eq's Profile

The WSJ article sounded so familiar to me. With two parents working full-time, we find ourselves being very inconsistent with how much we expect of our 4-year-old. Sometimes we insist he dress himself. Sometimes we just want to get out the door in the morning so we help without his asking. And he's inconsistent in his willingness to help. It's a struggle.

On the other hand, why does every article have to imply that American middle-class parents are doing it wrong? Why is being "child-centered" wrong? I don't accept that. Obviously, we're influenced by social pressures. That's how it is in every culture.

And I don't accept that there's some perfect way to raise children in some other culture. (Both my husband and I are bi-cultural, so we haven't just experienced American child-rearing.) If I lived in a place where climbing trees to get food and hauling logs was necessary, I'll betcha my kid would be able to do that.

My son's daycare has these, although he's too young for them yet. I don't think they're for home.