On hand slapping.....

Ok, this relates to Sue's story about when Leanna was little and kept going after something on the end table. Tom did correctly say that we don't hit our kids. At that time we had never-she was too young. And at that age I think it's really more the adults' responsibility to keep dangerous things and knick-knacks away from kids. It is the kid's job to explore the world-that is how they learn and develop their minds.

At the time I wouldn't have gone into an explanation of why we didn't hit her for it. Since that time I am more secure in my relationship with my mother-in-law and know that I can disagree with her and she won't get mad at me for it. She may argue with me and we may never feel the same, but I know she won't get mad at me for seeing things differently than she does. We can post the way we did the other day and still we spent the afternoon together yesterday and had a pleasant time together.

I read this years ago, it's just something for you to consider when you think about how you discipline a child:

SLAPPING HANDS

How tempting it is to slap those daring little hands! Many parents do it without thinking, but consider the consequences. Maria Montessori, one of the earliest opponents of slapping children's hands, believed that children's hands are tools for exploring, an extension of the child's natural curiosity. Slapping them sends a powerful negative message. Sensitive parents we have interviewed all agree that the hands should be off-limits for physical punishment. Research supports this idea. Psychologists studied a group of sixteen fourteen-month-olds playing with their mothers. When one group of toddlers tried to grab a forbidden object, they received a slap on the hand; the other group of toddlers did not receive physical punishment. In follow-up studies of these children seven months later, the punished babies were found to be less skilled at exploring their environment. Better to separate the child from the object or supervise his exploration and leave little hands unhurt.