Originally posted by Chin Eng: 10 July 2007 · 11:08 AM
what are experts?
Originally posted by Chin Eng: 10 July 2007 · 12:56 PM
so what are experts.....?
if, say, someone you know has done the above (short of writing a book - sarcasm unintended) he is an expert......
but because there is no hard facts ie qualifications, credentials to officially recognise the expertise, wouldn't you say then, the credentials are the children?
that being the case, in the first place, these people who "had spent time and effort to think through all the issues" stuck through their beliefs and were successful in raising kids, how the delusional part come in...?
seems that you are quite attached the word "delusional"....
Re: Experts in Parenting Techniques
Every book you read there will be people that support or detract the book. That is because, nobody can write for "everybody". I am a writer. I know. You can write in simple language for children and use simple concepts since you are targeting at children. You can also write as if you are writing for experts in the field and consider very advance concepts, AND THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF PEOPLE IN BETWEEN!
The reader must play his part. S/he must read with a critical mind and that is, S/he must consider what is written and the bases (reasons, explanation) behind the concepts, whether they agree with the concepts and techniques taught them in the book.
In that sense there are no "bad" books. You read the book and all the book does is to "give you ideas". You then pick up the "good" ideas and suitable ideas and discard those that are not suitable for you or you are not convinced based on the reasons provided by the writer.
You need not worry about the book giving you the wrong ideas if you read books critically and intelligently.
I think we all know that Chin Eng is one of the Moderators of ~Eternal Hope~ a Christian forum (Moderators: sillyme, Chin Eng, ben1xy) and I am brining this up because it is relevant and not meant to insult anyone). I think that it is important to know where CE as Mod of a Christian forum and a religious person is coming from when he asks "what experts"?.
Christians and other religious people are taught to "accept" "believe" and "not criticize". It is "THE WORD of GOD". They are expected to believe that "GOD SAID IT, I BELIEVE IT, AND THAT SETTLES IT."
Google Results 1 - 10 of about 9,960 for "God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It".What if what they believe are not the words of GOD (forgetting for a moment that there is no objective proof of a God or even if there is a God/s; that the God/s is even interested in man) and what if a man/men was/were clever enough to write/compile a holy book and tell people "GOD SAID IT, YOU JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE IT, AND THAT SETTLES IT."
In the real world, nobody is that "stupid" and will definitely not say:
"GOD (who? is there a GOD?!!! and if yes, which GOD?!!!) SAID IT (are you sure it was GOD that said it and not the preacher or the writer of the "HOLY BOOK"?!!! Did GOD appear on TV and said it?!! If not, why not?!!!) I BELIEVE IT (why should I believe it, and what are the reasons that I should believe it?!!!) AND THAT SETTLES IT (of course that's not it, I am not that stupid!!! You want me to believe you and give you money every week, you have to give me good reasons?!!!!)."
This type of thinking, faith, is very dangerous because you can end up with very dangerous beliefs, like the suicide bombers and
have many delusions in your head. He is the EXPERT, he is the RELIGIOUS leader, it is the HOLY BOOK!, he is the PRIME MINISTER and so I must believe and not question.
You can imagine the suicide bomber going : "GOD SAID IT I BELIEVE IT AND THAT SETTLES IT" and you can see that even doctors can become suicide bombers because they tell themselves "GOD SAID IT I BELIEVE IT AND THAT SETTLES IT."
In the real world people will question the validity of the concepts and techniques that other people (experts or otherwise) propose in books or websites and preaching. In the real world, people will read the reasons behind the proposals and accept or reject them accordingly.
ShrodingersCat: I think you have made is abundantly clear that you too are of the opinion that parents should seek expert advice and read as much as possible regarding the concepts and techniques of parenting, but you have cautioned that it might not necessarily lead to success. While it might not lead to success, there are no better alternatives.
This is like saying that people should go to school even though not everyone will pass the exams (there are no better alternatives, practically speaking). Or saying that people should go to hospitals even though some people die in hospitals (there are no better alternatives, practically speaking).
So it is, "read as much as possible on Parenting and learn as many ideas/concepts and techniques as possible but learn how to use the ideas/concepts and techniques wisely.