Good Playing: For Their Sake and Ours

Good Playing: For Their Sake and Ours

Robert Louis Stevenson’s wonderful verses often capture more than meets the eye. When I was down beside the sea A wooden spade they gave to me. To dig the sandy shore. A Child’s Garden of Verses They – whoever ‘they’ were – clearly did this child a good turn....
The Power of Little Boys

The Power of Little Boys

“I take this to Mommy.” A little boy in the woods The other day while cutting firewood I had occasion to reflect on one of the great wonders of the world: the human boy-child. My two and a half year old grandson is, how else to say this?, one hundred...
Making Good Play Happen Today

Making Good Play Happen Today

“Happy hearts and happy faces, Happy play in grassy places— That was how, in ancient ages, Children grew to kings and sages.” Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses What sounds like a sweet childhood ditty in fact points to one of the most significant, and...
The Goal in Raising Children

The Goal in Raising Children

“Man lives by reason, which can attain to prudence only after long experience, so that children need to be instructed by their parents who are experienced.” Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles There are various ways to understand the ‘goal’ in raising children. In...
Thankful for When Children Were Young

Thankful for When Children Were Young

“..and perhaps it will be pleasing to have remembered these things one day.” Virgil, The Aeneid I have to admit it: it’s been hard for me recently as I think back on when my children were younger. A few days ago my wife and I, and our eight year old son—who is...

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