Excellent video...you share my views on raising my kids (three daughters). Your views on religion mirror mine, but my wife being Catholic was insistent on our girls doing the same. I personally am agnostic (respectful of other views, but not really a believer myself)...so I have gone along with that...during this journey I have come to realize that some of the churches answers open so many other questions that I wonder how many ever ask any questions, or actually question their faith...
I wish you were my dad. My dad is a Christian alcoholic, who sits on the sofa all day. He wouldn't even let me listen to Rufus Wainwright in the house because he "doesn't wanna listen to that homo."
Now I am 27 and I'm just discovering science and logic. I feel like I'm getting a late start in life, but I won't let that happen to MY kids.
Lol. Nice video. But of course such thinking skills are only part of a well rounded individual. You don't want ur children to grow up with relatively too big heads. Keep an eye out for the more fundamental areas of growing up such as social and physical development too. Normally these don't require much attention and they develop naturally(a well-developed head helps too) but just in case.
Eh wtf. just saying, lol. A lot of people and stuff out there you can't face with err, these alone
C0c0rdance, how do you explain death to your kids, while still remaining "neutral" towards religion/among religious faiths? Unfortunately, I wasn't raised in a rational home, so I don't have any firsthand experience with it, and have no idea how I could keep that particular discussion neutral.
Be honest. You don't know what happens, neither do I. We can't know. Some people look to the Bible or Qur'an , where it says that people live forever in a wonderful place. Others have different beliefs, and some think that it's just like going to sleep forever. Then, ask "What do you think?" Explore with them the difference between what we CAN know and what we CAN'T.
Teach your kid that adults don't know everything... it will be a revelation. Mysteries can be interesting.
@C0nc0rdance I see, thanks for the response. And since you explained to your daughter that it's fun to IMAGINE playing with fairies, but that they aren't necessarily really there, what do you do with the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus? It's my last question, I'm just curious!
That's still a bit of a sore point in our house. We (my wife and I) both agree that children should have magic in their lives. We've been very careful not to say anything outright untruthful, but we're still going along with the flow... not that happy with our solution, honestly.
@C0nc0rdance Yes, I was curious as to what you were doing about those things- I have a 16m old. My own parents did not let me believe in Santa for very long. I would upset other kids with this knowledge (not deliberately).
I don't want to be a killjoy but I don't want to unwittingly set my boy up by encouraging a precursor belief in Santa...
@BJ219 Atheist father of three. I just say that what happens after you die is very similar to what happened before they were born. They say they can't remember. I say it will the same thing. They don't think there's anything terrifying about death, really. When their grandfather (my father in law) died, they took it ok. We told them "some people think that people who die become a little star in the night sky". That was enough for them.
@rcastro0 In reaction to C0nc0rdance's statement about "children having magic in their lives", how do you handle things such as the tooth fairy and Santa?
@BJ219 We support the fantasy/magic that comes with Santa/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny. We play it along (we put food for the easter bunny, we hidde eggs for them to find out when they wake up). We let them live it while they can -- we know that magic goes away. Having three kids we count on the cumplicity of the older ones. We get to see each waking up softly to what is and what is not real. In fact, we think they "play along" even past the point they start to doubt, just because it is fun.
@BJ219 We support the fantasy/magic that comes with Santa/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny. We play it along (we put food for the easter bunny, we hidde eggs for them to find out when they wake up). We let them live it while they can -- we know that magic goes away. Having three kids we count on the cumplicity of the older ones. We get to see each waking up softly to what is and what is not real. In fact, we think they "play along" even past the point they start to doubt, just because it is fun.
@BJ219 However we have a "straight truth" policy in our family. If one of the kids, even the youngest ones, were to ask me or my wife point-blank "Does Santa Claus exist?" we would never lie. We would generally turn the question back to him/her ("What do you think?") and let them have it if they believe in it. Or, if he/she insisted in asking, we would let them have "the secret". My oldest already went through that. Telling the truth at that point often gives them a sense of accomplishment.
best video on youtube so far that i've seen. im 23 years old, an atheist, and 3 kid that are 4,3 and 8 months, my family is very catholic and i would do anything not to hurt my mom's feelings, at the same time i do not want to raise my kids to be catholic and by watching this video i feel more assured that just because my parents take them to church every once in a while doesn't mean that they will go down that path, thank you for this great video
a zoologist and a physicist? I dont remember what i wanted to be when i was their age, but it was probably far from that. I can imagine if all parents went about teaching their kids the way you do, we'd be much better off.
Thank you for this video. A few days after watching it for the first time, I was hanging shelves. My 5-yr old daughter saw the pile of parts and asked how they went together. I told her to go look at the other set and see if she could figure it out. She did, and helped me put them together.
Religious people love talking about other religions with their children once they fall in line with mom and pops belief. There is nothing abnormal or that objective about the way you choose to raise your children to decide for themselves. Most Christians I know believe that they have decided themselves and that their parents allowed them to so. The only ones who didn't renounced their faith. Grooming pays off. The description you give doesn't really match the objectiveness claimed and inferred.
To me this sound more like option five, a typical Christian upbringing by parents who believe that they are objective when they are in fact not. You are creating a comfortability with whatever religion you are and they will identify and be more comfortable with it. You are doing this by making it their baseline religion from practice and by them seeing you practicing that faith at your church.
Kids dentify and learn from their parents. This is not even close to option 4 by your own description.
Perhaps you can make a video elaborating a bit on option four. It seems from what you said yourself in the video that you are following a path that a lot of Christian parents do with their children, that is not as objective as the video claims it is. You highlight and quiet down certain things in your video. It is already a contradiction to say that you choose option four, while instilling a baseline religion at a young age, only going as far as taking them to other denominations later?
My mom taught me critical thinking though she's very religious. She always insisted on intellectual honesty in her children and demonstrated it herself. She always admitted when she was wrong or didn't know something. She always distinguished between knowledge and faith (she knows the world is round, she believes in God). She always acknowledged flaws in the political ideology she preferred and she renounced dishonest adherents to her ideology.
@wfuiii [*] fda [*] gov / NewsEvents / Newsroom / PressAnnouncements / 2007 / ucm108856 [*] htm Remove the "[*]", and replace with periods. Remove the spaces. You have been caught lying, fucker. This is why we don't take you seriously. You Lied. You're a Liar.
From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007. The actual number of illnesses was almost certainly higher because not all cases of illness are recognized and reported. Source: CDC
@wfuiii Unpasteurized (raw) milk harbors dangerous diseases such as listeriosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis. It must really infuriate you that your attempts at selling bullshit as truth are easily dismissed as bullshit.
@mmmmmarcus Hey Marcus, why does your response here differ from email??
There you said,
"@wfuiii From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007." Even though misleading, at least civil.
@wfuiii Here's what you left out..Between 1998 and 2005, there were over 10,000 documented outbreaks that contributed to 199,263 documented cases of foodborne illness. Raw milk was associated with 0.4 % of these cases.
