The indomitable Gertrude Mueller Nelson gave our family the ritual of Birthday Privileges & Responsibilities. Each birthday our kids receive a scroll of paper festooned with ribbons. Inside, in the fanciest (and hardest to read) script our printer can manage, we have ceremonial language awarding the birthday child his/her next year’s Privilege & Responsibility. We started this on their respective third birthdays, at which time they each received the privilege of using markers in addition to crayons…and the responsibility of washing off any marker that accidently found itself on the craft-table.… more
