Treating a Child with Respect



I do not spank my son anymore! When he turned 2 1/2, my husband & I took a parenting class that advocated spanking. Although we both felt it didn't feel right, we started to spank him. Half way through the course, we really started to question this philosophy & at the exact same time, I discovered the unschooling site & your webpage. I felt like every post about not spanking & respecting your child as you would respect an adult was posted just for me to read (I needed to hear it at that *exact* moment).

We immediately stopped spanking him. I can't tell you of the joy we have together...he is my son, but he has also become my friend. The strange thing is, I was never treated with respect as a child. I can remember fantasizing, about how, if I had children of my own, I would *always* respect them & treat them the way I wanted to be treated. What happens to us as adults that we so easily forget those strong memories & feelings of childhood?

Carla Smith


Carla sent this the next day:

Please feel free to use that part of the note for your collection. I'm going to your site right now to check it out! I just picked up this book from the library called "I Love You Rituals". It says "I love You Rituals offers more than seventy delightful rhymes & games that send the message of unconditional love". I opened it up to chapter 1, which reads the following (you're suppose to reflect on how you feel after you read each rhyme):

A wonderful woman lived in a shoe.
She had so many children
She knew exactly what to do.
She held them, she rocked them, And tucked them in bed.
"I love you, I love you,"
Is what she said.

Take care-
Carla


The book Carla quotes is by Becky Bailey, and the book can be seen here...

Note from Sandra in 2020—that link was gone, but you can find a copy of the book, look at some pages, maybe see the author interviewed, with this search link: Becky Bailey I Love You Rituals


Click to read more about unschooling or parenting or spanking.