The Gardener and the Carpenter
Stop building the child to a plan. A developmental psychologist's case for tending conditions instead of engineering outcomes.
Alison Gopnik, a developmental psychologist and philosopher, attacks the idea of parenting as a craft with a predictable output. Carpenters build to a plan; gardeners create conditions and accept that what grows is not theirs to determine. Drawing on research into how children actually learn, she argues that the modern obsession with optimising childhood misunderstands what childhood is for.
Recommended by 1 Person
Derek Sivers
Great philosophy of parenting, from a grandmother who is a wise professor of philosophy and a developmental psychologist. Such a beautiful mindset and outlook. Required reading for every parent. Re-read it often as a necessary reminder.
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