Introductions and Philosophy

Hi!  I'm Toni and stay at home mom to  my almost 17 month old son Orion.  Since the day he was born, my husband and I have always attended to his needs and will continue to do so for the rest of his life.  Attachment parenting is the term coined for responding to a baby's needs to ensure they trust us to meet their needs.  It can come in the form of breast feeding on demand, wearing baby close, sleeping together, and staying close through their first years of life.  This way of parenting was completely natural to us and I fully believe my son will be better for it.

We've never used a crib.  We have one, but it's full of his stuffed animals and cloth diapers.  We bought bottles that still sit unused in their packaging.  We never needed gauze or vaseline because I'm very adamant about leaving boys intact.  There's nothing dirty, ugly, or bizarre about my son's genitals.  The way he exited my body will be the way he exits this Earth.

As he grows older, and starts exploring the world around him, my husband and I are becoming more aware of how we'd like our son to be raised and how to learn about life.  Radical unschooling seems to be that fit for us.  A brief overview: radical unschooling is not living a life without boundaries.  In my opinion, it is about setting up an environment for our son in which he is safe and allowed to explore at his own pace and do what interests him because he desires it.  We give him the tools and he uses them.

It may sound very strange to many people who want to control their children and set limits for them for everything from bedtime to television.  But to me, that sounds like we can't trust our children.  And without trust, it's hard to respect.  And we would all love for our children to respect us.  So it's our job to show them first.  I've read many studies that show how timeouts and punishments don't work.  And if we keep trying to stifle our children, one day they will rebel.  But if from the beginning we explain our decisions to them and allow them to be a part of the problem solving process, we find a child who can trust us and communicate!

It's takes a lot to be able to live this lifestyle.  To trust that our child will "turn out okay."  But many families across the world are becoming more and more "radical" in their approach to life.  This blog will chronicle our lives on this journey mainly focusing on how we will unschool our son in education.  We're very excited to see where this all will take us and we're very excited for you to join us.

Questions about unschooling or living a life without control?  Please visit Joyfully Rejoicing.