Books

Friday 16 March 2012

This is the way we raise our kids...

As a parent, you need information but you don't want to be bombarded. The solution is to understand the concept, then pick out the bits that are appropriate to you and your family's circumstances.

This month is the turn of Goldie Hawn to tell us all how to do it, and she has managed to get an audience with Michael Gobe to enhance her credibility, so maybe in a few years my teacher friends will be moaning about having to teach meditation to kids who spend most of their time gazing out of the window anyway.

My problem with "This is the way you should do it" books is that they are usually written after having success with one family - usually their own - or maybe just one child in that family. even the Tiger Mum, Amy Chua, had to backtrack when her second daughter rebelled against being told her drawings were rubbish and Ms Chua had to modify her methods, which to me flawed the whole concept.

I had decided to follow traditional methods soon after we brought our first baby home from hospital. Instead of carrying her around the house, introducing her to each room and whispering to her what it was, as per the book I'd read before she was born, I slumped on the sofa and cried for tea and lots of it.

My own theories bout child-rearing are that kids should be outside with their mates as much as possible having a good time, without computers, televisions or having to think, "My mum's gonna kill me if I get my trainers dirty." When they come home, they eat piles of whatever slop I've put in front of them and sleep like logs: most problems solved.

Goldie Hawn is very welcome to come to my house and teach my children how to meditate mindfully, but she has to agree to do it whilst cooking spag bol for tea amongst piles of washing, with a pipe leaking over the carpet and a potty-training baby weeing freely into her wellies.



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