"The sign of an intelligent person is their ability to control their emotions by the application of reason." It's interesting that I found this quote because I am always telling my daughter to let logic rule her decisions not emotion. In fact, I encourage her to use logic when she wants to sway my decision on a matter.
At my house, I try to make it that the adults are not always correct just because they are older. I mean, think about it, is that how it is out in the real world? Absolutely not! So why should I teach my daughters that someone is right just because they are older than them? Instead, I tell my daughters that if they do not agree with something that I tell them to do, they can ask me to change my mind. If they want me to change my mind, though, they need to give me a logical reason on why I should change my mind. If they can give me a logical reason on why I should do it their way rather than mine, and it has been thought all the way through, then I will change my mind. Meanwhile, if they only approach me with an emotional appeal, I will turn them down outright. One of the reasons I home school is because I want my daughters to learn how to think, not just memorize answers that are given to them. The best way I know to get them into the habit of thinking for themselves is to actually show them that there is some benefit to it. It is easy to tell them there is a benefit, it's another thing to show them. I started to teach Maddie to think for herself when she hit about six. She has gotten very good at it, and I often find myself changing my mind on things due to the strength of her logic. Sometimes when people hear Maddie speaking to me about something I told her and I then change my mind, they think I am being easy on her. I'm not. I ask her to think rationally and then tell me why she wants me to change my mind. If her argument is not logical, then what I originally said goes. What would be easier is to just say "Because I said so!" and force her to do it anyway. This is not fair and not good parenting in my opinion. If we want intelligent children, then we need to expect more of them. And in return, they will expect more from us. I for one, do not believe that might makes right. Many problems can be avoided if all look at a problem logically, and also try to see the situation from the other person's point of view. Usually, a middle ground can be found that can help to make a win/lose situation into a win/win. I believe that the more practice my daughters have with this type of reasoning while they are young, the better they will be at it when they become adults. Imagine if our current pack of political leaders were taught in this manner. Ethics and the common good might be a bit higher on their agendas than it seems to be now.
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