I was interviewed by the Humanist Dad!

Online I go by the handle “Dr. Dad.” Sure, it’s corney. But it’s not a lie. I’m both a doctor and a dad. I’m a child psychologist, so I’m literally a doctor of parenting. So the moniker is well earned. Recently I ran into another monikered Dad who has an online presence: the Humanist Dad.

If you haven’t heard of the Humanist Dad you should go check him out. He has decades of experience working in humanist organizations and has been quoted in hundreds of articles. He’s worked hard at making more inclusive and caring communities for everyone, and his interview with me is featured on his personal blog where he reflects on raising his own kids from a secular perspective.

We have a wide ranging exchange, covering everything from how to find good parenting books that don’t try to preach to you, to how to talk to your kids about ghosts and things that go bump in the night. Of course, I get on my hobby horse about teaching kids skepticism and critical thinking, but that is to be expected.

Here is a excerpt of our conversation:

Ron’s family now lives in a former church he’s described as “spooky” and I wondered if this has sparked conversations about skepticism and religion:

“When we first moved in my son was a little creeped out and we had lots of conversations about ghosts and hauntings. We researched ghosts together online and watched ghost hunting shows where we made a game out of debunking the ghost hunters. We even bought one of those funny meters that supposedly detects ghosts. Once we had it we realised that it beeped whenever it was near anything electronic, and since there are literally electrical wires in the walls and devices everywhere, the thing would go off randomly as we walked around the different rooms. My kid caught on that it was a scam with a natural explanation pretty fast. Eventually, our spooky old house became much less spooky and far more cozy.”

Along with other resources on his site, Ron has a ghost hunting show Bingo card.

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Want to read more? You can check out the full interview here.