I've never been a particularly germ-phobic mom. It seemed to me that immune systems are like muscles and they need the occasional workout to remember how to function properly. I didn't wash my kids' clothes in Dreft when they were babies. If they had sensitive skin, I figured I'd find out pretty quickly and THEN I could go spend $15 a bottle on detergent. My son Liam has eaten garden snails, an entire tube of children's toothpaste (Poison Control says the kids variety isn't toxic even in large doses), and kitty litter (which is also non-toxic, but can clump in the throat when ingested in large quantities -- yuck!). All three of my kids have consumed more than their fair share of dirt and bugs, and overall, they've been pretty healthy.  

Usually, it's our au pairs and international guests that come down with the colds. We've hosted six in the past five years. Almost without fail, between three and four weeks after their arrival, they catch their first American cold. Nothing miserable enough to stay in bed for a week, but a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. So in addition to American culture, we also introduce them to American bugs... and cold medicine.

In the welcome basket I put together, I now include cough drops, tylenol, motrin, and sudafed. I also ask, in advance, if there is anything they are allergic to and suggest they bring some of the own over-the-counter remedies that they are comfortable taking. When you're sick, it's nice to take something familiar. No one has ever had any trouble getting medicine through customs, but I do mention that it's a good idea to check and make sure that what you want to bring is allowed in the country.  

Fortunately, everyone has recovered rather quickly and we can get on with introducing each other to different elements of our culture... like election campaigns and American Idol ... hmm... I think I'm starting to get a headache.

My friend Mia has taught her kids to speak three languages:  Finnish, Hebrew, and English.  She speaks Finnish to them, her husband speaks Hebrew, they go to the neighborhood schools in English, and take supplemental classes in Hebrew and Finnish.  Three disparate languages. They were all fluent in Hebrew and Finnish by the time they started kindergarten.  English came along in school, easily.

Most kids in the world today learn two languages from the time they start preschool. The monolinguism of the US is kind of an anomaly. Kids' brains are wired for language acquisition -- any language -- even more than one at a time.  Mia's kids had no trouble learning two or three languages before they were five.  Even when they were in first grade, they could alternate between the three, depending on who they were talking to.  (Hopefully they'll be able to retain all three as they grow up.)

In the past, parents were discouraged from exposing their kids to two or three languages assuming it would delay language acquisition and create confusion.  Today, many American parents realize the benefit of bilingualism and introduce their kids to another langauge as early as possible, either by speaking one at home or having another language spoken by a childcare provider.

Most researchers agree that not only can young kids handle the input, but learning two or three languages can provide a mental exercise with long-term benefits.  In fact, Canadian scientists have found evidence that the lifelong use of two languages can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years when compared to people who are monolingual.

The Center for Applied Linguistics offers some additional insight into second language acquisition:

-- Use of two languages in the same conversation indicates a mastery of both languages.

-- Many parents rely heavily on television to teach a second language; yet research shows that human interaction is the best method.

-- Parents can expect their bilingual children to gain a greater understanding of language as an abstract system.  Fluent bilingual students generally reach higher levels of academic and cognitive functioning than their monolingual peers.  

So, choose an au pair, pick a language immersion preschool, dust off your college French books, and help your kids wrap their minds and their mouths around new, unfamiliar words and phrases.  A little hassle and confusion is worth learning a valuable skill.  

"Tell me a story..." my kids ask every night.

Sometimes I say, "Once upon a time, there were three children who were really tired, so their mother put them to bed and they went to sleep.  The end."  After some loud complaining, I'll tell them a story about when they were babies, or my childhood, or my grandma from Sweden or their grandparents from Scotland.  Even if they've heard it a hundred times, they don't get tired of it.  It anchors them, reminds them that people just a few years before them lived very different lives in far away places.

This week in Lahore, Pakistan, the country is hosting its first Children's Literature Festival.  It's a collaborative effort between international children's publishers and educational agencies aimed promoting literacy in Pakistani children.  Children from across the country are invited to listen to their favorite books, enter writing contests, take classes on creative writing, write book reviews, and draw comics.  Educators can attend training on curriculum development and lesson planning.

In a country where just 66% of children finish primary school, literacy rates for women are still less than 50%, and tribal and religious conflicts frequently disrupt schooling, this festival will help train teachers and underscore the importance of educating the next generation.

Education expert Dr. Arifa Syeda Zehra, said life would be colorless if there were no stories because we interpret our world through stories.  Everybody makes sense of things in their own way, but if you have stories, it helps.  And the bigger the collection of stories, the more tools you have to interpret your life.

I would agree.  My kids would agree.  And stories also make everything more fun!  

When I first explained to my kids that our au pair Paola was coming to live with us, my oldest son exclaimed, "Awesome!  She can be our servant!"

I was quick to clarify that Paola's presence did not mean he was off the hook for cleaning his own room, making his lunch, and feeding the cat.  But it did make me realize that I'd need to clearly articulate expectations to Paola and my kids so there was less confusion about responsibilities.  

So, I asked my three kids who were in preschool and elementary school, to make themselves a chore chart.  It took five minutes and had two items on it:

1.  Get up

2.  Eat breakfast

I have such high achievers.  So, we sat down together and wrote out four lists -- one for everyone.  To make Paola's transition easier, I had the kids practice doing the chores on their lists for the month before she arrived.  

They didn't fight or even complain much, but they did a predictably sloppy job until I explained that cleaning the bathroom doesn't mean flushing the toilet and closing the shower curtain.  If there are towels on the floor and toothpaste on the sink, you're not done yet.

"Folding laundry" doesn't mean wadding it up and jamming it into drawers, especially if it's your mom's clothes.  Hanging up involves using a hanger, and the gum on the rail of your bed is not there to hold your pen in case you want to write on your arm at night.

When they were finally finished, having completed each task passably well, they were quite proud of themselves.  I wouldn't call the bathroom glistening, but it definitely smelled better and there were only a few streaks on the mirrors.

When Paola arrived, she got copies of all four lists, so she knew what she needed to require the kids to do for themselves and what I expected her to do.  And when Liam tried to convince her to make his lunch, she gently refused.  She did, however, show him how to make Italian midnight pasta, which is still one of his favorite dishes.  He's gotten so good at making it, that now I'm putting him in charge of dinner once a week.