Most of us come to parenting with all sorts of preconceived notions and ideas about how our family is going to be, what kind of parent we will make and our personal philosophies about discipline and such. Many of us find that our philosophies shift quite a bit with the realities of actually parenting the child or children that we are blessed with. I do think it helps, however, to take stock of what we expect out of the period of childhood—do we think that childhood is for worry-free play and experimentation? Do we think that childhood should be spent … Continue reading →