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Why I Want My Daughter to Be Free at School

“I would rather have a daughter who acts out than one who falls in line.”

My five-year-old daughter, Ali, is currently wearing nothing but a pair of underpants—and about a gallon of paint. “You look like a Wild Thing!” I tell her. “You be Max, Mommy!” she says, and soon we are lost in play, stomping all around my parents’ backyard in Maine.

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For my husband, this was painful to hear. He’d often been the “bad kid” growing up, at a time when ADHD was less understood or accepted than it is today. This conversation brought back upsetting memories.

I, on the other hand, took pleasure in our daughter’s disobedience.

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Am I projecting? Certainly. I am a living example of what happens when you over-train obedience in a young girl.

My Little Pony

Good girl! Here’s your biscuit.

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