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Realizing that Laurie was more important than any thing and treating her with respect gave her a trust in me that could not have happened otherwise. If a child is punished for breaking a lamp, the message to the child is that the lamp is more important than the child is. If the child has been raised in a free environment he feels badly enough about breaking the lamp without being punished. The punishment drives a wedge between the parent and child. If the child knows that he will be punished for breaking something, he will learn to hide or lie about any future mishaps. Accidents happen to us all and it is time to stop making children pay so heavily for their innocent mistakes. The fun they are having, the laughter that was filling the room, is more important than the lamp. Lamps can be replaced, while the laughter of children cannot.
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