Taking Children Seriously

The Taking Children Seriously List


(This is an archive of the tcs.ac website from 2003. It is a historical curiosity, which I do not endorse, and do not recommend reading. I (Elliot Temple) think it contains serious errors. Note: when converting the website to run at a different url, the archive software incorrectly changed some text, like some emails, from saying tcs.ac to saying curi.us)

Table of Contents


Introduction to the TCS List

The Taking Children Seriously List is a forum for the discussion of TCS child-rearing/education theory and practice, and for the support of parents trying to make their interactions with their children non-coercive.

Should I subscribe to the TCS List?

Anyone who wishes to subscribe is welcome to do so. However, the TCS List is not intended to be a general support group for all parents, and if you agree with any of the following ideas and are not open to criticism on them, you will probably not find the List supportive:

To get the most out of the TCS List, you need to be open to criticism and help and support in finding a better way to solve problems. On the TCS List, we typically don't “agree to differ” or brush over possible differences, we probe possible differences in attempts to check whether we agree and if not, to come to agreement. We all criticise one another's ideas, so it is very unlikely that yours will not attract criticism too, even if you do think that you are non-coercive. :-) The secret of enjoying the List is to get to know the many lovely people who post on the List, so that you will know that their criticism is a gift intended to help rather than designed to hurt. BTW, there is a lot more TCS conversation happening off List than there is on the List.

Who does enjoy the TCS List? People who hold the following ideas:

These people find the TCS List profoundly supportive.

Others, who think TCS has it all wrong but like a good debate, appear to like the List despite their differences with TCS ideas, especially if they appreciate satire/have a dry sense of humour. When in doubt, assume that the poster was smiling or joking at the time of writing.

To find out more about TCS, see the FAQ. When you have subscribed to the List, you can retrieve the archives, which provide a rich source of information about the List, about TCS and about subjects about which you may have questions.

To subscribe...

To subscribe to the Taking Children Seriously List, send a message to [email protected] saying (in the body of the message)

subscribe TCS your-first-name your-last-name

then follow the instructions to confirm your subscription.

Subscribers to the TCS List receive a message about the List, Welcome to Taking Children Seriously.

Some unsolicited comments on the TCS List

Ah well, can't please everyone...


Copyright © 1994-2003 Taking Children Seriously


Top | Home | FAQ | Journal | Events | List | Articles | Books | Glossary | Links | Search