The Rice Experiment

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

Here's an experiment to test whether or not that's true, whether our words - and perhaps even our thoughts and indifference - actually have any impact on others. Here are the instructions:

• Next time you make rice, make a bit extra, and put equal amounts of the cooked rice in three small, clean, sealed glass jars. (You can find glass jars with glass stoppers at the Dollar Store.) Place them where they're clearly visible. (I put mine on a small table in the kitchen.)
  

• Add any controls you like - e.g., for the sake of consistency, I placed them in the same location so they received equal amounts of light, heat, etc. and I was careful to put the same amount of cooked rice in each jar.
  

• Several times a day, or as often as you think of it, say "Thank you" to one of them, "You fool" to the second, and completely ignore the third. Let others in the house know what you're doing and invite them to participate. Alternately, set everyone in the house up with their own set of jars so you can all see if the results are consistent.
  

• If there are other unkind or judgemental thoughts you have about your teen, use one of those instead of "You fool" - e.g., "You'll never amount to anything, " "There's something wrong with you," "You just don't get it," etc.
  

• If you want to direct thoughts at the jars instead of actual words, go right ahead.
  

• Continue "talking" to your jars, and post your findings on the blog starting the last week in September. Let's see if there's anything to this!
  

I'm not going to spoil it for you by telling you what I observed the three times I did it, but I will say that Mike, who's the ultimate scientifically-minded critic, shook his head and said, "I can't explain it - but I also can't deny what I'm seeing."

By half-way through September, it should start to become apparent what this has to do with a critical step in taming alligators: changing hearts. Watch for upcoming posts! And have fun!