Originally Posted by Val
Originally Posted by Giftodd
I don't see that the people suggesting that forcing a child to play an instrument they don't enjoy are saying that a child should be allow to give up anything that has made them cry once in a while (though they're welcome to correct me if I am wrong).

What I see them saying is that if it is causing unhappiness then there is a question about whether or not it is worth doing. If it is persistence and resilience you're after there is a great book call the Optimistic Child by Martin Seligman (former president of the American Psychological Association).

This is exactly what I've been trying to say. Thanks.

I'll definitely check out the book.

Val


Val I meant stuff like this. Nothing you said was wrong or out of line, I just thought this parenting philosophy track had little to do with this family's problem. And a lot of this long thread has been devoted to random parenting philosophy rather than helping little Johnny Smith. I just now tripped over my own tongue saying I don't believe the same as your core beliefs because you're a Christian and a homeschooler, but that doesn't stop me from loving the things you say and looking forward to reading your posts because you always come up with some great common sense stuff. That's what i was trying to say, so you would know that i love you. In this case my fingers went faster than my brain and let out a mud puddle of ideas that weren't concrete yet. And yep, I said it outloud. Ah *blushing bright red*

Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar