What an excellent post. The paragraph that really stood out to me was, "Children do not have all the skills that adults have yet. This is obvious. But we must accept them where they are, and we must help them grow and learn." I do not know how that can happen if they are silenced and told to stand off to the side.
Children are like little sponges listening to grown-up conversation.
If you give them a chance to regurgitate it putting on their own spin to a topic it can be amazing to hear their perspective. It gives them a sense of self worth and importance. That is priceless.
I also know that there are children who have behavior problems and that can stem from a poor diet, lack of sleep, or most importantly vaccines. All those issues are a result of poor parenting. The behavior is not the child's fault.
Thank-you Mary.
Children are amazing and we need to treat them as such.
When you expect the worst out of someone, that is often what you will get, or what you choose to see.
Children are the future! We they are not nurtured and encouraged to grow there is not much hope for what is to come.