pearl on respecting your child

I'm reading a book I said I'd never read. After a couple of conversations with a wise friend, and plenty of self-assurance that reading something doesn't necessarily require implementing it, I picked up a copy of To Train Up a Child. I'm 28 pages in, and so far I haven't had a stroke, been pursued by an angry mob, or been struck by lightening.

While I'm sure a lot of what's in this book would be highly controversial in today's parenting environment, what I've read so far has not been as frightening as my worst assumptions were. There's a lot that challenges current thoughts on parenting, discipline, and punishment, though, and plenty of assertions to chew on.

That said, I've been shocked to find some gold nuggets. Yes, shocked. I am not kidding, y'all. I really didn't want to read this book and I REALLY didn't want to agree with anything in it. I had all sorts of preconceived notions of what I would read, and these were not the most flattering of notions.

But get a load of this:

The feelings of a child are just as important and sacred as those of an adult. Always treat your children with respect. Never ridicule, mock, or laugh at your child's ideas, creations, or ambitions. The trust you desire to when they are older must be established and maintained when they are young. 

If that doesn't fly in the face of all my assumptions about what I'd find in a book by the Pearls, nothing would. And on this matter right here, I couldn't agree more. The rest remains to be seen.


How about you? Are you familiar with this book or the authors? What are your thoughts on respecting children and how that might play out? Have you ever tried something expecting to hate it and found that maybe it wasn't as bad as you anticipated?