Just Add Light and Stir

Meredith wrote something in April 2011 about what the grandparents want... It's helpful to keep in mind that one of the big thi...

"If my kids grow up and feel they had a great warm childhood and that they were supported and loved and are now doing what they love...

Don't assess "enough." Pay attention to your child and don't try to press him to do something he doesn't want to do...

Families with rules have a lot to fight about. Couples with a lot of rules have a lot to fight about. When I wrote that, I had be...

Although ["make the better choice"] is useful in the moment, its best use is for incremental change. If my best choice used to ...

Sandra Dodd, of Holly Dodd (Holly was 12 and told an older story, in 2003): My husband's oldest brother came to visit and she an...

This was written in 2005, so note the update below. My husband and I always said please and thank you to each other, and friends would c...

Sandra Dodd, writing with newly-adult kids, two of whom were still at home: I didn't expect so much contentment. And my kids are ...

Karen James wrote: Pay close attention to your children. Really see what they are doing, what they are interested in, what they are enjo...

Because I was able to be home with them, they didn't have to wait hours to consider whether to talk to me about something or to just s...

When a family stays together, and when the marriage is improved and solidified, it's not just good for the children. It's good for...

I don't treat my children as partners. I was, from the time they were babies, partnered with them. I was the older, more experienc...

Live the way you want your children to be. Be curious. Be thoughtful. Be patient. Be generous. SandraDodd.com/virtue photo ...

In your home are homey things, and some were gifts, or were found, or inherited. In your kitchen, something was made by hand, or f...

Conversations with a parent are natural learning fodder. Natural learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum or in isolation. Those things ar...

What is below was written in 1994. I wanted to make it easier for other families to understand and try unschooling, and have been doing that...

My kids don't mind following rules when they join clubs or attend meetings in places with rules. The gaming store where they play (and w...

The more touch and calm presence parents can give a baby, the better, and if they can maintain that as children get older, it might turn int...

I posted this story in 2006 when it was six years old. Now it is eleven years old. Our family looked like this, when the story was new: ...

On bonding with babies: "Sit still with them. And when they are still, sit still with yourself. Don't use so many moments of t...