>If you want any parental advice from me, which is doubtful, it's don't put too much pressure on her. She will flourish all on her own. She is launched.


Mike, on the one hand, if my wife and I were to vanish today, we've put enough lessons in that little body of hers that she knows there are right ways to do things.

On the other hand, parenting is an every day thing, and continues for years.


I really don't take much advice on parenting (from anyone) and I really don't give much advice. Anyone who has a kid should be able to figure things out.

Yes, I put pressure on her. She's known from about age 3 that things are expected of her. I certainly don't act like a drill instructor and I'm not going to going to overwhelm her excessively. But we are living in a zeitgeist of lowered expectations and I'll be damned if I let her get a taste of that.

I had a goal when she was born that by the time she started kindergarten she'd be able to look adults in the eye and talk intelligently enough that adults would say, "wow, she's five, going on (five plus X)". Well, she can do that.