CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: Children continually check and correct mistakes by monitoring one another. In pretend play, they will exchange rules, make up definitions, and put a "frame" on the situation as they go along. Until the group formally changes them, the rules are binding. For instance, if a boy playing the role of the son asks for coffee, he will be corrected and told to ask for milk; if he later plays the father and asks for coffee, that's all right. MY WORD: Children are a constant source of give and take in their daily learning experiences.