Many countries including Canada and the US put an overly  high priority on teaching kids to read by age 6 or even earlier.   However, in many European countries including Scandanavia, kids are not rushed into ready until 8 or even 9 years old.  US programs such as “No Child Left Behind” force-feeds young children books and then tests them on their abilities, both of which can have very negative affects.  Children who are told to read more books, and recall them in detail are less likely to develop a passion for reading, and enjoy reading as an activity later in life.  Some young readers will even quickly see themselves as bad at reading when they fail to measure up during testing.  Brain research clearly …

Many parents I know too quickly dismiss Waldorf education for their children before investing any significant amount of time to understand it. The debate between public and private systems is a highly divisive issue.  Often the decision is an economic one, but I’ve found that like anything in life, if you are willing to spend a little time learning the ideology behind a new concept or idea, you will be rewarded. We’ve found this with Waldorf.  First however, parents have to put their own ingrained and traditional biases and sometimes even egos aside, and think of what is best for our children’s needs and development, not our own.  Things that we enjoyed as a child such as television, electronics and branded plastic toys …

Parents and mom’s especially are naturally programmed to hate crying.  It makes our hearts race, literally, and is really hard to sit and listen to without doing anything, especially when we are tired and worn out from our day.  Getting kids to sleep is often the “witching hour” for many families, where the children are also worn out, and need the cartharsis of a good cry to expend that last remaining energy and prepare for sleep.  Although we’d love to avoid our kids crying at all, it’s actually a healthy, natural release for them and a form of communication of their feelings.  Remember, kids aren’t born talkers, they are born cryers.  And crying for kids is communicating.
Attachment Parenting experts have always said that crying is …

I was at a Waldorf  School curriculum presentation last night. They place a lot of attention on teaching according to a child’s developmental stage. There is good scientific evidence supporting the idea that during the first seven years of life, children are wired to survive and make choices based on imitation of those around them. Hello mirror, there you are…. again.
It is a tough job being transparent to the all seeing of a child. What this means for me is working on walking the talk with the kids. Pausing and looking more at what I do, and the genuine affect it has on my children. It is scary the power we have in molding these little people.
My dear friend, and date for the Waldorf night, …

My daughter is three-and-a-half and going to a certified home-based childcare provider with six other kids, twice a week. We’re early for a change, dropping her off at ’school’ today. Our early arrival afforded me one of those rare moments to pick the brain of a woman who is knowledgable and thoughtful about children. I respect her opinions and manners a lot and am so grateful she is in our lives.
So one of my daughter’s closer friends arrives and wants to strip down to his t-shirt immediately. Then I add, “She would strip down naked if given the chance.” Then I think to myself, ‘If left hanging, this could be awkward.’ Then my daughter’s caregiver says, “They have amazing metabolisms those little guys.” That made me …