Inside the book

Read a chapter

Two chapters from the book are currently available online:

• Turning the Viewpoint (chapter 10)
• More Than Meets the Eye (chapter 11)

Book Description

Life Teachings: Raising a Child contains stories that reflect the philosophy that guided the author's child raising. The stories illustrate the adult characteristics the author wanted her two children to possess by the time they were young adults. It emphasizes the many choices we make that influence how a child will grow and, indeed, how we as adults grow. The book underscores the value of conscious choice and awareness of how the subtle choices parents make every day form the lives of themselves and their children. Life Teachings: Raising a Child depicts a way of life that honors continuing growth, long after official childhood is over.

Quotes from the book

"Comments said to children have long-lasting power."

"Empathy was a word that the girls learned early in their lives."

"Encouraging a child to pursue thinking and logical reasoning means that standards are high for all family members."

"Hindsight information is useful for the next experience."

"If children do not frequently hear of parents' activities outside of home, parents may not frequently hear of the child's activities outside of home."

"You will make your impression upon your child whether you have specific intentions or not."

"I valued the imagination and relevance that books could bring to a life."

"In our lives, people and experiences have formed who we are at this moment."

"Preparation could make a positive difference in how the children lived, in what happened to them, and in the degree to which they interacted with their world."

"In the playroom were tools for the children's work."

"We agreed that we would never knowingly embarrass each other or other family members when we were among other people."

"Details of the richness and beauty inside people are not always readily apparent from the outside."

"To say that we as a family did not value guilt does not mean that we did not value responsibility."

"We wanted the girls to recognize and know how to create playfulness and fancifulness as a natural part of their lives."

"Young children take their cues from their parents about what is good, what is not so good, what is or is not acceptable, and what is valued in the family."

"I wanted my children to have their own fears, not mine."

"From the time we are born until we die, people and experiences show us a way to conduct our lives."

"Being a parent is not easy work; it is responsible work, full of choices at nearly every step of the way, just as it was for our parents and their parents before them."

Table of Contents

Using brief family stories, written in an easy-to-read style, Life Teachings: Raising a Child addresses many universal topics.

• The Setting
  
  
• Introduction
  
  
• Chapter 1 -- One day, I was listening to my adult children.
  
  
• Chapter 2 -- I prepared for my life as a parent.
  
  
• Chapter 3 -- I realized that respect was a huge over-arching theme.
  
  
• Chapter 4 -- As soon as Lara was born, I began acquainting her with the world she had entered.
  
  
• Chapter 5 -- Young children believe what parents say to them.
  
  
• Chapter 6 -- I created a way to let my daughters get my attention.
  
  
• Chapter 7 -- Knowing what one's face presents is valuable information.
  
  
• Chapter 8 -- I made an agreement with each child to maintain a united front in public.
  
  
• Chapter 9 -- Whenever I had information that I thought my daughters could use, I gave it to them.
  
  
• Chapter 10 -- I called it turning the viewpoint.
  
  
• Chapter 11 -- Geodes became our family's symbol of more than meets the eye.
  
  
• Chapter 12 -- Events and situations are framed through a lens.
  
  
• Chapter 13 -- I felt that play was my daughter's work and that it was very important.
  
  
• Chapter 14 -- I valued the imagination and relevance that books could bring to a life.
  
  
• Chapter 15 -- The girls learned to recognize and reach for opportunities in creative ways.
  
  
• Chapter 16 -- I felt that it was important for my daughters to understand the remarkably strong role that preparation plays in determining the quality of experiences.
  
  
• Chapter 17 -- Not being able to afford something can be a luxury.
  
• Chapter 18 -- I instinctively knew that I wanted my daughters to have their own fears, not mine.
  
  
• Chapter 19 -- There was a fear that I carried into motherhood that I couldn't bypass.
  
  
• Chapter 20 -- There are times when situations just do not make good sense.
  
  
• Chapter 21 -- I look for ways to honor logical reasoning.
  
  
• Chapter 22 -- Michael's hearing liability resulted in an asset for the girls.
  
  
• Chapter 23 -- We sought to add imagination and fancifulness to regular family activities.
  
  
• Chapter 24 -- I thought that all similar-age children would be good playmates for my girls.
  
  
• Chapter 25 -- The tone in a person's voice has a meaning that can involve personal safety.
  
  
• Chapter 26 -- I wanted each of the girls to be comfortable with change, to learn to take change in stride.
  
  
• Chapter 27 -- In life, there are times when someone just needs to act-just do it.
  
  
• Chapter 28 -- I felt it important that, from a very early age, Lara and Julie understand the vast amount of effort that is required to produce the items we consume.
  
  
• Chapter 29 -- Each family rule seemed necessary, reasonable, fair, and useful for adult life.
  
  
• Chapter 30 -- There were times when keeping the focus on the girls made life reasonable for all of us.
  
  
• Chapter 31 -- The children bought gifts they could afford.
  
  
• Chapter 32 -- Panic is an awful feeling.
  
  
• Chapter 33 -- Parents have aspects to their lives other than parenthood.
  
  
• Chapter 34 -- Parents' comments help form standards.
  
  
• Chapter 35 -- Wishes can carry more than the obvious.
  
  
• Conclusion
  

Buy Life Teachings: Raising a Child from Amazon.com. $12.95. Paperback, 112 pages.

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