I cannot help but always think of childbirth as the perfect example of suffering as a conduit to grace, and it is by design. That’s a fairly obvious example but it really is the beginning of a series of suffering, for both child and mother (so, literally everyone), suffering that is almost always matched or surpassed in joy. I appreciate this perspective on this topic in reference to therapy and children especially.
I just bought Hannah’s Children as a birthday gift for myself, and hope to join the ranks of women with more than five children in the coming years myself! The Mother Artist also sounds really good!
Read Troubled and enjoyed it. His voice feels important for the times we’re living in. In the middle of Family Unfriendly. Loving it. It honestly feels like reading paragraph after paragraph of my own thoughts!
A few months ago I finished reading aloud books 1-3 of HP with our big girls (ages 6 and 8)! I wanted to keep going but my husband put his foot down haha. So fun re-reading w your kids🥹🙌🏼 Also love book 3 but I remember loving 4 and 6 a lot too.
I’m honestly not loving the discourse around Abigail’s new book. Haven’t read it but hearing her talk about it something isn’t hitting me right. Like this part that you quoted in your article:
“For thousands of years, until the therapeutic turn in parenting, societies took it for granted that parents’ primary job was to transmit their values to their children…. Once parents decided the goal of child-rearing was emotional wellness, they effectively conceded that the actual authorities were therapists.”
I feel emotional wellness of my kids is the main goal of my parenting… it’s a value of mine, along with other values. (It isn’t emotional wellness or pass on your values; what a weird dichotomy to set up?). I look around and see that the majority of people are not self-aware and struggle in relationships (including the one w themselves). I don’t want this for my kids. I do not see therapists as the authorities in this area; I simply parent with my relationship with my kids as priority number one and as I work on myself I’m able to pass that onto them. I can get behind her central thesis but I guess I feel that her characterization of gentle/respectful parenting is wrong and harmful. As Marianne Williamson says, “There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than a transformation of the way we raise our children.” This is a big topic but wanted to share a few of my thoughts!
I cannot help but always think of childbirth as the perfect example of suffering as a conduit to grace, and it is by design. That’s a fairly obvious example but it really is the beginning of a series of suffering, for both child and mother (so, literally everyone), suffering that is almost always matched or surpassed in joy. I appreciate this perspective on this topic in reference to therapy and children especially.
I just bought Hannah’s Children as a birthday gift for myself, and hope to join the ranks of women with more than five children in the coming years myself! The Mother Artist also sounds really good!
Also- team HP #3 is the best one over here too!
Read Troubled and enjoyed it. His voice feels important for the times we’re living in. In the middle of Family Unfriendly. Loving it. It honestly feels like reading paragraph after paragraph of my own thoughts!
A few months ago I finished reading aloud books 1-3 of HP with our big girls (ages 6 and 8)! I wanted to keep going but my husband put his foot down haha. So fun re-reading w your kids🥹🙌🏼 Also love book 3 but I remember loving 4 and 6 a lot too.
I’m honestly not loving the discourse around Abigail’s new book. Haven’t read it but hearing her talk about it something isn’t hitting me right. Like this part that you quoted in your article:
“For thousands of years, until the therapeutic turn in parenting, societies took it for granted that parents’ primary job was to transmit their values to their children…. Once parents decided the goal of child-rearing was emotional wellness, they effectively conceded that the actual authorities were therapists.”
I feel emotional wellness of my kids is the main goal of my parenting… it’s a value of mine, along with other values. (It isn’t emotional wellness or pass on your values; what a weird dichotomy to set up?). I look around and see that the majority of people are not self-aware and struggle in relationships (including the one w themselves). I don’t want this for my kids. I do not see therapists as the authorities in this area; I simply parent with my relationship with my kids as priority number one and as I work on myself I’m able to pass that onto them. I can get behind her central thesis but I guess I feel that her characterization of gentle/respectful parenting is wrong and harmful. As Marianne Williamson says, “There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than a transformation of the way we raise our children.” This is a big topic but wanted to share a few of my thoughts!