You're an awesome dad! I love my parents, but I wish they had taught me rational thinking in all aspects of my life (religion included). It wouldn't have been as hard for me to say that I'm an atheist, and it wouldn't have been as hard for her to accept. Amazing video!
If you want to do something positive for your kids....you will visit the Weston A Price website and rethink your views on Raw Milk.....your videos are not a good example of your critical thinking you claim to teach. Price was brilliant and his research way ahead of his time. Hope you accept the challenge to check it out.
@wfuiii #1)-- Grass/Grains are a Bio-accumulator of toxins, metals, and pesticides. #2)-- Cattle graze for years and store toxins in their fat. #3)-- Sardines are a better source of calcium than milk, and less toxic than beef, and easier to raise. #4)-- Raw milk is loaded with dangerous bacteria, and can be a source of tapeworms. #5)-- You're a fucking moron.
@mmmmmarcus I suppose multi-M, that you consider Dr Price and the work that the Weston A Price Foundation is doing on Raw Milk are all Morons as well.....try reading the site and familiarize yourself with better facts. Raw Milk from farms raised in the proper setting is not laden with dangerous bacteria....quite the contrary, and who said that raw milk was ever drank for its source of Calcium.....thats the line of processed milk!! Please take a look at the site and learn.
@wfuiii Lol, you're really mentally-ill. You think I'll take a fundie's word over a smart motherfucker like C0nc0rdance? You're just like those morons who advise people to take a teaspoon of castor-oil to combat "chemtrails". i never said it was drank for it's calcium, you fucking idiot. I merely said sardines are a better source than milk. Fucking losers like you, always quote-mining. I hope you drown in a vat of raw milk some day..
@mmmmmarcus Not questioning whether COncOrdance is smart or not....rather whether or not he has done his due diligance on the Raw Milk issue...obviously you haven't done any at all and think that all Foundations are "fundies." Just shows your lack of critical judgement which certainly mirrors the language you use certainly on a channel about parenting....good show!! I will still maintain that the work of Dr. Weston Price stands above most all and worth a critical thinkers look.
@wfuiii From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007. The actual number of illnesses was almost certainly higher because not all cases of illness are recognized and reported. Source: CDC
Great video. It helped me explain my position to my wife and brought some understanding to our family in relation to my beliefs or lack thereof and how I was going to deal with the situation. ie. raising a free thinking child without shoving my views down her throat like can be said for some religious people. It is not my place to decide what my child thinks, only to help her build a 'toolkit' that will enable her to make the decisions that are right for her. Thanks.
The way i learned to keep a cool head is I was taught to ask questions about everything I am exposed to. This is something that is important for all people to know how to do.
I totally agree with your parenting style.. My kids are both teens, one in college and one finishing high school. And the discussions and experiments still continue. One is a atheist, the other an atheistic buddhist, and they always want to think through (and test) the big issues for themselves.
I think we are all born scientists but socity kills that part of us when we are very young. But if you have parents like him that part of you wont die.
Wonderful video. I am a single mother and have raised my son the way you have raised your children. I encourage my son to explore the world and I take him to various churches and have explained my views on religion. We welcome the chance to talk and explore possibilities with everything. Keep up the good work
Very nice video. We tried to have a similar approach with our own children and never pushed our own religious views or lack of them but always answered their questions honestly. My daughter even went to a church school where she failed to be indoctrinated. My son is now both an atheist and a church organist.
The conflict of interest is that on one hand you're encouraging thought and reasoning, and on the other hand faith, which is a process of non-thinking.
i was always interested in dinosaurs, im naturally inquisitive, ooften to the point of breaking thingsby accident, loved flipping switches on the old disused turntable.
i hav dinosaur books. loved birds, collected things by the dozen.
so i can say i think i turned out alright
i will take my kids to church, and do my best to answer their questions but i dunno beyond that fatherhood s far out in my mind
Wow. I was expecting to see you encourage parents to encourage their kids to think critically, but the hands-on stuff--like the bacterial culture--just blew me away. I hope that someday I'll be well-educated enough to do the same with my own children. You are an amazing father.
Being a dad is probably the greatest thing I'll ever do. I still get such a high every time they ask a question and I get them to ultimately come to some sort of conclusion on their own, or even more intense is when there is no available answer and they conclude that, 'I don't know, but I want to find out.' When my daughter first said this I was both stunned and so incredibly proud. I think it took me twice as long as a person to reach this position about many, many things.
As a science student in my early 20s this is something I have thought about many times. "I'm a rational skeptic. When I have kids, how ought to approach issues like religion?" Thanks for this video, I think you've taken a great approach. Not only that, by helping to foster a curiosity and a disposition towards rational thought in your children you're setting them up very nicely for superior academic success in the arts and sciences.
Your daughter likes faeries? Check out afaeryhunt (dot) com. I don't know where you're from, but if you're ever around LA you could check this out. You could probably stay with my parents if you want ^^
I feel that it is important to teach your children to think for themselves as you have done but you must be ready for them to think for themselves, they could come to the conclusion that a god makes sense to them.
@Tirunus It sounds like as long as they come to that conclusion for the right reasons (if that's really possible), then the OP would be fine with that.
Interesting video, but I can't say I'm going to bring my kids to church anytime soon. Nor will I ever take them to a neo-nazi rally and discuss the pro's and con's of racism. Now partly this may be because my ex. is trying to brainwash my boys into becoming islamic. Either way it was an interesting video with a lot of merit.
Great video. I think your kids will be proud of you.
I was raised in an open-minded congregation, where I was told that I shouldn't just accept what my parents believe (led to my becoming an atheist), and where recently the pastor gave "sermons" about the science behind evolution and the Big Bang theory (each only slightly distorted!). I think that it would be really beneficial for this church to systematically try your proposed "option 4" on children.
I think allowing children to simply explore the world they live in and being there to answer (truthfully) their questions will make them into wonderfully open-minded, logical human beings! I like this video and I wish more people could apply this style of parenting.
My father allowed me to chose my own path when I was young. I went to church with my friends and I prayed over my meals. When I was about 7 my dad started asking me about my religion, things like "Where is heaven?". I had to think about this, research it and I couldn't answer. He never told me what to believe but he asked me to explain my beliefs, to walk through them logically and eventually I was able to weed out the beliefs I had that made no sense to me.
I can only begin to scrape the beginning of how many positive aspects of a good role model you are, Concordance. Thank you for being a wonderful human being, and a good father.
Continued: Don't be surprised if your kids aren't proud and appreciative of you as a parent UNTIL they have had kids of their own. There are things you will not be able to resist trying to make your kids think; like your values; those things you hold most important to character. You'll see....I couldn't decide whether to look upon your determined optimism and sureness with derision... or pity.
You sound like a parent who hasn't had the full experience of raising a child (or children) through the tangle of conflicting "truths" and influences they'll encounter throughout their lives. Well, make a video when you have seen them through their teens. You won't sound so sure of yourself then. I was naive and idealistic once, also. So please don't think I am bashing you. Wait until that critical thinking of your children is turned on you; it's not comfortable in the least.
