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43 – Parenting as a Rationalist

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We speak with aspiring rationalists with children.

Our previous episode pondering children – Kids, These Days

Louis C.K. has a bunch of stuff on parenting

I Wonder by Annaka Harris, a book on emotional intelligence for children

Article on treating kids like people

The Rider and the Elephant (and the Path!)

Pet Semetary

Nonviolent Communication

Republican Baby vs Christian Baby

Bryan Caplan argues that kids basically turn out how their genes direct, and parenting has little influence, so don’t sweat it too much (as long as you aren’t neglectful/abusive). Short Post and (comparatively) Long Book.

The Biodeterminist’s Guide to Parenting

The Polgar Sisters are raised to become chess masters

4 Comments

    • Nickerchen
    • Posted September 16, 2017 at 8:50 pm
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    Hello folks, love the Podcast

    Can you share the rationalist meetup Pamphlet mentioned in this Episode?

    Thanks a lot

    • Senjiu
    • Posted September 18, 2017 at 4:12 pm
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    Firstly, here’s a link to a comic on this topic that sorta brings a lot of the first part on the point: http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/happiness-spigot

    Now, with that out of the way, I don’t have kids and I’m not sure how much of my memory is fabricated (for example by my mother telling stories about when my brother and me were really young and not sure how much of it is a genuine memory and how much is based on her tales)… so I feel like I can’t contribute much and I guess this is a short comment compared to my other ones. 🙂

    • Swindle
    • Posted October 13, 2017 at 8:43 pm
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    I have a friend with kids that sort of subverted one of the concerns that were raised on allowances. His kids get like a $20 gross allowance but really only gives them $5 to spend. He set up a budget for them that takes out “Rent”, “Utilities”, and “Taxes” (plus probably putting a third into their college fund or something) so that they get an idea of how budgeting works. I seem to remember the “Taxes” portion goes into a jar on the fridge and they use it to get ice cream or something, since taxes are money the government takes to get you things you like (right?).


One Trackback/Pingback

  1. By Rational Feed – deluks917 on 13 Sep 2017 at 11:25 am

    […] Parenting As A Rationalist by The Bayesian Conspiracy – Desire to protect kids is as natural as the need for human contact in general. Motivation to protect your children. Blackmail by threatening children. Parenting is a new sort of positive qualia. Support from family and friends. Complimenting effort and specific actions not general properties. Mindfulness. Treating kids as people. Handling kid’s emotions. Non-violent communication. […]

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