Announcing... Raising Objections: Parenting Skeptically

Parenting can be a minefield of misleading claims - from pregnancy pseudoscience and maternity misinformation, to navigating schooling and avoiding indoctrination, to a near-constant barrage of regressive stereotypes and cultural clichés.

In a society that has no end of ideas about how children should be raised, how can parents hope to steer clear of the pitfalls to engender a sense of curiosity, compassion and skepticism in their children?

In the QED panel room, Lana Donaghy will host a session on how we might raise kids skeptically, featuring:

Ruth Abbott went accidentally viral with their gender non-reveal photoshoot and has been busy fighting trolls ever since. Morphing from a vicar’s daughter raised in the epicentre of UK purity culture, into a queer atheist activist, they have worked with Sunday Assembly and Sparkle. Nowadays they focus on how to bring up their two skeptical kids while surrounded by religious and antivaxxer family members.

Eli Bosnick is a comedian, magician, and podcaster in New York, New York. As co-host of God Awful Movies, The Scathing Atheist, and The Skepticrat heʼs managed to turn high school class clowning into a life-long career, which is exactly the opposite of what the guidance counsellor told him. He is the co-host of the Dear Old Dads podcast, in which three skeptical, atheist fathers discuss their experiences of fatherhood.

Britt Marie Hermes is an ex-naturopathic doctor who is transforming into a science communicator and biomedical researcher. Having realised she had fallen prey to the misinformation machine of alternative medicine, Hermes gave up her naturopathic practice in the United States and began vocally criticising her former profession. She writes about her experiences in a woo-filled world of cognitive dissonance and flawed critical thinking on her blog, Naturopathic Diaries.

Thomas Smith is a professional podcaster who began podcasting in 2010 with a quest to read the entire bible while providing critical commentary and humour along the way. That project soon led to many others, including Serious Inquiries Only, Opening Arguments, Philosophers in Space, and his newest show, Dear Old Dads.

Lana Donaghy is a software developer and Twitch streamer, who is a single mum to her 11 year old son with ASD. She is a long time friend of Merseyside Skeptics Society and QED, and has guested on the podcast Skeptics with a K. She can usually be found on Twitch talking about video games, skepticism and all the fun of raising children in a neurodivergent-friendly blended polyamorous home!

There are still further panels to announce, and much more besides, so pick up your QED ticket today, and stay tuned for more information!