Love and Logic came to me one morning when I had accidentally taped a program on PBS which had temporarily replaced the timeslot normally filled by "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood".  The program was a seminar hosted by Jim Fay, who was discussing the benefits of Parenting with Love and Logic.  The philosophy was so intriguing and better yet, so doable, that after I watched the program I went straight online and ordered a copy of the book, "Parenting with Love and Logic - Teaching Children Responsibility by Foster Cline and Jim Fay.

    "Why the terms love and logic?  Effective parenting centers around love: love that is not permissive, love that doesn't tolerate disrespect, but also love that is powerful enough to allow kids to make mistakes and permit them to live with the consequences of those mistakes.  Most mistakes do have logical consequences.  And those consequences, when accompanied by empathy - our compassionate understanding of the child's disappointment, frustration, and pain - hit home with mind-changing power."  The Love and Logic attitude teaches children to think, to decide and to live with their decisions...it teaches them responsibility.

    As I read this book over the summer, I discovered new ways to respond to the "mistakes" my children made.  Instead of getting angry, I used empathy.  It made me less stressed and able to actually enjoy parenting more, because I realized that each mistake my children made, created a learning opportunity.  What a fresh perspective I gained on the things that used to irritate me.  Now, I look forward to those "mistakes".  Crazy isn't it?  As parents, it is so easy to revert to parenting in the way that we were parented, which in some cases is good, and in others not so good.  We have to retrain ourselves on how to respond to situations, so that our children will know how to respond when they are parents.

    I believe so strongly in the Love and Logic attitude that I translated it very easily into my classroom culture.  I respond to "mistakes" with empathy, which I have found really affects the children's ability to think rationally about their action, rather than responding to anger with anger. Consequences to actions are natural and logically related to the "mistake".  It also maintains a level of respect between us.  But, best of all it keeps everyone happy.  My classroom is a place where I love to teach and the children love to learn.

    The Love and Logic Institute was established to help both parents and educators create responsible children.  It is such a great way to set the stage for teaching Character Counts! because good character traits are being modeled by the adults in their lives! If you would like more information on Love and Logic, please visit their website www.loveandlogic.com or call them at 1-800-338-4065.