My then-9-year-old son was a great student — in presentations, he was fluent and eloquent when debating an issue. But his ease vanished when he had to write a short response to the material.
As I racked my brain, searching for a method to help grow his capacity to write, my eyes wandered over my shoulder into my husband’s home office where he sat, typing furiously. There, an idea came to mind: blogging!
As editor of an online publication, my husband blogged, so it was a familiar concept around our home. So on a whim, when I suggested to my son that he should try blogging, too, his eyes lit up.
As I suspected, blogging, even longhand on paper, conveyed fun, while writing a short essay did not. Perhaps your child will feel the same way. To get started, here are some guidelines to give to your little blogger:
1. Choose a topic, something you absolutely love. The NFL, politics, cars and sneakers were my son’s topics of choice. Since I gave him control over the subject, he owned his work in a new way. He felt energized and motivated. It was still an assignment, but it felt less like “school” for him.
2. Mentally lay out your argument. What is it? Narrow your angle. Is it clear, rational? Psst, it’s not enough for your child to write about their love affair with fast cars. They’ll need to dive into why Lamborghinis are superior to Ferraris, for example. You want them to be invested in their opinion. They need to feel skin in the game.
3. Defend your argument. In the “body” of this blog post (flanked by a mini-introduction and conclusion), your child should state their case, using three main points to defend their view.
4. Focus on building a cohesive argument. Don’t worry about getting spelling, grammar and punctuation perfect. I told my son, “I’ll only pay attention to your argument and how effectively you state your case. I don’t care about spelling, grammar or punctuation in these blog posts.” With this reassurance, my son’s shoulders relaxed. I could sense him exhaling the tension. Friction between us over writing assignments abruptly came to a halt. I could breathe more easily, too. This exercise, after all, is about ideas, not mechanics.
How Writing Comes to Life Over Real Issues
My son’s weekly assignment quickly became a hit because it released him to write freely without fear of messing up. As I did, you may also benefit from some surprising revelations, giving you a deeper window into your child. In my case, I recognized how my son’s quick and unwavering resolve on a host of subjects revealed raw leadership material. Unlike me, my son was endowed with decisive intuition. He didn’t waffle as he played judge over disparate controversies. He didn’t see both sides; with certitude, he declared a winner.
Reflections on How Writing Energized My Son
When I look through this old file of my son’s blog posts handwritten in his laborious cursive, I’m struck by how these exercises helped teach him the art of developing an argument, whether for a paper or a speech. Equally significant, he wrestled through issues he may not have confronted at all were it not for these blogging assignments.
If you’ve successfully sold this writing hack to your child as a fun activity, you’ll also appreciate its liberating versatility. As a parent, you can assign blog posts judiciously, on evenings when homework is light, over the weekend or even on family vacations since it only requires a pencil and paper.
Blogging proved an effective writing hack back when I was groping for answers for my child. Turns out, it exceeded my expectations as I hope it will yours.
Kathryn Streeter is a D.C.-based mom and blogger.
By Talia Greenberg Hudgins
