“The more controlling the parent,” Caldwell explained, “the more likely a child is to experience boredom.”

“Children key off their parents’ reaction more than the argument or physical discipline itself.”

“And the rule still holds true: more diversity translates into more division between students.”

“She found that obese kids watch no more television than kids who aren’t obese. All the thin kids watch massive amounts of television, too. There was no statistical correlation between obesity and media use, period.”

“(Even for adults, seeing someone’s lips as he speaks is the equivalent of a 20-decibel increase in volume.)”

“In taking our marital arguments upstairs to avoid exposing the children to strife, we accidentally deprived them of chances to witness how two people who care about each other can work out their differences in a calm and reasoned way.”

“When we changed the channel from violent television to tamer fare, kids just ended up learning the advanced skills of clique formation, friendship withdrawal, and the art of the insult.”