Treating our kids as equals
Jim & I were chatting last night, about what an amazing kid Allison is. One thing led to another & we started talking about how that’s partly because he’s always (and I have, too, after I met her) treated Allison as an equal, when speaking to her (as we do the little kids). I laughed & said how many family psychiatrists & parenting authors would shudder to hear us say that.
But, the thing is, we don’t treat them as peers, we treat them as human beings, equally deserving of respect. And, teach them to do the same for us, and, hopefully, for everyone they meet. Of course, there are times when we have to say “Hey, I’m responsible for your well-being and, in that capacity, I’ll have to say ‘No’, but I’m going to tell you why, right now, so that you might learn how to make this kind of decision on your own, later, when I’m not around to direct you”.
Takes a little more time than a simple ‘No’, but more effective in the long run, I think.
I think that is wonderful and I can see it’s made all the difference.
Comment by Robin — September 1, 2006 @ 4:58 pm