brightman73

I brought my son to the zoo today with no agenda of what we should do.
It was really neat to see what he chose without my micro managing it
all. He had SO much fun and I was more relaxed than ever. In fact, the
time just flew by as I spent time enjoying the fresh air instead of
ordering him around, insisting we see ALL the animals.

There were lots of schools there and I could not help but notice the
stark difference. I heard a teacher telling a child he was in time out;
15 students waiting in line to ride a train, then waiting on the train
for the train to go, then waiting again to go to the bathroom. I was
exhausted just watching how their every move was so directed. I was a
real rebel today, allowing my 3 year old to tell ME when he was ready
for his diaper change, which he did. Okay, maybe a little later than I
would have prefered considering the diaper was almost falling out of his
pants, but hey.

I also noticed how much my son was learning today - how much MORE he
learned because of his natural curiousity and questions. He played full
of energy for two hours!! I am NOT kidding! This is his NATURAL energy
level. Therefore, it hit home that making him feel bad because he goes
up a porch side ways, or because he runs and doesn't walk from point a
to point b is utterly cruel to a child.

On the way out a daughter asked her Mom is she could play in the sand
pile. The Mother replied, "No, I am not sending you back to school
dirty." [:-s]

Thanks for this list which gives me a place to express my thoughts as I
grow as a parent.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Meredith

"brightman73" <brightman73@...> wrote:
>it hit home that making him feel bad because he goes
> up a porch side ways, or because he runs and doesn't walk from point a
> to point b is utterly cruel to a child.

If he has lots of chances to run and climb, then the periodic mention that This Place is not the best for running or climbing isn't cruel, it's valuable information. But the "lots of chances" part is really, really important in that regard! Too many "nos" are hurtful And don't offer any useful information about the world.

---Meredith