Some parents worry that as kids spend time texting, they aren’t writing as often as children in past generations. The digital age demands that children be skilled in multiple ways of communicating, from GIF keyboards to writing stories and essays. In addition to being a practical skill, writing contributes to clear and organized thinking. A… Read More →
“I’d like you to close your eyes,” I often say at workshops that I facilitate across the country. “Now visualize the kind of adults you hope your children become.” I add that I am not interested in them conjuring up logistical visions, for example, where they hope their children go to school or the kind… Read More →
Children and youth today have the world at their fingertips. They can access libraries with the click of a button, download thousands of books on smart devices, and read newspapers from across the globe. While many young people may be physically separated by geography and/or socially separated by race or income, the Internet has been… Read More →
I can still remember the kitchen conversation as my brothers excitedly hatched the plan with their friends. “Yes! Let’s do it!” was the consensus as five teenage boys raced out the front door with their skateboards. Ten minutes later a neighbor was on the phone asking if my parents knew that there were teenagers, including… Read More →
Growth mindset isn’t just about praise “My daughter is working hard and I am proud of her perseverance, but at the end of the day her performance isn’t necessarily improving. Do I just keep praising her? This growth mindset stuff doesn’t seem to be working.” These are the words of a parent who attended a… Read More →
I was waist deep in muskeg (a fancy name for stinky swamp mud in canoe country), a wood-canvas canoe perched on my barely 16-year-old shoulders, and mosquitoes buzzed hungrily in my ears – a challenging, but not atypical, portage in the Canadian wilderness. “Why do you do that?” my friends asked me. Yet every adolescent… Read More →
Many parents drag their feet into the dreaded “sex talk” with their children. Maybe it’s time we take the pressure off of that single talk. If we want the sex and relationships our children ultimately have to be physically, psychologically, and emotionally healthy then we’d better start talking to them about it early and often.… Read More →
“Sometimes I feel like my kids are out of control,” worried one parent. Another quickly added, “My daughter knows just how to push my buttons.” A third chimed in with, “I’m always in a power struggle with my four-year-old son.” Comments like these are common in parenting workshops, and I’ve uttered versions of my own… Read More →
Young people today are wrestling with the same questions that Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers alike did when they were teenagers. Questions like, “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?” They are also riding the same emotional roller coasters trying to sort out friendships and identity. They are at times amazingly caring, kind,… Read More →
A lot of parents have asked us over the years whether or not they should do the marshmallow experiment with their kids to ‘test’ their self-control. While asked half in jest, it is clearly tempting for them to want to assess this critical character trait in their children. If self-discipline is so important, the logic… Read More →
