Comment by gjsman-1000
1 year ago
Also, unaddressed: when they get old enough to realize the story is fake, are they more likely to do something stupid then, because they don’t understand the actual reasoning?
1 year ago
Also, unaddressed: when they get old enough to realize the story is fake, are they more likely to do something stupid then, because they don’t understand the actual reasoning?
Yeah that's exactly the problem with the boogeyman. They inevitably enter a rebellious phase that could be mostly avoided if you maintained trust and communication.
Easier said than done, but you need to keep things simple and direct. To be blunt about it, most parents aren't mentally mature enough to have kids.
> They inevitably enter a rebellious phase
Adolescents have a biological inclination to distance themselves from their parents. But in cultures that properly isolate and ostracize non-conformists and trouble makers, you don’t necessarily have a “rebellious” phase. (Some undoubtedly do, most don’t.)
If a "rebellious phase" in an Inuit population would entail falling into frigid water and dying, one angry teen per generation that falls in is probably enough to keep the rest out, if it's not cleared from the gene pool altogether. The latter might be bad armchair evolutionary psychology, but we're talking about a small population that's been in an extreme environment for a pretty long time.
> They inevitably enter a rebellious phase
This is not a feature of most cultures, or at least they don't remark on it.
If I were to guess, it is caused by our practice of sending kids to school.
It's well documented across the order Mammalia, not just humans.
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