Sunday 10^th November 2013

I discovered today what the real cause of my writing block was. I have been trying to write something that would be academically acceptable but would be out of step with my own beliefs. After discussing it with my friend who commissioned the piece she said ‘write what feels right for you and we’ll see whether it can be adapted to suit our needs.’

You may be wondering what the ‘piece’ is. It’s a parenting course for Caribbean parents and I’ve been struggling to write anything prescriptive because I recognise and accept that parenting comes from one’s beliefs.

If you believe that children are born as empty vessels to be filled up by the adults around them, then there are many books that will tell you how to do that.

If on the other hand you believe, as I do, that children are born with everything they need to know already inside them, and that our job as adults is to help them draw the knowledge out, then you will parent in a very different way. And there are not so many books about that.

So, I’m going to write the course from this perspective. From the view that we all come with a purpose and choose the parents who are going to best help us fulfil that purpose.

I wonder if there will be many takers.

Maybe a walk in the beautiful autumn sunshine also helped to clear the blockage.