Susan Dayley's Blog, page 37
April 4, 2011
Inspiring a Child's Heart
Discipline, whether through time-outs or the removal of privileges, is a consequence that comes after a child has done something they should not. It is an external force administered with the intent of correcting the internal desires. It is a best-you-can-do, reactionary band aid attempting to motivate a child to choose differently. If a child trips [...]
April 1, 2011
111 and Other Coincidences
My DH presented me with a puzzle first thing this morning. Take the last two digits of the year you were born and add to them the age you will turn on your birthday this year. The answer should be 111. For everyone. (But just this year.) "Mathematics is a liberating entertainment. We can discard [...]
March 30, 2011
Living Abundantly by Planning Now for the Harvest
I enjoy peach cobbler made with canned peaches in the middle of January. Or a Sunday supper in March of pears sliced over waffles. And apple butter on toast year round. I sat in a circle of people this last week who recalled memories from their childhood. One woman told of how many of her [...]
March 28, 2011
Time-out and Beyond
A child is placed on a chair for time-out and they keep leaving it. The parent returns them to the chair forty times in a row. Finally they decide time-out is not worth the trouble. They begin to ignore the child's offense. The child grows up undisciplined and sky-dives off buildings with stolen artwork in [...]
Time-out and a Parent's Worse Fears
A child is placed on a chair for time-out and they keep leaving it. The parent returns them to the chair forty times in a row. Finally they decide time-out is not worth the trouble. They begin to ignore the child's offense. The child grows up undisciplined and sky-dives off buildings with stolen artwork in [...]
March 25, 2011
Soul of a Champion
Harry de Leyer was late to the auction on that snowy day in 1956, and all of the good horses had already been sold. The few that remained were old and spent and had been bought by a company that would salvage them. Harry, the riding master at a girls' school in New York, was [...]
March 23, 2011
Leaving Eden
My son, who is currently studying for his broker's license, was recently taken aside by his grand-father-in-law. Grandpa, who owns his own successful business, said to him, "I have a little money set aside, and I trust you more than anyone else. I was wondering what you would suggest I do with it?" My son's [...]
March 21, 2011
Conversations with Your Children II
"Dad, why do kites fly?" "How do cats purr?" "How much longer to grandma's?" In part I, ideas were presented about keeping conversations with children relevant, not using abstract ideas with young children who cannot comprehend them, and not using unnecessary words when you are disciplining them. Playful Conversations There are times to use as [...]
March 18, 2011
A Writer's 72 Hour Kit
With the latest terrible events playing out in Japan and other places, many of us are thinking about basic survival needs. My daughter-in-law is storing water. Neighbors are rotating food packs. I'll be dragging out my-kit-is-bigger-than-your-kit to sort through it with the intent of removing some weight. I have considered the things I do everyday, [...]
March 16, 2011
Conversations with Your Children I
Sadly, but the more parents talk, the less children learn. Suppose your child were 16 and they had just passed the written part of the driver's test with a perfect score. Intellectually they knew everything about driving, but they had never driven a single time in real life experience. Now is not the time to [...]
