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Liz helps parents raise and educate , creative, resourceful, and respectful children by combining timeless wisdoms with modern research.

As an educator, writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she specializes in guiding families through their children’s early years and homeschooling journey.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

She is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

January 28, 2026

Children Can Increase Intelligence by Increasing Focus

January 28, 2026/ Liz Hanson

The ability to focus leads to faster comprehension, better memory retention, and more efficient study habits which equates to higher intelligence.

The Problem

Children, however, are losing the ability to focus for sustained periods of time because we’re failing to raise them in ways that develop this skill. Then, when they are too easily distracted, we are very quick to cry "ADHD!"

When you observe infants, you will note how absolutely focused they become when something catches their interest.

What happens between that time and a ten-year-old’s inability to concentrate long enough to complete a task or follow directions?

Prior to the 1970s, only 1-3% of children were diagnosed with any problems of the ADHD sort. If only 1 - 3% of children had any learning or behavioral problems, should we not ask what’s going on?

Speaking from experience, I went through 12 years of schooling and never once encountered a classmate who couldn’t sit still and focus.

But childhood today looks very different from how kids experienced it 50 years ago, and with the different came a whole host of problems.

One of which is a country of over-medicated children. Regardless of whether or not your child has received an ADHD label—even though there is zero scientific proof that such a malady exists—there are many things you can do to help your child learn how to focus better.

Focus Tip #1

Help your child develop the extremely important skill of listening. We overlook this skill today, but it is a skill that's vital to communication, comprehension, intelligence, and good manners.

“Being relevant simply consists in paying close attention to the point that is being talked about and saying nothing that is not significantly related to it.”

— Mortimer J. Adler, How to Speak How to Listen

There are 3 things you start doing today, that will help your child tremendously:

1. Teach him not to interrupt you or anyone else when he is being spoken to.

2. Take him into nature and let him sit quietly while paying attention to every single sound he can hear.

Ask him to write down the sounds or, if he is too young to write, you can write them down for him. If you have multiple children, you can let them play a game of who can hear the most sounds. Children love little games like this.

We are losing the ability to hear more subtle sounds because of all the noise pollution in the world. Taking your children into nature and helping them to develop more acute hearing will serve them well.

Good hearing is critical to our safety, but also to the simple joys in life, such as playing a musical instrument, singing in tune, or listening to the songs of the birds.

3. Read out loud to your children every day.

Read to your children in the afternoons and before they sleep at night. This gives them plenty of time for developing good listening skills, as well as all the benefits that come from reading to your child.

Mortimer Adler said that the ability to listen is not a natural gift, but it's a skill that we must work to acquire. He also pointed out that nobody teaches it, though it should be taught.

Focus Tip #2

Encourage your children to engage in activities that help develop their focus.

1. Provide your children with puzzles from an early age.

Puzzles require children to concentrate as they figure out where each piece of the puzzle goes.

2. Give your young children colored pencils and blank paper and let them draw for as long as they like.

For older children, teach them the rudiments of drawing because it not only develops the skill of observation (a critical skill for reading the signs of people’s characters), but it also requires that they focus intently on their subject.

3. Raise your children to play sports that require intense focus; such as ice skating, tennis, or ping pong.

Focus Tip #3

Choose entertainment for your children wisely.

1. Raise your kids to love reading quality books. A good story will keep their focus for a long time.

If they are young and fidgety, give them Legos to play with while you read.

2. Have your children study a musical instrument and take them to classical music concerts.

3. Well, the last one you know. Keep your kids away from screens!

This is a no-brainer. All screen use interferes with a child’s brain development, social skills, and ability to concentrate and focus on the task at hand.

And, while we're helping our kids improve their focus, we can strengthen our own focus muscles too.

Many adults half-joke about having ADHD themselves. We do have an attention deficit problem, but not one that stems from a disease process.

A few things we can do to increase our focus include less screen time and more meditation, reading, and exercising, all of which are necessary for optimal brain function.

Reading alone improves our memories and focus, and it lowers stress levels. Exercise increases our “feel good” hormones, lowers stress levels, and protects our brains.

Meditating daily can increase the grey matter in our brains, which is critical for our memories and emotional well-being

The skill of being able to focus for long periods is so critical to many benefits in our lives, and it is not a difficult skill to develop.

It’s the consistent efforts over time that bring the greatest rewards. Less screen time and daily reading, exercising, and meditating equals greater focus and increased well-being.

Not sure what kind of books to buy your children? Get Liz’s list of 10 Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read: CLICK HERE.

