Hello from WV!

Hello everyone! I'm very happy to see this forum getting started and am looking forward to meeting all of you.

My name is Cindy, I've been married to Jon for nine years, and we have three beautiful (er, handsome) sons. Nicholas is 7 (8 in just a few months!), James is 4 1/2, and Robert is nine months.

I've read countless parenting books over the years and have gleaned tidbits of information from each of them, so I love the title of Mikki's web site: Unique Parenting. It's such a true reflection of what parenting should be. Each family must develop their own style, and really each child needs to be dealt with on his own level and based on his own personality. The idea that there is one single right way to parent is just silly.

I don't even know what I would call my parenting style (other than unique!) We definitely practice a form of "attachment" parenting in the early years with co-sleeping, responding to every need, and wearing the babies in a sling. Unlike the so-called "ideal attachment model," I follow Biblical principles regarding discipline and believe that spanking is an effective and often necessary teaching tool. We have used materials from Doorposts to help us stay consistent in consequences for misbehavior and have also developed our own methods over the years.

Parenting is a constantly changing, ever evolving adventure! Honestly, I'm leery of the teenage years and hope Mikki will offer me advice as I get closer to that time. Grin

We're a homeschooling family and enjoy learning together. I use unit studies that enable me to teach the same information to all the children, each on their own level.

I'm also a freelance writer and am thrilled to be able to contribute to the family finances while staying home to care for and educate my children.