Thursday, June 11, 2009

Protecting Children

One of my favorite parenting blogs, Free Range Kids, has an article about the recent laws protecting kids from lead and other poisonous substances in toys. It sounds like a great idea, but the devil is in the details, as you will see by reading the article.

I can't add much to the discussion, except to slap my hand on my forehead and whimper. Michael had an interesting thought, which I will try to reproduce. The idea is that liberals think that more laws mean more protection for people, while conservatives think that if we just got rid of the laws people would behave well. I'm not sure that this is the case in all senarios, but in this case it certainly holds true.

The visual picture of libraries cordoning off their children's sections, Goodwill and such turning away children's toys, small businesses facing the decision of testing their handmade toys or shutting down, blows my mind. Michael's other idea was that we could resign from the human race----I wouldn't go that far, but I would point out that when we get something wrong the first time, we are obligated to try to fix it.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Working with your hands and your mind

Today on the Diane Reams show I heard Matthew B. Crawford speak about his book "Shop Class as Soulcraft." Then I saw a review of the book at the WSJ, so I figured I should really write some of my impressions.

Working with mind and hands as a SAHM. One of the things Mr. Crawford said that really impressed me was asking whether people who "work with their hands" don't work with their minds as well. He says that fixing motorcycles is hands on but involves his mind in solving problems. For me, using my brain is the only thing that keeps this job tolerable. On one level, it involves thinking about other things while doing mind numbing tasks---writing blog posts while washing dishes, for example. On another level, the problems that come up in parenting involve much creative problem solving. I'm not born organized, for example, so I have to come up with solutions to problems like "how can we make sure we don't forget shoes when we go out?" and "how can I tell when Eleanor should wash her hair?" (I'm still working on the second one...). Then there are the in the trenches child problems: how can I help Luke sleep? What is going on with Eleanor at school? How can I tell if Amanda is getting enough to eat? This is not mindless.

Making things at home, self reliance even when you have an intellectual job I have found that if Michael goes too long without making something, he gets antsy. So I let him add a spigot to our irrigation system, or buld a bench or a bed or desk, or fix some electrical problem. When I was studying math, one of my favorite pastimes was cross stitch, because I could see my progress on the project, instead of having non-physical progress to report. And also, I really hate solving problems at home by writing checks---if possible, I'd like to figure out how it works (or have Michael figure out how it works). Sometimes that leads to procrastination (like our garden...although I'm trying to work on that now). But sometimes I learn something new.

The WSJ best job article A while ago the Wall Street Journal published an article about the best jobs, and mathematician came up first. After looking at the article, what the study did was look at the jobs that the people doing the study wanted to have, and find the jobs that most fit them. My sister-in-law, who works as an OB nurse, had to disagree---I think she thinks her job is better than being a mathematician. The article is an example of the denigrating of physical work that is rampant in this country. Of course I like studying mathematics, but really it's not for everyone, and it's not even for me all of the time.

I think that if I ever get my "Parents with unused degrees" book club going, this would be one of the books we would read.