Page 46 - The Intentional Parent

cause them to become compromised, exploited or otherwise taken advantage of.
Our intention is for our children to be loving, as a reflection of our love of them, and as a means of providing emotional nourishment to the people who they chose to share their lives with. Along with the ability to share and express love, our intention is to encourage civility in our children, so that they achieve the ability to manage and resolve disagreements and enjoy the benefits of harmony over the toil and trouble involved in prolonged and needless conflict.
So, why are these intentions so important under the heading of “limit setting?” Limit setting is a critical parenting action which forms the basis for teaching children self-control. Each one of these areas: physical and mental health, productivity, autonomy and loving-ness, is a function of self control, and parents have a large influence on each one of these areas of life, depending on how they teach and enforce self control through limit setting.
The Relationship Between Limit Setting, Self Control and Freedom
From about age two forward, children express the desire to break loose and experience the world on their own terms. Leaving the protective supervision of the environment into which they are born is a biological imperative for most living creatures. For humans it is important for the well being of the species but it is important for other reasons as well -- because humans value the importance of autonomy. However, achieving autonomy is easier said than done, and autonomy has different meanings in different cultures. For all intents and purposes, we are talking about autonomy as it relates
The Intentional Parent by Peter J. Favaro, Ph.D. 46