Raising Children Is A Creative Endeavor, An

While Criticism Or Fear Of Punishment May Restrain Us From Doing Wrong, It Does Not Make Us Wish To Do Right. Disregarding This Simple Fact Is The Great Error Into Which Parents And Educators Fall When They Rely On These Negative Means Of Correction. The Only Effective Discipline Is Self-discipline, Motivated By The Inner Desire To Act Meritoriously In Order To Do Well In One's Own Eyes, According To One's Own Values, So That One May Feel Good About Oneself May "have A Good Conscience.

For Those Who Immerse Themselves In What The Fairy Tale Has To Communicate, It Becomes A Deep, Quiet Pool Which At First Seems To Reflect Only Our Own Image; But Behind It We Soon Discover The Inner Turmoils Of Our Soul - Its Depth, And Ways To Gain Peace Within Ourselves And With The World, Which Is The Reward Of Our Struggles.

The Child Intuitively Comprehends That Although These Stories Are Unreal, They Are Not Untrue.

Parents Ought, Through Their Own Behavior And The Values By Which They Live, To Provide Direction For Their Children. But They Need To Rid Themselves Of The Idea That There Are Surefire Methods Which, When Well Applied, Will Produce Certain Predictable Results. Whatever We Do With And For Our Children Ought To Flow From Our Understanding Of And Our Feelings For The Particular Situation And The Relation We Wish To Exist Between Us And Our Child.

You Can't Teach Children To Be Good. The Best You Can Do For Your Child Is To Live A Good Life Yourself. What A Parent Knows And Believes, The Child Will Lean On.