Now that I’m a parent, too, I’m keenly aware that nobody has found the one right way to raise kids. But the founders of Challenge Success, Madeline Levine (psychologist and author of Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More than Grades, Trophies, or ‘Fat Envelopes’) and Denise Pope (senior lecturer at Stanford and author of Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students) have spent a lot of time studying and working with kids and teens. What they have to say resonated with me even before I’d joined the parenting club and continues to do the same.
They have a number of free videos on the Challenge Success website that might be of interest to parents. Video topics include: how to avoid overdoing activities, how to detect the signs of harmful stress in your kids, and why it is important to find a college that is a good fit. I’ve spent some time watching them and really appreciate not just the helpful advice, but also the understanding and encouraging tone with which they deliver it.