When did structure become a bad thing?
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| Fri, 07-30-2004 - 8:19am |
We used to live next door to a "no structure" family. The kids ran wild in the neighborhood, the mom never planned dinner so lord only knows if and when the kids ate. Sorry, I don't think that's a good way to live. My kids know we eat dinner at 6:30, so they have to be home.
I can see taht you wouldn't demand that an infant go to bed and wake up at precisely the same time, but is there ever a time to impose structure on a child? So lets say you are the freewheeling type and have always doen things whenever. What happens when you send your child to school where the bell rings at the same time every day?
As far as activities, I realize all kids are different, but when my kids were little, if we just did whatever, whenever, my kids woudl end up grumpy and overtired. My experience is that if say, we were at the beach and I say, oh heck, let's just stay later, the kids woudl be happy at first, but by the days end I would end up with whiny, overtired kids.
Maybe I'm just misinterpreting what I am reading, but I personally think structure is a good thing. When children are small, the structure includes naptimes, mealtimes, etc. As they get older it evolves into boundaries like "be home at 6 for dinner" or "you can't go into soemones house without telling me first". I couldn't imagine living without structure or boundaries for my kids.
Susan

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It's one reason my DS was able to do so well in preschool. His teacher once commented to me, "I can tell DS has a rich home life. He's one of my few students who can use all areas of the preschool room. You can always tell which children watch too much TV. They don't know how to do imaginative play and they are lost in the room."
Even now that he's older, I take him out, whether it's apple picking or going to the zoo. The world is too big and too rich to simply stay at home watching TV. I don't need a study or a ped recommendation to know TV is simply not good -- in the same way that car seats are good and smoking is bad. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure those things out . . . or perhaps it does.
TV cuts down on imaginative play, art, and social skills. TV is on in restuarants, in doctor's offices, in hospitals, in airports. TV is everywhere -- the drone is incessent in the ear.
One of the things I learned living alone for seven years is how to live peacefully in a world of . . . silence. Not many can do it, but once you learn how, you are never alone. That is a *gift* I am trying to instill in my child. If I do so, I will have considered my job 50% complete.
outside_the_box_mom
That's your contribution to the discussion?
Y'know, just because one type of herbal supplement has been banned doesn't mean that ALL herbal supplements everywhere are ineffective and dangerous.
Karen
"A pocketknife is like a melody;sharp in some places,
Karen
"A pocketknife is like a melody;sharp in some places,
eileen
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