Parenting and family stuff

Sean Fennessey concludes his Letterboxd review of Arrival by saying, “Have kids, it changes you in good ways.” I agree but would add one note. Having kids reveals things about yourself to yourself, some good and some not so good. What matters is the revelation. Never waste a revelation.

I’ve taken to accepting that I’m messing up all kinds of things, and mainly just try to have fun with my little friend. To the extent that I have a strategy, it’s basically:

Spend lots of (phone-free) time with her

Show her that the world is a fun and fascinating place

Encourage her to reason from first principles

Don’t interrupt her when she’s focused... See more

addressing the behavior first or only addressing the behavior is a band-aid solution, whether it’s done through punishment or appeasement. It may stop the behavior in the moment, but it never gets to the root of the issue.

Punishment and appeasement are both short-term, reactive solutions as opposed to long-term, proactive solutions. Regardless of whether the parent or teacher chooses punishment or appeasement, the child misses countless opportunities to build competency in crucial life skills such as self-discipline, self-control, and conflict-resolution.

Reading for pleasure was the lodestar that governed my entire teaching process. A lot of other “teach your child to read” methods are based on modular lessons and exercises, which makes learning to read separate from what it’s all about, which is enjoying books. Comparatively, I did it by mostly reading books together, because it turns out reading... See more