With the new school year underway it's a good time for parents to review their ABCs, especially the parents of children just beginning their academic lives. Several years ago we came up with this alphabet for parents and, in response to requests that we do so, we gladly reprint it here as another new school year gets underway.

A – Ask your child about the school day.

B – Be an involved parent.

C – Care about your child's achievement.

D – Delight in your child's enthusiasm.

E – Encourage your child.

F – Find a reason to say something positive.

G – Give your child a hug.

H – Help your son or daughter through the rough spots by being positive, not negative.

I – Insist on having one-on-one time with your child every day.

J – Just knowing their parents love them means so much to a child.

K – Know your child's strengths and weaknesses, praising the former and working constructively, not destructively, on the latter.

L – Love your child, every day, no matter the grades they bring home.

M – Make learning a positive, fun experience.

N – Never hurt your child by making them believe your love depends on their getting certain grades.

O – Overcome the pressure-your-child reflex.

P – Perfection is unrealistic and a damaging expectation to be placed on any child.

Q – Questions are always a good thing; the only bad questions are those that are never asked.

R – Rest and recreation are important parts of any child's life and will help them achieve.

S – Strongly support your child in all of their endeavors.

T – Teach your child to be a good and loving parent by being a good and loving parent.

U – Understand that positive support and love are keys that unlock the door of every subject.

V – Valedictorians aren't made in kindergarten or the first grade, but happy and successful students certainly are.

W – Willingly give yourself to your child.

X – Xerox makes duplicate copies of originals but every child is a unique individual.

Y – You are your child's most important resource.

Z – Zero is the amount of good that harsh and destructive criticism of a child achieves.

-JKW-