Parenting and family stuff

Let’s be open to letting go of cultural myths. We know that the benefits of teenage smartphones do not outweigh the risks and harms. There are thousands of reasons for buying a phone for your child, but there is only one reason to skip it: your child’s health and well-being. And that reason matters more than all the others.

In the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) project, a cohort of over 10,000 children in the US was tracked longitudinally. A 2023 analysis of the data revealed that the earlier a child was reading for pleasure, the more this correlated with higher scores on cognitive tests and lower numbers of mental health issues, even after... See more

Punishment and appeasement are both short-term, reactive solutions as opposed to long-term, proactive solutions. Regardless of whether the parent or teacher chooses punishment or appeasement, the child misses countless opportunities to build competency in crucial life skills such as self-discipline, self-control, and conflict-resolution.