Atheism is not this cold, arbitrary, removed thought process or ideology that promotes immortality or unethical behavior, as so many people think. In fact, atheism generally includes quite an extensive set of rational beliefs that just about everyone can agree with (or at least not disagree with); the general public just doesn’t know enough about it, and they have a lot of disinformation and misinformation to sort through in order to come to some sort of a conclusion that’s based on fact.

And I am worried a bit about how to explain to my now-16-month-old daughter, as she gets older, exactly what Mom and Dad believe, why we believe it, and why we so often seem to disregard the beliefs of other people she encounters, especially the beliefs repeated by their children.

Children are amazingly insightful and intuitive. I’ve met very few children who couldn’t sense discontent when adults around them were trying to mask it. And I’ve met very few children who aren’t really listening to every little thing you say even when you think they’re not. (Perhaps this is evolution in one of its finer moments.) So when my daughter, Lulu, comes into contact with someone who tells her that a god is real and if she doesn’t believe she’ll go to hell, or when one of the kids in her class says to her that her kitty may have died but is in heaven, I know I have to say more than just “Oh, we don’t believe that, sweetie. Here, finish your dinner.”

Because that’s not true! Who is the “we” here? Your dad and I? No, we don’t, but you might. Really. Does it make sense to you? Do you think it’s possible? What evidence do you have? Do you think you need evidence to come to a conclusion about something like this? And if not, why not?

We’re rational people. We’re not closed-minded, but we’re also not so open-minded that our brains fall out. We encourage critical thinking. In fact, I want nothing more than to encourage critical thinking in my child, because regardless of where it leads her, it will always guide her.

For just as the parents who teach faith as fact to their children acknowledge that the child will most likely repeat it to other children, our children will repeat, in some form, our responses. Civility is key here, but misunderstanding in this kind of situation can so easily happen, especially with such vested interests in these kinds of beliefs.

So I ask the rational parents out there—all of you: atheists, theists, nontheists, and anyone in between—how have you handled a situation in which your child was confronted with faith as fact? What do you do? How do you explain it? What advice can you give other parents who really need some guidance on how to confront this problem?

The cartoon network is currently testing out three new live action shows. One of the shows is called The Othersiders which is best explained as Teen Ghosthunters and is aimed at kids.

I’ve seen the first episode and some of the promotional material online and my main issues with this show are 1) that it assumes the existence of the paranormal as fact and 2) passes off sloppy thinking, “weird feelings”, and logical fallacies as critical thinking and true investigation.

This show claims to be “skeptical”, “scientific” and to conduct “thorough” investigations but in reality is credulous and obviously pro paranormal. Critical thinking is practically non existent. It wouldn’t bother me so much if they didn’t claim to be skeptical critical thinkers. If kids are watching this as an example of critical thinking they will be misinformed.

They say they do extensive research on the internet to find the most “credible” locations to investigate. KC, the team’s case manager, explains their decision to investigate the Lincoln Heights Jail in Los Angeles on their first episode, “The jail seemed credible because, so much stuff went on in that place there has to be paranormal stuff left over.”

Sam, the web master, explains why they use thermal cameras, “Paranormal energy is heat and our thermal detectors will pick that up.”

In the research they did about the location the kids read that when people entered a particular part of the jail they started to feel claustrophobic and dizzy. When two members of the team enter that part of the jail, surprise surprise, they also start to feel claustrophobic and dizzy. They consider this evidence of the paranormal. There is no mention that they may have fallen prey to the power of suggestion, that there may be a gas leak or that there may be any other explanation.

Check out the show and see what you think. If you, like me are not happy about this sort of stuff being marketed to kids, please write to the Cartoon Network and let them know what you think.  

Because this show is so new and they are still testing is out we can make a difference. 

Rational parents of the world unite!

Skepdad compiled a fantastic list of blogs, book recommendations, and other links:

These are sites I read, books I reference, documents I consult, or information I find otherwise useful and interesting. I’ve put it here specifically to be a central hub of information (hopefully useful for others) for all things skeptical, science, parenting, educational, or otherwise tangential to that.

