“My son is on Discord,” a parent recently wrote in an email immediately following the racist killing spree in Buffalo, NY. “Should I be concerned?” I took a deep breath because I knew these conversations were complicated. In the wake of the racist killings in Buffalo, NY last week, each of us has been left… Read More →
I was facilitating a webinar last week and invited parents to write a word or two into the chat that described how they were feeling. The waterfall of words that emerged painted a pretty discouraging picture. “Drained.” “Abandoned.” “Overwhelmed.” “Exhausted.” One participant offered more detail. “I am so sick of being worried! I feel like… Read More →
Unlike this time last year, many of us are moving into this winter with our core routines modified but intact. Most kids are back in school, work expectations are back on full tilt, and we are more likely to be participating in activities and community events. In other words, we are back, in the words… Read More →
I had just said goodbye to my kids as they headed into school when I heard a familiar voice behind me doing the same. I turned around to see a parent I hadn’t seen since our kids had been in class together before the pandemic. Without thinking, I greeted her with the usual “How are… Read More →
“My middle schooler has a few tiny things on his mind lately… you know, like the Delta variant and the climate crisis,” a parent recently shared. She went on, “Honestly, things are pretty existential in our house right now…and I just feel so powerless to help. How can I even reassure him when his worries… Read More →
“How do you think you might respond if this happened at school?” I asked my youngest. We were reading the part of a picture book where a student’s classmates tease him about what he wears to school because it is too “girly.” To be honest, I was kind of excited to hear my child’s response. I… Read More →
I smiled as I scanned my youngest child’s outfit as he packed his backpack for kindergarten: purple leggings with iridescent stars and space pugs (yes, little dogs in space suits), a sparkly twirly dress, and a Star Wars t-shirt. “Make sure you wear your tennis shoes so you can run fast at recess,” I reminded… Read More →
This week’s deadly attacks in Georgia are deeply upsetting and frightening for parents and kids alike – especially parents and children who identify as Asians, Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders. Yet we know that these attacks are far from isolated events. Violence and harassment against Asian-Americans did not start with the COVID-19 pandemic, but data… Read More →
Since yesterday’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol many parents have reached out to us for advice on how to talk with and support their kids in the aftermath. As children and young people alike process the live feeds, memes, and coverage of the attack on the halls of Congress everyone will need extra space… Read More →
During the last presidential election I had a child in kindergarten. It didn’t take long into the school year to understand that kids as young as five-years-old are already deeply invested in national politics. At drop off, kids would run up to me eagerly with all kinds of observations and questions typical of kindergarteners, ranging… Read More →
