Why does it have to be either - or?

Our family was child-centered (was as I now have 3 young adults at 24,21 and 20
- and no one living at home).

Boy, did having those three open life up for me!  I was an only child raised in
an apartment in San Juan - I raised 2 Eagle Scouts and one Civil Air Patrol
Leader (she earned the Mitchell Award and the Bronze Congressional award).
Never in a million years would I have thought I would enjoy camping, canoeing,
driving cub scouts, brownies, etc. to the many places we went.  I learned so
much at the Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum of Natural History, the
Air and Space museum.  I had never seen (as much as you can see) a Cross Country
race, I had read about but never seen a fencing competition - then went to the
Junior Olympics with 2 of mine to represent Missouri.  I met parents who were
Naturalists, musicians,  scientists, librarians, chemists, baseball players,
lawyers, (no, I never met an Indian Chief - but does Indian Princesses count?)
My children saw the Stealth before we knew it existed and one climbed Mt .
Washington - I didn't even know where that was!

What if we had refused to make our home child-centered?  Would we have stayed in
our own lives, only doing what we "like" (how do you know you don't like camping
if you've never done it?)  We would have only met people from our own
neighborhood, school or church.

It was responding to our children's needs that made us grow up!  They opened up
our eyes to new people, places, things and thoughts....  Or is that idea
threatening to the Ezzo-thinkers???

Just a few non-lactation thoughts...

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, LLLL, IBCLC, RN.
Puerto Rico - where it's feeling a lot like Summer!