> I do. Good for you. However not all kids are the same so what activities worked well for you might not work well for other families - despite their best effo

> I do. Good for you. However not all kids are the same so what activities worked well for you might not work well for other families - despite their best efforts. Like I said - we have tried doing needlework with my son with a kit that was specifically designed for kids. So my comments are not without precedence. > ...and that is the 'secret' to raising self-reliant children: involve them in common tasks when those tasks are performed anyway. This does not take any "high-roading" as you imply, it just takes a little bit of forethought and might make things go a bit slower than they normally would. Geez, I wish I thought of that. So all those years I've spent playing number and word games with them; teaching them to cook, handle scissors, knives, gas cookers and even open fires responsibly; how to do a great many DIY projects with power tools safely and engage in their curiosity for the natural world was all just a waste of time because I didn't happen to do that one thing you do. /s