Hello hello!
I hope you’ve had a lovely summertime, filled with slow-down moments, fewer phone distractions, deep connections.
🌼 🌸 🌺
Today is our children’s second day back to school! Our youngest returned to his well-known 3-6 teacher, but his best friend moved to Singapore. Ouch. Our eldest stepped up to class 6-12 and now finds himself being the young one, a whole new world. Fortunately, his bestie is moving up as well.
Yesterday, as we picked them up, they jumped around, thrilled. I am grateful they’re loving school (although at times they want to ‘destroy it’ 🙄🤷🏻♀️).
🌸 🌺 🌼
I am excited to share with you a conversation I had with Carina and
recently. They’re the parents of two children aged 4.5 and 3. They’re back in Hong Kong after two years in London and stand out for giving their kids a fair amount of freedom.I’ve been following Franco’s writing on Substack for quite some time now. He has a very unique way to question society through personal questions, to present unexpected yet thoughtful challenges like the 1 Thing 10 Years, to ask profound questions in the interview series he’s running. When I saw he was launching What’s Dad, I knew the time had come to have a conversation!
Here we are. Enjoy.
If you’re new here, welcome! NewKid is a podcast where I sit down with parents and explore what it means to raise our children today. Technology changed us. AI will change our children. How could we make sure -as parents but then, as a society- that it will be for the better?
previous episodes:
ep3: unwrapping unlimited screen time
ep2: treating children as whole people
ep1: raising a trilingual, equanimous and social child
tl;dr
standing against the stream in Hong Kong by giving their children unusual levels of freedom, like letting them go barefoot or resolve their own conflicts
intentionally limiting extracurricular activities, from the usual 7-8 to just one or two, prioritising free play and family time instead
picking up schools, based on happiness and strong teacher-student bonds, rather than academic pressure
share about sibling rivalry, balancing love between two kids, and the challenges of returning to Hong Kong after living in London
exploring the influence of their own education, the impact of their parents and inspiring teachers, and how they hope to pass on self-confidence, self-acceptance, adaptability and strong family connections to their children.
more about my guests
Carina
Parent • Interior Designer • Student of Motherhood
I'm navigating the wonderful chaos of raising little humans — sometimes gracefully, often learning through the stumbles. Each day brings new lessons, but the greatest reward is the laughter we share along the way.
My designer's eye can't help but find beauty in life's details: the poetry of everyday spaces, the stories architecture whispers, the quiet dialogue of art.
I've come to see that both parenting and design thrive on patience, creativity, and finding joy in the imperfect.
Franco
Hello, I am Franco, a dad with two kids from Hong Kong.
I love playing football, hiking, and reading the same books over and over again. I like to think about how to devote my time to what really matters over long term - my marriage, friendship, and health. Good things in life come naturally as they compound.
I grew up in a family that practiced Nichiren Buddhism (a branch originated in Japan in the 1920s). As I encountered more philosophies and got older, I keep noticing how the Stoics rhymes with Buddhists: understand our emotions, define what's within our control, avoid being drowned by our desires, face our worst fears, let go. My practice these days is to take what works and resonates with me and just run with them in my daily life.
I write on Substack, and made a guide for other dads called "What's Dad":
about next episode…
have you ever dreamt of building something crazy as a child? a skyrocket, a.. plane?! well, stay tuned for a rather unconventional parenting journey, with Natasha and Latham, who have turned life challenges into a unique, inspiring, demanding, beautiful family adventure.
Until next time!
Mathilde