What is a well thought out reason for being a christian? Im very confused on that point. Seems to me if there was such a thing, I would be a christian, as well as concordance, and most every logical thinker out there!
Thanks Concordance, now I feel utterly inadequate :-) I have two kids of the same age (also a boy and a girl), but they seem to time their question to coincide with either bedtime or some other event that prevents us from exploring the answer with a fun experiment (I also don't have a set of bacteria growth plates handy) ... so THANKS FOR THAT.
No, seriously thanks for the video, I fully agree with you. You just made it sound so easy :-)
I was walking home once and the sky flashed green for a split second I thought I was loosing it until I found out that at certain times of the day the light is refracted differently and can cause a green flash. I think you're doing the right thing, introducing people to new concepts and new ways of thinking is probably the best way of getting people to think.
just another classic concordance video! Hope everyone raises their kids the same way in the light of reason. This will make the life of my kids much less miserable!
how come your kids attend church sometimes? i don't have kids yet, but will within then next few years. if i took my kids to church it would ultimately be to make fun of the church-goers.. all it would turn into would be my kids asking me questions and me telling them that the religious people are merely guessing and they have no clue what happens after death and that the bible is fictional. i think this could be done without them going to church. would you let your kids go without you?
Awesome video (as always!) so I feel bad bringing up my one tiny complaint: the graphic at 4:46 seems to be missing at least one very important step between 'conclude' and 'celebrate': i.e. 'publish'. More and more people, it seems to me, forget that if you don't subject yourself to peer review you're not using the scientific method.
I have already done what you are planning on doing. My teenager turned out as a wonderful free thinking skeptical person who knows all about the beliefs of others. She has decided that she rejects faith and when I asked her why she said so far there is no actually evidence. She also said she may change her mind if new evidence should come to light. Youre doing your children a great service. Good for you!
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You teach your kids not to murder, right? You don't say "Killing is generally wrong, but genocide and massacre is an alternate theory which I should teach you." Why do some people think that religion is somehow Worth being taught? Are you going to teach you kids about leprachauns and monsters under the bed and saying that they have equal merit as science? Not all kids are logical and compassionate. Many times, they need to be told what is right.
If the only reason little Johnny doesn't murder his classmates is because his parents told him not to, Johnny has some very deep issues. ; )
Note that I mentioned "guided exploration". I lead them down the path, I show them how to arrive at answers, but I make sure that they also learn the process.
Some things have to be commandments: The stove is hot, stay away. Look both ways before crossing. I think good judgment tells us when a critical thinking lesson is called for.
@C0nc0rdance I agree with you here and applaud you for your position on that topic. A lot of fundamentalists take the position that religion is the only or most important factor in whether or not someone has morals or non at all.Some things have to be commandments but not the commandments. Faith in newer religions like those based on the Holy Bible by no means created morality and is in no way necessary to have widely accepted universal morals.
@C0nc0rdance Anyone who thinks that a fear of a God or Their God is required to keep them and theirs from doing evil is failing at their own game, while others, even those free of religion, simply don't need to make an issue out of such things to live a pious and respectable life. Just make sure that your guided exploration is as objective as you claim. Method is common for Christians to have ones child proudly arrive at Christianity on their own while passing down their false objectiveness.
@Sav3TheWorld I took vacation days from work so that I watch Jerry Springer with my very young kids. I had never seen it before and had not realized exactly how raunchy it was. But I'm glad I did it. They didn't understand everything, but they got some of it. I asked them, "Did that person do the right thing?" "Is there another way they might have handled the situation?" And so forth. C0n's approach to religion wasn't mine, but coaxing kids to think critically means putting them in ...
What a great video! Your kids are very fortunate to have a dad such as you. I'm a Teaching Assistant in a middle school in the Uk & see on a day to day basis how education, in many instances, just programmes kids into thinking in a dogmatic way rather than encourage them to think for themselves. I'd like to think, that in my own small way, that I give them the means to think for themselves. I have an 18 year old son & he is finding his own way in life & not falling in the trap of herd mentality.
My mother read the children's version of the bible to me at age 3. I rejected it because I hated the nasty protagonist. Later on in life I came to understand the epistemological arguments against and the fallacies in favor of the existence of one or multiple deities and it turns out that there is no reason to believe in that nasty character of that incoherent rambling book or any of the other nasty gods that have been thought of since apparently tens of thousands of years ago.
Very well put! This is how I raise my kids. We often play a game called, "Possible or Impossible - Probable or Improbable?" Basically, I make a statement like, "I can fly," and they have to tell me if it is possible or impossible and if it is possible, is it probable or improbable, then they must explain their answers. We have so much fun with this game and they come up with so many great ideas. I encourage everyone to try it with their kids...
I really like this. It struck a chord with me and how I encourage my own inquisitive three year old son. Thanks for the ideas from one dad to another.
My daughter asked me the other day "What is God?", I am an atheist and she goes to a kindergarden without religious teaching. So I had no idea what to answer, because I try, as you said, not to give her the answer without some rational thinking.
One can't help but wonder what caused your kid to question the difference in bacterial levels of cat & dog mouths. Was the kid stopped from getting a "kiss" from a pet, because of "bacteria"? Did the kid wonder about the difference in bacterial levels of dad's mouth as opposed to the cat's? How come? Was the kid told the fact that there are many types of bacteria & some are harmful & some not? How come? Was the kid told not to judge too quickly because of the outcome of only one experiment?
@omega... my point was that her "choice" to do the experiment was determined by particular influences acting upon her. My point is that she cannot make up her own mind anymore than she can make up her own brain, because the mind is merely a function of the physical brain. My point is that by saying that he is going to let her make up her own mind, he is blaming her for how she turns out, instead of blaming all the causal factors that acted upon her to make her who she now is and who she shall be
Of course, her choices will ultimately come from her brain. But my point is that the organ we call "her brain" is not something she chooses. "Who she is" at any given moment in time is the result of a host of factors that were beyond her conscious control. If she "wants" to change "who she is," then something caused her to experience the "want." She does not create for herself the "wants" that she experiences. She has no choice but to think with the only brain she has, a brain she did not choose
@Gorillathehun, well evidently you are presuming I made assumptions--which I didn't. Rather than use what is equivalent to a "nan-nana-boo-boo" argument, please provide me with some logical points against any statement I made that you feel is an "assumption."
Bear in mind my comments were in regard to C0nc0rdance's assertion that he was going to expose his daughter to several different religions and let her make up her "own mind," as if her mind existed separate from all causal influences.
@Gorillathehun, what C0nc0rdance needs to explain to his kids is belief isn't a choice. What one perceives (as a result of his or her own natural development), one believes. Once the kids realize this fact then they will tend to be less prejudiced toward people who believe differently than themselves. They may even wonder what could cause someone to believe in the scientific method, as I do
Tell them about cognitive & confirmation biases. Tell them about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Etc. Etc.
