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37 votes
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To fight absenteeism, US schools turn to private companies
22 votes -
How a child's accidental call to a top-secret phone line launched NORAD's Santa Tracker
36 votes -
The divided states of football: The changing face of America's favorite sport
8 votes -
With one of the lowest rates of bullying in Europe, we speak to teachers, pupils and parents to find out how Denmark is managing to stamp out harassment in schools
17 votes -
Apparently I'm autistic?
My son shares a lot of my traits, including being Gifted. He's in kindergarten now, and we were looking into getting him a IEP (individual education plan) because he's Gifted. In doing so though,...
My son shares a lot of my traits, including being Gifted. He's in kindergarten now, and we were looking into getting him a IEP (individual education plan) because he's Gifted.
In doing so though, someone brought up that it might result in an ASD diagnosis essentially - and they were right. Haven't had the formal test yet, but a lot of what I considered "idiosyncrises" in my son are also found in autistic individuals. Some of which I share. I have little doubt in the ultimate conclusion, which is that he's 2e (twice exceptional).
And it seems quite likely I am as well. It's gonna be a niche audience, but anyone in a similar boat? It feels weird looking back and (at 34) retroactively realizing why I do certain things the way I do.
Edit: I should add - it didn't really 'matter' to my development because I was Gifted. I can learn whatever, pretty darn fast. So I just taught myself social stuff, on purpose, when I was in high school and college. It takes a lot of effort on my part, but I can be "charasmatic". I ascribed the effort to my general tendency toward introversion, but it may have been, essentially, the mental cost of masking.
Edit2: oh man I even went out of my way to try and alter my personality towards more extroversion in college because it seemed more normal.
Edit3: and I taught myself to understand body language in high school, particularly to understand and help with reading girls I liked, and how they were reacting to various levels of flirtation.
Edit4:
My spatial sense is god level. My wife doesn't bother remembering where the car is, because I just know.My audition is similarly unrivaled, I hear things others don't, and my phonological loop is amazing - I can hold audio in my head for a time if I'm truly concentrating on something else.
My imagination is virtually non-existent, I'm nearly a complete aphantasia case - the best I can ever manage is a pulse of a 2d image, kinda.
I'm incredibly good at math, computer science, etc. I know more about science than... anyone else I've met.
I've never really felt like I didn't belong, though. I just learned how to be an effective communicator from books and videos. I almost feel like I have weaponized ASD.
65 votes -
What should kids know about factory farming?
22 votes -
New lifesaving malaria vaccines need to be available now
7 votes -
Civilians make up 61% of Gaza deaths from airstrikes, Israeli study finds
47 votes -
America isn’t ready for the two-household child
26 votes -
New Mexico attorney general sues Meta for allegedly failing to protect children from predators on Facebook, Instagram
21 votes -
What does it mean to friend someone online?
Recently my daughter (third grade) has started learning to type at school. It's a Montessori program, so it's a pretty low tech environment overall, which I mention because I don't necessarily...
Recently my daughter (third grade) has started learning to type at school. It's a Montessori program, so it's a pretty low tech environment overall, which I mention because I don't necessarily expect them to have a nuanced view of technology issues.
One of the typing programs they use is nitrotype.com, which adds a competitive gameplay element. However, it also has mechanism to friend another player. Friends can only communicate with stock phrases, so there's not too much "Internet leakage" beyond being able to choose a username.
I set it up for my daughter on her Linux Chromebook (I whitelist things I want her to have and everything else is blocked at DNS). Seeing her interact with it the first time, I realized that she spends as much time "adding friends" as doing the typing.
On its face, this activity is pretty harmless. But I am worried about the patterns it might be creating for her. I'm worried about her uncritically engaging with the dopamine hit of getting a new friend. Or how it shapes her idea of how many friends she has or where idea of her self worth comes from. Or what she thinks friends are.
So after that long preamble, here are some questions:
- How would you explain "friends" in this context?
- Would you distinguish them from other kinds of friends, either real or virtual?
- Would you attach a moral component to the activity? E.g. that it is good/bad or helpful/harmful
- How would you frame it to the teacher? Not so much in terms of whether or not they should do it in the classroom, but what kinds of conversations should they be having about the friends experience?
- If I'm asking the wrong questions, what questions should I be asking instead?
I'm really interested in seeing the perspectives people have on this. My own ideas are a bit murky, but I will put them down as a comment.
37 votes -
You can’t even pay people to have more kids
59 votes -
Why anonymous sperm donation is over in the US and why that matters
20 votes -
Accused of violating kids' privacy, Meta sues US Federal Trade Commission, hoping to block ban on monetizing kids’ data
40 votes -
Sweden halts adoptions from South Korea after claims of falsified papers on origins of children
10 votes -
Meta designed platforms to get children addicted, court documents allege
24 votes -
China tried to keep kids off social media. Now the elderly are hooked.
