Dr. Laura Markham: Peaceful Parenting [The Knowledge Project Ep. #52]

Focus on what they want the child to accomplish. Celebrate the child’s successes and choices. See situations from the child’s perspective, as well as their own. Creatively teach the child how to communicate her wishes and frustrations with words, in an acceptable manner. Hold the child accountable to those teachings.

Parents must rear their children toward that one day when the child begins to seek his or her freedom, when the insect, whether an ugly moth or a beautiful butterfly, seeks to abandon the cocoon. During the years between infancy and adolescence, the winning argument will have already been made. The winning argument will have been love; the losing a

TRUST: We are in a crisis of trust the world over. Parents are afraid, and that makes our children afraid — to be who they are, to take risks, to stand up against injustice. Trust has to start with us. When we’re confident in the choices we make as parents, we can then trust our children to take important and necessary steps toward empowerment and

Rather, it’s about treating our children with respect and compassion, consciously slowing down and reclaiming our children’s right to play, and creating a rhythmic, intentional home environment where our children feel safe and flourish.