Notebook
Blog
Writing for parents and teachers. About what keeps children awake at night, about mistakes, and about the reading in between.
Arriving in a language you don't speak
At seven or eight I interpreted for my parents. What that does to a child, and what I wish the adults had done differently.
When a child says: I can't do this
The sentence is a thought, not a diagnosis. What research on praise and self-belief actually shows, and what helps at the kitchen table.
I don't remember why Mika says I
Mind Garden is told from Mika's point of view. I have no memory of deciding that. Rereading the book, I can see what the choice does on the page.
When children cannot switch off at night
Why children keep going in their heads at night, what helps during the day and in the moment, and when it is more than a phase.
Mistakes as fertiliser: what children take from failure
Why 'that's not so bad' closes the conversation, and which questions parents can ask at the dinner table instead.
Reading aloud when your child has long read alone
Why reading aloud between nine and twelve should not stop, what changes about it, and what helps when a child refuses.