Liberals have children, too. And we try to raise them with good sense, intelligence, tolerance, kindness, and humor. We don't beat our kids, and we don't think threats of hell are particularly helpful. We're not always perfect, but we love our kids and try to raise them to be solid, responsible citizens.
When our kids come to us with questions about sex, we answer them. When they come to us with questions about politics, we answer them. We encourage them to think critically about media and marketing, and don't really think that Just say No is much of a strategy in any area of life. Our goal is raising thinking adults, not automatons.
Let's see how we do.
1 comment:
Molly,
Punishment, particularly the physically violent type, seems to be a bedrock conservative family value. This really disturbs me.
I like to tell people I base my parenting philosophy on the Bushmen as portrayed in the film "The Gods Must Be Crazy". When describing their family life the narrator says "They'll never punish a child or even speak harshly to it. So the kids are extremely well-behaved." This practice seems to have worked well for my many nieces and nephews as well as my own son.
I'll never forget something my mother said to me when I was a teenager and we were discussing parenting. "Many people think that to discipline a child means to punish. It really means to teach."
Well violence does teach children something, but it certainly isn't the lesson we want them to learn.
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