New Blog Carnivals I Discovered and a New Forum, Too!

As regular readers know, I participate almost every month in the Carnival of Natural Parenting (stay tuned for this month's submission on July 12 on Parenting Philosophy!). One of the hosts of that carnival also hosts another that I will be reading regularly: The Carnival of Gentle Discipline.

I want to raise my son to have ethics, not morals. What do I mean? Morals are an external code that people adhere to, like laws and the ten commandments, because it is what they are told to do. While morals will have to do for some people, I want my son to be a discerning, ethical person that can do what is necessary and just without always having to look outside of himself for the answers.

One of the ways that I am modeling that ideal is the way I am interacting with him and instilling discipline. Discipline is not a bad word- after all, it has the same root as disciple. And a disciple follows... what? To me, a disciple of the Flow is one that can listen for that which is not audible and use it to make sound decisions. So I am working WITH him so that he can discover his ethical compass- one that will guide him out of love, not fear.

To that end, spanking, threats, witholding love, and other forms of intimidation are not the way for us in this family. We work very, very hard (oh my hell- is it hard!) to be cooperative with our toddler and teach him to cooperate with us in turn. This is going to be great reading for us!

The site, Parenting Gently is the co-host of the carnival. I will be joining so as to take advantage of the words and ideas that have walked this path before me.

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Another new blog carnival that I will be participating in (I think) is Families Create! A Monthly Make and Play Carnival. Play is serious business, people. It's how kids learn and families bond. So stay tuned for some upcoming posts in that vein.

Upcoming themes include Weird and Wonderful, Rhymes and Verse, and Favorite Books.

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A new forum that I am loving is the Natural Parenting Forum. I was on the Mothering Board for a while, and while that has a long and storied history, it has imploded for many reasons I will not get into here. One of the members that I met there has built a new community for us to enjoy and so far, I really am! Take a look and register if you are so inclined.