This chapter discus on what makes a prefect parent. To begin the chapter the author talks of parents and people as being terrible risk assessors. Many people believe pools are safer than guns and that driving is safer than flying when in actuality pools and cars are much more dangerous. The reason why people believe in these misconceptions is due to few reasons. One is fear since we are not always in control of the situation. This is why people feel safer in cars than in planes because in a car the driver controls what is happening. The other reason is the present-time. People are more scared of planes due to all the recent terrorist attacks.
The author then goes into talking about what makes a good parent. I think it’s difficult to say what exactly makes a good parent since each child needs to be raised differently. However the author points out specific points that make good parents such as parents being highly educated, child speaks English at home and the child has many books at home. If the parents are highly educated the child would be more likely to value education and want to further his education. If the child speaks English at home it comes as no surprise that they should score higher on tests because the tests are in English, they child has a better understanding of what he or she is doing.
One factor that I also believe plays an important role is parents making sure their child is surrounded by good friends. Now more than ever with all the sports and extracurricular activities children are now spending more time around their friends than they do at home. This means friends are having just as large of an impact on children as do their parents. If your child is surrounded by smart, motivated people some of those attributes can rub off on your child.
Class Cancelled 3/15
16 years ago