Learn more

Liz helps parents raise and educate , creative, resourceful, and respectful children by combining timeless wisdoms with modern research.

As an educator, writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she specializes in guiding families through their children’s early years and homeschooling journey.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

She is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. For a copy of The Short Angry History of Compulsory Schooling, click here.

January 22, 2026

Psychologist Blames Zuckerberg for his Parenting Skills

January 22, 2026/ Liz Hanson

I'm not going to mention names but I was listening to this reel about screens and children from someone whose work I respect. This time, I hit the "watch again" link.

"Did I really just hear that?" I asked myself. So I played it again, and yes, I did really just hear that.

Below is the transcript of what he said, and then I'm going to analyze it. The problems inherent in this message sum up what is wrong with pop psychology’s views on raising children.

It also shows why turning to it for guidance on how to raise your children will leave you in the same predicament as our psychologist, whose words I quote:

"Once kids get a phone and social media, the rest of the family life turns into a fight over screen time. And this is happening everywhere. This is happening in Silicon Valley, where the parents know what's going on. In fact, in Silicon Valley, you're much more likely to find parents who say, no, you cannot have this because we know how bad it is.

Why do we give our 10-year-olds a phone? The main reason is because everyone else did, and we don't want our daughter to be the only one who's left out. I'm facing this now with my 14-year old daughter on Snapchat. So the tech companies put us in a bind, and then they're trying to blame us for what they did.

They, a few companies, three or four companies largely own childhood. They have far more influence on our children than we do, at least in terms of the amount of time they can spend influencing. They vastly exceed the power of parents. And then they want to say, "oh, but it's your fault!"

"No," it's their fault."

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Do you see anything wrong with the picture he has painted of parents, children, and screen use?

As a certified parenting coach under John Rosemond, one of the few psychologists I know of with any common sense left, here's my analysis:

Point One

"Once kids get a phone and social media, the rest of the family life turns into a fight over screen time."

He is absolutely right, but he speaks as if it is a given that a child who reaches ten years of age automatically gets a phone, as if the parent has no choice.

So why do we give our 10-year-olds a phone? He answers the question for us, and his answer is what led me to listen to his reel twice.

Point Two

"The main reason is because everyone else did, and we don't want our daughter to be the only one who's left out. I'm facing this now with my 14-year-old daughter on Snapchat."

OMG.

"Because everyone else did," is not a reason! If everyone else was telling their child to drink poison, would that be a reason for you to tell your child to do the same?

Of course not!

What said psychologist is telling us is that parents have failed to establish their authority with their children, himself included.

And then he goes on to tell us what kind of a parent he is being…

Point Three

"So the tech companies put us in a bind, and then they're trying to blame us for what they did."

Now, before I make my next comment, don't get me wrong. Where children are concerned, the tech industry is particularly unethical and cruel. I stand 100% with our psychologist on this point.

But to blame the tech companies for your failure to establish boundaries with your child is to put yourself in the position of a victim, a person without agency.

If you cannot accept responsibility for your decisions as a parent, then you cannot correct any problems that arise because of them. We all make mistakes but we also remedy them once we realize we’ve made them. The key is to recognize the mistake, but we can’t recognize it we are putting the blame elsewhere.

Point Four

"They, a few companies, 3 or 4 companies largely own childhood. They have far more influence on our children than we do, at least in terms of the amount of time they can spend influencing. They vastly exceed the power of parents."

They do because you handed your child over to them. You bought your child the phone. You gave your child permission to use social media. If you want to reclaim your children, the first step is to get rid of the screens, and then establish a loving but authority-based relationship with your children, so you can influence them in healthier ways.

Point Five

"And then they want to say, "oh, but it's your fault." "No," it's their fault."

Screens and social media are problematic, but they are not the problem here; they are a symptom of the problem. The problem is that we have agency as parents and we can say no to phones and screen use for our children, but we aren’t for the reasons mentioned above.

Screen-Free Children Do Still Exist

There are plenty of parents raising their children screen-free who do not have the kind of problems our psychologist mentioned.

Our psychologist went on to advise parents to hold off on the smart phones until the child is 14 and to hold off on social media until the child is 16.

If you give a 14-year old a smartphone, they will use it for social media—that's a no-brainer.

John Rosemond's advice is no smart phones as long as the child lives at home, and it is wise advice.

Real-Life Experience

My daughter got a smart phone at age 17 and my son at age 15. The reasons for their phones seemed legitimate at the time. My son had a job and his employer gave him the phone and paid the bill so they could stay in touch. I gave my permission for this.

My daughter had wanted a smart phone, and she was soon going to be a legal adult, so I told her that as long as she paid for it and paid for her bill, she could get one.

