Parenting Porcupines

Full show notes out on the blog here .  The founding principle of Libertarianism is… wait for it… Liberty. Freedom of choice, of association, and of all things. It is the idea that so long as you are not infringing on the rights of someone else you should be able to live your life, do with your body and your property however you see fit.  It is vitally important to a free society for its people to...

Full show notes on the blog here . Do you remember 9/11/2001? Where were you when you heard the news?  What was your initial reaction to the event? To the war that followed?   I lectured this week in my Strategic Management class on 9/11. Many of my students were just one and two years old when 9/11 happened so I spent a lot of time connecting the emotions of 9/11 — shock, sadness, grief, fear — t...

Full show notes out on the blog here . How do we utilize creative outlets for expression and to expand our children’s educational experience? What arts exposure do our kids have and how do we contextually use it? For years, Hollie and I have attended Dracula at the Columbia ballet. Partly because it’s vampires and partly because it’s ballet. She’s been dancing since she was three and while it’s no...

Full show notes on the blog here . If you have never heard the story about how Kasie and Jessica became friends, here is the Cliff’s Notes version: The two embarked upon the journey that was the 2020 Libertarian Party National Convention in Orlando, Fl. During the 8 hour drive they learned of their shared parenting styles, a shared love of all things Clemson Football, and a shared (and possibly un...

Full show notes on the blog here . We have covered some ground on the topics of Accountability and Personal Responsibility. These ideas are important to a free society. Stemming from these topics is the concept of fiscal responsibility. That term is most commonly used when discussing government finances. Unless you have been living under a rock you know that balancing taxation and spending are not...

Full show notes on the blog here . This is about patriarchy, purity culture (and the toxicity thereof), and how we talk to and teach our kids about boundaries (sexual or otherwise). Let’s start with a few truths: Patriarchy is a social construct that values men over women, boys over girls, and relegates women and children to the lesser position after Father and Husband. It is not Christian — it ex...

Full show notes on the blog here . Our first episode in the Don’t Violate my NAP was on bullying. You can find it here . This time, we’re talking about discipline.  How and when do you discipline your kids? Something that gets everybody weighing in — how do I discipline my child? Let’s start with why . Why do we discipline? (from this blog ) To grow responsible adults Help them manage anxiety — th...

Full show notes here . What was your first experience with an LGBTQ+ individual? Did your parents talk to you about them? What do your kids ask about in regards to LGBTQ+ community? Have you discussed the community in your family? Kasie’s family is flying their Pride flag all month on the front of the house and her daughter, Hollie (13) wanted to make sure we mentioned normalizing LGBTQ+ and that...

Full show notes on the blog here . As we kick off Season 3 in the middle of Pride Month we thought it would be a fitting time to address how we are discussing the topics LGBTQ+ with our kids. This is a hot topic, and one that tends to become very divisive. We hope in this episode to give you some insight into not only how we talk to our kids about these topics, but how we talk to one another as we...

Full show notes (and video) on the blog here . Our guests are: Jason Lyon, also known as “Mr. Murica”, host of The Bearded Truth on Muddied Waters Media. Jason has  participated in many activism opportunities, worked as a grass-roots director at a large liberty-leaning think tank, and is the father to two precious girls.  You already know Casey Crowe from prior episodes. He’s the chair of the Lexi...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by Cliff Booth on Pexels.com So, Hollie’s attending Girls Rock Camp again this summer (hopefully) for the fifth year. Her first year she heard the word “consent.” She was nine. And, yes, it was in the context we think of it in: sexuality. I wasn’t in any way worried about this, in fact, I was grateful. What they taught her was that no one should touch her witho...

No notes for this episode. Just consider supporting the SCLP at this link and enjoy the Mother's Day special.  We play a sort of broken version of The Newlywed Game where we try to guess what our spouse would say about certain things. One thing was for sure: these guys support their Libertarian wives.  Thanks to Brian Couture, Michael Ethridge, and Charlie Whitener for guesting on the show. Episod...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com It is a fact of life that we will all experience loss in our lives. Loss of loved ones to death, loss of a job or other opportunity, and loss of relationships are things that are not new to any of us who have made it well into adulthood. As adults we are seasoned in dealing with loss (well, most of us are generally at least some...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com Tonight we take on all those insecurities in modern parenthood. Namely: How do you know that you are doing a decent job? Well adjusted, kind, respectful, positive feedback from others.  Do you find yourself trying to model your children’s childhood experiences after your own? We are not our children’s tour guide through life....

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com From “experiments in independence” to “gross negligence” there are a LOT of ways to see so-called “free range parenting.” In this article for NPR , a certain mom pushes back against haters by reminding them that numbers of missing children are actually at an all-time low while perceptions of the dangers of kidnapping are eleva...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com In Season 1, Episode 14, we covered the first part of this conversation which focused on the need for open discussion about Mental Health. If you haven’t watched it you can watch it  here . Equally important a discussion is one about how we support our children and why focusing on mental health is important. Mental health and...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by C Technical on Pexels.com When Hollie was little, I used to send kids home when they asked for food. They could have water and they had to drink it in the kitchen. Sometimes I made popcorn. But they had to eat it in the kitchen. We leave cookies and candy on the bottom shelf of our pantry, easily accessible by Hollie and her pint-sized friends. But Hollie kn...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by David McBee on Pexels.com All right, in the first place, we think of this as “Don’t hurt people. Don’t take their stuff.” And we think about “stuff” as including property. After all, the founding fathers wanted “life, liberty, and property” as the inalienable rights. Turns out property is a limited commodity and so not inalienable, but whatever. Now, though,...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com It’s a pretty common story in this day and age. Kids graduating high school with the expectation is that they will go to college and get a degree. Whether because their peers are doing it, their guidance counselors are pushing them toward it, or because their families have the expectation, more and more kids are opting to go to colleg...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Social Security and how we’re never gonna see that money. “Benefit” and other euphemisms for how social security fucks us. Even former Texas Governor Rick Perry called it a ponzi scheme. So it’s not that hard to understand. Here’s the basics of how it works: Current workers pay, former workers accept the money. BUT a ponzi scheme is ill...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com It’s almost Valentine’s Day and the GenXer in Kasie wants to reject the Hallmark Holiday on principle.  According to this link science says it’s perfectly okay to swear in front of children. And this article that argues it’s time to get the eff over it already, we can all be caring and loving and still let off some profanity now...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by Kaique Rocha on Pexels.com Last week, we talked about how licensing laws and ordinances impede entry into the market for so many, even kids. What happens once you have made your way through the red tape? Entrepreneurs pay a premium for choosing freedom. Some notes on tax rates here. Every wage we earn and everything we do is taxed, and that taxation is force...

On the blog here. Episode art: Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com Topic: Kids getting policed for not having a business license It started with a meme. As Libertarians, we know the best way for government to help business is to stay the fuck out of it. So why are they all up in everyone’s right to make a living and support their families? Why does government think it needs to regulate every...

Show notes are on the blog at parentingporcupines.com Click here. Thumbnail photo credit: marrio31 on Pexels.com

Show notes are on the blog parentingporcupines.com Click here. Thumbnail photo credit: Pixabay on pexels.com