Since I'm going to be a dad soon (yay!) I wrote down my thoughts related to parenting. I'd appreciate any feedback! https://economicsdetective.com/2021/01/thoughts-on-parenting-before-becoming-a-parent/

I'll summarize the main points here:

1. Children are not blank slates

Per @bryan_caplan, a lot of your child's traits are outside your control. This is actually a liberating idea because it frees you from the need to hyper-parent your kid to turn them into a future CEO.

2. Boys are different than girls

This is pretty obvious to most people, but it's trendy to deny it, so I put it in here.

3. Humans are good at learning but they’re not good at generalizing

“I am going to teach my child chess so that he learns strategic thinking skills that he can apply throughout his life” is wrong.

“I am going to teach my child chess so that he can play chess” is correct.

4. Bad sleep is the result of a culture that actively teaches bad sleep

Babies need to learn to connect sleep cycles, so you need to be careful not to disturb them too much.

5. Picky eating is (partly) the result of a culture that actively teaches picky eating

I know there's a gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, but other than stuff like that, I think it's within the parents' power to get their parents to enjoy a wide variety of foods.

6. School is kind of awful

I really didn't like school, and I think that traditional schooling is a pretty bad institution overall. I don't think the value of what children learn in school outweighs the toll it takes on their mental health.

I'd love to hear thoughts from @eigenrobot and @selentelechia since our first children are due around the same time!