Why I Want My Daughter to Be Free at School
“I would rather have a daughter who acts out than one who falls in line.”
My five-year-old daughter, Ali, is currently wearing nothing but a pair of underpants—and about a gallon of paint. “You look like a Wild Thing!” I tell her. “You be Max, Mommy!” she says, and soon we are lost in play, stomping all around my parents’ backyard in Maine.
was
can’t
For my husband, this was painful to hear. He’d often been the “bad kid” growing up, at a time when ADHD was less understood or accepted than it is today. This conversation brought back upsetting memories.
I, on the other hand, took pleasure in our daughter’s disobedience.
three
*
Am I projecting? Certainly. I am a living example of what happens when you over-train obedience in a young girl.
My Little Pony
Good girl! Here’s your biscuit.
why
I
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