Showing posts with label Parenting tips and advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parenting tips and advice. Show all posts

You should try to convince your kids to not use drugs

Best reasons to agree: +5
  1. Drugs addiction will often kill you.
  2. Drugs addiction often causes people to live on the street. 
  3. Drugs will often cause you to steel from and lie to your family.
  4. Drugs will addict you. Addiction takes control of your life. It is bad to loose control of your life.
  5. In general most parents should tell their kids not to use drugs. Obviously there is a right and a wrong way to do it. You should wait until they are the right age, but not too long. If you are struggling with your kids, and they have no respect for you, perhaps you should find someone that they respect more. 
Best reasons to disagree: -5
  1. All kids will rebel to some degree against their parents. This is a natural process of finding yourself, and creating your own separate identity. By telling your kids not to use drugs this creates a situation when they will have a physiological or emotional reason to do the opposite.  
  2. Telling kids not to use drugs only peaks their interest. 
  3. Most kids are smart enough to figure out not to use drugs themselves.
  4. The schools will teach your kids what they need to know about drugs. They have training about these subjects. 
  5. You shouldn't just "try and convince them". You should do random drug tests if you have any suspicions. You need to ensure they have good friends. You need to do specific things to ensure they are not using drugs, especially the important long term things of developing long term relationships with them... 
  6. Kids use drugs for specific reasons: to fit in, and because they have psychological problems. If you keep them from having psychological problems or needing to be accepted by stupid people, they will naturally avoid drugs. 
Score:
# of reasons to agree: +4
# of reasons to disagree: -5
# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0
# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0
Total Idea Score: -1

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change.
                                                                                      
Best books that agree: +
  1.  
                                                                                      
Best podcast that agree: +
  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00w949w
                                                                                          
    Best songs that agree: +
    1. Might as well be walking on the sun by Smash Mouth

    2. The Needle and the Damage Done by Neil Young

    3. Keep on Rocking in the Free World by Neil Young
    4. Hurt By Johny Cash
                                                                                          
    Best webpages that agree: +
    1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_dependence
    2. http://www.asam.org/
    3. http://www.dpri.com/
    4. http://www.theantidrug.com/
                                                                                          
    Interest of those who agree: +
    1. Saving their kids from trauma. 
    Interest of those who disagree: -
    1. Being counter-intuitive. 
                                                                                          
    1.  
                                                                                          
    Poems that agree: +

                                                                                          

    Maintaining a list of family rules that you believe in will help you be a better parent if you

    Reasons to agree: + 2
    1. It is helpful to tell parents to make rules and set punishments. 
      1. Reasons to agree:
        1. Kids need rules. 
        2. There are studies that show that kids feel anxious, nervous and scared when they feel like they are responsible for everything, and can do whatever they want because they are afraid. Rules set some sort of order, if they are based in common sense.
        3. You can't punish people, if they don't know something is wrong. If you really don't want kids to do stuff, you should sit down ahead of time and make a rule of all those things
    2. You shouldn't use a set list, but update it and modify it based on things the kids are struggling with.
    Lists of Rules
    1. Below is are rules to consider, based on your family needs. You should pick the ones you like, print it and put it on your fridge
      1. Tell the truth.
      2. You should have your 2nd grader do homework and 15 minutes of grade level reading before they can choose their own activities.
        1. Reasons to agree:
          1. Grade level reading may be harder, but you won't improve unless you push yourself.
          2. They have done studies that prove that watching too much TV is bad.
          3. The later it gets in the day, the harder it is for your brain to think well. 
          4. You should do important things first. That way if you run out of time, you got the important things done.
          5. Daily routines help form good habits. It's nice not to have to figure out what to do each day. 
        2. Reasons to disagree:
          1. You could also do 1 hr and 45 minutes of reading a week. This probably allows kids to get more engrossed in a story, and get addicted to it better. They don't have to read it all at the same time.
            1. Reasons to disagree:
              1. 2nd graders usually don't have long enough attention spans to do more than 15 minutes of reading. 
          2. Daily routines are sort of boring and monotonous. 
      3. Treat each other with respect. no yelling, hitting, kicking, name-calling, put-downs. Go to room for violations? Green, Yellow, Red Cards?
      4. No arguing with parents. We want and value your input and ideas, but arguing means you have made your points more than once.
      5. Respect each other’s property. Ask permission to use something that doesn't belong to you.
      6. Do what Mom and Dad say the first time.without complaining or throwing a fit!
      7. Ask permission before you go somewhere.
      8. Put things away that you take out.
      9. Look for ways to be kind and helpful to each other.
      10. Reasons to disagree:
        1. Putting a reminder to tell the truth is not necessarily, and accomplishes nothing. It sends the signal that a piece of paper on a fridge can improve their lives, and that you don't think they will tell the truth without the paper, or that they weren't telling the truth before the paper.
      11. Don't swear
        1. Reasons to disagree:
          1. You need to learn to speak intelligently
      12. No more than x hours of TV a day
      13. Kids should be given specific rules about how to avoid harming their processions and things that belong to the family.
        1. You should keep expensive things out of the reach of those who don't know or don't care about their safety (don't give pears to swine). This includes Wii remotes, snow globes, expensive toy animals with breakable parts. 
        2. You should keep your stuff organized. Everything that is good is a result of Order. Chaos is a part of everything that is bad.
        3. You should keep dirt and goo away from things that are clean
          1. Reasons to agree:
            1. You should take off your muddy shoes before coming inside.
            2. You should wash your hands after meals, and playing with dirty things
            3. You should not pick your nose and wipe it on stuff.
            4. Cleanliness is next to godliness. 
            5. You should cover your mouth with your elbow when you sneeze
            6. You should wear a smock or a bib when you move things that drip unexpectedly, like eating or painting with  fluids with properties you have not yet learned, or with wet surfaces that your brain can not remember to avoid.
      14. Kids should not allow their carelessness result in harm to their toys or the families property, especially expensive things like the car, or difficult to fix portions of the house. As kids age they need to learn to take care of "their" things, which involves keeping up with an organizational scheme that you help them with. 
      15. Reasons to disagree:
        1. If you plan on driving your car until it has very little value, than the scratches or upholstery might not limit its value as much as the age of the motor, transmission, etc. 
      16. Reasons to agree:
        1. It is OK to want your cars and house to look presentable while you own it, even if some day it will be scrapped and rebuilt. People make bad assumptions about those with broken down homes and cars.
        2. It takes effort to earn money to buy things. It takes effort to keep things nice. Kids need to learn that it is wrong to take for granted efforts of others in their behalf. 
          1. Reasons to agree:
            1. Everyone should learn to take care of their stuff, keep it 
          2. Reasons to disagree:
            1. Kids that don't value nice things will naturally value your efforts to keep things nice
      17. Do homework before fun (don't reward with treats)