@omegavalerius, can a person make up his (or her) mind about how something will taste before it is put in the mouth? No. A person can make an assumption based on superficialities. But the mind is made up by the sensory input of the experience.
Also, bear in mind that mirror neurons in the brain cause one to feel what others express. Thus we may feel something tastes good based on effective advertising and good acting.
Effective persuasion and suggestion can make an uncritical mind believe.
Kids tend to believe what is said by an adult until they have learned or are taught to think critically. Also by default, when something seems or is made to seem dangerous or detrimental, the human will "play it safe" & believe a story that, without the fear factor involved, would be obviously unbelievable.
C0nc0rdance ought to teach his kids these facts. Teach them about cognitive & confirmation biases. He ought not let them be preyed upon with persuasive BS. Teach them to think critically.
I'm still trying to understand what your beef is with encouraging kids to do simple experiments. Take a look back at when you were 9. If you were anything like the typical nine-year-old (like me) this is already far above the avarage in intellectual terms.
@omegavalerius, I have no problem with encouraging kids to learn by experimenting. I have a problem when the parent or caretaker assumes kids consciously create the mindset that they possess. As stated, whatever has the most influence on the child's mind determines how perception develops for that child. The child really has no choice in the matter. In fact, any choice the child happens to make can be traced back to antecedent and genetic influences, not to a mind nor will free from causality.
That was an absolutely beautiful video. I have a 7 month old boy and I was always worried, about when he gets older, how would I deal with those awkward questions kids can ask. My original plan was to make him watch every episode of Penn and Tellers B.S. Now I have a great guide line and tool to help me raise a child who can think for himself. Thanks so much man, I know this video was not made just for me but, I really appreciate you making this video.
*cheers*
brendanerday 6 days ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Great Video!
landscapedesignoc 6 days ago
You're like. the best dad ever.
juliaonthe101 4 weeks ago
To get real tips on raising children, please view the parental flaws and common mistakes on my channel.
AndyHarglesis 1 month ago 6
Option 3 worked great for me.
Socika14 1 month ago
Excellent video...you share my views on raising my kids (three daughters). Your views on religion mirror mine, but my wife being Catholic was insistent on our girls doing the same. I personally am agnostic (respectful of other views, but not really a believer myself)...so I have gone along with that...during this journey I have come to realize that some of the churches answers open so many other questions that I wonder how many ever ask any questions, or actually question their faith...
Later
madjak30 2 months ago
lol, He's calm until his son comes back a preacher, lmao.
Drebln893 2 months ago
Your stories remind me of my parents
cryingsoftly 2 months ago in playlist Favorite videos
You're the father I want to be..
CJones990 2 months ago
Soooooooooo, why does this video not have 10000000 views?
speciwacy 2 months ago
thought would be another atheist hipster hating on religion but seems there is more to this video.
kharu88 3 months ago
Brilliant. 13 dislikes? What are the odds of these 13 people wanting you and your kids to burn in hell for eternity. :)
LeBigBangTheory 4 months ago
great video, you are a great dad....
Moontanman 4 months ago
I wish I was your son (mind you i'm a 24 year old black man) lol..
Juniversal 4 months ago
Awwwwww
Jmike3543 4 months ago
13 ppl cant have babies
Deathlist123 5 months ago
"I love them more than anything in the world."
Considering you mutilated one of them because the same was done to you, you clearly don't have very much love.
OldSchopenhauer 5 months ago
@OldSchopenhauer How did he mutilate his kid?
halovir 4 months ago
"Woe be unto the creationist biology teacher who meets my kids.", nice lol
philonous09 5 months ago in playlist Philosophy
I wish you were my dad. My dad is a Christian alcoholic, who sits on the sofa all day. He wouldn't even let me listen to Rufus Wainwright in the house because he "doesn't wanna listen to that homo."
Now I am 27 and I'm just discovering science and logic. I feel like I'm getting a late start in life, but I won't let that happen to MY kids.
SonicTheEggNog 5 months ago
I wish I had a dad like you. :*(
hotch1776 5 months ago
Lol. Nice video. But of course such thinking skills are only part of a well rounded individual. You don't want ur children to grow up with relatively too big heads. Keep an eye out for the more fundamental areas of growing up such as social and physical development too. Normally these don't require much attention and they develop naturally(a well-developed head helps too) but just in case.
Eh wtf. just saying, lol. A lot of people and stuff out there you can't face with err, these alone
8234076nxxir 6 months ago
I love you, C0nc0rdance. You are such a good father and person.
physiologics1 6 months ago
C0c0rdance, how do you explain death to your kids, while still remaining "neutral" towards religion/among religious faiths? Unfortunately, I wasn't raised in a rational home, so I don't have any firsthand experience with it, and have no idea how I could keep that particular discussion neutral.
BJ219 6 months ago
@BJ219
Be honest. You don't know what happens, neither do I. We can't know. Some people look to the Bible or Qur'an , where it says that people live forever in a wonderful place. Others have different beliefs, and some think that it's just like going to sleep forever. Then, ask "What do you think?" Explore with them the difference between what we CAN know and what we CAN'T.
Teach your kid that adults don't know everything... it will be a revelation. Mysteries can be interesting.
C0nc0rdance 6 months ago 12
@C0nc0rdance I see, thanks for the response. And since you explained to your daughter that it's fun to IMAGINE playing with fairies, but that they aren't necessarily really there, what do you do with the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus? It's my last question, I'm just curious!
BJ219 6 months ago
@BJ219
That's still a bit of a sore point in our house. We (my wife and I) both agree that children should have magic in their lives. We've been very careful not to say anything outright untruthful, but we're still going along with the flow... not that happy with our solution, honestly.
C0nc0rdance 6 months ago
Comment removed
jemborg 5 months ago
@C0nc0rdance Yes, I was curious as to what you were doing about those things- I have a 16m old. My own parents did not let me believe in Santa for very long. I would upset other kids with this knowledge (not deliberately).
I don't want to be a killjoy but I don't want to unwittingly set my boy up by encouraging a precursor belief in Santa...
jemborg 5 months ago
@BJ219 Atheist father of three. I just say that what happens after you die is very similar to what happened before they were born. They say they can't remember. I say it will the same thing. They don't think there's anything terrifying about death, really. When their grandfather (my father in law) died, they took it ok. We told them "some people think that people who die become a little star in the night sky". That was enough for them.
rcastro0 5 months ago
@rcastro0 In reaction to C0nc0rdance's statement about "children having magic in their lives", how do you handle things such as the tooth fairy and Santa?
