So, “natural consequences” is a good parenting strategy for a lot of things. If a kid eats enough sweets right before bed, they’ll puke. But if your kid is regularly overeating on an excess of junk food, only cutting themself off before you puke? The natural consequences for that are eating disorders beginning to manifest in your late teens and a life-long struggle with weight (because resting metabolic rate is largely genetic, but is also affected by diet, so two genetically identical people will have different resting metabolic rates based on how healthily they eat during childhood). The feedback cycle for eating junk long-term, as opposed to a stomache ache several hours later, is on the order of decades. And by the time that feedback registers, the task of undoing those decades of unhealthy habits becomes significantly harder. Like work-4-times-as-hard-to-get-worse-results harder.
Just in case anyone was reading this tweet and thinking, “wait, but that kind of makes sense,” there’s your explanation. Justified hierarchy should work to undermine itself over time, but that doesn’t mean that all authority and force is illegitimate.
First thing that came to my head was toothbrushing. Sure, let your kid blow off regular dental hygiene. They'll only have to deal with decades of expensive, painful, and esteem-crushing physical conditions! Surely that was worth not having to be the bad guy to your nine year old until they developed the habit.
I'm referring to the whole range of maladies that can eventually lead to tooth loss - cavities, infections, gingivitis, etc. Even if it doesn't result in the whole tooth going, it can be really debilitating
So, “natural consequences” is a good parenting strategy for a lot of things. If a kid eats enough sweets right before bed, they’ll puke. But if your kid is regularly overeating on an excess of junk food, only cutting themself off before you puke? The natural consequences for that are eating disorders beginning to manifest in your late teens and a life-long struggle with weight (because resting metabolic rate is largely genetic, but is also affected by diet, so two genetically identical people will have different resting metabolic rates based on how healthily they eat during childhood). The feedback cycle for eating junk long-term, as opposed to a stomache ache several hours later, is on the order of decades. And by the time that feedback registers, the task of undoing those decades of unhealthy habits becomes significantly harder. Like work-4-times-as-hard-to-get-worse-results harder.
Just in case anyone was reading this tweet and thinking, “wait, but that kind of makes sense,” there’s your explanation. Justified hierarchy should work to undermine itself over time, but that doesn’t mean that all authority and force is illegitimate.
First thing that came to my head was toothbrushing. Sure, let your kid blow off regular dental hygiene. They'll only have to deal with decades of expensive, painful, and esteem-crushing physical conditions! Surely that was worth not having to be the bad guy to your nine year old until they developed the habit.
what conditions is there besides tooth loss?
I'm referring to the whole range of maladies that can eventually lead to tooth loss - cavities, infections, gingivitis, etc. Even if it doesn't result in the whole tooth going, it can be really debilitating