    Its alright to let your young kids chase geese +5

    Reasons to agree: +7
    1. Young kids will never catch geese.
    2. Geese can bight back. They have sharp teeth. 
    3. Geese are overpopulated. For instance here in Chicago they put chemicals on eggs to prevent them from hatching, because their are too many, and they poop everywhere and create environmental problems.
    4. The lack of predators have allowed geese to overpopulate. 
    5. If you eat meat you are guilty of more violence against animals than chasing geese. 
    6. Geese may get chased by wild animals. They are violent against each other. They rape ducks (google it, it is a fact). You can't apply people ethics to animals. Animals chase each other. Cats chase mice and play with them. If you don't want animals tormented you will have to kill all cats. 
    7. Its cool to watch birds fly. Letting kids chase birds until they fly gives kids an awe, and an experience, and an appreciation for animals. It is possible to love animals, and hunt them, as native Americans taught us. Chasing them, and smiling at them as they fly away is not bad. The French who force feed geese in a cage are bad. But little kids who chase them, and make them get some exercise are not. See image below for evidence to support this belief.
    1. From "Auguries of Innocence by William Blake": A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all heaven in a rage. A dove-house filled with doves and pigeons Shudders hell through all its regions. A dog starved at his master's gate Predicts the ruin of the state. A horse misused upon the road Calls to heaven for human blood. Each outcry of the hunted hare A fibre from the brain does tear. A skylark wounded in the wing, A cherubim does cease to sing. The game-cock clipped and armed for fight Does the rising sun affright. Every wolf's and lion's howl Raises from hell a human soul. The wild deer wandering here and there Keeps the human soul from care. The lamb misused breeds public strife, And yet forgives the butcher's knife. The bat that flits at close of eve Has left the brain that won't believe. The owl that calls upon the night Speaks the unbeliever's fright. He who shall hurt the little wren Shall never be beloved by men. He who the ox to wrath has moved Shall never be by woman loved. The wanton boy that kills the fly Shall feel the spider's enmity. He who torments the chafer's sprite Weaves a bower in endless night. The caterpillar on the leaf Repeats to thee thy mother's grief. Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgment draweth nigh. He who shall train the horse to war Shall never pass the polar bar. The beggar's dog and widow's cat, Feed them, and thou wilt grow fat. The gnat that sings his summer's song Poison gets from Slander's tongue.
    2. My wife says we were geese bullies. 
    3. Animals are cool. Leave them alone. 
    Idea Score: +7 - 2 = +5

    Me in Idaho Falls with my brother. An old man came and yelled at us.