Both decisions I lived to regret because once the smart phone enters the home, so do the conversations of when and when not it is to be used.

While my children were not argumentative with me about their phone use, it was still a conversation I resented having to have with them. The dynamics in our home changed once the smart phone was invited in.

My advice for parents is no smartphones for the children, ever, as long as they live at home. If they reach the teens and must have a phone to stay connected with friends, let it be a flip phone. Also, the child pays for his phone with money he earned, and he pays his phone bill.

I understand that times have changed, but the needs of children have not changed. They still need parents who stand tall, who protect them, and who guide them to become the best of who they can be.

Don’t miss your free download: 10 Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

Get a copy of Liz’s “could not homeschool without” book, Education’s Not the Point: How Schools Fail to Train Children’s Minds and Nurture Their Characters with Essays by John Taylor Gatto and Dorothy Sayers.

Liz helps parents raise and educate , creative, resourceful, and respectful children by combining timeless wisdoms with modern research.

As an educator, writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she specializes in guiding families through their children’s early years and homeschooling journey.

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available, too.

"I know Elizabeth Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

January 08, 2026

# 1 Most Intelligent New Year's Resolution for Parents

January 08, 2026/ Liz Hanson

In 2026, so many parents have caught on to the dangers of screen use for their children, thanks to the work of people like Jonathan Haidt and his book, The Anxious Generation.

The Resolution

Consequently, many parents have made it a New Year's resolution to severely limit screen time and not just for their children.

For themselves too!

Each wise parent knows that her children will imitate her behavior.

If you are polite, your children will be polite. If you eat in moderation, your children will eat in moderation. If you read books, your children will read books.

Of course, this isn't a guarantee because there are other factors at play, but it's a good general principle to live by. As the saying goes: Monkey see, Monkey do—and this includes screen use too.

Habit is the Key

If you were not amongst the parents who resolved to reduce screen time for their children in 2026, do not despair. It is never too late to put good habits into place.

Good people are the sum total of good habits, as Aristotle taught us.

Instilling good habits in your children from an early age will make all of the difference. But again, there is never a guarantee. We do our best as parents, and we leave the outcomes up to a higher power, God, if I may.

Our job is to understand what we have to do. One of the things to consider today is the irresponsibility of the social media companies regarding your children’s well-being, and how it will affect your children's lives.

“Boys are at a greater risk than girls of “failure to launch.” They are more likely to become young adults who are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training.” ”

— Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation

An Amazing Woman Who Has A Lot to Teach Us

Now, I am politically neutral, as I think most politicians have their heads screwed on backwards these days, so what I am about to tell you is about the person, not the politics.

I watched the last interview with the beloved Jane Goodall, which aired after she passed, may she rest in peace. She tells her host that she would like to put Musk, Trump, Netanyahu, and a few others in a rocket and send them to the planet Musk is trying to inhabit.

I was surprised to hear her say these things, but then she knew she would be dead when her interview was aired.

As I listened, I have to admit that I was disappointed she hadn’t mentioned men, such as Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, because they have definitely earned a place in that rocket.

John Taylor Gatto said that schools were dangerous places for children, but I would take it a step further and say that the Zuckerberg’s and Gates of this world are dangerous men for the children of this earth.

They are messing with the healthy development of a child’s heart and mind.

Freefalling Madness

With more than very limited screen use, we have to recognize that our children’s ability to think clearly, rationally, creatively, and logically is at stake, as well as their emotional and mental health.

I have watched the dumbing down and over-medicating of America’s youth during my lifetime—this stuff is real.

And don't be shocked.

The idea of controlling people is as old as mankind. How much easier is it to control a non-thinking, medicated people than a people who can't be fooled?

Jane Goodall said these were the darkest times she has seen, but she also said never lose hope.

Fight to the end because we must always keep up our fight for our children's sake and for our children's children.

Our precious ones do not need to be corrupted by this stuff. They do not need to be brain-damaged by this stuff. They do not need to be made soulless by this stuff.

People who can think creatively and logically will be the people who are in demand for the future we are facing. Life as we know it is changing, and it is changing fast.

It's up to you and how you raise your children.

Be brave. Go against the grain. Find like-minded people. And say no to screens.

If you haven't made zero screen-use for your children a New Year's resolution yet, right now is the perfect time. Raise them without it. It's so much easier.

I did it. My parents, for the most part, did it. Parents throughout history have done it. Many, many young parents are saying no to screens for their children, even today when screen avoidance has become virtually impossible for adults.

Because they know it is harming their children, and as mama bears, it's unacceptable.

