Grafedie in the Library

I have been called many things in my time. Aloof, Snob, Isolationist (all untrue in my opinion), but one thing I was very surprised to hear was “helicopter parent” coming from a college professor at meet and greet breakfast 

Now that, I will take a stand on. I am NOT nor have I ever been a helicopter parent.

This article: Grounding the helicopter parent – The Washington Post. has a very thorough and sensible approach to how to deal with children going off to college. I feel this has been our approach over the years, in fact it has been our approach since our first child took her first step onto the school bus for kindergarten.

It is important to nurture and guide, It is unhealthy to take over and do. We all must remember that we are really not helping at all by interfering, we went to school already. Let them experience it now. 

As a librarian I can’t tell you how many parents I have helped “assist” their kids with projects. I do help, but I will remind them that the child should be the one to come in and learn the research process. They do not see that they are hindering the growth of curiosity, exploration. It is parental GPS: “now look here” “write this now”,”don’t waste time reading all those resources.” They are so dependent on the voice telling them where to go they have no idea where they are, they’re just following directions. 

College is good practice for drawing the line. Let your child grow and explore, guide them, be there as a shoulder to lean on. Let them get places on their own. As I have heard many times before, it is a parent’s job to give their child roots and wings. Send them on their way, and don’t forget to turn off the GPS.

Fun alternative to standard Facebook and Tweets:

10 Interesting Ways to Use Instagram for Your Library | iLibrarian.

Here we go again.

Just when I thought it was safe to eat “happy meat” as I call it- Organic, Antibiotic free, pasture raised, cage free, etc., out comes this post from Food Safety News.

Exploring the Link Between Animal Health and Food Safety.

When Michael Pollan’s  book was published, it opened my eyes to the  practices of the agribusiness giants. He showed how the industry treated animals by never letting them experience  light of day, penned up unable to move, shot through and through with hormones and antibiotics,  these were the horrors that developed  from the need to feed a nation.

But now it seems happy meat can be tainted as well, all because another part of the industry needs to look at its standards and practices. It never ends.

We need to clean up our act. Maybe by taking a look back to the days when we had no fast food and supersize and slow down a bit we will be able to see just what kind of mess we’ve created.

Farewell to one of the finest!

Maurice Sendak, Children’s Author, Dies at 83 – NYTimes.com.