NewYorker.com: SPOILED ROTTEN Why do kids rule the roost?
When anthropologists study cultures like the Matsigenkas’, they tend to see patterns. The Matsigenka prize hard work and self-sufficiency. Their daily rituals, their child-rearing practices, and even their folktales reinforce these values, which have an obvious utility for subsistence farmers. Matsigenka stories often feature characters undone by laziness; kids who still don’t get the message are rubbed with an itch-inducing plant.
Nothing like an itch-inducing plant to get your kids attention. It’s an interesting article and should make every parent think about the way they’re raising their kids.