Editor’s Pick. Written by Kelly Bartlett. A group of fifteen moms and dads were gathering for their weekly parenting class, when one mother shares a moment from the previous week. “My daughter had a fit the other day when I told her it was time to get in the car.” Every head in the room…
Tag: parenting
Unsanctimonious Unschooling
Send her mail. “Living with Wild Abandon” is an original bi-weekly column appearing every other Tuesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Breezy V. Stevens. Breezy is a long-time radical unschooler, an advocate for children’s rights, a crazy dog lady, a crafter in various mediums, a lover of all things tropical and beachy, and the designer of “EVC…
How Do I Move Toward Positive Parenting?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Jennifer Andersen. Many parents want to move toward positive parenting. They want to abandon controlling, bullying, and being punitive with their children. Instead, they want their relationship to be authentic, open, and genuine. These mothers and fathers ask “how do I do this? Where do I start? What do I do?”…
Parenting with Respect
Editor’s Pick. Written by unnecessarywisdom. There are a lot of parenting theories swirling around right now. I’ve found that I can relate to many of them and sort of fit with some of them. But I don’t really belong to any of them. I never found a group and followed along. And in searching for…
Nudity Unleashed
Editor’s Pick. Written by Candy Cook. I’m the mother of two sons. I was 22 when my oldest son was born. I was aware that my sons would grow up in the same world as young girls. The same world that would subject them to body-image doubts and self esteem issues similar to the issues…
Learning Versus Thinking
Editor’s Pick. Written by Darci Walker. Last night I watched a Ted talk by Jacob Barnett, a 13-year-old genius with Asperger’s. His message? “Forget what you know.” “Stop learning and start thinking.” And, while Jacob’s story begins with how the educational and diagnostic systems that we have in our society were not able to meet…
Honesty, Anger and Parenting
Editor’s Pick. Written by Laura Markham. We need to be honest about our own feelings — with ourselves! We need to notice our emotions as they come up, take responsibility for them, and work through them. Because the truth is that every parent sometimes feels rage toward his or her child. Stuffing those feelings doesn’t…
It’s Time to Unschool the Unschooling Movement!
Send her mail. “Living with Wild Abandon” is an original bi-weekly column appearing every other Tuesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Breezy V. Stevens. Breezy is a long-time radical unschooler, an advocate for children’s rights, a crazy dog lady, a crafter in various mediums, a lover of all things tropical and beachy, and the designer of “EVC…
Have American Parents Got It All Backwards?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Christine Gross-Loh. Imagine my surprise when I came across a kindergartener in the German forest whittling away on a stick with a penknife. His teacher, Wolfgang, lightheartedly dismissed my concern: “No one’s ever lost a finger!” Similarly, Brittany, an American mom, was stunned when she moved her young family to Sweden…
Examples of Moving From Compliance to Cooperation
Editor’s Pick. Written by Ariadne. Using compliance as a parenting strategy commonly involves conflicts, power struggles and threats of losing a privilege, punishment or bribery. Many parents want and expect compliance because they are the parent or “things need to get done” or “time is of the essence” or safety is a concern. However, compliance…