How to get kids to love school

Our hearts are with you, LA. This week has been filled with unimaginable grief and heartache, especially for our friends in Southern California. If you’re able, here are some reputable organizations to donate to those affected by the wildfires. To everyone impacted: We’re thinking of you. ♥️

How to Reignite Your Kid’s Love of Learning

When did school become boring for kids? We think it was somewhere after Hooked on Phonics and before pre-algebra, when learning went from exciting to stressful. Want to help your kids like school and learning again?

Research indicates that parents can directly impact their teen’s relationship to learning. It’s all about your approach →

Our teens already think they have all of the answers, so when it comes to schoolwork (and literally everything else), they’re not going to respond well to an instructional tone. Instead, try using a more invitational approach. Here are some tips:

• Be the passenger, not the driver. You can ask leading questions that help guide your teen to the right answer, but don’t take control. 

• Start with the positive. No one is harder on your teen than they are. It’s important for their self-esteem that you lead with the things they’re doing well and work from there.

• Don’t judge. Make sure you foster an environment that makes it clear there’s no such thing as a stupid question. 

Need some more tips? Check out this helpful book for more info on how to help out your teen struggling in school, and get the POV from some parents in our Common Parent community on how they help encourage motivation. 💪

We’ve Got to Do Better for Our Girls

When this article was shared in our Cat & Nat team workspace this week, we were shocked. In a new study that surveyed more than 17,000 5th grade through 12th grade girls, researchers found some troubling realities about girlhood today:

• 67% of girls reported that they don’t say what they’re thinking or disagree with others because they want to be liked.

• Since 2017, the percentage of girls reporting confidence has declined from 68% to just 55%. 

• 53% of girls report feeling persistently sad or hopeless.

• Two-thirds of girls reported that their body image negatively impacts their confidence. 

• And nearly 60% of high school girls said they don’t believe they’re smart enough for their dream jobs.

All of this taken together sends a clear message: Our work encouraging girls and young women is nowhere near done. From social media to garden variety misogyny, there are so many elements of everyday life conspiring against girls. It’s our job to combat that.

So…what can we do?

• Show our girls more feminist icons to look up to—we suggest Martha Stewart, for starters!

• Shout out when our girls are bold and unapologetic and themselves (we talked about it in this podcast episode).

• Learn from other parents…we got a ton out of this Reddit thread about raising confident girls. Parents helping parents ♥️

Is Generation Alpha Misunderstood?

We’re guilty of it: comparing our kids’ lives to the ways we grew up. The demographic cohort born between 2010 and the mid 2020s—Gen Alpha—is totally different from us. They’re more defiant, super techy, and, according to some people, more disrespectful than previous generations.

But, like this parent, we’re not so sure about that last one. What if Gen Alpha is just misunderstood? Think about it: 

• These kids endured a global pandemic during some of their most formative years, which inevitably impacted their communication and social skills.

• They’re also being raised in a world that encourages them to question authority and establish boundaries. Does this mean they should blatantly disrespect the adults in charge of them? No. But there is a happy medium.

And at the end of the day…no matter when you were born, you’ll face the universal experience of seeing (and hearing) your kid slam the door in your face. Eye roll optional.

Does parenting really get easier as our kids get older? Is raising boys and girls a different ballgame? Will they ever stop leaving their clothes on the floor? Parenting is full of big questions. So today, the perfect recs to get you some answers.

• This week on the podcast, we discuss the nuances and differences of raising girls and boys. Listen here!

• And because sometimes questions can be a good thing: 31 questions to ask yourself to be a better parent.

The biggest parenting question of all…? How to handle technology. We’ve got you covered with our Screen Sense Guide.

It’s a step-by-step guide to help protect your child online with essential phone and social media safety tools.

To keep your kids safe and smart on the internet, you need more than just an understanding of the technology—you need to know how to navigate it. We’ll equip you with both, so you can confidently guide your child through the digital world and help them use technology responsibly.