On writing and parenting...................

..............................................the Sippican Cottage way:

I had to find a way to make real life real for my son. I coaxed him to join me while I installed the convenience outlet. I could have forced him, but that would never achieve the desired effect. He would simply learn that working with his father is a travail and be programmed to avoid it at all costs. I must actually do work, however, and can't turn it into playtime. That's the danger of things like Sesame Street. Educational shows aren't. The alphabet doesn't get up and dance and sing. You have to make it.

-as excerpted from this post