Racism

Child experiencing anxiety and worry

Stress in Children

Helping Kids and Teens Handle Worry

I was recently asked to try to go back to my own childhood and try to remember the things that I worried most about when I was young. Closing my eyes, it didn’t take me long to channel my inner child and generate a robust list of worries that ranged from, “my basement” to, “an…  Read More

White parents talking to their children about race

Let’s Talk With Kids About Race and Racism

My oldest son and his friends have been watching a lot of The Who Was? Show on Netflix. The series explores the lives of famous people from history. Before dinner recently he excitedly listed all the people he had learned about. After reciting the names he made this obvious but important observation: “That was a…  Read More

Looking down on two different color shoes to symbolize empathy, standing in someone else's shoes

Empathy and Teens: Raising Kids Who Care

“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

Child eating a marshmallow similar to Stanford University's famous "marshmallow experiment"

Grade for Grit? Not A Good Idea

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