This post is brought to you by the letter "E"

Aubrie was reading to me about reptiles in bed tonight.

(Think about that.  How quickly our roles reversed.  Soon, she will be feeding me soup.  Oh yeah -- she already does that.)

She approached a word and immediately asked me to pronounce it for her. 

Many times in the past, especially when Aubrie's in a grumpy mood, I would give up the pronunciation as easily as Pedro gives away his tots.

But she has been in a good mood lately, so instead of Enabling her, I said, "sound it out."

Lickety split, she correctly said "hibernation."  This is called Empowerment.

And when she hit the next potential pothole, it was Easier for me to tell her to "sound it out."  And each time she proved it to herself she could say the word correctly.  (Except, in Amelia Bedlia, she always forgot how to pronounce "Mr. Clarke.").

Enabling leads to dependence.

Empowerment leads to independence.

And after all, we want our children to be independent someday, right?

Choosing between the two E's is a an eternal struggle all parents face, but it's so Exhilirating when everything works out.