America has gone Child Abuse Hotline crazy:Â 7.8 million kids get reported to child protective service each year — and 7.1 M turn out to be fine. That’s a lot of extra calls! Why so many? Onlookers can mistake Free-Range parenting for neglect, but they mistake poverty for neglect, too: A child looks “too young” […]
Is it a waste of time when kids look like they’re wasting time? Interesting question. I write this while looking out my window watching a couple of kids playing with a toy car. Before that, two other kids were chasing a dog. I’m sure a lot of older kids are inside on their phones. And […]
A professor friend reviewed my new podcast, “Supervision Not Required.” Click here for the podcast. Â And here’s the review! Funny, wise, reassuring. What a great podcast from Let Grow advocate Lenore Skenazy and developmental psychologist and play researcher Peter Gray. Being a parent today is exhausting. From the time our kids are born, we are […]
Let Grow has compiled a great resource: The simple rules for 20 classic backyard games, including: Duck Duck Goose  Red Light, Green Light    Mother May I?     Blindman’s Bluff      Leapfrog And, obviously, another 15 more. Click here for the rules and even some videos that […]
How can you get your kids to stop whiiiiiiiiiiiining? Let Grow has some truly workable, real-world tips from a mom of two whining (or, I guess, previously whining) toddlers. The article is really honest and fun. Best idea? When the kids are CALM tell them that, henceforth, you’re going to ignore their whining. “When children […]
Find a way to make art outside. Recycle something old into something new you can use. Pick up litter. Explore the woods. These ideas are pretty basic, but you and/or your kid might not think of them all — and many more — when your kid is bored and you are not keen to be […]
Today is launch day for “Supervision Not Required,” my first podcast, and my first guest is Dr. Peter Gray. He says we have to let kids play WITHOUT us around. In other words, we have to let them take risks, solve problems, and argue (as well as have fun), even though we know they may […]
Kids looking for something to do? Worse, are they looking at YOU when they’re looking for something to do? Give them Let Grow’s summer calendar of activities and ideas. We’ve even got some free postcards for them. Find it all by clicking right here!
How did dad get demoted to doofus when it comes to telling jokes? I ponder that today, for obvious reasons. Click here to read and Happy Father’s Day! Photo by Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash
“The Aggressive Life” sounds like an aggressive podcast, and it is — but about aggressively living a meaningful life. I loved my deep discussion with Brian Tome, bestselling author of “The Five Marks of a Man” and pastor at Crossroads Church, one of the fastest growing churches in the U.S.. Here’s the podcast!
