Parenting philosophy

By discussing racial differences openly and positively, we signal that race is not a taboo topic and we appreciate and respect all kinds of people.

More important than passing along your beliefs is passing along the founder’s vision of the American Political Spirit: tolerance, curiosity, and humility.

Conversation is the crucible of learning and friendship, where we learn how to recover from setbacks, build relationships, and discover what matters most.

If the bottom line is “It’s hard to know,” then why stress out about any given parenting choice? Use your best judgement in the moment, keep learning about your child, keep building your toolkit of smart moves, and enjoy the day.

Tell handpicked friends what they mean to you, and asked them to impart their unique perspective and values to your children, in an age-appropriate way.

In the age of the coronavirus, I hope my kids are learning to join teams working to foster caring and connection among people, and between people and nature.

Support your child’s well-being by helping them build lives filled with engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

Want to watch a master teacher at work? Spend a few minutes watching a mom play with her one-year-old on the floor. She’ll choose a toy that might interest her child, and she’ll place it within reach. If the toy

We might wish we could be perfect parents, but our children need to see us being imperfect to learn important lessons about life and themselves.

Hiring a new assistant professor, MIT is looking for “unique and iconoclastic experience” and “evidence of extreme creativity.” What does this say about how we should be preparing our children for the changing world of work?

Who gets hired? Increasingly, the interesting candidate. Who has the more interesting life? Well, that’s easy: the interesting person. So let’s forget about smart or creative or good for a few minutes. How to you raise an interesting child? Here’s a five-part formula.

Over the years, I’ve noticed differences among parents that I believe explain some of the differences in how kids are doing in their teen years. The differences I observe have more to do with how parents play offense than how they play defense. Let me explain.

Take a moment to ask yourself: What amazing powers does your child have already? What discoveries are they making? What matters to them?

If you are doing well or are committed to getting better at these seven things, then I’d say the answer is yes, you are doing a good job as a parent.

  I have a few parenting moments I’d really like back. For example, there’s the time I found my five-year-old playing with matches. Furious and concerned about what could have happened, I wanted to show her the danger of fire.