I was recently interviewed by the Toronto Sun about a remarkable statistic: 26% of parents believe their children will be professional athletes. Remarkable because, as the article notes, the chances are actually infinitesimal.
According to a recent article titled, “Pediatricians to tweak ‘outdated’ screen time recommendations for kids,” the American Academy of Pediatrics, that esteemed organization charged with protecting the health and well-being of children, has decided that their recommendations of limited screen time—basically no screen time for children under 2 years old and only two hours a [...]
As the author of Your Children are Under Attack, I'm no fan of popular culture. Its aim is not to support healthy development of young people, but rather to profit from selling kids junk and attitudes wrapped in "it'll make you happy" vibes. Well, recent research from the UK provides painful support for my views. [...]
As you may know, I'm pretty darned outspoken about parents of young athletes who are seduced by our hypercompetitive youth sports culture in which parents become overly invested (in terms of time, $$, and ego) in their children's sports participation. But nothing I have ever written is as brutally honest as this article written by [...]
Here's a shocking bit of news (note ironic tone) reported in the Huffington Post today: A substantial number of tweens and teens wake up in the middle of the night to either check or post on their social media. Researchers indicated that this habit, found in more than 20% of young people surveyed, disrupted sleep, increased fatigue, [...]
I was recently interviewed by the Detroit Free Press about what to do when your children want to wear something and you don't think they should. It's a common battle between parents and children (especially if you have daughters which, BTW, I have two of)) and one, I argue in the interview, that should rarely be [...]
I was recently interviewed by a Canadian parenting magazine (thus the title's reference to Sidney Crosby) on the challenges of being a sports parents. There are some interesting perspectives that the parents of young athletes will appreciate and learn from.
A not-surprising finding from a recent study of teenagers has revealed that extra screen time hurts their grades. Specifically, one hour extra each day in front of a screen resulted in a two-grade decline (about 10 points) on exams and two extra hours produced an even greater drop in grades. Usually these studies don't allow [...]
Katie Ledecky made history when she won the four freestyle swimming event between 200 and 1500 meters at the recently concluded 2015 World Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia. Her athletic feat was singularly remarkable to be sure. However, I'm more interested in what led her to this place, particularly the role that her parents played [...]