What’s Important To You?
Click on the text above for some questions to get you thinking about parenting. It’s an excel file.
PLEASE NOTE: These questions are designed to get you thinking about parenting as a process that involves all aspects of life. It might be helpful to review these questions once in a while to keep the process fresh for you. This list is not exhaustive or “authoritative”. If you have different ideas that’s great! You should write your ideas down and incorporate them into your parenting process. And if you’re interested in sharing your ideas contact us and if they are compatible with our pragmatic approach we’ll post them (giving you as much or as little credit as you want, of course).
About Learning Histories
A learning history describes the cumulative effect of the evolving relationship between genes and environment on behavior.
People inherit genes from their parents that will specify biological characteristics and give rise to certain predilections or potentials, the way physical size and coordination might make someone more prone to engage in sports, or someone with a strong memory more interested in chess. But who we are -what we do, know, and say, what we like and dislike as individuals- is not determined by the genes we inherit from our parents. Who we are is a product of the evolving interaction between our genes and our environment. And the process that gives rise to this evolving relationship is called learning. So while a certain physical size (inherited genes) is necessary to have a shot at being a top athlete, it is by no means sufficient. The potential must evolve in relation to the environment, which for the aspiring athlete might include coaching, nutrition, practice, luck (for example, being relatively old and therefore relatively large compared to your classmates), the influence of a peer group, and of course parenting.
The basic behavioral process that underlies each individual’s learning history is called reinforcement. Learning histories can also be referred to as histories of reinforcement. The basic processes that underlie reinforcement are called respondent conditioning (first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov) and operant conditioning (first demonstrated by Edward Thorndike and subsequently made famous by B.F. Skinner). Respondent and Operant conditioning bring our genetic inheritance into contact with the environment and allow for the evolution of complex behavior across time.
An excellent book that describes how complex human behavior arises from the basic interactions between our genes and the environment in which they are expressed is Learning and Complex Behavior (1993) by John W. Donahoe and David C. Palmer.
Introducing Pragmatic Parenting
Welcome to Pragmatic Parenting, a haven for parents who want to learn simple, practical, and positive approaches that will help them reduce the stresses of parenting and improve their overall relationship with their children. Here you will find advice on dealing with tantrums, anxiety, learning problems, sleep issues, bullying, and other everyday parenting worries.
Pragmatic Parenting is based on behavioral science as well as real-world parenting expertise—a philosophy born out of a strong belief in a parent’s ability to create an environment for children that will inspire learning, love, and happiness.