You pick your kid up and every report says the day went fine. They followed the rules, they shared, they used their inside voice. Then the car door closes, or the front door opens, and they come completely undone. Tears over the wrong colored cup. Fury over a sock seam. A meltdown that seems to land out of a clear blue sky. Here is the first thing I want you to hear. You are not doing anything wrong. This particular meltdown is actually a strange kind of compliment. What Afte

The first morning of a new school year comes with a very specific kind of worry, and it usually has nothing to do with school supplies. It is the lunch table. It is the playground. It is the quiet question your kid is carrying around without ever saying it out loud. Will anyone want to play with me? Most of the advice out there is some version of “just be yourself” and “walk up and say hi.” Which sounds lovely and helps almost no one, because it skips the part your kid actual

If you have been thinking, “My kid really needs help with social skills next year,” you are not the only one. I am hearing this from parents in my DMs every single week right now. Teachers are telling me the same thing in private. So are school administrators. The kids are struggling, and everyone can see it. May and June are the planning windows. Whether you homeschool, send your child to private school, are eyeing a curriculum change for your classroom, or are an administra

A few years ago, I had a fifth grader join my class mid-year. Let’s call her Maya. Her family had just moved from another state, and she walked in on a Tuesday morning in February, which is possibly the worst time to join a new class. Friendships were already set. Lunch tables were already claimed. She sat at her desk that first week and barely spoke to anyone. Her mom emailed me by Friday. She was worried Maya was depressed. She had stopped eating breakfast. She said her sto

Every May 4th, the internet becomes one giant Star Wars meme. “May the 4th be with you” rolls through every feed, every group chat, every coffee shop whiteboard. And I love it. Because underneath the lightsabers and the Baby Yoda GIFs, there is actually something surprisingly relevant about the Jedi way of life. I come by my love for Star Wars honestly. My dad is a lifelong fan, the kind who can quote every Yoda line and still tears up at the end of Return of the Jedi. Growin