You’re darn right I brainwash my son.  He goes through a cleansing often and it’s a powerful process…See, we as parents have a obligation to our children.  We show them right and wrong.  We need to expose them just enough to this world so that they have a healthy respect for what’s out there.  This goes for the good and the bad.  They do need to know.  But then here is where the brainwashing begins for my son.  He has a mind of his own. He is his own person.  He has learned and seen and been impacted by so many things in his young life (as many of our children have); and instead of expecting him to accept it and give away his power, I wash away that expectation and he is allowed to think and decide for himself.  He can question what he has heard.  Question what he has seen.  And ultimately~ question what he knows. He is also allowed to speak his mind, his truth, and to ask.  Children are often taught to not question authority.  They need some brainwashing from this line of thinking if they are to build confidence in themselves. I want him to think independently and become confident in what he knows to be true by arriving at his own conclusions and make decisions about how he feels about his own experience.  How else is he going to grow up and think on his feet as an adult man?

As a young girl this brainwashing was the gift my Mom gave me. She brainwashed out of my mind the negative side of expectations of how children communicate in their world.  “Use your voice” is something my mother said to my sister and I constantly as we were growing up.  “Stand up for yourself, Holly.”  Use your intuition and let your heart guide you.  Speak your mind.  It was the most valuable gift she ever gave me.  And I am passing it on to my son.  So, thank you, Mom!