This is one of my shorter mini-episodes where I read this weeks Substack article.

We answer here the simple and yet extremely common question "What are we supposed to do when our kid hits us or someone else?"

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My oldest son couldn’t read at seven. And me? I was writing a parenting book for a major publisher. Being asked to speak to thousands of parents. Teaching emotional development, brain-based learning, and motivation. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

In this episode, I tells the vulnerable and surprising story of how we stopped trying to teach how to read, and started teaching why to read instead. What happened next wasn’t magic. It was science, patience, and a little bit of kiwi bird trivia.

Along the way, I share:

• Why panic over “late readers” is often just parental shark music
• The real reason traditional reading instruction fails so many kids
• What it looked like to let go of benchmarks and trust the process
• How a graphic novel cracked everything open
• And why motivation, not instruction, is the foundation of literacy

If you’ve ever worried your child is falling behind… this episode is a deep breath. Not because everything resolves perfectly. But because it reminds you what matters most.

🎧 Listen now for the story, the science, and the shift that changed everything.

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Stories aren’t just how we pass time—they’re how we pass on what it means to be human. We sit down with librarian and children’s literature expert Betsy Bird to unpack why reading aloud is more than a bedtime ritual. It’s brain food during the fastest phase of neural growth; a daily practice that builds language, attention, and the social skill that holds every relationship together: empathy.

We dive into research showing how literary fiction boosts theory of mind, helping kids understand that other people think and feel differently than they do. That skill matters in a polarized world where algorithms reward outrage and flatten nuance. Books slow us down long enough to inhabit another mind—what author John Green calls “shrinking the empathy gap.” We also confront the rise of organized book bans: why diverse stories and queer themes draw fire, how librarians already vet collections for age and quality, and what censorship really fears—children learning to perspective-take beyond the boundaries someone else drew for them.

Betsy shares three unforgettable picture books parents can use tonight. The Rabbit Listened models presence over fixing; Sorry You Got Mad turns a bad apology into a real one; Touch the Sky reframes perseverance as a long, honest process.

Along the way, we honor Banned Books Week as a reminder to protect access to complex stories.

If this conversation sparked an idea or gave you something to try with your kids, subscribe, leave a quick review, and share this episode with one parent who’d love it. Your recommendation helps other families find the show—and keeps the circle of stories alive.

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