The Sovereign Child: How a Forgotten Philosophy Can Liberate Kids and Their Parents

If technology is good, then why do so many algorithms seem to leave us feeling depressed and isolated? Can a video call really replace the full-bodied magic of spending time with someone we love? What’s the difference between a childhood spent playing outside in the fresh air and amongst the trees, and another spent on an iPad levelling up FarmVill... See more

To honor good rules and question bad ones. All people run into bad rules—whether in the legal system, at home, at school, or elsewhere. If you’re a parent, strive to show your children that you are 100 percent on their team—no matter the trouble they’ve bumped up against. Children should be free to ask why the parents’ rules are what they are, but

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Doing all of this—curating an exceptional milieu, providing dedicated tutoring and opportunities for apprenticeship—is hard work. You could pull it off if you put your mind to it, I trust. Though, like everything pursued to excellence, it would demand serious sacrifices. Particularly of time. It is ok not to want that.

A lot of it does not require s

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This brings me to an issue that apparently really cheeses people who study childlore: Adults, it seems, are in a perpetual state of worry that Kids These Days just don’t play like they used to, probably because of whatever technology was most recently introduced. Roud and Willett both independently brought this up to me and insisted that it’s not t

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