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How to get kids to pay attention

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Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#71

Post by thedudemabry »

Strive wrote: post #8
maltalex wrote: post #4

> For starters, he says, ask your kid this question: 'What would you do if you didn't have to do anything else?' In the western world the answer to that question is often some addictive activity such as playing video games, or watching videos on youtube.

The question confuses me right away because most Americans are not keeping their kids' schedules full all the time. "Go play, I have to work/cook/shop/whatever." Kids are doing "what they would do if they don't have to do anything else," because they don't have to do anything else. Maybe the question is more about the behavior of the adult than the child? Parents need to enable their children's interests. Maybe your…

I would second this. Enabling your child's interests takes observation and work.

One of the more surprising things I've discovered as a recent parent is how prominent tablets are as a distraction or learning tool.

I'm no exception. We bought our son a cheap, bulletproof Amazon Fire tablet, ratcheted the parental controls to the roof, and let him watch videos or play with it when he requests it (and use it as a helpful distraction when he gets bored in restaurants.)

I'm split on how to approach this. On one hand, I would have done anything to have this magical infinite learning device when I found myself bored as a child, but I also recognize that the content on it is more often than not designed for addiction. Our son is not yet old enough to understand even rough warnings of addictive behaviors, so we're kind of watch-and-waiting. We limit screen time per day, but as he gets older, and gets access to a web browser, I'm not sure how I feel about those limits in relation to traditional information sources.

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#72

Post by wallflower »

nickjj wrote: post #5

What's really interesting to me is this same thing can be applied to adults too. The article writes: > For starters, he says, ask your kid this question: 'What would you do if you didn't have to do anything else?' I often wonder what civilization would be like if adults asked the same question to themselves and then lead a life where they focused on that instead of being pressured into "making a living".

> What would you do if you didn't have to do anything else?'

Marshall Brain's "Manna" is an interesting exploration of this question.

http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#73

Post by sjclemmy »

I have so many problems with these kind of articles / studies. For starters, does any of this matter? There seems to be a moral assumption that more motivated kids are somehow better.

I also dislike the ‘more autonomy’ argument - somewhere in the article it says something like ‘ we can’t give kids that much autonomy because it would be dangerous’. So it’s setting up a morally superior scenario and parenting approach and then discounting it as inapplicable in the modern context. What does that tell you about kids? Nothing. But it tells you a lot about society’s priorities.

I’ve got a counter conclusion; the American kids have seen the toys before and they’re just not that interesting. The Mayan kids have fewer toys so are interested in playing with them.

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#74

Post by lgregg »

nickjj wrote: post #5

What's really interesting to me is this same thing can be applied to adults too. The article writes: > For starters, he says, ask your kid this question: 'What would you do if you didn't have to do anything else?' I often wonder what civilization would be like if adults asked the same question to themselves and then lead a life where they focused on that instead of being pressured into "making a living".

You should look at GORE as an organization. [0] They work closely to this idea of contributions to their organization.

[0] https://medium.com/swlh/get-3-billion-big-by-staying-small-p... (There are a few articles linked throughout with a significant source list at the bottom of the article.)

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#75

Post by __blockcipher__ »

Forge36 wrote: post #26
eguanlao wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"My brother and me!" God, damn it! :-D

Correction without direction doesn't explain the problem. I figured out what you meant, however it doesn't help the author correct their mistake.

It’s also not a “real” grammatical rule. Just a bunch of prescriptive nonsense

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#76

Post by pasta1212 »

amelius wrote: post #38

> "If you do better on the task, it would end sooner," Esterman says. "And you can get out of the lab sooner." My boss never tells me this :(

I have a friend (a programmer) whose employer decided to try shortening the work day to 6 hours as long as the work still got done at the same pace. The owner was under the assumption that work will expand to take the time allotted. The experiment worked, and they still have 6 hour work days a couple years later.

I think the theory that work will expand to take the time allotted is true, and I bet the motivation of getting done early is a big contributor as well.

Maybe you can pitch it to your boss :)

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#77

Post by microcolonel »

lgregg wrote: post #61
tomohawk wrote: post #43

This is pretty much how I was raised in a small midwestern farming community. I was in charge of the laundry by the time I was 6, and the lawn when I was 8 or 9, and summers were pretty much filled with activities that my friends and I could organize. Moving to the burbs where play was organized sports and kids had everything done for them was a really big shock. It was hard to believe how inept at life most of my pe…

I can relate, I was born/grew up overseas and was raised this way before my parents moved back to the states. I moved back with them, and it was surprising how little my friends had in life skills. I had learned to cook (from watching/learning) already and would cook for myself after school for example, while most of my friends would have zero ideas on what to do. It's sad how the U.S. Government prevents native Amer…

Not really sure about your terms here, you seem to be glorifying individualism in practice, but blaming it in name? What could be more individualistic than doing something on your own?

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#78

Post by seanmcdirmid »

wolco wrote: post #32
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There wouldn’t be civilization, we’d all die pretty quickly at the hunter/gatherer stage.

People will move on from what they want now and want to impress people. What better way than give meat to the village. That may lead to a marriage with the elder's daughter.

Eh, that’s why we work on what we don’t want to for money now.

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#79

Post by amelius »

pasta1212 wrote: post #76
amelius wrote: post #38

> "If you do better on the task, it would end sooner," Esterman says. "And you can get out of the lab sooner." My boss never tells me this :(

I have a friend (a programmer) whose employer decided to try shortening the work day to 6 hours as long as the work still got done at the same pace. The owner was under the assumption that work will expand to take the time allotted. The experiment worked, and they still have 6 hour work days a couple years later. I think the theory that work will expand to take the time allotted is true, and I bet the motivation of g…

The problem is really that I'm the one making the time-estimations. So if I can get the work done faster, I could (in theory) go home earlier, but if it takes more time than expected, then to be fair I'd have to do night-work.

Re: How to get kids to pay attention

#80

Post by sandworm101 »

_Microft wrote: post #54
sandworm101 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, today is a national holiday for me but about a dozen of us have to be at work (long story). For the next three hours, short of an emergency situation, we have literally nothing to do. No cellphones, but half of us are playing X-box (not networked). The other half are surfing the web, two of those are trying to find a way to watch the world cup despite our security filters. I would much rather be walking a dog o…

Have you tried reading or learning? I've always a book in my bag for unexpected breaks. Depending on the topic or book, you can easily go from something else to reading and back to work. A month ago there was a thread about the "one book that changed your life": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17168136 I read Mindset by Carol Dweck since then and found it very interesting (and applicable to some parts of my life…

>> Have you tried reading or learning?

Lol. When I was at basic training (Canadian military) we of course didn't have cellphones or computers, but were allowed books. The image burned into my mind is of my platoon on a rainy day in the woods. Everyone is in camo/weapons, huddled together to keep warm while waiting for a truck … reading game of thrones. Those novels were better protected from rain/mud than any weapon.

I have a dozen projects that I could be working on. But it is a Sunday. Canada day. Tomorrow is also a holiday. The bosses aren’t here. Other than us and the guards, the building is empty. Nobody is in the mood for the never-ending stream of online courses we are supposed to work on in our free time. It is Xbox and the web until quitting time.

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