Sorry, you’re right about Bryan Caplan making a more nuanced argument than what I suggested! But I just found his whole thing about how you can have more time if you don’t drive your kid around to activities is basically inapplicable to early childhood. My partner and I easily spent 40 hours a week on childcare related stuff and the only places my kid goes to are daycare and the park. Young children just need a lot of attention! I found all his arguments about how to save time basically only apply to older kids who can read and amuse themselves, which sounds great, but is currently useless advice.
Sorry, I didn’t want to imply Caplan was making a more nuanced argument than you suggested! I do think he makes a much more nuanced argument than the OP suggests however.
EAs seem generally receptive to resources like Emily Oster’s books, Brian Caplan’s book, or Scott Alexander’s Biodeterminist Guide (and its sequel), which all suggest to varying degrees that a significant amount of the toil of parenting can be forgone with near-zero cost.
I think this is not only false, but also none of the authors claim this.
I believe Abby’s take on this, but I don’t think it’s a misrepresentation of Caplan’s position (though maybe an unnuanced one), unless we’re really just coming down on the meaning of “significant amount.” I would say saving 10% of parenting time is “a significant amount.”
I think those low hanging fruits, if they are there at all, are probably there for 8-15 year olds, give or take.
Sorry, you’re right about Bryan Caplan making a more nuanced argument than what I suggested! But I just found his whole thing about how you can have more time if you don’t drive your kid around to activities is basically inapplicable to early childhood. My partner and I easily spent 40 hours a week on childcare related stuff and the only places my kid goes to are daycare and the park. Young children just need a lot of attention! I found all his arguments about how to save time basically only apply to older kids who can read and amuse themselves, which sounds great, but is currently useless advice.
Sorry, I didn’t want to imply Caplan was making a more nuanced argument than you suggested! I do think he makes a much more nuanced argument than the OP suggests however.
I think this is not only false, but also none of the authors claim this.
I believe Abby’s take on this, but I don’t think it’s a misrepresentation of Caplan’s position (though maybe an unnuanced one), unless we’re really just coming down on the meaning of “significant amount.” I would say saving 10% of parenting time is “a significant amount.”
I think those low hanging fruits, if they are there at all, are probably there for 8-15 year olds, give or take.
Ah, when you said ‘significant amount’ I assumed you meant a lot more. 10% of the total does not seem like much to me.
Makes sense, glad to clarify