How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Adele and Elaine's book, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk provides a helpful guide to parent child communication. I've tried out several of the suggestions in the book and my kid has responded very well.  This has improved our relationship.

The specific praise section recommends giving details about what pleased you instead of the generic and egocentric, "I am so proud of you."  The authors combine discussions with parents who have used the technique with cartoon illustrations showing unhelpful and helpful dialogue between parent and child. Some sections allow the parent see the discussion from a child's perspective.

Example of a cartoon from the book

Please get the 2012 version of the book as it contains a next generation chapter from Adele's daughter Joanna. She reflects on growing up with her mom and how she's applied the techniques when she is raising her children.  Family Intel produced an eight page summary of How to Talk so Kids Will Listen ... .

Adele and Elaine talk about the origins of their book (2:39 min.)




Interview with Adele and Elaine (approx. 7.5 minutes)

The World's Second Oldest Profession - A World History of Espionage part one

I've enjoyed learning about espionage from the first time I watched a James Bond movie or learned about spies in world war II.  This audio series, The Modern Scholar: The Second Oldest Profession, Part 1: A World History of Espionage, provides information on the earliest forms of espionage up to the first part of the 20th Century.

The section on American Civil War espionage was an eye opener for me.  I was unaware of the Confederacy setting up a branch in Canada.  I was also unaware of the Australian and English Confederate war ships that were made for the Civil War. The slaves in the Civil War were also very valuable as they were invisible but heard everything.

Spying during Elizabethan England was series business.  Mary Queen of Scots plotted on several occasions with Catholic led foreign governments to have the protestant Queen Elizabeth removed from the throne. Extensive detective work and elaborate spying provided clear evidence of the final conspiracy to get rid of Elizabeth and finally convinced the Queen to have Mary executed.

The Spy Who Brought Down Mary Queen of Scots - 45 minutes

How Colors Affect You: What Science Reveals - William Lidwell

Tulips an alternate view - N. Carlson

What color should police officers wear to control a crowd? What color should the same officers wear to donuts with the cops?  What is the best color for a pediatric nurse?  Can your eyes prime you to taste a color?  What color is the best for reducing mental fatigue and increasing creativity? What color best signifies danger?  What colors reduce success in dating? This six part lecture series How Colors Affect You: What Science Reveals in the Great Courses answers these questions and more  backing this up with reports from scientific studies.

The studies on the effect of colors on taste perception was fascinating.  People who ate colored gelatin with no flavor reported tasting flavors that matched the colors with the exception of blue which had little flavor. It would make a great science fair project.

Job hunters, marketers, politicians, creative people and restaurant owners need to know the proper colors to to shape the response they want from the public.  Improper colors like blue ketchup can be a marketing disaster but green colored ketchup has worked. Circadian photo receptors respond to blue by increasing alertness during the day but they are harmful at night. I enjoyed learning about the effect of colors based on experimental data and not conventional wisdom.

Answers to earlier questions: Black, blue, blue, yes, green, red, yellow and green

How Colors Affect You promo - approx. 1 min. 

How Great Designers Think -William Lidwell - 68 minutes.