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We didn't have a park when I was growing up.[...] -
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Mike, that is the best, most heartfelt piece you have[...]
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I agree with exposing a child to a lot, but[...]
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Author Archives: Mike Lanza
Leaving Your Kids at the Park: A Good Idea for the 1%
Do your young kids live within one block of a park? My guess is that somewhere around 99% of kids don’t. The best data on this comes from the Centers for Disease Control, which claims that 80% of kids don’t live within a half mile of a park. The problem is, kids hardly roam anymore. Again, I don’t have precise data, but my anecdotal research indicates that the vast majority of kids in preschool aren’t allowed to roam on their … Continue reading
Posted in Neighborhood, Solutions
Precocious Talents
What do you do when parents show off their children’s precocious talents? Just this past weekend, I sat with my three kids and a few dozen other parents and kids to watch a five-year-old boy play two classical pieces on piano, then a girl around the same age play two violin tunes. I squirmed. I thought about how I really don’t have anything comparable to show off about my kids. They do have some interesting talents, which I’ll mention later, … Continue reading
Posted in Solutions
Play Skills and Siblings
My wife and I walked our three boys over to a big fallen tree this morning to sit and grab a drink of water during a hike. “I’ll do the brakes,” my son Nico (5) said as he ran toward one end of the tree. “OK, I’ll be the engineer,” replied Leo (3-1/2), and he ran to the opposite end of the tree. Nico and Leo waste no time. They play every chance they get. They’re superstar “players.” Really… We … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots
Kids Are Constantly Distracted at Home and at School
At home, children are bombarding themselves with digital media – eight hours a day, according to a prominent study. Most older kids do their homework while “multitasking” with Facebook or texting on a nearby screen and music blaring in their ears. “In terms of sheer quantity of time, I’m not sure that kids spend any more time on homework than we did,” says Janis Whitlock, Director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adults. “But … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Vacations Versus Everyday Home Life
Do your kids absolutely crave vacations away from home? Are they sad to come home? If that’s true, there are two possible explanations. One is that you plan absolutely off-the-charts, world-class vacations. The other is that your kids’ home life is drab and boring. For your sake, let’s hope it’s the former. Our family just took a vacation to Hawaii for spring break, and although we had some amazing moments, at other moments, our kids said they wanted to go … Continue reading
Posted in Solutions, The Problem
Doing is the Path to Both Inner Fulfillment and Worldly Success
Doing has always been an important way to reach inner fulfillment. Now, it’s also the most important path to worldly success. It’s good for the inside and for the outside. It’s a win-win. I’m talking about taking action, but I’m not talking about doing as you’re told. I’m talking about looking inside yourself and doing things that you think will make the world a better place. And repeat. Over and over.
Posted in Solutions
Science Fairs for Elementary School Kids
Am I blowing it? I let my second grader, Marco, decide on his own whether he would participate in his school’s science fair. “I don’t want to give up any recess,” he told me. That means “no.” Participating in the science fair requires meetings during recess. Sometimes I think I’m blowing it. A friend of mine with kids at the same school has a very different point of view. “They’re participating,” he told me. “They don’t have a choice.” My … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots
Fitting Organized Sports Into Our Family Life
Organized sports can be great for kids’ bodies and character. Unfortunately, they also have a big downside: they pull kids away from their families and neighborhoods, now much more than ever. Partially due to organized sports, kids aren’t playing sports in their neighborhoods nearly as much as they used to. Almost entirely due to organized sports, they aren’t eating dinners at home with their families very much, either. Furthermore, parents and siblings spend tens of minutes, sometimes hours, each time … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Solutions
Schools Are Failing Our Boys
Boys are doing very badly these days, relative to girls. Now, a new study helps us identify the main culprit. It’s our schools. The study points out that, while boys get worse grades than girls in school, they do about as well as girls on standardized tests (better in math and science, worse in reading). Statistically speaking, they get much worse grades, relative to girls, than their test scores would predict. Why the disparity? Behavior and attitude, according to teachers’ assessments. … Continue reading
Posted in The Problem
From Playful Childhoods to Productive, Happy Adulthoods: Connecting the Dots
I want my children to have playful childhoods. When they grow up, I want them to be “doers” and have happy, productive adulthoods. One might argue that my wishes are contradictory, that “playing” and “doing” are opposites. After all, play is free and spontaneous. It’s whimsical and carefree. Doing, on the other hand, sounds like Type-A, goal-directed stuff. Work. Stress. Drudgery. Ugh… Well, I disagree with this point of view. I strongly believe that childhood play can form the foundation … Continue reading
Posted in Solutions
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