Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Mother’s Day seems to be the perfect time to look at the perennial “nature versus nurture” debate. I see NO downside in hedging your bets. If hedging your bet is defined as protecting yourself against a possible loss, what parent wants to possibly lose the opportunity of doing whatever they can to nurture a child becoming the best person they can become?

Before you become a parent you most likely have strong opinions on the nature versus nature argument.  However, once you become a parent you find yourself determined to parent in ways that reflect the state of the art child rearing practices. The rub is that state of the art parenting practices do not stay static—they change with new information, and new fads, which reflect the latest trends and what is in vogue. So what is a parent to do? I weigh in on the side of the good advice of William James who said, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”   Parent as if what you do matters. What is the downside? The one state of the art child rearing practice that I am confident will never change is: LOVE your child.

Happy Mother’s Day—celebrate the day with the gift of the poem The Reading Mother, by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me—

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be—

I had a Mother who read to me.