Joanna wrote:
>When I say we all hate to see our reason go out the window, I'm not
>referring to a form of reason that it takes any time to develop.
>Fear interferes with the ability to absorb information, even in a
>very young child.
Except to absorb the information that "If I venture near that well some adult might hit me"? In that case, isn't that the crucial info they need, until they're big enough to avoid or be careful around wells for other reasons?
> For all creatures fear is a to-be-avoided experience, along with
>everything associated with that experience, so eliciting fear tends
>to teach avoidance and mistrust.
Well avoidance (of the punishable activity) is the point. What do you mean by mistrust?
Where's Catherine? I think this is kind of her area, and I'm sure she'd agree with you. I just think the generalizations are overdrawn. Which wouldn't be a problem except they also tend, at least implicitly, to put the recent common wisdom of professional class EuroAmericans at the top of some universal chain of childraising wisdom.
Maureen