There are certainly overblown claims about games and learning, but I don’t know if I’ve seen my kid less failure-averse than when playing Mario Kart or more willing to read than when trying Stardew Valley.

I feel a lot of anxiety about being a parent, but at the end of the day, I take comfort in knowing I’m trying my best—and that I’ve done my part in introducing the next generation to Queen’s Live Aid performance.

This sounds like a great place for a family bike ride! link to ‘Lexington opens key pedestrian bridge over Man O’ War | Lexington Herald Leader’

Crossing fingers! link to ‘Pfizer Says Vaccine Trials For Kids Show Its Shots Are Safe : Coronavirus Updates : NPR’

Compelling case for asking about the tech environment adults are creating instead of hand-wringing about what kids are doing in it. link to ‘How Far Can You Go to Resist Being the Subject of a Viral Video? - The New York Times’

Datafying yourself is one thing, datafying your kids is another. link to ‘“Sharenting” Is a Threat to Children’s Health and Personal Development | by Michele DeMarco | Aug, 2021 | OneZero’

Big parenting milestone today: kid’s first tabletop RPG character. Glad that there are game designers with this young an audience in mind because it was already hard to wait for this age!

Just booked family Amtrak tickets and I’ve never felt so alive.

Dear authors of children’s books: If you want the book to rhyme, please fully commit instead of leaving parents confused about how to read the dang book. Also, rhythm is just as important as rhyme and a big part of the problem.

Il paraît que j’ai choisi la bonne année de commencer à regarder Eurovision ! 🇫🇷🇨🇭

The New York Times is liveblogging Eurovision, which I find surprising, delightful, and genuinely helpful.

This afternoon, we begin what will hopefully become an annual tradition of watching the Eurovision final.

It seems to me that if you’re going to make the (already weird when you think about it) choice of gendering numbers and letters in a kid’s book, you ought to go ahead and make sure it passes the Bechdel test.

Small parenting victory of the day is kid’s reaction to watching The Magic School Bus: “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever watched!”

A Star Wars recap/remix from my house this morning: “The piggy galactic emperor wants to rule space so he can stop astronauts from going into space! But we NEED astronauts so that we can study space!”

Lunchtime conversation: “Daddy, how long have we lived in this house?” “Well, we moved in right before the sickness, so over six months now.” “No, Daddy, it’s been nine billion months. I’m right.” “… Yeah, you are.”

The apparent significance of particular numbers is largely a factor of culture and our choice of number system—that is, more arbitrary than actually significant. That said, this is still a bummer of a summer for a tenth wedding anniversary.

Pandemic parenting is full of frustrating moments—but also gems like this morning’s inventing games using the pieces to Ticket to Ride while listening to Indochine.

Not sure what I expected less today: To explain the concept of death to my kid or for my kid to grasp the concept well enough to burst into tears.

Perk of having ed tech degree/experience in the era of COVID-19: I’m currently walking my mom through Zoom to allow for possibility of her offering distance piano lessons.

Was there a moral panic about radio? My kid is enjoying podcasts, and while parent-me feels like that’s somehow better than TV, tech researcher me is wondering about history.

Despite a really intense week (important work meetings, closing on a house), the 30 minutes where we thought we’d lost the kid’s beloved stuffed animal easily takes 1st place for stress level.

Attention thinkpiece writers: My young kid is now requesting avocado toast for dinner. I am now taking bids for the right to interview us and complain about millennials and their kids in your column.

Today, my kid grabbed a TPB of Ms. Marvel I had checked out from the library, hugged it tight, and announced that she loved it, so I’m feeling pretty good in the parenting department right now.

When it comes to macaroni and cheese, the spoonfuls I snitch from the pot while serving my kid lunch taste better than any of my own childhood memories of it.

For the first time in our relationship, we both felt like we needed to ask “So, what would we do if there were an active shooter at this event?” while making Saturday plans. Didn’t feel great.

Question for more experienced parents: is it normal for young children to believe they can make obvious falsehoods true simply by asserting them (and whining if I don’t play along), or is that a consequence of growing up in the context of this presidency?

They need “pairs well with” recommendations for children’s clothes so that you know what food stains will go with the intended color scheme.

I tried to explain to my kid the premise of “Guantánamo Kid” (a comic about the innocent 14-year old Mohamed Al-Gharani’s incarceration in Gitmo). Her response: “A little boy shouldn’t be in jail!”

My kid can’t name our street and thinks our city is called “UK” but does know that we’re on Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.

It’s superhero day at the YMCA tomorrow, and my spouse is going to high fitness class as Squirrel Girl after years of teasing me for liking such a relatively-obscure character. Counting this one as a win!

My kid just suggested cleaning something around the house so we could put off something she knew she had to do but didn’t want to. Looks like she’s developing valuable skills for grad school.

The cutest part of my kid’s being old enough to make Valentines this year is her insistence on mailing one to herself.