“There is a “God-shaped hole” in every human heart. Or at least, many people feel a yearning for meaning, connection, and spiritual elevation. A phone-based life often fills that hole with trivial and degrading content. The ancients advised us to be more deliberate in choosing what we expose ourselves to. ”

— The Anxious Generation

Don’t miss your free download: 10 Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

Liz Hanson helps parents raise and educate whole children by bridging timeless wisdom with modern research.

As an educator, writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach with 23 years of experience, Liz specializes in guiding families through the transformative early years and the homeschooling journey. After successfully homeschooling her own children, she now devotes her expertise to helping other parents get it right from the start.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available, too.

December 18, 2025

10 Gifts for Your Child to Love and Learn→

December 18, 2025/ Liz Hanson

10 holiday gifts for children that are both educational and fun!

November 28, 2025

The Secret Ingredient of Gratitude→

November 28, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude, and it's a day that serves as a reminder to count our blessings.

What is astounding about blessings is that once we start naming them, where do we stop? Blessings are infinite, and we all have plenty of them.

That doesn't mean that life is always easy, but no matter how difficult our lives can seem at times, there is always plenty to be grateful for.

“It’s rigged — everything, in your favor.
So there is nothing to worry about.”

— Rumi

Coming from America, a country that's considered wealthy on an international scale, one thing I learned from the people in poor countries is that gratitude has nothing to do with what we "have," but it has everything to do with who we are.

I learned this in Casablanca from a woman who was a student in a French class I was taking. One day, after we'd been studying together for a few months, she invited me to her home for lunch.

Was I in for a shock.

I found myself walking to her house through tiny passageways that led into a part of town I didn't even know existed. It was the ‘poorer-than-poor’ section.

As the streets grew narrower and narrower, my level of surprise by the extreme poverty climbed higher and higher. And that was when I found #52, my friend's house. The entire home consisted of two tiny rooms about the total size of my bedroom. I was told that 10 family members lived there.

We had a plate of rice for lunch.

“Be grateful for your life, every detail of it, and your face will come to shine like a sun, and everyone who sees it will be made glad and peaceful.”

— Rumi

At first, I found it slightly odd that someone would invite me to lunch when they didn't have any food other than rice to eat.

In the very next instant, I saw how incredibly generous it was that someone had invited me to lunch when all they had to eat was rice!

Their generosity overwhelmed me.

It's a memory that has always stayed with me because it was the event in my life where I learned the meaning of real gratitude.

It’s not just about counting our blessings, though it’s helpful to reflect on them, and we definitely want to help our children learn to ponder the wonderment of their blessings.

But true gratitude comes from the joy of being alive, even if you only have a plate of rice to eat.

Because life, in and of itself, is the crown of all blessings.

“I know there is a gold mine in you, when you find it
the wonderment of the earth’s gifts
you will lay aside
as naturally as does
a child a
doll.”

— Rumi

There will come a moment when we will still have all of the stuff, but we will have lost our lives.

So when Rumi tells us to be grateful for every detail, he really means every detail.

Don’t miss your free download:

Buy now

Liz Hanson helps parents raise and educate whole children by bridging timeless wisdom with modern research.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available.

November 20, 2025

Raising Children Who Will Be in Demand Later→

November 20, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Today, I came upon a reference book on Amazon that I wanted to buy. But I didn't buy it because it was a paperback book selling for $35.00, even for a used copy.

Why?

It was overpriced because it had sold out only a few years after being published. "How strange," thought I, that a book on the subject of creativity would be in such demand—or was it strange?

Raising children in the 21st century of massive technology and a dumbed-down education is a perfect recipe for raising dull children.

THE IRONY

Twenty-first-century parents make decisions around technology and education for their children, and then they buy books, such as the one mentioned above, to correct the problems their decisions produce.

Why not prevent the problems in the first place?

If you want to train a racehorse, you don't raise him to be out of shape and then try to fix the problem later—by then, it's too late. No, you train him from the beginning to become the best racehorse he can possibly be.

It's the same thing with our children. Creativity is innate to each of us, and it is a large part of what makes our lives rewarding and interesting. Creativity is one of the key qualities that will aid our children in becoming their very best.

And children who are raised to function at their optimal levels—to become their very best—will be the children who are in demand later.

The formula is pretty simple: if you want to raise a creative, independent-thinking innovative child, do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

EARLY YEAR’S HABITS

Don't coddle your children, but raise them instead to be independent of you. After all, your job is to teach them how to function as an adult so they can live a rewarding life.