BJ219 5 months ago
@BJ219 We support the fantasy/magic that comes with Santa/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny. We play it along (we put food for the easter bunny, we hidde eggs for them to find out when they wake up). We let them live it while they can -- we know that magic goes away. Having three kids we count on the cumplicity of the older ones. We get to see each waking up softly to what is and what is not real. In fact, we think they "play along" even past the point they start to doubt, just because it is fun.
rcastro0 5 months ago
@BJ219 We support the fantasy/magic that comes with Santa/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny. We play it along (we put food for the easter bunny, we hidde eggs for them to find out when they wake up). We let them live it while they can -- we know that magic goes away. Having three kids we count on the cumplicity of the older ones. We get to see each waking up softly to what is and what is not real. In fact, we think they "play along" even past the point they start to doubt, just because it is fun.
rcastro0 5 months ago
@BJ219 However we have a "straight truth" policy in our family. If one of the kids, even the youngest ones, were to ask me or my wife point-blank "Does Santa Claus exist?" we would never lie. We would generally turn the question back to him/her ("What do you think?") and let them have it if they believe in it. Or, if he/she insisted in asking, we would let them have "the secret". My oldest already went through that. Telling the truth at that point often gives them a sense of accomplishment.
rcastro0 5 months ago
Exactly, awesome video. I wish my parents were like that.
cutes22 6 months ago
amazing video.. subed, faved, and added to my facebook wall.
tex959 6 months ago
WHAT A GREAT VIDEO!
Thank you so much for sharing!
barefootID 6 months ago
I wanted to be an international drug trafficker and cartel leader when I was a little grasshopper.
josephrl82 7 months ago
LMAO @ 6:56! I used to mix mouthwash, toothpaste, eczema medicine, perfume and other junk in the sink together as a kid too!
AresCassell 8 months ago
best video on youtube so far that i've seen. im 23 years old, an atheist, and 3 kid that are 4,3 and 8 months, my family is very catholic and i would do anything not to hurt my mom's feelings, at the same time i do not want to raise my kids to be catholic and by watching this video i feel more assured that just because my parents take them to church every once in a while doesn't mean that they will go down that path, thank you for this great video
31rdman 9 months ago 2
I wish I can be as good a father one day as you are.
PassiveRock 9 months ago 2
'...48 hours later she was counting colonies on a bacterial growth plate...'
I never thought something that epically geeky was possible :)
TilleyFedora 9 months ago
Worst argument ever : "but the bible says........."
TheBigBigSean 9 months ago 3
I cannot give this video enough thumbs up
stiimuli 9 months ago 20
a zoologist and a physicist? I dont remember what i wanted to be when i was their age, but it was probably far from that. I can imagine if all parents went about teaching their kids the way you do, we'd be much better off.
justtryharder 9 months ago 2
Thank you for this video. A few days after watching it for the first time, I was hanging shelves. My 5-yr old daughter saw the pile of parts and asked how they went together. I told her to go look at the other set and see if she could figure it out. She did, and helped me put them together.
sorienor 9 months ago 4
Religious people love talking about other religions with their children once they fall in line with mom and pops belief. There is nothing abnormal or that objective about the way you choose to raise your children to decide for themselves. Most Christians I know believe that they have decided themselves and that their parents allowed them to so. The only ones who didn't renounced their faith. Grooming pays off. The description you give doesn't really match the objectiveness claimed and inferred.
turkeydogification 9 months ago
To me this sound more like option five, a typical Christian upbringing by parents who believe that they are objective when they are in fact not. You are creating a comfortability with whatever religion you are and they will identify and be more comfortable with it. You are doing this by making it their baseline religion from practice and by them seeing you practicing that faith at your church.
Kids dentify and learn from their parents. This is not even close to option 4 by your own description.
turkeydogification 9 months ago
Comment removed
turkeydogification 9 months ago
Perhaps you can make a video elaborating a bit on option four. It seems from what you said yourself in the video that you are following a path that a lot of Christian parents do with their children, that is not as objective as the video claims it is. You highlight and quiet down certain things in your video. It is already a contradiction to say that you choose option four, while instilling a baseline religion at a young age, only going as far as taking them to other denominations later?
turkeydogification 9 months ago
some day far in the future, your kids will watch this video and remember how awesome there dad was and what a gift he gave them.
kyebean 9 months ago 2
My mom taught me critical thinking though she's very religious. She always insisted on intellectual honesty in her children and demonstrated it herself. She always admitted when she was wrong or didn't know something. She always distinguished between knowledge and faith (she knows the world is round, she believes in God). She always acknowledged flaws in the political ideology she preferred and she renounced dishonest adherents to her ideology.
These were her greatest gifts to us growing up.
EyeLean5280 9 months ago 4
See this is why nobody likes you creatards.. You lie. You're liars.
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@wfuiii [*] fda [*] gov / NewsEvents / Newsroom / PressAnnouncements / 2007 / ucm108856 [*] htm Remove the "[*]", and replace with periods. Remove the spaces. You have been caught lying, fucker. This is why we don't take you seriously. You Lied. You're a Liar.
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007. The actual number of illnesses was almost certainly higher because not all cases of illness are recognized and reported. Source: CDC
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
@wfuiii Unpasteurized (raw) milk harbors dangerous diseases such as listeriosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis. It must really infuriate you that your attempts at selling bullshit as truth are easily dismissed as bullshit.
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
@mmmmmarcus Hey Marcus, why does your response here differ from email??
There you said,
"@wfuiii From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007." Even though misleading, at least civil.
wfuiii 10 months ago
@wfuiii Here's what you left out..Between 1998 and 2005, there were over 10,000 documented outbreaks that contributed to 199,263 documented cases of foodborne illness. Raw milk was associated with 0.4 % of these cases.
wfuiii 10 months ago
@wfuiii [*] fda [*] gov / NewsEvents / Newsroom / PressAnnouncements / 2007 / ucm108856 [*] htm
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
@wfuiii It's because your habit of quote-mining and cherry-picking prevents you from seeing the entire thing. ;)
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
@mmmmmarcus Somehow my response is not able to be posted....wonder why?
wfuiii 10 months ago
@wfuiii Are you gonna tell me you're a germ-theory denialist? lmfao!
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
You're an awesome dad! I love my parents, but I wish they had taught me rational thinking in all aspects of my life (religion included). It wouldn't have been as hard for me to say that I'm an atheist, and it wouldn't have been as hard for her to accept. Amazing video!
makeorbreakgirlz 10 months ago 2
Good parent is good.
AnonymousAscendent 10 months ago 3
Disliking this video says more about the person disliking it than it does about the video itself.
FaithBane 10 months ago 6
This video literally brought tears to my eyes. I wish my parents had raised me this way.
thirtysilver 10 months ago 4
i want to be a mormon, the girls are hot + polygamy = epic win
BowToMySkill 10 months ago 2
Probably one of the best videos ive seen on youtube.
icecreamftw 10 months ago
If you want to do something positive for your kids....you will visit the Weston A Price website and rethink your views on Raw Milk.....your videos are not a good example of your critical thinking you claim to teach. Price was brilliant and his research way ahead of his time. Hope you accept the challenge to check it out.
wfuiii 11 months ago
@wfuiii #1)-- Grass/Grains are a Bio-accumulator of toxins, metals, and pesticides. #2)-- Cattle graze for years and store toxins in their fat. #3)-- Sardines are a better source of calcium than milk, and less toxic than beef, and easier to raise. #4)-- Raw milk is loaded with dangerous bacteria, and can be a source of tapeworms. #5)-- You're a fucking moron.