27 votes -
Gaza civilians, under Israeli barrage, are being killed at historic pace
33 votes -
Population decline in Japan has led to more than 8000 public school closures since 2002
59 votes -
Melatonin use soars among US children, with unknown risks
29 votes -
How gender-affirming health care for kids works in Canada
23 votes -
Children, left behind by suburbia, need better community design
36 votes -
US Ninth Circuit judge allows social media lawsuit to proceed. Section 230 doesn't automatically protect against liability for platform design defects
16 votes -
Denmark is to restrict the sale of alcohol to under-eighteens and increase the price of suckable nicotine sachets, as their growing popularity is worrying health authorities
31 votes -
A Meta engineer known as an expert at curbing online harassment saw his own child face harassment on Instagram. Now, he’s testifying before the US Congress
19 votes -
Inspired by online dating, AI tool for adoption matchmaking falls short for vulnerable foster kids
11 votes -
At a Helsinki nursery, children spend all day in the forest – how outdoor learning benefits children's health and teaches them to value nature
25 votes -
When foster parents don’t want to give back the baby
24 votes -
Mr Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe | Official trailer
20 votes -
First malaria vaccine slashes early childhood mortality
12 votes -
Meta accused by states of using features to lure children to Instagram and Facebook
18 votes -
Gaza neonatal unit warns babies at risk 'within minutes' if power fails
15 votes -
We must not kill Gazan children to try to protect Israel’s children
24 votes -
Seeking advice from atheist/nonreligious parents: How have you raised your kids to be freethinking amidst a highly religious community and/or extended family?
This question is particularly regarding kids ages 5-12. I've read some great tips, and I'm wondering what you have found to help. Here are a few: Emphasize boundaries with frequent caretakers,...
This question is particularly regarding kids ages 5-12. I've read some great tips, and I'm wondering what you have found to help. Here are a few:
- Emphasize boundaries with frequent caretakers, such as grandparents and neighbors.
- Share science facts, religious traditions, and a variety of creation myths with young kiddos to neutralize Bible stories.
- Talk regularly about your own ethics and values.
- Explain others' beliefs and contextualize those beliefs as part of their culture.
26 votes -
California public school students will learn about labor rights under first-of-its-kind law
44 votes -
Incel ideology has entered the mainstream
52 votes -
South Korean teachers seek protection from harassment by students' parents
38 votes -
Why are people weird around babies?
I mean, I love my kid, but why do people have such an explosion of emotion when they look at a baby that is not theirs? As if it was something they desire so deeply that they can barely contain...
I mean, I love my kid, but why do people have such an explosion of emotion when they look at a baby that is not theirs? As if it was something they desire so deeply that they can barely contain themselves? And why do they must express this emotion using words like "I wanna bite it", "I can't handle the baby smell!", "I just wanna eat it!", or "Yummy!" like they're the Cookie Monster and my kid is a cookie? Every time someone says those things -- usually women -- I imagine a man saying the same things, and it grosses me out. Why is it okay for women to say those things when a man cannot?
I genuinely feel nothing for babies that are not my own, so it is hard for me to understand.
Mods: please don't move this to ~life. This is meant as a causal conversation and should remain in ~talk. Thanks.
35 votes -
'Sports specialization' in young athletes can do more harm than good
8 votes -
Is this the world's most inconvenient podcast?
2 votes -
US appeals court upholds Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors
12 votes -
‘Who benefits?’ Inside the EU’s fight over scanning for child sex content
23 votes -
Should you let babies 'cry it out'? Debate reignited by new study.
18 votes -
Montana judge temporarily blocks enforcement of law to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors
16 votes -
A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy
14 votes -
The villa where doctors experimented on children
8 votes -
Parents, how do you raise a well-behaved and well-adjusted child?
Aiming this question at parents mostly. I'm about to be a dad in the next week or so and I obviously want to raise my son to be a good person. My father was/is an absent drug addict, so I have a...
Aiming this question at parents mostly.
I'm about to be a dad in the next week or so and I obviously want to raise my son to be a good person. My father was/is an absent drug addict, so I have a good roadmap of "don't." But I saw very little in the way of "do."
Where is the line between being too authoritarian vs too permissive? What are your thoughts on gentle parenting? I don't want to trade "well-behaved" for "well-adjusted" or vice versa.
I'm also open to newborn advice since that's what I'll primarily be dealing with for the next little while, obviously.
55 votes -
Nebraska woman gets two years in prison for helping teen daughter have an abortion
17 votes -
Under new policy, Italy starts removing lesbian mothers' names from children's birth certificates
44 votes