That’s not fair! As parents, we’ve all heard this cry from our children. It gets old really fast. What are we to do? Sometimes we can find a quick and easy resolution to keep the peace. Other times we try to avoid being caught when we know some special privilege or event will upset another […]
Radical Unschooling
Screen Time: Finding the Balance
Balance. It’s an ever-moving target, that elusive “just right” blend of social activities and alone time, physical activity and rest, screen time and actual face time…. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had several conversations with folks who are struggling to find balance between time on electronic devices and time doing other things. As […]
They Sleep WHERE? Family CoSleeping in Middle Class America
Ask people what comes to mind when they imagine a family that sleeps all together in one room, and you basically get three images. Some envision a family living in a foreign country. Others picture the poverty-stricken – those reduced to sleeping together because of their financial woes. Still others see a post-hippie, super-alternative type […]
Sleeping Outside the Box: Part 1
Six years ago, when our twins were born, we added a second floor to our home. One day Gary, our builder, took me aside. “Let me design a bedroom that will be a sanctuary,” he said. He went on to describe a room of enormous proportions, complete with cathedral ceilings, walk-in closet, master bath with […]
Sleeping Outside the Box: Part 2
About 6 weeks ago, our family made a radical switch. If you’ve already read the first half of this article, Radical Unschooling: Sleeping Outside the Box, you know what it was. If you haven’t, here’s a quick recap: 2 parents + 4 kids + 3 bedrooms = mayhem. At least, it did for our family. […]
Sleeping Outside the Box: A Follow Up
Since writing my posts about our move to a family bed, I’ve gotten a lot of questions. Because we made the shift in our thinking gradually, each step that moved us closer to this decision seemed easy and natural. But looking at it from a more traditional perspective, it can seem quite radical (which is […]