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
@mmmmmarcus I suppose multi-M, that you consider Dr Price and the work that the Weston A Price Foundation is doing on Raw Milk are all Morons as well.....try reading the site and familiarize yourself with better facts. Raw Milk from farms raised in the proper setting is not laden with dangerous bacteria....quite the contrary, and who said that raw milk was ever drank for its source of Calcium.....thats the line of processed milk!! Please take a look at the site and learn.
wfuiii 10 months ago
@wfuiii Lol, you're really mentally-ill. You think I'll take a fundie's word over a smart motherfucker like C0nc0rdance? You're just like those morons who advise people to take a teaspoon of castor-oil to combat "chemtrails". i never said it was drank for it's calcium, you fucking idiot. I merely said sardines are a better source than milk. Fucking losers like you, always quote-mining. I hope you drown in a vat of raw milk some day..
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
@mmmmmarcus Not questioning whether COncOrdance is smart or not....rather whether or not he has done his due diligance on the Raw Milk issue...obviously you haven't done any at all and think that all Foundations are "fundies." Just shows your lack of critical judgement which certainly mirrors the language you use certainly on a channel about parenting....good show!! I will still maintain that the work of Dr. Weston Price stands above most all and worth a critical thinkers look.
wfuiii 10 months ago
@wfuiii From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007. The actual number of illnesses was almost certainly higher because not all cases of illness are recognized and reported. Source: CDC
mmmmmarcus 10 months ago
Great video. It helped me explain my position to my wife and brought some understanding to our family in relation to my beliefs or lack thereof and how I was going to deal with the situation. ie. raising a free thinking child without shoving my views down her throat like can be said for some religious people. It is not my place to decide what my child thinks, only to help her build a 'toolkit' that will enable her to make the decisions that are right for her. Thanks.
sweetmonkeylove1 11 months ago
The way i learned to keep a cool head is I was taught to ask questions about everything I am exposed to. This is something that is important for all people to know how to do.
CanadianoftheCoast 11 months ago
you seem like a great dad :D
LFZ15 11 months ago
If I had a father like you....
neokanzler 11 months ago 4
I totally agree with your parenting style.. My kids are both teens, one in college and one finishing high school. And the discussions and experiments still continue. One is a atheist, the other an atheistic buddhist, and they always want to think through (and test) the big issues for themselves.
we1rd1 11 months ago 2
I think we are all born scientists but socity kills that part of us when we are very young. But if you have parents like him that part of you wont die.
TheUntrueFantasy 11 months ago
Excellent video, easily one of your best and one of my all-time favorites -- I'll be sharing this one plenty. :)
Hardryv 11 months ago 2
Holy shit you're an awesome person. Seriously... I will be keeping this video in mind for years to come. Thank you.
chattiestspike2 11 months ago
Wonderful video. I am a single mother and have raised my son the way you have raised your children. I encourage my son to explore the world and I take him to various churches and have explained my views on religion. We welcome the chance to talk and explore possibilities with everything. Keep up the good work
MsSquarebearz 11 months ago
Very nice video. We tried to have a similar approach with our own children and never pushed our own religious views or lack of them but always answered their questions honestly. My daughter even went to a church school where she failed to be indoctrinated. My son is now both an atheist and a church organist.
dkahn400 11 months ago
Thanks That was Nice
nhender 11 months ago
this was fantastic and I really appreciated it
LesterMartin 11 months ago
Mine are younger but I work in much of the same ways. When it comes to religion I've kept it away from my kids, for now.
ApostateltsopA 11 months ago
@montrealwatcher 10
nomaed 11 months ago
It did make me giggle how your kids think more rationally than the general public.
TheBoysStuff 11 months ago 32
The conflict of interest is that on one hand you're encouraging thought and reasoning, and on the other hand faith, which is a process of non-thinking.
a1mint 11 months ago
i was always interested in dinosaurs, im naturally inquisitive, ooften to the point of breaking thingsby accident, loved flipping switches on the old disused turntable.
i hav dinosaur books. loved birds, collected things by the dozen.
so i can say i think i turned out alright
i will take my kids to church, and do my best to answer their questions but i dunno beyond that fatherhood s far out in my mind
elgostine 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Adopt me! :P naow!
xenorun 11 months ago
Unlike most of your videos this one comes dangerously close to self congratulation. (Self praise is scant recommendation).
ThisbeandPyramus 11 months ago
Wow. I was expecting to see you encourage parents to encourage their kids to think critically, but the hands-on stuff--like the bacterial culture--just blew me away. I hope that someday I'll be well-educated enough to do the same with my own children. You are an amazing father.
KaraRvn 11 months ago 3
This is worth faving.
viicISrotcib 11 months ago
You're an amazing father.
HelloPhixy 11 months ago 2
@HelloPhixy No necessarily. There is a clear agenda of proving exposure to religion. And that is not sane.
a1mint 11 months ago
Being a dad is probably the greatest thing I'll ever do. I still get such a high every time they ask a question and I get them to ultimately come to some sort of conclusion on their own, or even more intense is when there is no available answer and they conclude that, 'I don't know, but I want to find out.' When my daughter first said this I was both stunned and so incredibly proud. I think it took me twice as long as a person to reach this position about many, many things.
Great vid!
vryc 11 months ago
As a science student in my early 20s this is something I have thought about many times. "I'm a rational skeptic. When I have kids, how ought to approach issues like religion?" Thanks for this video, I think you've taken a great approach. Not only that, by helping to foster a curiosity and a disposition towards rational thought in your children you're setting them up very nicely for superior academic success in the arts and sciences.
McTaggStar 11 months ago 2
If it is any help I chose something close to option #4 to raise my kids. They both (age 26 & 22) turned out to be terrific free thinking adults.
You are on the right track. Don't kill mystery or spirituality, they can both be useful. Even for those of us in the sciences.
mafarmerga 11 months ago
Your daughter likes faeries? Check out afaeryhunt (dot) com. I don't know where you're from, but if you're ever around LA you could check this out. You could probably stay with my parents if you want ^^
airandfingers 11 months ago
I feel that it is important to teach your children to think for themselves as you have done but you must be ready for them to think for themselves, they could come to the conclusion that a god makes sense to them.
Tirunus 11 months ago
@Tirunus It sounds like as long as they come to that conclusion for the right reasons (if that's really possible), then the OP would be fine with that.
airandfingers 11 months ago
I'm sure that Vygotsky would be proud of your parenting style.
KingOfMadCows 11 months ago 3
Best Father Award Goes To This Awesome Guy!
SSJ2UMRaijinGohan 11 months ago 27
You avoided discussing a very important topic: Santa.
What did you say to your kids about Santa? ;O)
cjcscuba1984 11 months ago
@cjcscuba1984 Yeah, atheist or not, in my personal opinion EVERY kid should be entitled to at least 1 fantasy.
georgemiser 11 months ago
no kids for me. I like my freedom.
