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Ask HN: Question for Parents of HN
What qualities and knowledge should you strive to instill in your child? What areas of development should you pay attention to?
I am making a list, this is what I have so far (randomly added). Please add yours.
* physical development / health
* decision-making
* risk assessment
* problem-solving
* logical reasoning
* understanding of economics and personal finance
* self-regulation
* Critical thinking
* creativity
* Numeracy
* Computational thinking
* focus
* independence
* (self) mastery
* concentration
* responsibility
These are just random ideas, some things overlap or are not precise etc. I was just wondering what others are thinking.
- cyberferret 10y agoI think you have covered all bases. The only things I would add is to forge a sense of strong self-discipline, and understand what it means to be a 'person of honour'.
- GomezSandra 10y agoGreat list! Probably include sales
- kawera 10y ago* Empathy * Humbleness.
- kohanz 10y agoWas about to post empathy myself. It's of very high importance on my list and it's incredible how early it can start to develop (see it in my toddler son already). Although I think in a normal loving household, empathy will probably develop naturally. I would imagine a child without empathy lived a troubled childhood.
- dvdhnt 10y ago> Empathy I came here to add this one, too. It's usefulness and affect on social development, deep relationships, and happiness can't be understated.
- danielvf 10y agoSome less popular ones that aren't on the list: - Humility - Honesty - Life is not fair More popular: - How to choose friends - How to be a friend Obscure but save a lot of pain - Don't spend too much on a house or car. - How to recognize and run away from psychopaths.
- wslh 10y agoI think some of the most important skills are team work, communication, helping others, and recognizing the resources they have beyond themselves. You list is much focused on the individual rather than the team or a society.
- xiaoma 10y agoEthics
- fillskills 10y agoI thought about this before my kid was born and made this list: Why are we learning <this> before teaching <this>? Grit - Passion and Perseverance Basics of food and the food chain Psychology Planning forward Taking criticism Finance as a way to understand the workings of the world Stand up for yourself Biology Staying positive, not giving up easily Darwin Evolution Animals Meditation History
- nvahalik 10y agoSome of our ideas overlap but the words might be different: * Faith and worldview * compassion * kindness * obedience * discipline * perseverance * desire for truth * problem solving / improvisation Faith / World view is huge for us because it drives everything else really. I've learned also that sometimes trying to foist certain nonessentials on kids can be counter productive. E.g. Bike riding. I tried to make him do it and he hated it. We just left it out and now he loves it. We do make him obviously do school and also martial arts.
- stephenr 10y agoI'm not sure I understand what you mean by "Faith / World view" ?
- thomasrognon 10y agoI would guess that means their religion.
- stephenr 10y agoI don't get how "World view" relates to religious beliefs, hence my query.
- Casseres 10y agoReligion is a powerful driving force in many cultures. Comprehending that other people believe in a different religion as strongly as you believe in yours helps one's understanding of the world.
- nvahalik 10y agoIn all cultures. In some cases the religion is secular humanism or socialism. If you don't want to call it religion then call it a world view but it is essentially the same thing.
- 10y ago
- romanhn 10y agoI'm curious, what do you plan to do with this list? The ones listed in this thread are valuable, sure, but the opportunities for imparting these lessons come up with daily interactions. I personally wouldn't stress out about trying to cover all the bases. Be a good person and a role model yourself and your kids will take on a lot of those qualities on their own.
- artpepper 10y ago> Be a good person and a role model This. More and more, I've realized that I want my kid to have empathy, curiosity about the world, and a strong sense of self, and I trust that the rest will fall into place. The specifics of what she learns or what her interests are, matter less. (Obviously I want her to learn all the academic basics, reading and math, etc.) [slight edits]
- mturmon 10y agoSense of humor Word play Irony in all its senses
- artpepper 10y ago- Empathy - Imagination - Self-actualization / strong sense of self - Names of dinosaurs