When my children were small (and still), I was greatly influenced by La Leche League and John Holt, the Imke Spilkers of the child development world. I believed my children were to be trusted, that they were not little monsters bent on manipulating those around them for their own advantage. I believed that all you had to do was to treat them with respect, love, and reason and that the result would be a child who followed his own path while respecting the needs of others.
And then would come a day. The child would whine, the child would fret and be petulant. The child would grow more and more unreasonable, and I would think, "O.k. this is it, I was wrong, sometimes you've just gotta get tough."
And then the child would turn out to have German Measles.
And once again I would re-learn the lesson: Your Child is Not Your Enemy. Listen to Your Child.
This lesson applies to horses. I have still not learned this lesson.
. . . . . . . .
p.s. Well, actually, yes, my kids all had the MMR vaccine, but German Measles just sounds better in the prose than any other disease.
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