Cameron Parham

When I decided to homeschool my kids back in 1994..first child just born) my parents reacted like I had calmly announced that I was going to feed them primarily opium instead of food. My parents, although actually having every intention of being loving, and often succeeding, are rather fearful people. On top of that they are retired teachers (kindergarten -very impoverished area, and college art). So not only did they feel terrified that I was sentencing the children to abysmal ignorance, but also felt I was rejecting their careeres/life choices. We endured several years in which they were very hurtful to me and the kids--they really believed that the situation was desperate. I finally had to gently tell them that while I appreciated that they meant this all with love, that these were my kids, and they were pretty much going to have to shape up or be denied access to the kids. It was so hard to do, and thank God I had supportive friends. You may just have to do what you
know is right...they may not agree ahead!

----- Original Message ----
From: jentamar <jenniferlehman@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 10:57:57 AM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] new member -- question

Hi everyone,

My name is Jennifer and I'm the mom of a 3 1/2 year old boy. We live
in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. I've been reading the posts for the
last couple weeks and appreciating them soooo much. This approach
of unschooling and the parenting style that goes with it just seems
so loving and respectful to the child.

My question/request for support is this: I've recently started
telling family members that my son won't be going to school in the
fall; instead we'll be homeschooling, and it hasn't gone over well.
My dad just called to tell me that they're concerned that it's not
good for my son to get the message that my whole world revolves
around him, and by homeschooling, I'm sending this message. They
think it's best for my son to see me as someone with a career and
lots of interests outside of the family.

I was caught off guard by this conversation and didn't really know
how to respond. I did say that what I love most of all is being
with my son and didn't see any point in going off to work all day if
that's not what I want. I also think that as he gets older, I may
have more time to pick up other interests. But what do you think?
Is it unhealthy for a child to see his mother focused so much on him
each day? How would you answer someone who has this concern?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Jennifer




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