2026 onwards!
introducing The NewKid Days : where people meet!
Happy New Year, dear parents.
I wish you thousands of opportunities to learn alongside your children, to learn from your children, and to grow and blossom as a person, a parent, a partner.
I am starting this year reinvigorated, excited and determined to be this person myself.
Highlights of 2025
💃🏻🕺🏻 Kev and I got officially married (like you know, the paperwork), a great excuse to gather four of our best friends, share meals and embark on a dancing journey that keeps on calling us. This is so damn good. Dancing (again) has made us closer as a couple.
🎂 We also celebrated 20 years of loving each other!
🎙️ I kickstarted NewKid and enjoyed every minute of it. I published 7 episodes. Digging deep into education choices with 14 thoughtful parents, which I now feel close to, in a pretty unique way. How grateful.
Sandra, Yotam, Eamon, Sylvana Rochet at Elan Vital, Lindl, Steyn Viljoen, Carina, Franco Wong, Natasha, Latham Turner, Sam Jockel, Simon, Lydia, Kevon Cheung 🥦
🚅 For the first time since our kids were born, we parted ways, work wise, and physically, too. Kev spent most weeks in Paris, travelled 3 times 2 weeks+ to the US on his own. It’s been - and still is - weird to introduce each other separately or to kiss the kids goodbye on Monday night. We stretched our family balance, but nothing broke.
🏆 Wins as a parent:
we held steady on two things our boys really fought against : holiday camps every six weeks (for both) and first extra curricular activity, capoeira (for the eldest). They said they didn’t want to go. They cried. They hold our arms. My mom brain was screaming “take them back home, you horrible prick of a mom”. But just like we sleep trained them a few years back, we endured the process, repeating to ourselves “we are teaching them a skill, a very important one” :
survivingthriving in a brand new environment. Every single time we picked them up: the largest smile on earth, already excited to go back. (For whatever reason they had forgotten the following morning…)we dug deeper into Maria Montessori’s texts and grew convince that their school was a fit for us/them now, two things particularly: the mixed-age group effect (our eldest is now the youngest of a group of kids aged 6 to 12), and the fact that a teacher will not stop a kid from learning something even if commonly labelled for an older age group (there is no such thing like “within program”)
we built LEGO countless times with our kids (yes, I do enjoy that, Elena Bridgers haha!): watching the youngest in his highest state of concentration, building brick over brick while the oldest carefully organises the characters, their outfits and accessories, and works through the scenario
I stood up for my boys in a way I thought my well educated self would never dare doing (by design, I am the ‘whatever 🙄’ type): telling an old bitch to mind her own business and speak decently to children for god sake. It felt liberating. And the astonishment in my boys eyes made it all worth it
🤯 Still struggling here: addressing our kids bursts of anger without getting angry ourselves, helping them manage frustration without the whining, sulking and insulting (yes they’re learning that quickly). It’s hard.
📚 I’ve read books that moved me. My favorite (among many good ones): Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy ; a damn serious topic (empowering our children) in a not so serious tone.
🎵 (I will probably regret sharing this) Did my Spotify wrap. Turns out I am 65 years old. F*** it, 80s were the best. Fado #1❤️ (told ya)
🏡 We now have routines that stick ; Wednesday afternoons between my mom and one boy, Friday nights out for Kev and I, Saturday movie nights at home with the kids. As much as we embrace (and somehow thrive in) chaos, I will not emphasise enough on the peace of mind rituals are to a family.
🏃🏻♀️ I ran my first marathon. Conditions were ideal : sunny autumn whether in France, children, husband, parents and friends cheering for you and even running by your sides during crucial moments. 4h37 of pure pain joy. 2026 will be the year of my first triathlon!
📰 I’ve (re)discovered the work of inspiring people who make me think, avidly opening every one of their newsletters / episodes, in no particular order : Freya India, Peter Gray, Elena Bridgers, Julia Kerninon, Latham Turner, Franco Wong, Stephen Fitzpatrick , Kevon Cheung 🥦, Esther Perel, Eyal Kenigsvain, Sari Azout, Dr. Roger McFillin, Henrik Karlsson , Audrey | Curious Cardinals, Kevin Maguire, Sam Jockel, Dr. Claire Honeycutt🕊️❤️, Noemie Aubron Jenny Anderson
🫶 I was interviewed by the most gracious host : Franco Wong. Thank you for this opportunity, for helping me make time to think and write about inspirations, happiness, family.
💫 Last but not least, it seems that I wrapped up 2025 knowing where I wanted to go make an impact. Somehow it showed up in front of me, crystal clear, obvious, as Kev and I were talking about (his) work.👇
So yeah, there is this nagging question in the back of my head:
Where can we talk about raising children?
I mean, not only by reaction. But by looking ahead and forward, teaming up to stand for things that we care about.
Not by rejection either. Not by withdrawing into ourselves but by sparking possibilities.
Yes, there is Substack. I met 4/7 of my guests here.
How about gathering IRL? Making it a moment we all look forward to join.
I crave this. Do you?
2026 announcement: The NewKid Days.
🇫🇷 Paris, June 2026
🇺🇸 San Francisco, December 2026 (👋 friends at Build IRL!)
Real moments with real people. You know, awkward introductions followed by ‘aha’ moments, laughs and astonishment.
I am fascinated by what’s happening, tech wise. Fascinated, skeptical, optimistic, lost, curious, confident, fearful.
I am no expert. But I believe in the magic that can happen when well intentioned, thoughtful people gather. Experts and beginners. Enthusiasts.
Donc voilà.
I will enable these conversations.
I want to learn from the terrific thinkers x doers out there, parents, educators, tech entrepreneurs, researchers,..
I want (our) children to witness and participate to this effervescence, too.
We’re all in this together.
☎️ This is a call to all the energies out there, if you want to get involved somehow! Share ideas, introduce me to someone. Let’s do this!
Dear Mathilde, in 2026, please make sure to:
keep meeting new, exceptional people (methodically inspired by Carly Valancy ), learn from them, grow your antennas
gather people, act as a catalyst, savour these new sparks
burry that imposteur syndrome deep enough (and for good, how about that)
trust parents around you, rely more on each other, nurture that village (shoutout to Lena, Flo, Sylvana Rochet at Elan Vital, Eamon)
trust your kids
dance!!
Bonne année!
Yours,
Mathilde