Did you read that Borris Johnson's dad said that he'd still go to the pub? My god! But hey, I wish my parents were different, but nope! They've still been socialising and attending weddings till last week. I was just annoyed at them, and then I realised, I needed to twist it... it's my turn for revenge for all those times when they said I couldn't go out! So here's what I did, and if some of you have parents like mine, you can use them too!
My mum and dad are two very different people. Mum reads and listens to us, she considers the children as mature and intelligent adults but still refuses to sit at home when it concerns her commitments about work, or simply her promises to attend someone's wedding. Dad on the other hand is scientific minded (he thinks!) but gets really influenced by what his friends think and say. He also cares deeply about the society he lives in and will do anything to do good for his fellow countrymen. So, I had two completely different approaches of asking my parents to stay at home.
Approach 1 for mum
Step 1:
I went high on the emotions first. "If this is what you do, maybe we'll never even get to meet again!" Brought it back to the grandson... "you might really never see your grandson again." And things like, "You have so many more students to teach still!"
Step 2:
Recruited a responsible cousin to tell her off.
Step 3:
Sent a video recorded by the doctor she trusts.
Approach 2 for dad
Step 1:
Sent him a video refresher on what exponential curves are. And how that relates to epidemics.
Step 2:
Brought it back to his claims about scientific mindedness.
Step 3:
Appealed to his nature of doing what's best for social good.
Thankfully both of them are now convinced and have started reading and socially isolating, but it's fascinating how much psychology I had to get behind to get both of them to agree to me. And this is what keeps me interested in human behaviour and psychology, even in these crazy times.
Do you have an unreasonable parent? Let me know what they're like and I'll try helping you convince them about the current state of affairs. It's a matter of urgency at this point.