Snacks4Scooby 11 months ago
Interesting video, but I can't say I'm going to bring my kids to church anytime soon. Nor will I ever take them to a neo-nazi rally and discuss the pro's and con's of racism. Now partly this may be because my ex. is trying to brainwash my boys into becoming islamic. Either way it was an interesting video with a lot of merit.
Thanks...
FlaviusMaximus1967 11 months ago
Great video. I think your kids will be proud of you.
I was raised in an open-minded congregation, where I was told that I shouldn't just accept what my parents believe (led to my becoming an atheist), and where recently the pastor gave "sermons" about the science behind evolution and the Big Bang theory (each only slightly distorted!). I think that it would be really beneficial for this church to systematically try your proposed "option 4" on children.
airandfingers 11 months ago
I think allowing children to simply explore the world they live in and being there to answer (truthfully) their questions will make them into wonderfully open-minded, logical human beings! I like this video and I wish more people could apply this style of parenting.
tarinacj03 11 months ago
My father allowed me to chose my own path when I was young. I went to church with my friends and I prayed over my meals. When I was about 7 my dad started asking me about my religion, things like "Where is heaven?". I had to think about this, research it and I couldn't answer. He never told me what to believe but he asked me to explain my beliefs, to walk through them logically and eventually I was able to weed out the beliefs I had that made no sense to me.
tarinacj03 11 months ago
I can only begin to scrape the beginning of how many positive aspects of a good role model you are, Concordance. Thank you for being a wonderful human being, and a good father.
ReclusiarchGrimaldus 11 months ago
> .> Epic Dad?
AkuZod 11 months ago
Continued: Don't be surprised if your kids aren't proud and appreciative of you as a parent UNTIL they have had kids of their own. There are things you will not be able to resist trying to make your kids think; like your values; those things you hold most important to character. You'll see....I couldn't decide whether to look upon your determined optimism and sureness with derision... or pity.
olga2415 11 months ago
You sound like a parent who hasn't had the full experience of raising a child (or children) through the tangle of conflicting "truths" and influences they'll encounter throughout their lives. Well, make a video when you have seen them through their teens. You won't sound so sure of yourself then. I was naive and idealistic once, also. So please don't think I am bashing you. Wait until that critical thinking of your children is turned on you; it's not comfortable in the least.
olga2415 11 months ago
What is a well thought out reason for being a christian? Im very confused on that point. Seems to me if there was such a thing, I would be a christian, as well as concordance, and most every logical thinker out there!
juggaloryan3 11 months ago 2
Good video for your 100th!
Dragonvalor53 11 months ago
What a great approach to rising kids! :-)
Wrath0fKhan 11 months ago
C0nc0rdance,you should write a book.it;s amazing.
vain911 11 months ago 2
raise my children c0nc0rdance, plzzzzz...
0neDose 11 months ago
Thanks Concordance, now I feel utterly inadequate :-) I have two kids of the same age (also a boy and a girl), but they seem to time their question to coincide with either bedtime or some other event that prevents us from exploring the answer with a fun experiment (I also don't have a set of bacteria growth plates handy) ... so THANKS FOR THAT.
No, seriously thanks for the video, I fully agree with you. You just made it sound so easy :-)
plumdrix 11 months ago
I was walking home once and the sky flashed green for a split second I thought I was loosing it until I found out that at certain times of the day the light is refracted differently and can cause a green flash. I think you're doing the right thing, introducing people to new concepts and new ways of thinking is probably the best way of getting people to think.
Sadochrist 11 months ago
just another classic concordance video! Hope everyone raises their kids the same way in the light of reason. This will make the life of my kids much less miserable!
LBiolSci 11 months ago
how come your kids attend church sometimes? i don't have kids yet, but will within then next few years. if i took my kids to church it would ultimately be to make fun of the church-goers.. all it would turn into would be my kids asking me questions and me telling them that the religious people are merely guessing and they have no clue what happens after death and that the bible is fictional. i think this could be done without them going to church. would you let your kids go without you?
Spanxxx 11 months ago
dude brace yourself, you might get 2 nobel prize winners for kids
Hypastpist 11 months ago
STFU C0nc0rdance, fairies are REAL!!!
tuttle425 11 months ago
Awesome video (as always!) so I feel bad bringing up my one tiny complaint: the graphic at 4:46 seems to be missing at least one very important step between 'conclude' and 'celebrate': i.e. 'publish'. More and more people, it seems to me, forget that if you don't subject yourself to peer review you're not using the scientific method.
Jeraminal 11 months ago
I have already done what you are planning on doing. My teenager turned out as a wonderful free thinking skeptical person who knows all about the beliefs of others. She has decided that she rejects faith and when I asked her why she said so far there is no actually evidence. She also said she may change her mind if new evidence should come to light. Youre doing your children a great service. Good for you!
AlphaBrenda1 11 months ago
You sound like a parent with a good heart. You'll have to let us know how they're doing in a decade or so, when I start to contemplate having kids ;)
starwf07 11 months ago
@C0nc0rdance
Your kids are very lucky.
I apologize if you're getting inundated with messages like that.
ryb19100 11 months ago
Best. Dad. Ever.
belliebum12 11 months ago
Did anyone else think the picture of the cat on the right said Douches, not Peaches? lol 1:22 - 1:31
goozy101 11 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
You teach your kids not to murder, right? You don't say "Killing is generally wrong, but genocide and massacre is an alternate theory which I should teach you." Why do some people think that religion is somehow Worth being taught? Are you going to teach you kids about leprachauns and monsters under the bed and saying that they have equal merit as science? Not all kids are logical and compassionate. Many times, they need to be told what is right.
Sav3TheWorld 11 months ago
@Sav3TheWorld
If the only reason little Johnny doesn't murder his classmates is because his parents told him not to, Johnny has some very deep issues. ; )
Note that I mentioned "guided exploration". I lead them down the path, I show them how to arrive at answers, but I make sure that they also learn the process.
Some things have to be commandments: The stove is hot, stay away. Look both ways before crossing. I think good judgment tells us when a critical thinking lesson is called for.
C0nc0rdance 11 months ago 55
@C0nc0rdance I agree with you here and applaud you for your position on that topic. A lot of fundamentalists take the position that religion is the only or most important factor in whether or not someone has morals or non at all.Some things have to be commandments but not the commandments. Faith in newer religions like those based on the Holy Bible by no means created morality and is in no way necessary to have widely accepted universal morals.
turkeydogification 9 months ago
@C0nc0rdance Anyone who thinks that a fear of a God or Their God is required to keep them and theirs from doing evil is failing at their own game, while others, even those free of religion, simply don't need to make an issue out of such things to live a pious and respectable life. Just make sure that your guided exploration is as objective as you claim. Method is common for Christians to have ones child proudly arrive at Christianity on their own while passing down their false objectiveness.
turkeydogification 9 months ago
@Sav3TheWorld I took vacation days from work so that I watch Jerry Springer with my very young kids. I had never seen it before and had not realized exactly how raunchy it was. But I'm glad I did it. They didn't understand everything, but they got some of it. I asked them, "Did that person do the right thing?" "Is there another way they might have handled the situation?" And so forth. C0n's approach to religion wasn't mine, but coaxing kids to think critically means putting them in ...
