Guest post by Scott Noelle. The next time some friend or relative warns you that your parenting style is too permissive, do what any self-respecting 3-year-old would do: Ask, “Why?”“Because children need limits.” “Why?” Most people who hold this belief have never questioned it. Those who are willing to examine it might notice that life…
Tag: children
How Could a Monster Succeed in Blinding a Nation?
Guest post by Alice Miller. Is it still possible in today’s Germany to escape the realization that without the mistreatment of children, without a form of child-rearing based on violence to inculcate blind obedience, there would not have been a Hitler and his followers? And thus not millions of murdered victims either? Probably every thinking…
Emotions are Not Bad Behavior
Guest post by Robin Grille. One of the most commonly heard parental laments is about how children try to get attention. So many behaviors that adults don’t like are brushed off as “merely” attention-seeking devices. “Don’t worry about him,” we say, “he is just doing it to get attention.” When children use oblique ways to…
Children Don’t Really Misbehave
Guest post by Thomas Gordon. Most parents and teachers think of children as either “behaving” or “misbehaving”. This labeling of behavior as “good” and “bad” begins when the child is quite young. In our training programs we try to help parents see that children don’t really misbehave. Interestingly enough, the term is almost exclusively applied…
Applying Liberty Personally
Guest post by Spencer Morgan. After several years of involvement with freedom-oriented political efforts in Utah, there are some strategic lessons that have become evident to me, and the application of which I believe will help spread and build a much more viable culture of liberty here.Taking a look at the typical approach to liberty,…
The Farce of “Inherent Evil”
Guest post by James C. Talbot. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that one of the more egregious excuses for the practice of spanking lies in a belief that holds children liable for being born into this world with evil and sin in their hearts. Apparently, there are associated behaviors in children that…
A Mexican Cultural Perspective on Families
I’ve been introduced to a new culture the last 7 years. Mexican families don’t push their kids out (emotionally when young, nor physically when older), and their families are very tight-knit, a foreign experience to me. I’ve learned the benefits of this, and have yet to discern any costs. It’s made for an interesting education…
Freedom or Control
Guest post by Wendy Priesnitz. Life learners trust kids to learn. We believe that learning is innate and doesn’t require teaching, texts or tests. We know that children are not blank slates or raw clay, to be written on or molded into shape by adults. We allow kids to learn by living. And our trust…
Understanding and Empathy
Guest post by Larry Cohen. When our children have been “bad,” it’s hard for us to remember that they need comfort rather than punishment. After all, when you have made a mistake, would you rather get understanding or criticism? The best way to cultivate empathy is to focus on children’s underlying needs and feelings, instead…
A Human Becoming
Guest post by Scott Noelle. In a product-oriented culture, there’s a tendency to “productize” and “package” people. We often forget that a human being is a living process — a “human becoming.”Children are especially dynamic — often visibly different from one day to the next — and no two children develop precisely the same way.…