I’d like to focus on “practical advice backed by deep theories”. I’m open to suggestions on resources, recommended articles, etc. Some of the topics could probably make good discussions on LessWrong!
Dale McGowan of Parenting Beyond Belief is one resource that I know of. He has a blog (sample posts i and ii), a book Raising Freethinkers (see also the posts about the book on his blog), and links to other resources including an online discussion forum and various secular parenting groups around the United States.
Thanks; I knew about the blog but didn’t know about the forum, which probably has some quite good resources.
I guess I have a different focus than he does : I’m not interested in religion or the lack thereof, but rather in learning about the best way to raise kids, and how to navigate through the conflicting advice of various experts and peers. I’m not interested in “how do I help my kids find meaning in a Universe without God” as much as “how can I best help my kids become well-balanced open minded productive intelligent and well-prepared adults and not spoiled whiny brats”.
Also—I live in France, which is already plenty secular. That probably explains why religion isn’t a very big issue. My parents (atheists) didn’t pay much attention to religion, neither did my wife, religion never was much of a conversation topic at school, and I expect the same will go for my kids.
Maybe the time’s ripe for a meetup here? There’s at least four of us in or near Paris, and if we announce one others might delurk.
Back on-topic, I’m not sure what-all I can say about parenting, but having 3 I’m pretty sure I’ve made a bunch of mistakes that others can benefit from. ;)
It seems as though you think the primary risk is being too permissive, with no significant risk of being too harsh. Is it plausible that all the risk is in one direction?
how can I best help my kids become well-balanced open minded productive intelligent and well-prepared adults and not spoiled whiny brats”.
On re-reading, I think that “well-balanced open minded” implies that you are concerned with being too strict as well as being too permissive, but my attention was caught by the higher emotion level of the last clause.
Also, it was just a one-sentence summary of why religion wasn’t my main concern when talking about “rational parenting”, you shouldn’t read too much into it :)
Since I’m going to be a dad soon, I started a blog on parenting from a rationalist perspective, where I jot down notes on interesting info when I find it.
I’d like to focus on “practical advice backed by deep theories”. I’m open to suggestions on resources, recommended articles, etc. Some of the topics could probably make good discussions on LessWrong!
Dale McGowan of Parenting Beyond Belief is one resource that I know of. He has a blog (sample posts i and ii), a book Raising Freethinkers (see also the posts about the book on his blog), and links to other resources including an online discussion forum and various secular parenting groups around the United States.
Seconding Dale’s work.
Thanks; I knew about the blog but didn’t know about the forum, which probably has some quite good resources.
I guess I have a different focus than he does : I’m not interested in religion or the lack thereof, but rather in learning about the best way to raise kids, and how to navigate through the conflicting advice of various experts and peers. I’m not interested in “how do I help my kids find meaning in a Universe without God” as much as “how can I best help my kids become well-balanced open minded productive intelligent and well-prepared adults and not spoiled whiny brats”.
Also—I live in France, which is already plenty secular. That probably explains why religion isn’t a very big issue. My parents (atheists) didn’t pay much attention to religion, neither did my wife, religion never was much of a conversation topic at school, and I expect the same will go for my kids.
Wow, you French are open minded :).
Typo notwithstanding, all but one of those “wives” could have been an ex-wife.
Edited :)
Maybe the time’s ripe for a meetup here? There’s at least four of us in or near Paris, and if we announce one others might delurk.
Back on-topic, I’m not sure what-all I can say about parenting, but having 3 I’m pretty sure I’ve made a bunch of mistakes that others can benefit from. ;)
It seems as though you think the primary risk is being too permissive, with no significant risk of being too harsh. Is it plausible that all the risk is in one direction?
No—where did I give that impression?
On re-reading, I think that “well-balanced open minded” implies that you are concerned with being too strict as well as being too permissive, but my attention was caught by the higher emotion level of the last clause.
Also, it was just a one-sentence summary of why religion wasn’t my main concern when talking about “rational parenting”, you shouldn’t read too much into it :)