Check it out.  You will be reading for days and days.

If you are interested in science or skepticism, and if you have kids, have I got a summer camp for you! Camp Inquiry is a week-long summer camp for children aged 7-16, which runs from July 6-12, and is hosted by CFI, near Buffalo, NY. It has all the regular camp stuff, like hiking in the woods, outdoor sports, and sleeping in bunkbeds. But, oh man, it has so much more!

Camp Inquiry has a three-part focus, teaching children about the arts and sciences, skepticism, and ethics. Every day at camp is different, but every day the campers will work on science projects, develop critical thinking skills, and work with professional scientists, skeptics, artists, musicians, and magicians. I’m afraid to name names, because contracts may not be finalized, but the kids who come to Camp Inquiry this summer will:

• Learn magic during daily workshops with a professional magician
• Compose music during daily workshops with a professional children’s songwriter
• Learn mentalism from a professional skeptic (you all know him!)
• Learn to create art with a professional artist (you all know her!)
• Learn about space from a professional astronomer
• Learn about science from a professional physicist
• Create a blog to keep their folks up-to-date
• Make friends
• Eat s’mores
• And so much more!

There literally is no other camp like this in the world. Camp Inquiry seems like a regular camp at first glance, but in a regular camp, all the activities are led by the counselors. At Camp Inquiry, some of the activities are led by the counselors, but the rest are led by at least two different professionals each day. These professionals are rock stars in the skeptical community. Your kids might not have heard of them, but you are going to want their autographs!

The kids will have fun, but they are going to learn so much, it is hard to imagine. All the activities will be hands-on. The kids will learn by doing science experiments, performing magic, making UFOs, writing songs, and creating art. Every camper will do something they have never done before.

How do I know all this? I’m a counselor! I was a counselor last year, and I got to meet Joe Nickell, DJ Grothe, and David Willey among others. C’mon how cool is that? I didn’t get to meet this many important, exciting professionals when I was in grad school. I’ll be a counselor again this year, and I can’t express how excited I am. I wish there had been a camp like this when I was a kid, but at least I get to work at this one, as well as bring my kids to it.

Why not let your kids join us? Come think, question, and grow!

There are so many fascinating things for kids to learn on the Internet. My kids (ages 7 and 5) know how to navigate around wikipedia both by clicking from one article to related articles and by searching for terms that they know or copy from science books. They like finding pictures through Google image search. They also like finding Astronomy movies on YouTube. I showed them the first two — the last one they figured out all by themselves…

On the one hand, I like for them to be able to take the initiative to explore their interests. On the other hand, I know I have to keep an eye on what they’re doing because it’s pretty easy to stumble upon stuff that’s not appropriate for kids. I’m not just talking about the sex (as I discussed here), but also violent or scary stuff, or just things that generally require a little parental guidance or discussion. (And once they learn to write well enough to “chat” we’ll have to have the talk about safety when socializing online…)

But the other day Nico was showing me the movies he’d found, and he showed me something I hadn’t even anticipated dealing with: conspiracy theory movies that (to a kid) look just like normal science movies!

Nico was watching movies on the relative sizes of the planets and stars (his favorite subject at the moment), and he found a film by a guy who claims that the Earth is growing! It’s actually kind of a cool thought exercise as he shows how the continents fit together perfectly (without the oceans) on a much smaller sphere:

This theory leads to some obvious questions that weren’t addressed in the film:

1. If the Earth is growing, then where is the extra matter coming from? Or is the Earth just expanding by becoming less dense?
2. What about the water? He shows the supposed original Earth with continents and no oceans, then when the oceans opened up, the water must have come from somewhere. Or was the primitive, smaller Earth just covered with a deep layer of water?

He also states that scientists won’t even consider this theory because it would force them to question lots of other theories they’re attached to. But, really, our knowledge of plate tectonics is surprisingly recent — the mechanisms have only been well understood for about fifty years. I would suspect that he could get some scientists to take this idea seriously if he had a more complete model — including some answers to the questions it implies — and if that model explains other data better than the existing model.

