The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives

by William Stixrud

a recent study showed that other than showing your child love and affection, managing your own stress is the best thing you can do to be an effective parent.

there was a low correlation between grades in school and success in life.

was my whole childhood a lie? Lol

In Montgomery County, outside Washington, DC, the school district attempted to teach algebra to most students in eighth grade rather than ninth grade, with the goal of eventually teaching it to most kids in seventh grade. It was a disaster, with three out of four students failing their final exam.18 Most eighth graders don’t have sufficiently developed abstract thinking skills to master algebra.

@tory @emily and I did it in 7th with no problem 💁🏼‍♀️

If you’re a kid, the formula begins to look like this: the more technology you use, the poorer your self-regulation.18 The more technology you use, the worse your executive function (your Pilot). This matters a lot; self-regulation and executive function are about twice as good predictors of academic success as IQ at all grade levels, including college.

It turns out, in fact, that high school valedictorians are no more successful than other college graduates by their late twenties.

dammit lol

Don’t misunderstand us: being a good student and getting a degree from an elite college clearly have their benefits,

phew, wasn’t all for nothing