Pardon our french 💅🏽

This conversation took place in french, BUT watch it on YouTube 😎 with the [insert your language] subtitles!

tl;dr

As we raise our children today, what is important, really? What skills should we try to equip them with? The timeless ones? The new ones?

Last June 20, during NewKid Days’ 1st edition at Vivatech, we invited three exceptional guests, each with a unique background, for a ‘big picture’ type of discussion. Three angles, three groups:

learning how to learn, led by philosopher (and school founder) Marie Robert
nurturing our soft skills, led by edtech entrepreneur Solenne Bocquillon-Le Goaziou
preserving our privates spaces, led by digital anthropologist Laurent François

A unique format involving the public, brought and animated by the founder of La Maison de la Conversation.

While adults gathered in circles for their conversations, children were invited to run a similar circle, exploring what should AI help their parents do vs where do they need their parents absolutely.

✨ takeaways :

creating rituals as a family

yes, it is hard, there’s always a good excuse to use the phone
being aware of the importance technology takes in a child’s life
what if we could help children auto-regulate their usage?
if AI is pure dopamine : how to replace our conversation with them with something that creates dopamine too, maybe just as simple a involving our children in (more of) our conversations?

cultivating critical thinking & self-confidence

noticing moments that can trigger a discussion : walking by an ad on a billboard, watching a movie together,..
nurturing children’s self confidence (instead of letting them seek for it with an AI) : beyond their school report, what human skill have they improved throughout the year?
helping children go from “I’ll never be able to do it” to “I can’t do it yet”

creating enough space for conversation

AI or not, the history of humanity is a history of conversation
now the challenge is : how do we create enough space to preserve and nurture this conversation
learning otherness through conversation, despite the discomfort

approaching this topic from a human perspective, not just a technological one

creating the conditions for attention : value human exchange, allow boredom
trusting young people, and ourselves : how about setting up unusual indicators of humanity? For example, self-regulation ones?
‘AI has no heart. It can only help us’, as children said. What if the “state of being alive” was in the center of our conversations?

Datapoints

France ranks 62 out of 65 OCDE countries on students self-confidence (PISA, 2018)
A study conducted by Groupe VYV and France’s data protection authority, the CNIL, in four European countries found that nearly 9 in 10 young people in France use conversational AI, and nearly 1 in 2 discuss personal matters with it. As many as 33% even see it as “a therapist.”
According to the Gallup Institute, the initial enthusiasm and hope that AI inspired in 2025 have declined by an average of 10 percentage points, while anger toward AI has surged :

The guests

I had been listening to Marie Robert’s podcast - Philosophy is Sexy (in 🇫🇷) - for a while. Short episodes, all starting with universal questions we probably all ask ourselves regularly (about Attention 🤌). She regularly writes on Substack - and has launched a new podcast series Philosophy is Sexy for kids (in 🇫🇷, 15min each). Marie is the author of five books and counting, and the founder of 7 international schools in Paris, Marseille and now Lyon, gather over 400 families. She explained to me the three pillars in their curriculum : learning by doing (active, project-based); bilingual education and creativity (relearn to create through art workshops, philosophy, writing, film, and more). I am so glad Elise introduced us. Marie’s story is one of resilience, passion and optimism. Also, I am fascinated by couples building companies together!

* * *

Another podcast I’d been listening to : Solenne Bocquillon-le goaziou’s : Géneration Parents. Probably where I heard Mathilde Cerioli first. Solenne also contributed to Amelia Matar’s latest book Les écrans, ça s’apprend. Well you get it, her name was all over! So I reached out. We met for a tea at Printemps Haussmann, she was wearing a blue hat (always does!). She had just closed a 7 year long chapter building Soft Kids, an edtech company that helped children develop essential human skills, such as confidence, resilience, emotional intelligence, collaboration and critical thinking, through games, digital activities and classroom workshops. She told me the story, what a rollercoaster. True grit and passion. Today, Solenne helps parents & professionals navigate this world of AI leveraging on their human skills. Same mission. Different chapter.

* * *

I had been reading Laurent François’ essays sporadically but avidly on Substack : Alive in Social Media (also in French : En Vivance). What I like about Laurent is that he has a sharp yet never condescending look on the latest trends happening in social media. (The exact opposite of an old fart.) He’s genuinely passionate about understanding the dynamics at stake and makes you see them too. No wonder his book “Craquer l’algorithme : réenchanter les réseaux sociaux” is so good. If you’re looking for a history book of the internet culture and its social movements, get your hands on it!

* * *

Xavier Cazard invited me to visit the place he created, La Maison de la Conversation, a space in Paris designed for conversations to happen. We shared a delicious meal and a common mission to bring people together IRL, to gather worlds who do not necessarily talk to each other. He offered to facilitate a special kind of format called ‘perspective’ (“Façon de voir”). If the philosophy resonates, reach out to Xavier!

Timestamps & more

00:00 Introduction by Mathilde Baillet

02:21 Introduction by Xavier Cazard

02:53 Data points, by Laurent François

04:59 Introducing Marie Robert

05:51 From teaching philosophy in university to building 7 international schools

07:12 Introducing Solenne Bocquillon-Le Goaziou

08:00 From being recruited for her soft skills to helping parents nurture them with their children

09:25 Introducing Laurent François

10:09 How being a parent made him question his own technology usage

10:46 Introducing Xavier Cazard & La Maison de la Conversation : learning otherness through conversation

13:50 Back together (after 20" split in three groups)

14:09 Children group : AI doesn't have a heart, AI can help with chores, AI can help but can make us dumb too

15:47 First adult group : about creating rituals as a family

19:21 Second adult group : about noticing moments that trigger critical thinking

24:04 Third adult group : about human transmission and active learning

25:52 Wrapping up (all) : the history of humanity is the history of conversation, inviting children to the conversation, nurturing the state of being alive

33:11 Conclusion by Xavier Cazard & Mathilde Baillet

Links

Watch the full discussions - with English subtitles! - on Youtube :

Follow Marie Robert on Substack :

Follow Solenne Bocquillon-Le Goaziou on Substack :

Follow Laurent François on Substack:

Until next week!

Yours,

Mathilde

What should we pass on to our kids? a…