I am grateful today that although I grew up with an Irascible Neurodivergent Dad I have been spared Tin Opener Dad behavior.
The time he taught me a persistence lesson in the face of frustration was Good Actually because he added a carrot.
You do not add a stick when a child is frustrated and distressed.
When a child is frustrated and distressed there is *already* a stick and it isn't *working*.
You do not add a stick when a child is frustrated and distressed.
When a child is frustrated and distressed there is *already* a stick and it isn't *working*.
I hated quadratic equations because I'd been doing mental math all my life and suddenly having to work with a formula I didn't understand felt tedious and stupid.
He wrote out the full derivation & paid me a dollar to work through it step by step.
He wrote out the full derivation & paid me a dollar to work through it step by step.
This was at 13 ish. I wasn't forced to accept the challenge. Having the price of a soda afterward was a promise that I would get something out of it even if it didn't give me insight.
It did; though I couldn't hold the whole thing in my head, I "trusted" the equation afterward.
It did; though I couldn't hold the whole thing in my head, I "trusted" the equation afterward.
My parents weren't perfect; I learned my share of unintentional bad lessons. But I'm grateful for the things they did right.
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