Nurture Shock, the final review.

[anemone]

Chapter 8: Can Self-Control be Taught?

This chapter exemplifies my problem with the book. It reads all-in-all like the typical "Breakthrough in field X" you so often see in the popular press, but when you look deeper, it's not so clear it's any sort of breakthrough.

Comments

[eekm]

I often listened (I was listening to the book, not reading it) for what it didn't say, rather than what it did say. Wasn't it the chapter on aggression that talked about TV? Or at least some part of the book talked about TV and agression? I found it very interesting that studies AREN'T showing that kids who watch Power Rangers (or other mildly aggressive kids shows) aren't tyrants and that kids watching Arthur or Bernstein Bears are getting just as much agression out of those shows (though, as he later points out, like you do, with the bad comes the good: understanding of agression also leads to greater social sophistication

[anemone]

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention in my summary that typical "educational" books contribute just as much to aggression as stuff like Power Rangers. I'll edit to include that. I found that really interesting.

I agree about preschools--we changed Helen's daycare because I started to feel they were too academic.

As far as books--you've seen "What's Going On In There", right? Every scientist who becomes a parent should have that one.

[eekm]

ooh, no, hadn't even heard of "What's going on in there". Thank you for the book recomendation! Awesome! We've only really started to get into the child development stuff because it has only recently started to seem relevent or interesting. Initially, I was pretty unconcerned and uninterested if kids walked at 8 months or 14 months--I full well knew that one vs. the other did not forshadow a life in the NBA vs. a life as a failure. But now with Espen's far more sophisticated interaction in the world, I'm finding these topics more interesting.

[fanlain]

Why would it be aggression and not assertiveness as far as good social skills?

[anemone]

Because sometimes cutting someone down gains you social status, I'd guess. You can read the book and the chapter, if you want.

[stacyinthecity]

The story of my first word (and in fact most of my early words) are just like what you say parents are supposed to do. With my first word, my dad had just strapped me into my car seat and I was playing with a rubber duckie. I was about 6 months old. I don't know if the rubbie duckie was new or not. But as he is strapping me in, he keeps telling me, "Duckie. That's your duckie." And on and on. When we arrived at our destination, he got me out of my car seat and I presented him with the rubber duckie and pronounced it "Duckie!" Other early words were "birds" and "trees" because we used to go for walks and I was fascinated with birds in trees, so my parents would point them out.

[urox]

I have to admit, I think V's broad use of language is because we've talked to her like an adult from the beginning. That, and listening to a lot of podcasts.

The tantrums, yea, I remember my mom saying, "It's just hormones," and it was just hormones, but it really was that bad.