I was so lucky to have parents that considered me a full person with my own needs, wants, and preferences even as a baby. If I didn't like what was for dinner, my mom let me make myself a sandwich. When I had a broken heart, she didn't downplay it just because I was young.

If we stop and think of the ideas about parenting from the past, we see a very alarming pattern of believing children aren't people until they are. But when does an infant become a person? At 2 when they begin to talk? At 12 when they begin to have different ideas than their parents? At 18 when they are a legal adult (by American definition)?

I believe most parent/child issues can be resolved with this one understanding: BABIES ARE PEOPLE.

Yes, we need to guide our children and teach them from our own mistakes, but there must also be room for us to LEARN from our children. If we approach parenting with an open mind and with mutual respect, we discover that our children can teach us almost as much as we teach them.

I am very lucky to have had the parents I had, and was able to parent my own four children that way. We are still very close even though they are aged 19, 20, 24, and 26. We live in a multi-generational home and I am able to help my daughter as she raises my grandchildren, because we have mutual respect for each other.