Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Do You Have a Kids Team?

[Gerald Manata (gmanata2003]

     Shouldn't this discussion have taken place in the children_in_cohousing 
site?

Michael Barrett <mbarrett [at] toast.net> wrote: 
Re: Do You Have a Kids Team?    Tim Mensch wrote:

> One suggestion: Involve the kids on the kids' team. Ask them how to best
> solve the perceived problems. Make them part of the solution instead of
> seeing them as a problem to be solved (not that you're seeing them that
> way, but make it explicit).
>
> Giving them a bit of respect can go a long way.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Yes, I totally agree, and have advocated the same here at Shadowlake 
Village, VA

An amusing result: We were having an issue with kids leaving their wheeled 
toys, scooters, bikes, turtles, etc., on the pedways and creating a hazard 
after dark.
The kids were invited to a meeting to discuss and asked to suggest possible 
solutions. Predictable answers they came up with: kids must take their toys 
home, must park them off the pedway, etc.
Then, as an ultimate threat, an adult proposed that the offending toys could 
be impounded to the Common House basement for some time period - hoping that 
such a dire threat would drive the point home to the kids that it was a 
serious concern to the adults.
To our great amusement the boys (primarily) thought this idea was the 
greatest, it was carried by acclaim and they promptly signed up to patrol and 
impound 
their friends' and neighbors' toys!
In reality the patrol only ran for a few days and I don't think anything was 
actually impounded - because they were all being very careful, but hoping to 
catch their neighbors!
But it was a chuckle.  I just love our kids!

Michael Barrett - whose own kids are grown and whose granddaughters live far 
away



_________________________________________________________________
Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at: 
http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/