TheFallibleFiend 11 months ago
@TheFallibleFiend ... in situations where they have to think critically.
TheFallibleFiend 11 months ago
@Sav3TheWorld
-
People learn better if they can figure it out by themselves.
TheSkepticalIdealist 11 months ago
What a great video! Your kids are very fortunate to have a dad such as you. I'm a Teaching Assistant in a middle school in the Uk & see on a day to day basis how education, in many instances, just programmes kids into thinking in a dogmatic way rather than encourage them to think for themselves. I'd like to think, that in my own small way, that I give them the means to think for themselves. I have an 18 year old son & he is finding his own way in life & not falling in the trap of herd mentality.
summersun2828 11 months ago
unfortunately most parents will drag their kids to religion classes, just in case if there is some deity who might get furious if they didn't...
rebelde69ateo 11 months ago
Beautiful video
AmishRakeFight85 11 months ago
@JesusBeatsAtheists I see your "Jesus Beats Atheists" and raise you "Cthulhu beats Jesus." Your move sir.
RememberJudas314 11 months ago
Great video!
JustAnotherJD 11 months ago
My mother read the children's version of the bible to me at age 3. I rejected it because I hated the nasty protagonist. Later on in life I came to understand the epistemological arguments against and the fallacies in favor of the existence of one or multiple deities and it turns out that there is no reason to believe in that nasty character of that incoherent rambling book or any of the other nasty gods that have been thought of since apparently tens of thousands of years ago.
Evilanious 11 months ago
Very well put! This is how I raise my kids. We often play a game called, "Possible or Impossible - Probable or Improbable?" Basically, I make a statement like, "I can fly," and they have to tell me if it is possible or impossible and if it is possible, is it probable or improbable, then they must explain their answers. We have so much fun with this game and they come up with so many great ideas. I encourage everyone to try it with their kids...
SkepticalBliss 11 months ago
Excellent video.
evolutionist101 11 months ago
I really like this. It struck a chord with me and how I encourage my own inquisitive three year old son. Thanks for the ideas from one dad to another.
deconverts 11 months ago
C0nc0rdance is best best stock photo dad ever!
logicaxe 11 months ago
My daughter asked me the other day "What is God?", I am an atheist and she goes to a kindergarden without religious teaching. So I had no idea what to answer, because I try, as you said, not to give her the answer without some rational thinking.
I do, as well, go for your fourth option.
HelgiSkaft 11 months ago
One can't help but wonder what caused your kid to question the difference in bacterial levels of cat & dog mouths. Was the kid stopped from getting a "kiss" from a pet, because of "bacteria"? Did the kid wonder about the difference in bacterial levels of dad's mouth as opposed to the cat's? How come? Was the kid told the fact that there are many types of bacteria & some are harmful & some not? How come? Was the kid told not to judge too quickly because of the outcome of only one experiment?
unseenstrings 11 months ago
@unseenstrings
She is nine years old and doing science experiments, give it a brake.
omegavalerius 11 months ago
@omega... my point was that her "choice" to do the experiment was determined by particular influences acting upon her. My point is that she cannot make up her own mind anymore than she can make up her own brain, because the mind is merely a function of the physical brain. My point is that by saying that he is going to let her make up her own mind, he is blaming her for how she turns out, instead of blaming all the causal factors that acted upon her to make her who she now is and who she shall be
unseenstrings 11 months ago
Of course, her choices will ultimately come from her brain. But my point is that the organ we call "her brain" is not something she chooses. "Who she is" at any given moment in time is the result of a host of factors that were beyond her conscious control. If she "wants" to change "who she is," then something caused her to experience the "want." She does not create for herself the "wants" that she experiences. She has no choice but to think with the only brain she has, a brain she did not choose
unseenstrings 11 months ago
@unseenstrings You're making a lot of assumptions here.
Gorillathehun 11 months ago
@Gorillathehun, well evidently you are presuming I made assumptions--which I didn't. Rather than use what is equivalent to a "nan-nana-boo-boo" argument, please provide me with some logical points against any statement I made that you feel is an "assumption."
Bear in mind my comments were in regard to C0nc0rdance's assertion that he was going to expose his daughter to several different religions and let her make up her "own mind," as if her mind existed separate from all causal influences.
unseenstrings 11 months ago
@Gorillathehun, what C0nc0rdance needs to explain to his kids is belief isn't a choice. What one perceives (as a result of his or her own natural development), one believes. Once the kids realize this fact then they will tend to be less prejudiced toward people who believe differently than themselves. They may even wonder what could cause someone to believe in the scientific method, as I do
Tell them about cognitive & confirmation biases. Tell them about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Etc. Etc.
unseenstrings 11 months ago
@unseenstrings
Your second comment has nothing to do with defending your first as far as I can tell.
omegavalerius 9 months ago
@omegavalerius, can a person make up his (or her) mind about how something will taste before it is put in the mouth? No. A person can make an assumption based on superficialities. But the mind is made up by the sensory input of the experience.
Also, bear in mind that mirror neurons in the brain cause one to feel what others express. Thus we may feel something tastes good based on effective advertising and good acting.
Effective persuasion and suggestion can make an uncritical mind believe.
unseenstrings 9 months ago
Kids tend to believe what is said by an adult until they have learned or are taught to think critically. Also by default, when something seems or is made to seem dangerous or detrimental, the human will "play it safe" & believe a story that, without the fear factor involved, would be obviously unbelievable.
C0nc0rdance ought to teach his kids these facts. Teach them about cognitive & confirmation biases. He ought not let them be preyed upon with persuasive BS. Teach them to think critically.
unseenstrings 9 months ago
@unseenstrings
I'm still trying to understand what your beef is with encouraging kids to do simple experiments. Take a look back at when you were 9. If you were anything like the typical nine-year-old (like me) this is already far above the avarage in intellectual terms.
omegavalerius 7 months ago
@omegavalerius, I have no problem with encouraging kids to learn by experimenting. I have a problem when the parent or caretaker assumes kids consciously create the mindset that they possess. As stated, whatever has the most influence on the child's mind determines how perception develops for that child. The child really has no choice in the matter. In fact, any choice the child happens to make can be traced back to antecedent and genetic influences, not to a mind nor will free from causality.
unseenstrings 7 months ago
That was an absolutely beautiful video. I have a 7 month old boy and I was always worried, about when he gets older, how would I deal with those awkward questions kids can ask. My original plan was to make him watch every episode of Penn and Tellers B.S. Now I have a great guide line and tool to help me raise a child who can think for himself. Thanks so much man, I know this video was not made just for me but, I really appreciate you making this video.
gaving2 11 months ago
I can't like this enough!! :) Faved and shared....
OriMeissa 11 months ago
You are a hero dude xD
DarkZholt 11 months ago