When I feel like going to sleep, I tell my kids that I’m tired and that I don’t feel like playing with them anymore. Then, just like adults, my kids find ways to entertain themselves with technology like iPads until they’re ready for bed according to their own preferences. When I make staying up less interesting, my kids are less interested in stay

We discovered early on with our first child that spending hours trying to get her to sleep at opportune times rarely worked out. It was much more efficient to simply go about our day and figure out how to accommodate her if and when she fell asleep. This relieved us of the burden of trying to manage her, eliminated any conflict about getting her to

This is what childhood is for: the freedom to explore the world, discover and pursue passions, and generally “waste time” playing and daydreaming. Why would we want to limit that to the weekend?

If my kid did start to become overweight, I’m not sure I would do anything about it out of fear that he would think I disapprove of how he eats. Tension with meals and snacks adds up over time, and there’s no guarantee that it would be worthwhile. I’ve seen parents nag their overweight kids to no discernible effect except misery and humiliation. In

The reason kids should have free rein with regard to food is that they are building an understanding of how to eat in the same way that they are building an understanding of everything else in life: by exploration, discovery, and trial and error.

Instead of focusing on rules, Taking Children Seriously focuses on fostering understanding. Parenting is the process of supporting a child until they understand the world well enough that they can support themselves. What is the best way to foster understanding? To provide freedom and security for a person’s creativity to discover how the world wor

with respect and support for an individual’s tastes and preferences. Replace “find yourself” with “develop your tastes and preferences.”

An injunction to self-discovery can feel profound and mystical, and its appeal to young people is featured in film, music, and fashion. It is held up as a marker of individualism and stands in contrast against communitarian group identification. Individualism is indeed worth celebrating, but not like this. It is better to support individualism

Fortunately, living life as a fun, dynamic process of engaging with better and better problems can begin today. There is no need to hold real life in abeyance until one’s true self is revealed. The real work begins now. And this work can quickly take you to the edges of human knowledge. If your dream is to visit other planets, then you’ll need to l