One of the things I'm trying to get used to about blogging is that I can express my opinion as forcefully as I want because this is MINE. I don't have to worry about hurting anyone else's feelings when I say how I think things should be done in an ideal world. Those who know me in real life, know me as a very opinionated person, but the truth is, that I hate conflict. I don't like it when debates get too heated. I just want to do thing MY way and have everyone else leave me alone. :)

One of my favorite parenting opinions is that I really don't believe in corporal punishment. Recently there has been a lot of debate on several other homeschooling blogs about some parenting books that advocate rather extreme forms of corporal punishment. In my not very humble opinion, what they advocate is abuse. My point here is not to get into the whole debate about whether spanking and other, more violent forms of corporal punishment, are ok or not, but rather to declare my own personal parenting philosophy.

I think that parenting books often fall into one of two ways of viewing children. On the one hand are the books that view parents and children as being in an adversarial relationship. Children are out to get everything they can and parents should do whatever it takes to prevent their children from being so selfish.

On the other hand are the books that view parents and children in a cooperative relationship. In this case, children are viewed as great gifts, wonderful people in their own right, who need guidance to help them achieve their full potential. I'm sure that anyone can tell just by reading this paragraph which view is the one I subscribe to. In fairness, I think that books come across this way much more than actual parents do. Most parents fall somewhere in between these two views--perhaps because one is obviously too harsh and the other is somewhat idealistic.

When I say that my view is idealistic, though, that doesn't mean that I am not trying to achieve it. I truly, in my heart, believe that my kids are a gift from a loving Heavenly Father. I believe that each one of them is precious to Him. He has entrusted me with teaching them and helping them become the kind of people He wants them to be. I believe that I can best do that by building them up rather than using force to stop their bad behaviors. I have to believe that if Christ were able to come here and raise these precious ones, He would be gentle and loving at all times. His patience would never fail. I am not a perfect parent as He would be, but then, I am not perfect in any part of my life. That does not stop me from striving to be like Him.