One of the highlights of the conference for me was definitely the after-parties in Ren's room. The first one was just a hoot, with twelve to twenty conversations going on at once, and the surprise arrival of Mercedes and Madelyn, and so much laughter. I loved every minute of it.
But the one the next night was good, too. For one thing, we were all really tired, including Ren's kids, and Frank and I arrived just in time for a little mishap involving burning food in the microwave and, separately, a hotel light that was in mortal danger due to creative use of a new Egggame.
I always like getting little glimpses into how unschooling parents handle those really tired moments. In this case, even though I should have known better, I found myself getting tense, waiting for traditional-parent-style snapping and punishment—you know, like "Stop that right now or I'm taking that game away from you!" Instead, Ren kept her cool, briefly explained her concern for the light, and helped Jalen find a safer spot to play. Problem solved, just like that, without threats or belittling or fights.
And then we partied.
Mojo Brew bio
8 months ago
1 comment:
Sounds wonderful! You reminded me of one of the first times I was exposed to kind parenting - I was spending the night with a friend and her 1 y.o. son and her other friend and 1 y.o. daughter. Evan was just a tiny baby. We were all in a hotel room together. In the middle of the night, the little girl fell off the bed and started to cry. I got SO tense! And I almost started crying myself when her mommy just murmured kind words, and held her.
Man, I was damaged as kid, to think that someone would yell at a baby for falling off the bed... but I would have been punished for that. We couldn't do more than breathe in the middle of the night, or we'd get in trouble.
Love mindful, thoughtful, kind parents!
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