Kids are different. Times have changed. This we know. But does “smarter” necessarily mean “better”? Does access to more information correspond with greater levels of compassion, understanding, and kindness? I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that my second-grade son is smarter than I was at his age. Admittedly, I’m basing that declaration on […]
While some topics are hard to discuss and might make you uncomfortable, that doesn’t mean your children need to be sheltered. I lie to my kid constantly. I tell her the store is closed in the middle of the day, when I don’t want to go. I will say, “I have no idea where that […]
I never pushed myself, never set my sights high on the horizon, never took failure as a learning experience, but only as a warning to remove something from my purview. Is my 9-year-old son now doing the same thing? Certainly, one of the most peculiar parts of being a parent is watching the emerging idiosyncratic […]
The best advice we got as new parents was to not put much stock in parenting advice. Five years ago, when Stevie and I found out we were going to be parents, the first good, usable piece of parenting advice we received was this: “Take all parenting advice with a grain of salt. Everyone thinks […]
