Joining in, falling out, repairing and standing firm — the social skills children practise rather than inherit.
Adolescence has always involved measuring yourself against other people. What is new is the scale, the precision, and the fact that it never closes.
Boys are not becoming less emotional. They are becoming less practised at showing it — and the window in which they let an adult in is narrower than most parents realise.
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Friendship is the most complex social task we ask of children, and we mostly leave them to work it out at speed, in a crowd, without instruction.
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The question is not how many hours. It is what the hours are doing — and whether your child has anywhere to bring what they find there.
ReadFor parents who want calmer mornings, kinder conversations, and a little more confidence. No promotions, no noise — just insight that fits real life.
Thank you — your first letter arrives on Sunday.