Author: Chien Liu

Peter Gray’s vision of what schoolsshould look like — drawn from hisresearch on self-directed learning,his study of Sudbury Valley School,and his extensive work on play andchild development — is one of themost radical and most research-groundedalternatives to conventional schoolingavailable. Understanding Gray’s vision —what he argues schools should be,why he argues it, and what the evidencesupports…

Self-directed learning — the capacityto identify what one wants to learn,to pursue that learning independently,and to sustain the motivation to learnwithout external pressure or reward —is one of the most important capacitiesa child can develop. Research by PeterGray and others finds that self-directedlearning is not a rare gift but anatural human capacity — one thatthrives…

The balance between free play andstructured activities is one of themost practically important questionsin modern parenting — and one thatresearch has begun to answer withincreasing clarity. As children’sschedules have become increasinglyfilled with organized sports, musiclessons, academic enrichment, andsupervised activities — and as free,unstructured play has declined dramatically —understanding what research showsabout free play versus structuredactivities…

Unstructured play — free, child-directed,unsupervised play without adult agendaor evaluation — is one of the mostresearched and most consistently supporteddevelopmental experiences in the childdevelopment literature. Research byPeter Gray at Boston College — andby many other developmental researchers —finds that unstructured play is notsimply enjoyable for children butgenuinely necessary for healthy cognitive,social, emotional, and physical development.…

Peter Gray’s 2013 book Free to Learn:Why Unleashing the Instinct to PlayWill Make Our Children Happier, MoreSelf-Reliant, and Better Students forLife is one of the most importantand most research-grounded books everwritten about the role of play inchild development. Drawing on evolutionarypsychology, developmental research,and his own extensive study of self-directedlearning, Gray makes a compellingcase that play…

Jean Twenge’s iGen contains some ofthe most comprehensive and most alarmingdata ever compiled about teenage mentalhealth — drawing on decades of large-scalesurveys to document a significantand accelerating decline in adolescentwellbeing after 2012. Understandingwhat iGen specifically says aboutteen mental health — the specificfindings, the specific mechanisms,and the specific implications — ispractically important for every parentof a…

The iGen generation — also widelyknown as Gen Z — is the first generationto grow up with smartphones as anormal part of childhood and adolescence.Research by Jean Twenge and othershas identified specific, measurablecharacteristics that distinguish iGenfrom previous generations — characteristicsthat reflect both the opportunitiesand the costs of growing up in thesmartphone age. Understanding thesecharacteristics is…

Jean Twenge is one of the most importantand most prolific researchers studyinggenerational differences in mentalhealth, attitudes, and behavior —and her research has provided thefoundational data for much of thecurrent debate about smartphones andadolescent wellbeing. Understandingwhat Twenge’s research actually shows —across her books, her peer-reviewedpapers, and her public commentary —is practically important for parentswho want to…

Jean Twenge’s iGen and Jonathan Haidt’sThe Anxious Generation are the twomost significant and most discussedbooks about smartphones and adolescentmental health of the past decade.Both books reach broadly similar conclusions —that the smartphone-based childhoodhas significantly harmed adolescentmental health — but they differ inimportant ways in their approach,their emphasis, and their recommendations.Understanding the key differencesbetween these two…

Jean Twenge’s 2017 book iGen: WhyToday’s Super-Connected Kids Are GrowingUp Less Rebellious, More Tolerant,Less Happy — and Completely Unpreparedfor Adulthood is one of the most importantand most data-rich books ever writtenabout the impact of smartphones onyoung people. Published seven yearsbefore Haidt’s The Anxious Generation —and drawing on decades of large-scalesurvey data — iGen provides the…