We do make some crafty things (potholders, beading, rubberband bracelets, greeting cards, etc...) and they have tried selling potted plants and stickers and coloring books that they made at various markets we've gone to. However, I'm hoping to push them into something that has to compete on its merits, rather than selling to a captive audience of parents who buy things because the kids are cute. Sometimes making crafts and then rewarding them feels like it's another version of homework. I want to do child labor.1
The digital world is pretty awful, isn't it? I'm fairly careful to walk with them through the journey of spending time online, but I'm also aware that they are going to have to learn to live in the digital world. I have not found sheltering my kids to be a very helpful practice. But I plan on being very involved, so I don't expect them to be exposed to too much awfulness without context.
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Here's how I'm thinking about this: in the US (maybe also most of the west) there's an idea that kids don't really do useful stuff as a part of their education. Learning is always denoted by the uselessness of the work (I wonder what Veblen would have to say about this...). But there's no reason kids can't embark on building a life of useful productivity right now. They have good ideas. They just need a bit of support to give it a shot. At the very least, I want them to get used to the idea of taking a risk and failing. There's very little risk in homework. ↩
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