All in all, an interesting exercise for critical thinking and the Internet.

Here’s some background for you: Little Skeptic Boy is five, has four wiggly teeth, and wants Hulk Smash Hands for Christmas. He loves science, as do I, so the other day we had a detailed discussion about the big bang. Next year he starts public school kindergarten, but for now he attends one of the highest-rated preschools in the area, that just happens to be at a Lutheran church in the bible belt. Then today we had this conversation:

Little Skeptic Boy: My teacher said it, but she’s wrong!!

Me: Said what, baby?

LSB: She said there was no big bang. She said that God created the universe. But she’s wrong and you’re right!

Me: Uhhhhh…

OK, now let’s not freak out here. Maybe his version of the conversation isn’t exactly what happened. After all he’s only five, and not a reliable witness. Maybe he shouted out that the big bang created the universe, and she replied along the lines of, “Well, the big bang didn’t create the universe, God did.”

Wait, is that any better?

So, it looks like I have three choices. I can take him out of the preschool, which would break his heart. I can do nothing, leave him in the preschool, and deprogram him later. Or I can have a talk with his teacher.

I don’t know, though. What might come out of my mouth?

• “How dare you lie to my child about the basic foundations of physics?”
• “So, are you guys young-earthers? ‘Cause that’s crazy!”
• “Feel free to teach my kid all about the bible, but don’t ever contradict me again.”

Now, if this were public school, I’d be absolutely up in arms. But, this is a private preschool that I chose, and if I’m not happy with it, we can leave. Or we can ignore this and go on. After all, he’s so young he probably won’t remember anything he learns there. Or…

Am I overreacting?

LSG: “That’s pretty music!”

Me: “Yes, it’s from the bells in that church.”

LSG: “Mommy, do we not go to church because there are no churches around here that teach what we believe, or do we not go to church because there are no churches that teach what we believe?”

Me: “I guess the answer to that is that no church teaches what Daddy and I believe. There are many, many different kinds of churches in the world, and they all teach different things. My question is, which is right? And who am I to say which is right? The one thing most of them have in common is they teach that there is a supernatural being who has power over this world and the people in it. I decided a long time ago that I don’t believe there is a supernatural being who has power over the world. I believe the world is explained by science, and I don’t need to explain what I don’t understand by claiming it is because of a supernatural being. But Daddy and I want you to learn as much as you can and decide for yourself when you get older what it is you believe.”

LSG: “Yeah, because I remember learning in preschool that God used to talk to Moses and Noah all the time, but now you can only talk to God through prayer, and He never answers you out loud. And I thought, that doesn’t make any sense!”

Skepticism isn’t something you are born understanding; you really have to learn it. Unfortunately they don’t teach this stuff in school! So let’s take Skepticism 101. Today’s lesson is courtesy of my seven-year-old daughter, Little Skeptic Girl:

Me: Do you know what Big Foot is?

LSG: Yes, I know of two Big Foots.

Me: Two?

LSG: Yes, one that is a monster truck, and one that is make-believe.

Me: You think it is make-believe? How do you know?

LSG: Because Joe Nickell says there is no evidence for Big Foot.

Me: What evidence would it take to make you believe Big Foot is real?

LSG: Well, you could be walking in the woods and looking at a tree, then a Big Foot could be standing there. But then you couldn’t run away, or later you might think, “Oh, it was just my imagination!”

Me: So if you could actually see – and examine – a Big Foot in person, then you’d believe?

LSG: Yeah.

Me: Can you think of any other evidence that would make you believe?

LSG: No, can’t think of any. Because if someone told you they saw one, they might be wrong. And movies are usually not true, and magazines might not be true, and if someone video taped it and showed it to me, I might say they made it from the computer, and if they showed me a picture of it, they might have just drawn it.

Me: Would you like there to be a real Big Foot?

LSG: I don’t know. If it were mean and scary, then no. But if it were nice and a lot like a monkey, then yes!