How Many Times Do We Need To Be Surprised by The Expression - Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover?
You can find so many examples online today and within your local community that can teach you to judge a person by their individual merits versus their stereotypical groups (Age, Gender, Ethnic Background, Level of Wealth or Positivity). I saw this YouTube video of an amazing elder female drummer because I had recently watched a Muppets drum battle between Animal and Buddy Rich.
It’s easy for us to make judgments quickly about someone or something, and honestly it’s often justified - stereotypes exist for some legitimate reasons - some have said that humans biologically evolved some of these quick judgment processes as a way of survival. But we miss countless opportunities to bond, connect and expand our relationships when we apply these processes with little internal processing to combat them.
Watch Dorothea Tyler play drums to a heavy metal song (Down with sickness by Disturbed). FYI, I am a Country music fan, but if you looked at me you might not realize that at one point I used to say I like all music except country (including rap and heavy metal like Disturbed).
If you walked by Dorothea in the grocery store, what your you think about her? This is why it is important to connect with people and get to know them individually! This doesn’t mean that you have to run up to every single individual and start a 30 minute conversation, but perhaps recognize when you might be thinking stereotypically and challenge yourself a bit to be less guarded. People can surprise you!
The Downsizing Party! What a Great Idea
So RoseAnne and I are members of the Sandwich Generation community on Facebook and just yesterday I saw a post on there where one of the members posted this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about a couple who were looking to get rid of years of clutter and they threw a public downsizing party.
People came from all over and walked out with bags and boxes filled with things like books, plates and other antiquities that the couple were no longer attached to. What a great way to de-clutter quickly and not have to go through so much at the granular level.
This may not be for everyone, but for people who are able to let go of things, this may be a good option. Perhaps you could create an estate sale and make some money, but if you want to do something with less stress and more overall good will, this is a great option to consider.
Reasons Why Kids Today Might Have Some Developmental Disadvantages
I am a bit of a data guy, so this editorial is one I would caution and say that I don’t see a lot of stats in there that can attribute developmental issues to one key element or another and nor would I expect one. I have seen lots of articles that also call out advantages of today’s technology in helping kids learn and advance their skills in language, math and other things. However, I can say that I like a lot of what Jacqueline was saying in this post and that I see some of the tech dependency signs in my own young children who are under 4 years of age.
We limit tech time, especially if the kids look like they are getting a little possessive with a device (unwilling to let it go? Then it is going to go…). But we also see lots of positives when we allow them to use the puzzles and drawing apps, and we do enjoy watching a movie with them. Ultimately there is no real “right” way to parent, you just do what you need to do in order to maintain balance in your household. But there are some great points in here about how we can do things that could impact your child’s future development. Many of us (including myself) use technology to babysit from time to time - especially when doing things like cooking dinner, etc. But there are some nice callouts in this post that might make us more aware of when we are doing it and how we might be able to help our children tolerate times when immediate gratification is not an option and to understand that boredom may not such a negative.
