I Don’t Limit Screen Time. I Monitor It.
Screen time wasn’t a thing when I was growing up. The TV went off at a certain time. Kids shows aired at certain times of the day and when they were over they were over. The television regulated itself and nobody gave it much thought. Now the options never end. Something is always available and…
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The Math Didn’t Work in the US. It Did Here.
I paid off $50,000 in student loan debt in a few years while raising my son alone. I didn’t go out much. I didn’t buy things I didn’t need. I chose to be home in the evenings and on weekends instead of out. At the time I didn’t think of it as a choice. It…
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Flashcards Aren’t the Problem.
Cami had a set of 16 textured flashcards when she was an infant. I would say the word, let her feel the texture, use it in a sentence, and when I could, hold up the actual object next to the card so she could see both at the same time. That’s not memorization. That’s a…
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My Son Speaks Korean. He’s 23. It Started With Conversation.
JJ is 23 years old. He speaks Korean fluently and is currently enrolled to learn Chinese. Before Korean there was Japanese. Before Japanese there was Spanish, which he failed in middle school because he wasn’t interested. So I found a new school with a different language. He didn’t get here because he was gifted. He…
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She Said Mommy Change Diaper at 16 Months. That’s When I Knew She Was Ready.
1y 4m Cami was 16 months old when she walked up to me and said Mommy change diaper. Three words. Five syllables. And sure enough when I checked her diaper it needed to be changed. That sentence told me two things. One, she had the language to communicate a physical need clearly enough for me…
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She Turned Down Ice Cream. She’s Two.
2y 5m We’re regulars at a massage parlor in Siem Reap. We’ve been going for over a year and the manager loves Cami. Genuinely loves her. The kind of love where she asks where Cami is if I show up without her and the question isn’t a joke. On this particular visit I brought Cami…
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She Figured Out the Pattern Before I Finished the Question
2y 5m Cami was standing on her chair, about a foot off the floor, and announced she was a butterfly. Then she jumped. I told her good job flying, but she wasn’t impressed. She wanted to be a bird and couldn’t figure out why her technique wasn’t working. I was mid-question when she got distracted…
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I Thought I Won the Argument. My Toddler Disagreed.
2y 5m We were in the tricycle. Me in front, her in the back, the way we always ride. Coffee stands line every street in Cambodia and we pass them constantly. Sometimes we stop for iced tea. I don’t know exactly which stand caught her eye but something did because out of nowhere she asked…
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The Pacifier Wasn’t the Factor
I chose not to give Cami a bottle or pacifier when she was a baby. She was nursing and rarely away from me so a bottle wasn’t necessary. I remembered what a hassle the pacifier was with my son and I did not want to repeat that. I specifically remember when he was 2 years…
Your Daughter is Weird is available now