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RE: Revolutionary Parenting: Digging Deeper Part I

in #parenting7 years ago

Love your ideas and am excited to read more. We have 12 children, 5 adopted and 1 who is our child while technically just being under our care and legal guardian. No differentiation is made. Multi racial and multicultural. We celebrate and enjoy the heritage and music and art of all as a family. One thing I have stressed is that while they must respect all, they do not need to blindly take the words of other adults as genuine. I want them to question, while being polite and respectful, those whose ideas are shallow or narrow. We may not agree with others, but we don't judge or belittle because of differences. Many differences can expand our thinking while not necessarily forcing us to change our beliefs. We have tried hard not to raise children. We want to raise loving, responsible, hardworking, generous, caring, and giving adults. Thus that is how we treat them. We encourage responsibility and respect, meaning increased responsibility and privilege as they show they can handle it. And as such, we try to model adulthood as not being stodgy or dull, but playful and fun and creative and interesting... like society sees a child. So they don't miss on the joy, but gain the maturity and social awareness that is often credited to adults.

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That sounds so beautiful and really in line with what we are doing. That balance of openness and discernment is crucial yet takes a bit of practice. Same with respectful questioning! Sounds like a really lovely family. I look forward to more interactions!!

It has been challenging, to have beliefs that we hold to and are passionate about, but yet striving to respect the beliefs of others as valuable, just as we hope others can respect us. At times, they are at a loss of how to interact with their friends who may believe differently, but ultimately the core of respecting others as we wish them to respect us, even if they don't, has created more wins than losses. Raising them to be servants, where ever they are... looking to help and support and give, even when others don't, has become part of their family heritage. Again, it is hard when they see others taking the easy way, but so far, so good.

It's one of the big challenges of parenting, and it's a big reason for my belief in deep involvement in our kids lives. We have to hope that some of it will rub off on their peers. It's so lovely that you're raising them with the servant's heart. It's so rare. Just today I was upset that my oldest won't be here to see the Star Wars premier (we are quite serious about Star Wars here). Then he told me he had promised my mom and dad he wouldn't miss their Christmas celebration (we can't afford to go up there this year, but he's close by) and that he had noticed their sadness when his cousins left early on thanksgiving, so he wanted to be sure to spend the whole weekend with them. At that point how can I feel anything other than pride?

Parenting win! What a great kid. (We've prepurchased tickets for Star Wars opening night as well)

He's a treasure for sure.