Parenting - Page 6

A

A Message We Can All Share Even if Our Unschooling Lives Aren’t Picture-Perfect

When we’re posting photos or writing stories or talking about unschooling directly with our family and friends, do we ever stop and wonder if it’s necessary to have perfect kids when we’re sharing this way of life? Lots of people want to promote or defend unschooling. I do as well. So we all share social media photos and stories of our thriving, happy kids doing wonderful things. We want to…
D

Do Beautiful Photos Fail to Tell the Whole Unschooling Story?

Can photos reflect the beauty of an unschooling life? We could post loads of pictures of smiling kids involved with impressive activities or running wild and free, surrounded by the spectacular beauty of nature. How about sharing photos of the stunning places where we live? Or visit? The campervans, the rustic cottages, the self-sufficient farms, the yurts, the attractive bits of our more conventional homes, the piles of interesting books…
U

Unschooling Poster Kids

All seven of my unschooled kids went to university when they were 14 and got their degrees before they reached adulthood. No they didn’t. That’s wrong. I lie! But wouldn’t it be impressive if they had all done that? I could have written a book called Brainy Unschoolers: how to get your kids into university at a young age. I might have sold a million copies. Is it necessary that…
P

Putting Our Kids Ahead of the Opinions of Other People

Have you ever put other people ahead of your kids? I have. And I wonder: how could I have done that when my kids mean so much to me? It doesn’t make sense, does it? Years ago, there were many times when I cleaned my house rather than spend time with my children because I wanted my friends, who might drop by unexpectedly, to think I was wonderful. I followed…
W

When We Can’t Decide What’s the Best Way to Bring Up and Educate Our Kids

Do you ever swap between the various methods of homeschooling looking for the perfect way to bring up and educate your kids? I used to do that. I’d try one thing after another, confusing myself and my kids, while never finding what I was searching for. As I said in my book Curious Unschoolers: … I pondered lots of questions: What are the basics of a good education?  Are old…
R

Radical Unschool Love, Praise and Joy

Do you ever praise your kids? Do you tell them you’re proud of them? Some people say we shouldn’t praise our kids. Maybe that’s because our children might end up doing things only because they want to gain our approval. And is there a risk a child might think she is better than everyone else if we praise her too often? We don’t want our kids becoming proud and obnoxious,…
W

What’s the Best Place to Bring Up Kids?

Do you ever wonder where you should live? Are you providing the best environment for your kids? Is it rich and full of opportunities for learning? While Imogen and I were on holiday together, we wandered around Kiama where we were staying, taking photos and chatting about the differences between this coastal town and our village in the bush. Would we prefer to move to the beach? How would our…
C

Could a Lack of Freedom Damage Our Kids’ Mental Health?

On the first morning of my recent holiday with my daughter Imogen, I got up early, grabbed my camera and headed to the beach. I sat alone on the sand, waiting for the sun to rise and thought about freedom. The last couple of years have been hard, haven’t they? In 2020, here in Australia, we endured a lockdown of several months. Last year, I was confined to home for…
P

Parents Or Friends? Or Can We Be Both?

A few weeks ago, my gorgeous adult daughter, Imogen, said, “Mum, we need a break. How about we go to the beach together for a few days?” Oh my, that was a fabulous suggestion. We’ve both had a hard time this last year or so. A holiday away from the cares of everyday life sounded perfect. Actually, it sounded like a lifesaver. So we packed our swimming gear, hoping the…
H

Have I Changed My Unschooling Mind About Screens?

If I had younger children, would I give them iPads of their own? Would I encourage them to spend as much time as they liked using technology? Is this the right unschooling thing to do? I’ve pondered these questions a lot. Not so long ago, I’d have said, “Kids learn a lot from the Internet and their devices. Books are good, but technology is even better! Yes, there’s nothing wrong…
W

Will We Have Done Enough?

Are our kids ‘doing enough’? Maybe we often ask ourselves that question. But what do we mean by ‘doing enough’? Do we worry that our children aren’t doing enough Maths, English, science? Or is there something far more important they need to know? My daughter Gemma-Rose was about 15 when I wrote this story about a day in our family’s unschooling life. I’ve been thinking about time, love, learning and…
Y

Younger Unschoolers: What About Technology and Screen Time?

  When I announced that I was going to write about younger unschoolers, a friend said, “I’d love to read about little kids and technology!” Could I share how we approached screen time during our children’s younger years? My kids all have a good relationship with technology. Is that because of how we handled such things as computers and the Internet during their early years? No. You see, we didn’t…
1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 20
Go toTop