Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu

Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff: Hunt, Gather, Parent

  •  Donna Apidone 
Sunday, March 13, 2022 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
  

Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff has reported on COVID variants, vaccines and boosters and is known to NPR listeners for her science reporting and her enthusiastic delivery. She was part of the team that earned a George Foster Peabody Award for its coverage of the ebola outbreak in West Africa.

We spoke with Doucleff about her book and shared portions of our conversation with the Insight audience. It is a study in sociology that parents and non-parents can enjoy.

Interview Highlights

On why she wrote the book

“You know, two reasons: One, I was a desperate parent. I felt like I was really failing as a mom when my little girl was two and three. I was flailing. I mean, I tried everything that I read. I tried reading scientific studies. I couldn’t handle her. I couldn’t handle her tantrums. Like I say in the book, I would walk out of the house in the morning with a handprint on my face because she would hit me so often. And then, while I was reporting for NPR, I started to learn about parenting around the world – parenting in the Yucatan, parenting in the Arctic, parenting in Tanzania – and I started to realize that, whoa, there’s like a whole other way of doing this than I’d been taught. And when I started trying what these parents were teaching me, here in San Francisco, I was amazed at how well it worked. And that was really why I wrote the book, because the things that I learned, that parents taught me, were like miracles in our home and have transformed our home. Like my husband says, we cannot go back.”

On the underlying message

“The book is about learning to cooperate with people. It’s about cooperating with kids, and minimizing conflict with kids, but it’s also about cooperating with anyone, and minimizing conflict with anyone.”

On the cultures she and her daughter visited

“The Maya are well-known. The Maya raise incredibly helpful kids. They can wake up in the morning and want to help around the house. One morning I saw a 12-year-old wake up on her spring break, walk past her mother and start washing the dishes in the kitchen. Nobody asked her. The Inuit have these incredibly sophisticated tools for teaching kids to control their emotions — teaching anger control, executive function. And then the Hadzabe in Tanzania are world-renowned for raising confident, self-sufficient kids. All the anxiety and depression that we deal with kids in the US is unheard of in this community.”

On kids and chores

“It’s getting kids to want to do the chores, to motivate them, to get excited about them. There’s a way of doing that. You basically make it a social event. “We’re going to do this together.” If the kid doesn’t want to do it, if they’re older and they don’t want to do it, then, “Just come over and be with me. Show me whatever activity you’re interested in. Tell me about your boyfriend. Come over and hang out with me while I cook dinner.” And then, while they’re there – and this is what I did on some adults that I interact with – you just kind of casually get them to help. “Hey, can you grab the onions from the refrigerator? Do you mind cutting this cilantro?” Not much. Just one or two things a night. If you do this every night, it becomes fun. The kid is talking to you about what they like, but the kid is also learning how to cut the cilantro, how to make the dish you’re making. And over time, the kid will be able to make dinner. And they’ll want to make dinner because it becomes something fun. It becomes something that they do with you. Especially younger kids. They want to just be with their parents. Just be there. It will work. It will take a couple months, but it will work. I guarantee you.”


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    More about Books

  • Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

    Books

  • Arts and Lifestyle
  •  

 Books

Donna Apidone

Former Morning Edition, CapRadio Reads Host

Donna Apidone came to Capital Public Radio in 1998 after working in commercial and public radio in other states. She hosts Morning Edition and CapRadio Reads. She loved to emcee community events and fundraisers.  Read Full Bio 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.