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Speaking as a former no-nonsense parent…
The Fallout of parenting
The courage to dance
How is the parent-child situation more complicated than the adult-adult one?
Taking criticism seriously
My child refuses to wear a coat in the cold! Help!
The evolution of culture
What do you mean by ‘theory’?
Help! My baby hates diaper changes! Ideas for baby-pleasing solutions
What do you mean by ‘having an agenda’ for your children? Are all wants for your children agendas?
Dynamic tradition and children
I know what’s good for you
What Taking Children Seriously means to me—the freedom to make mistakes
In defence of screens and video games
What do you mean by ‘problem’?
The inefficiency of subjecting unwilling children to unwanted mathematics lessons
Welcome to Taking Children Seriously
How do you tell pre-verbal children about dangers given that they do not understand explanations?
The boy who would not be tamed
Taking ourselves seriously
Isn’t school necessary for children to learn?
New parent? Planning to have a baby and questioning the standard parenting ideas? Don’t miss this critical discussion!
Screens as a natural, integrated, positive part of life
How will credential-less children survive?
What do you mean by ‘fallible’?
“If you do X, I will give you Y”
What if your baby keeps grabbing your nose ring and cannot be reasoned with?
How do you raise a child to believe in freedom?
Free to learn: the immorality of compulsory schools
Instead of Cry It Out, try bedtime anarchy
Will a child not made to do chores ever develop a work ethic? And if not, how will they ever have a good life?
Dead Poets Society: a film review
Dead Poets Society is not taking children seriously
Don’t think for them
Limiting your children’s screen time?
What if your child runs into traffic?
Criticism scheduling and privacy
The constraints of childhood
Reluctant at drop-off yet later does not want to leave?
Why do you like IFS but not ‘Self-led parenting’?
What do you mean by ‘coercionist’?
The can-do attitude versus the can’t-do attitude
Fallibilism as a way of being and acting
A commitment to figuring it out
Deschooling Society, by Ivan Illich: a book review
The relationship-building power of explanations
Don’t tell me I can’t: An ambitious homeschooler’s journey, by Cole Summers: a book review
What do you mean by non-coercive? What is the difference between coercion and non-coercion?
How is she sleeping?
Surely it is cruel to force people to live with the consequences of the ideas and preferences they had when they were children?
Surely studies show that parents have little impact on how people turn out?
Why no ‘common preferences’?
Surely kids need to be forced to learn maths?
Unless we get children try different things, how will they ever learn which things are fun and which are not fun?
Isn’t taking children seriously a risky experiment with children? Is there any evidence that it works? Has it been studied?
What is the psychological impact of not taking children seriously?
How do you handle the issue of other people coercing your child?
Unnatural consequences revisited
When a solution is not found, is it always the parents who must bear the brunt of the sacrifice?
Are you advocating that the children should rule the parents?!
What about instilling values like freedom, fallibilism and the idea of taking children seriously?
The rationalist mistake
How can I drop the anti-rational part of my mind that interferes with me taking my children seriously?
How can I become more aware of anti-rational parts in my mind?
How can I overcome the antirational memes disabling my creativity, with my disabled creativity?!
If anti-rational memes are compelling me to coerce my children, what hope is there?!
Why did my mother’s coercive words fly out of my mouth?!
Why do parents coerce their children despite having been through it themselves?
If a parent has an aversion to something a child enjoys doing, how do you solve that problem?
If coercion has impaired my ability to correct errors, is taking children seriously even possible?
Why does it sometimes hurt to think about Taking Children Seriously?
Surely we should communicate our disapproval to our children?
If we should take babies seriously, should we not take pigs seriously too?
Does taking children seriously mean not influencing them?
In what ways is Taking Children Seriously different from simply taking everybody seriously?
What kind of children is Taking Children Seriously not a good idea for?
What ages is Taking Children Seriously most powerful for, or how does its value change with age? When is it almost too late?
What do you do about vaccinating your children?
Equal relationships with our children?! How are parents and children are equals?!
What is wrong with loving limits for children?
Do children taken seriously ever ask permission?
What is the relationship between Karl Popper’s epistemology, the ideas of David Deutsch and Taking Children Seriously?
How did Taking Children Seriously start?
How do you teach table manners?
How do you determine what food to give your children?
How can we express approval when our children do something good without manipulating them by implying that we would disapprove if they had made a different choice?
What if my child both hates school and likes being in school with all his friends?
Surely the lack of that extra money is a comparative disadvantage?
Is Taking Children Seriously only for the rich?
Our 15-year-old wants to hitchhike to Outer Mongolia by herself. We think she is not yet “street-wise” enough. What should we do?
Surely it is not coercive to have a rule that whenever our child goes out, he must first tell us where he is going and for how long? What about being a responsible parent?!
If my five-year-old were allowed to open the garden gate, she would be off wandering all over the neighbourhood and might be run over or kidnapped or murdered etc.
At what age should children first leave the house on their own, visit their friend next door on their own, go to the cinema on their own, hitchhike from coast to coast on their own, etc.?
Surely suffering and frustration make us stronger?
Why not say that the policy is non-coercion except on important issues?
If we are fallible and not omniscient, surely it is exaggerating to say it is always possible to solve problems without coercion?
What to do when your child says “Go away” or “I don’t want to talk about it”
What if… ?
“What if…?” questions revisited
Is hiding medicine in your child’s food wrong?
Surely it is necessary to coerce children to avoid them doing unsafe or unethical things?
How can we communicate urgent information to our pre-verbal toddlers?
How do you take babies seriously?
Surely children need discipline to teach them self-discipline?
Surely children need to learn to deal with restrictions to prepare them for life in society?
What do you mean by ‘creativity’?
What do you mean by ‘knowledge’?
Why not argue for Taking Children Seriously in terms of rights?
Who am I to criticise someone else?
If criticism is valuable why not be more critical?
Surely criticism is always good?
What if your child wants to drive?
What if my child wants me to help her murder someone?
I’m a vegetarian. What if my child wants to eat meat?
How do you intervene non-coercively when one child is attacking another?
Is coercion always wrong?
What if my child wants to buy every toy in the shop, and does not consult me?
What do you have against gentle coercion?
Do children not taught that they can’t always get their own way become entitled and inconsiderate?
Is the purpose of taking children seriously to avoid the harm coercion would do?
Is it necessary to reject authority?
How is a compromise not a real solution?
How can I tell if a proposed solution is a real solution?
How do you solve problems where there is a conflict of interest?
If I am not allowed to coerce my child, surely I am being coerced myself?
Surely coercion is ok when the parent is right and the child is wrong?
What do you have against coercion?
Surely children are not born knowing right and wrong?
Does Taking Children Seriously mean children always getting their own way?
Surely it is natural for parents to control their children?
If children are people just like adults, why should we treat our children any differently from how we treat adults?
How is the word ‘parenting’ not taking children seriously?
Which parenting style is Taking Children Seriously? Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, or uninvolved?
What do you mean by ‘paternalism’?
Children fending for themselves like adults?!
What is Taking Children Seriously?
Why does parenting feel so hard?
How to read this site
Friendly criticisms of Kiss Me, by Carlos González
Taking Children Seriously: a new view of children

For those who requested, this page lists some articles and posts from the archives, for historical interest:

From the archives

If you are new to Taking Children Seriously you might like to start here instead, with the first page of the Taking Children Seriously FAQ:

How to read this site