Whatever They Want

The one thing that has really taken my relationship with my children to a more peaceful and prosperous level, is the commitment I’ve made to giving them what is theirs by virtue of their humanity, the right to do whatever they want, albeit with a few caveats. Let me explain.…

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Encouragement as Bad as Discouragement

There is an absolutely horrible idea that is extremely popular in raising, teaching and generally working with children … encouragement. I know it sounds kind of shocking, but roll with me for a minute. Kids are exploring who they are, what they are good at, what interests them, and a…

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An Open Letter to My Baby

Dear Baby Collins, Having just entered life and found myself as your father, you’re probably thinking, “Great, who’s this schlub?” I know, I know, I’m not all that impressive on first glance, but before you decide to pack your things and leave – which is entirely your right – allow…

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Unschooled Kids Will Be Different

A concern I’ve heard regarding unschooled kids is that “they’ll be different”. What is meant by this is that they won’t have the same education, the same experiences, the same memories, the same cultural influences, yadda, yadda, yadda, as their “peers”. In my opinion, that’s just dandy. Yes, they will…

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The Culture of Childhood: We’ve Almost Destroyed It

Originally published on PsychologyToday.com at my blog, “Freedom to Learn“. I don’t want to trivialize the roles of adults in children’s lives, but, truth be told, we adults greatly exaggerate our roles in our theories and beliefs about how children develop.  We have this adult-centric view that we raise, socialize, and educate children. Certainly…

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