parenting | Social Signal

Finding yourself plunking the kids down with something unhealthy - weaponized anthrax, ninja throwing stars, Bob the Builder - just so you can grab some keyboard time? How do you tell when a healthy pastime is turning into unhealthy competition for your children's attention?

How can we instill social values in our kids? That's a question Rob and I struggle with constantly. In its least subtle form, the inculcation can begin as early as eighteenth months, as we've learned this election season ("No, sweetie, we don't clap forthat man.") At three or four we can toss in a little more complexity ("We don't say Indian, we say First Nations") though no greater nuance ("That kind of car makes the trees cry.")