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Companion pieces to this quick guide are being kind and being nice.
Speak to an eight-year-old so he will hear.
Use his first name.
Don’t use baby talk.
Don’t crank up your energy to match his. Ask questions and wait for answers.
Follow up.
Don’t pretend to be interested in Webkinz or Power Rangers or whatever. He’s as bored with that shit as you are.
Concentrate instead on seeing the child as a person of his own.
- Source: Esquire Magazine
THREE RULES FOR TEACHING KIDS
Less Rules: The more rules you have in the classroom, the more time you'll spend enforcing them.
Reading to kids: After 15 minutes, even well-behaved children in kindergarten or first grade get fidgety.
Getting along with seventh and eighth graders: don't do anything that annoys them. And they know what annoys them better than you do.
- Source: Rules of Thumb
HOW TO TEACH A CHILD TO ARGUE
Logos
“Mary won’t let me play with the car.”
“Why should she?”
“Because she’s a pig.”
“So Mary should give you the car because she’s a pig?”
Ethos
Me: “One of you took the cookie.”
Dorothy: “Have I ever stolen cookies before?”
Me: “Good point. George?”
Pathos
Dorothy: “Dad, you look tired. Want to sit down?”
Me: “Thanks. Where did you have in mind?”
Dorothy: “Ben & Jerry’s.”
ARISTOTLE’S GUIDE TO DINNER TABLE DISCOURSE
1. Argue to teach decision-making. When you argue the various sides of an issue with your kids (“Beach or mountains this summer?”), they are learning to present different options (“Both!”) and then decide which choice to follow.
2. Focus on the future. Arguments about the past (“Who made the mess with the toys?”) or the present (“Good children don’t leave messes.”) are far less productive than focusing on what to do or believe: “What’s a good way to make sure that toys get cleaned up?”
3. Call “fouls.” Anything that impedes debate counts as a foul: Shouting, storming out of the room, or recalling past family atrocities should instantly make you choose the opposite side.
4. Reward the right emotions. Respond to screaming and anger by not responding, except to say, “Oh, come on. You can do better than that.”
5. Let kids win sometimes. When they present a good argument, there’s no better teaching method than rewarding them.
Repeat the kid’s premise (she’s being a pig) with her conclusion (therefore she should let me play with the car), and she has to think logically. Ethos, or argument by character, employs the persuader’s personality, reputation, and ability to look trustworthy.
- Source: Figarospeech.com
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