19. Don't Kill the Wonder

Jamie and her friend recently came up with a plan to send their kids on a trip to the city on their own via the bus. To some parents, the idea of their teenage kids hopping on public transportation and jetting from the suburbs to the thick of downtown can be frightening, but Jamie wants to make sure Pascal and his friends develop the curiosity necessary to explore and learn as they get older and become more independent. She was also inspired by paleontologist Scott Sampson’s TEDx talk on the importance of raising children who are fascinated by the natural world and free to explore it at their own pace. In this episode, Jamie leads you through Scott’s TEDx talk, reveals how well-intentioned parental instincts can get in the way of your child’s sense of discovery, and explains how you can more effectively foster your child’s wonder.   The Finer Details of This Episode: Why we need to engineer scenarios that expose our kids to the world and allow them to find their own way. How adults, specifically parents, can actually harm our children’s sense of wonder for the natural world. Starting off your children’s adventures with a simple walk around the block. Why being a good teacher to your child can mean backing off a little and ditching the “teacher voice.” Don’t “quantify” your kid’s nature discoveries—just let them geek out for a bit and enjoy them for themselves! Resist the urge to say “no” and let your children get their hands dirty so they can actually engage with their environment. Parents: don’t let your completionist tendencies get in the way of what your kids find interesting about nature. Instead of falling into the “technology sucks” trap, let’s figure out ways to more constructively integrate tech into our kids’ explorations.   Quotes: “There’s no magical age where a kid just knows how to do things.” “We can’t let our feelings get in the way of our kids’ growth.” “We need to collectively shut up a whole lot more than we do.” “Don’t kill the ‘whoa’!” “Let go of the idea that you need to fill your kid with information.”   Links: Scott Sampson: “How to Raise a Wild Child” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn4ve9fLsuA Steve Spangler Science - https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/ Jamie’s homepage - http://www.jamieglowacki.com/    Oh Crap! Potty Training - https://www.amazon.com/Crap-Potty-Training-Everything-Parenting-ebook/dp/B00V3L8YSU Oh Crap! I Have A Toddler [Get my new book] -https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Oh-Crap!-I-Have-a-Toddler/Jamie-Glowacki/Oh-Crap-Parenting/9781982109738 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices