Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Respect your kids

boy with huge Japanese drum"Respect your kids. Too many adults DEMAND respect from kids without showing any respect in return. Doesn't work."
—Lyle Perry
How to NOT Screw Up your Kids
photo by Karen James

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Enough to share

Abundance in one person provides benefits for others. A child with all the trust he needs can trust others. A child with all the time he needs can share that time with others. One who has freedom won't begrudge freedom in others.

lawn cart full of split wood, in the house

How to Raise a Respected Child
photo by Sandra Dodd

Monday, May 12, 2014

Choice makes a big difference

Plain milk tastes WAY better if it's your choice than it does when it's plain because someone else wouldn't let you put chocolate in it.

How to Raise a Respected Child
Como criar a un niño respetado
art by Laura Mascaró

Sunday, May 11, 2014

A good mom

Nothing has ever made me feel better about me
than the feeling that I was being a good mom.



SandraDodd.com/peace/noisy.html
photo by Sandra Dodd

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Gradually cooler

My world's pretty cool. It has become gradually cooler since I had kids and have tried to figure out how to make THEIR worlds cooler. Mine got the side benefit of what I learned about how to help keep them happy.

crate of videos and DVDs at a garage sale, with the Japanese anime series 'Fruits Basket' prominently shown


I don't know where I wrote that, but someone saved it.
Have a randomizer: SandraDodd.com/random
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Friday, May 9, 2014

It doesn't hurt to think about it.

In response to questions from critics…

Some things I've said:

"This is working for now. If it stops working, we'll do something else."

young friends watching a video in the dark"Thanks. I'll think about that." (Or you could say "We thought about that," or "I think about that all the time.")

Mostly people want to know you heard what they said, and that you have thought about what they're suggesting. It doesn't hurt to say that you have, or that you will.

SandraDodd.com/school/say
photo by Julie D
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Thursday, May 8, 2014

Helping one another grow

Of her birth family, Rippy wrote:

My family used to regularly travel to India to a Sikh ashram where we were encouraged to examine our thoughts and words. The philosophy there was that helping one another grow into more loving, mindful people is one of the greatest acts of service one can do.
—Rippy Dusseldorp Saran


Kinder and More Compassionate