Whole Child Development
Data doesn’t make the decisions for you.
That was one of the big takeaways from my conversation with Emily Oster, researcher, author, and mother. As an economist at Brown University, Emily explores the science of making good decisions based on the data. In her newest book, Cribsheet, she explores how to apply that science to the decisions that face us as parents.
In working to support both parents and teachers in using sound principles of child development in the home and classroom, I hear a lot of concerns.
When Rebecca Eanes had her second son, her oldest had just passed his second birthday. As is the case in many families, when the new stranger arrived on the scene, wrapped in blankets and capturing the attention and admiration of all of his favorite people, Rebecca’s firstborn began to act out.
I have my finger in many technology-laden pots. But technology is NOT my jam. This site where you’re reading this, the Facebook page where you likely found it, the podcast you may have listened to, the resources you may have used — these all require SOME degree of technical acumen. And it is honestly the hardest part of the work I do.
One of my favorite stories from my parents’ early experiences as a young married couple at law school ends with my mom opening her front door to find a friendly neighbor standing there next to my sister (a young preschooler at the time), who had stripped down to her nothings and was covered in mud.
My sister was elated.
Talking to kids can come so easily. They have thoughts about everything and stories for miles. They see the world in a completely different light, and could ask enough questions to fill an afternoon. I, for example, could ask my second oldest son to tell me what he thinks about Star Wars, and I’ll have to schedule out the next four days to listen to his stories, conjectures, questions, analyses, and highlights. My contribution will be simply to say, “Yes!”, “Wow!”, and “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Positive parenting is a popular term right now. It encompasses approaches to parenting that value connection, playfulness, and teaching over punishing.
I’ve known for a long time about the danger in the word “but”. Experts in communication, leadership, motivation, and relationships all warn about the deleterious power it has. Regardless of what was said before, “but” has the power to undo it all.
“I really want to get healthy, but I don’t want to exercise.”
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