Ep. 63 - WHY Kids Need Other Kids

Do you ever get frustrated by the kids in your life (your students / your own offspring or young family members) who aren’t really taking in what you’re consistently trying to teach them about other people’s feelings? About how to get what they want without being obnoxious or breaking rules? About the best way to make friends? About sharing? About pushing? About yelling? About fighting? About everything that you think are the best ways for them to live happy and good lives?

I recently read an article in Psychology Today written by Peter Gray, a well-respected research professor at Boston College. In the article, Professor Gray shines a bright light on something we all know, in our heart of hearts, to be true… but as we’ve aged and grown farther away from our own childhoods, most of us have probably forgotten to one degree or another.

I want to share the core of his insights from that article with you, because they so powerfully coincide with my own experiences as an educator, and with the observations of all the educators that I most respect.