Guest post by Laura Markham. Sages say that raising children is one of the best paths to enlightenment because it stretches the heart and teaches us to love. Parents have daily opportunities to dig deep in search of patience and compassion. Luckily, we’re strongly motivated by our love for our children, so we stretch. Sometimes,…
Tag: passion
Discipline, Respect and Obedience
Guest post by Ted Olson. Many of us parents have a traditional view of discipline, respect, and obedience. That is, children must be taught to obey and to respect their elders. Discipline measures vary, but range from time-outs to spanking. Many of us grew up in homes where kids were to be seen and not…
Why I Don’t Like Adults
Guest post by Ted Olson. My son Thomas, 9, said “Hey daddy, you know why I don’t like adults? Well, some adults anyway?” “No, why?” I asked. “Because they think they’re better than me. They think they know everything – that they have all the answers, and that my opinion isn’t important,” he replied. “You’re…
Chapter 30 – Born to Explore
Table of Contents Previous – Section Five – Chapter 29 – “Raising Children Compassionately” by Marshall B. Rosenberg 30 Born to Explore by Missy Willis “The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity.” – Edmund Burke Children are curious creatures. Think about a baby, in your arms, unable to…
Chapter 29 – Raising Children Compassionately
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 28 – “10 Ways We Misunderstand Children” by Jan Hunt 29 Raising Children Compassionately by Marshall B. Rosenberg I’ve been teaching Nonviolent Communication (SM) to parents for 30 years. I would like to share some of the things that have been helpful to both myself and to…
Chapter 28 – 10 Ways We Misunderstand Children
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 27 – “On Seeing Children as ‘Cute’” by John Holt 28 10 Ways We Misunderstand Children by Jan Hunt 1. We expect children to be able to do things before they are ready. We ask an infant to keep quiet. We ask a 2-year-old to sit still.…
Chapter 27 – On Seeing Children as “Cute”
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 26 – “Why Do We Hurt Our Children?” by James Kimmell 27 On Seeing Children as “Cute” by John Holt We should try to get out of the habit of seeing little children as cute. By this I mean that we should try to be more aware…
Chapter 25 – Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 24 – “Natural Born Bullies” by Robin Grille 25 Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge by Alice Miller Probably ever since civilization began, people have been debating about how Evil came into the world and what we can do to combat it. There has always been a…
Chapter 24 – Natural Born Bullies
Table of ContentsPrevious – Unschooling Resources 24 Natural Born Bullies by Robin Grille The media attention given recently to the phenomenon of bullying in schools, is truly a cause for celebration. Finally our world has begun to take seriously the plight of children: the most powerless sector of the community. Initiatives under way in schools…
Chapter 23 – Grown Without Schooling
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Four – Chapter 22 – “Unexpected Benefits of Unschooling” by Sandra Dodd 23 Grown Without Schooling by Jason Hunt This interview was given to five unschoolers for a feature story in the Spring 2010 issue of German magazine Unerzogen. What are your current interests and plans for the future (that’s…