Topical Index

Little Explorers

Ages 1-4

We believe that all children are a gift from God. Parents should not put an unnecessary emphasis on schedules. Children greatly benefit from lots of physical touch. Breastfeeding into toddlerhood--and for as long as mother and child desire--continues to provide health and emotional benefits and serves to strengthen the foundation of trust laid in infancy. Children's nighttime needs are as worthy of being met as their daytime needs, and each child has individual nighttime needs that should be respected and met to the best of their parents' ability. Parents need to be sensitive to their children's need to be close to them and not force separation before their child is ready. Everyone benefits when children are an integral part of the family's daily life. A father's involvement in raising his children is vital. Fear and purposely-inflicted pain have no place in gentle, loving, Biblical discipline, and children should be discipled from birth with an appropriate mixture of kindness and firmness in a manner that respects their feelings and their developmental, emotional, and daily needs.

~ from the GCM Statement of Beliefs