I can’t even count how many times I heard this as a child. The underlying message was: 1- you’re not smart enough to know what’s good for you 2- the things that make you happy are bad for you 3- the things you want will end up hurting you because 4- you have no self [...]
The Rethinking Everything Conference in Dallas is my family’s FAVORITE annual event. It beat out the local Folklife Festival by a mile. Even if you can’t attend, the recommended reading list is a meaty selection of books that will help YOU rethink parenting, education, freedom, sustainability and yourself. Enjoy… Check out the Ultimate list of [...]
Thoughts on Punishment by Sidney Craig, Ph.D. The most commonly used and socially acceptable parental response to a display of “irrational” behavior (a temper tantrum, for example) is to punish the child for it. Most parents operate according to the widely held belief that the child will not repeat a form of behavior for which [...]
The Case Against Time-out by Peter Haiman, Ph.D. For generations, parents have sought a reliable and dependable way to handle childhood misbehavior. The most recent and popular discipline technique is time-out. Although time-out is better than spanking, it is not an appropriate way for parents to cope with the misbehavior of their children. Moreover, the [...]
Children Don’t Really Misbehave by Thomas Gordon, Ph.D. Most parents and teachers think of children as either “behaving” or misbehaving. ” This labeling of behavior as “good” and “bad” begins when the child is quite young. In our [P.E.T. and T.E.T.] training programs we try to help parents see that children don’t really misbehave. Interestingly [...]
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