Quotes

The backfire effect

I really love this analogy by The Oatmeal regarding what our worldview (sometimes undeniably AKA self-righteousness) makes of us when challenged.

backfire-effect-of-core-beliefs-the-oatmeal
theoatmeal.com

Your brain loves consistency. It builds a worldview like we build a house. It has a foundation and a frame, and windows and doors, and it knows exactly how everything fits together.

If a new piece is introduced and it doesn’t fit, the whole house falls apart. Your brain protects you by rejecting that piece. It then builds a fence and a moat, and refuses to let in any visitors.

This is why we have the backfire effect. It’s a biological way of protecting a worldview.

Are kids using their devices too much?

Growing up, and even as a parent now, this topic still seems to be #UnpopularOpinionPuffin material.

If you want a better argument against tech use, it’s that hours spent on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat could lead you, as a parent, to have to deal with issues surrounding body shaming, bullying or even predatory interactions with those much older, at a younger age. […] While we criticize children for focusing too much on their electronic devices, I’d argue that the real criticism should fall firmly on us, the parents.

– Bryan Clark, “Think kids are using their devices too much? I think they’re not using them enough“

Children are not problems

Yelling silences your message. Speak quietly so your children can hear your words instead of just your voice.

L. R. Knost, a best-selling parenting and children’s book author, really nailed it on the most basic yet often overlooked aspects of parenting.

Here are some of her impactful words of wisdom that we parents may already know about (instinct, right?) but oftentimes forget and remember only after the damage has been done: Continue reading Children are not problems