Who, What, Where, When, Why? oh… & how!?
-Every parent & caregiver everywhere- @ almost anytime
Ponder this…
- Who decides what you think?
- What do you think about most?
- Where do you get information to feed your thoughts?
- When do you allocate thought process time for yourself?
- Why do you think what you think?
- How do you decide which thoughts should stay & which should go?
From now on- you can decide to think about what you think about.
Let’s dive into an introspection on how different areas of our lives have an impact on our ability to think about Childcare.
There are many times we as citizens of our global and local communities may find ourselves questioning the policies laid out by our elected officials, our bosses, our families, & maybe even our friends.
- Our government dictates driving & drinking ages, taxes, & health reform.
- Our bosses outline job responsibilities, schedules, & business goals.
- Our families either expect too much, are not present, or perhaps are just way different than us (I have to address that some may think their families are perfect! In that case- I am happy for you!)
- Friends make comments on your outfit, your boy/girlfriends, on how you parent your children “wow- they stay up past 8 & you feed them GLUTEN!?!?”
- Children are taught under the direction of standards, policies, & peak test performance strategies
Re read that list & pay attention to your body as you do.
Did you get tense at any point? Feel a surge of frustration anger, or maybe disappointment?
If thinking about areas of your life where you integrate someone else’s information as your own thoughts gave you any sort of tension or unease- then letβs dissect it so you can understand it!
Insert Rational Thinking Here…
Rational thinkers approach contemplation, & subsequently decision making, as a compilation of choices.
There are many ways Humans react when faced with choices.
Here are 3 common Choice Reactions:
Choice 1: FEIGN INDIFFERENCE You can blindly sheep along- going along with things as they are laid out for you, following rules without question, and achieve goals you yourself did not set
Choice 2: BE REACTIVE Get mad, be happy, do a really good job- or do a very poor one, etc.
Choice 3: BE PROACTIVE We can get proactive and ask ourselves- where should we get our information from? Why does my boss want that? What did my family say that? How can I help my friends understand me better?
Lets choose Choice 3. Sometimes- just seeing the appropriate option next to the inappropriate response methods is enough to kick us into gear.
When it comes to Childcare- I have found that the real problem with knowing what to think in regards to what children need is having access to TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!!
THINK about it…
How many books, gadgets, tools, toys, & other short-cut style materials are out there to “ease your transition to parenthood”, “help you introduce solids”, or to “magically teach potty training”.
Any & every topic you may think “I’ll google it” about …will inevitable auto fill as you are typing- & return 10+ internet pages of results.
Though this concept seems grand … access to all the information you would ever need- every working babysitter, Childcare worker, teacher, parent, family member, aka ANYONE: knows in our red line culture we just want the short cut.
Give us the answer we want with the fastest result time.
Sounds great! Little effort & fast results? SIGN ME UP!
UGH. Here we are … back at the short cut. But FEAR NOT! This time- I have a solution.
A short cut hack, so to speak.
…wait a minute…”think10fold” gives hacks to short cuts???
Answer = YES. My issue with shortcuts is not that we as humans want a short cut itself.
The issue facing us is that society has almost blindly incorporated the concept of accepting publicized info as fact.
So the shortcuts that often entice us are not necessarily based in research, experience, or facts. Just because you saw a mom on TikTok with a perfectly laminated & color coded reward chart system- that she *says* works wonders at home with her child…does not mean she didn’t struggle to make it, implement it, & keep it effective.
It also does not mean she took the time to apply the scientific method to evaluating the intent, process, psychology, etc to ensure that her method supports best practices.
We cannot forget that the internet & social media is often a platform for the A-roll of peoples lives. All the highlights. Often non of the struggle or drama shown- or if it is- it is glorified as “funny”, “expected”, or even worse- failures go viral.
We do not necessarily need more information- what we DO NEED is to give our minds quality content.
We need to engage our powerful ability to think.
My goal is to curate information here so that you- the consumer of the information can apply the scientific method when digesting it.
A quick trip back to middle school science… (oh Mr. Henderson…)
What is the scientific method?
Let me provide you some information I have curated to answer that question.
Quiet simply put (in bullet form if your not a graphic learner):
- “You have an observation”
- “You question what you have observed”
- “You hypothesize who, what, where, when, why &/or how potential explanations about what you have observed”
- “You find a way to test out the hypothesis you formed”
- “You collect data, information, test results, & analyze them to conclude facts”
This cyclical information processing system can be applied to almost any situation in which you want to determine facts. & when dealing with children- & the best practices for caring for them- we want quality, research based facts & information.
When you find yourself wondering “why do I think that?” try applying this method to get to the heart of it. Reevaluate if needed- and think with confidence after confirming.
Take Away
Use the question words: who, what, where, when, why & how to reflect on how you think.
Use the scientific method to help YOU decide which thoughts you approve.
**An important note about learning to think:
Don’t worry- we are still in this together. It can often become overwhelming if you let your mind wander with the concept. Remember the advice- question yourself with the question words- & try thinking about one topic at a time to learn in baby steps.
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