Bravo! I agree with most of your article and can relate to your approach in the home. We also model 99%...well....um...95% positivness in front of our children, and even when they are not looking (never know when they are listening). We find it easy enough to live, love, laugh, forgive.

What we do not find easy, and it is where I part agreement with your article, or maybe just find challenge, is with schools. Everything we model, teach, or explain can be contradicted in a moments time by a short tempered teacher, or peer, with sometimes little or no consequences to their actions.

My mom was the model you speak of, and I was the biggest pain in the ass. She often told me that someday I will have a kid just like me, but she never gave up. She let me learn from my lessons and make decisions as an individual.

I find myself channeling my mom's wisdom, and raising my children in similar fashion, but I am a new world dad. The things that my mom had patience with at home, likewise so did school administration. If I misbehaved, teachers corrected me, and sent me to the disiplinarian's office if warranted. In this new world, teachers call home, or email about any off color antic! They say they have no time to deal with distractions. They suspend children, and send them home to get them out of their hair, demonstrating no patience or tolerance.

I guess I really don't part agreement with your article after all. With your tactics, even in today's world, our children will grow up the same way my mom intended, as individuals. We can only hope that with all we model, that the individual we raise is a one of the great ones!