Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Thanks so much for coming by to check out Episode 30 of The New Family Podcast!
What if the best gifts we could give a child were a chance to fail, plus a big pile of housework on the side? In this episode we’re joined by Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. Jessica is an educator, speak and writer. She’s taught middle and high school for over a decade and she writes a column called “Parent-Teacher Conference” for The New York Times. When her article for the Atlantic—“Why Parents Need to Let Their Children Fail”—went viral, it had clearly struck a chord with parents who have begun to realize that we’re doing too much to sweep challenges out of our children’s way. Jessica’s got some great advice on how we can step back from our kids’ homework and make consequences more logical. And she explains why it’s critical that we let kids build competence by getting them involved in domestic duties around the house.
Here are some great resources related to my discussion with Jessica.
Jessica’s Book The Gift of Failure
Jessica’s article in The Atlantic
Jessica’s column for The New York Times
Angela Lee Duckworth’s Ted Talk “Grit”
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior
Jessica’s Favourite Parenting Advice:
“When I was growing up there were times, absolutely, when my parents were protective. But above all else I knew they trusted me, and I knew that they trusted my judgement. It gave me a lot of confidence to move forward and think ‘I can handle this,’ and that’s the one thing that I’ve really tried to carry forward to my kids. In the book I talk about the idea that every time you take a duty away from a kid you’re really saying, ‘I don’t trust you to be competent enough to do this.’ But when we hand a kids a responsibility and step away, what we’re really saying is, ‘I trust you.’ I think we’re lacking that connection through trust thee days. We’re giving a lot of kids messages that we don’t trust them and that’s hampering their development. So trust your kids a little bit more. I think that’s the most important thing that I’ve learned from my own parents.”
Here are all the ways you can listen to our show:
Subscribe to The New Family Podcast in iTunes
Subscribe to The New Family Podcast on Stitcher Radio
Subscribe to The New Family Podcast on these other Android Directories
Subscribe to The New Family Podcast by RSS
I wrote an e-book called 11 Ways to Keep Your Family Weeknights From Spinning Out of Control. To get it for FREE, simply subscribe to our newsletter recapping the best of thenewfamily.com and the podcast!