For example, as early as two years, lay snacks out on their kid-size table and teach them that when they want a snack, they can get it themselves. Teach them how to get a cup of water when they are thirsty, which you also set up on the kid-size table, spill-proof, of course.

You can teach them how to put their toys away. If you give them more than one or two toys to play with at a time, they'll struggle to put them all away. Instead, give them one or two toys to play with, and when they are finished, exchange them for two more.

Start them in the habit of picking up after themselves when they are tiny, so they don't think about not picking up after themselves when they are not tiny.

Give them plenty of childproof space to roam in. A child raised competently can occupy himself for up to an hour at a time by the time they are 3 - 3 ½. This should be your aim. You do not need to be your child's 24/7 playmate—that's exhausting!

Play with your child when you feel like it or when you sense they need you, but let them learn how to play by themselves too. For most of their lives they'll have to figure out how to spend their time, and the sooner they learn how to do this, the easier and more rewarding their lives will be.

“The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather they make all the difference.”

— Aristotle

INTELLIGENT PRECAUTIONS

Keep your children off of screens. You would not let your child jump out a window because he would hurt his body, and sometimes irreparably. In the same vein, you do not want to allow your child to do things that will damage his developing brain, sometimes irreparably.

Maybe an hour of screen use a day won't hurt him, but at the end of one year, that's 365 hours that could have been spent learning a skill, such as a foreign language, a musical instrument, or a sport.

It's also an hour a day he could have spent reading hundreds of books over the years that would develop his language skills and expand his mind.

At the end of 10 years, that 3,650 hours, which would put him at an intermediate or advanced level in any skill he attempted to improve upon.

And that's only one hour a day!

NO SCREENS IS EASIER!

The reason I am a proponent for no screen time is because an hour a day, or even 10 minutes a day, of screen time will probably not be fatal, but it does open the door for constant discussions and arguments that will develop around screen use.

And it’s the stress of it all that I'm opposed to because it undermines your parent/child relationship. So why bother, especially when screens are so harmful to your children?

By harmful, consider the retardation of neural connectivity in the brain, less knowledge, poor social skills, poor emotional regulation, obesity, eye damage, and other health-related issues, decreased mental health with an increase in depression and anxiety.

It’s also a bad habit they develop, when they could develop a good habit instead.

“It is impossible, or not easy, to alter by argument what has long been absorbed by habit”

— Aristotle

In addition to no screen time, other than the odd well-selected film now and then—and only after they have developed a reading habit—if you can delay school, or even homeschool until your child is about seven, then you will be well on your way to raising a creative child.

And children who are creative and can think independently will be the adults who are in demand tomorrow. Because until we bring about a significant change in how we raise children, there will continue to be a dearth of creative, independent-thinking innovators.

And, as long as the world keeps turning, we will always need creative, independent-thinking innovators.

Don’t miss your free download:

Buy now

Liz Hanson helps parents raise and educate whole children by bridging timeless wisdom with modern research.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available.

October 30, 2025

Some Scary Facts About Public Schools You May Not Know→

October 30, 2025/ Liz Hanson

During the last few years of his life, John Taylor Gatto and I exchanged a good number of emails, and in one of those emails, for the first time, I believe, he wrote emphatically that it was time to get our children out of government schools.

Until then, he painted the picture of why we should get our children out of government schools, but he never told the parents what to do.

“School is a twelve-year jail sentence where bad habits are the only curriculum truly learned. I teach school and win awards doing it. I should know.”

— John Taylor Gatto

That email exchange happened eight years ago. Things are far worse today than even John could have imagined.

Here are a few facts about schools to illustrate just how urgent the situation has become:

PORNOGRAPHY

Sixty-nine percent of male adolescents and 39% of females watch pornography.

My friend enrolled her son in high school, and he was considered odd because he was the only boy who had never watched pornography. He discovered that it was the latest “in” thing to do.

I’m assuming you’re aware of the increase in pornography use amongst youth and the negative impact pornography can have on your child, but if not, you can check out this FACT SHEET.

EXPOSURE TO SEX

About half (54%) of adolescents age 15-19 have had some type of sexual experience.

Your child might be exposed to early sexual experiences you may not approve of. Check out this article to read the stats about what teens are up to regarding cardinal pleasures.

TRANSGENDER PHENOMENON

Youth aged 13 to 17 comprise 25.3% of those who identify as transgender (aged 13 and older) compared to 7.7% of the U.S. population.

Why are so many of our youth now claiming to be transgender?

And please spare us the line that our youth "feel safer to speak out now."

Rubbish.

When I was growing up, no one had trouble understanding their gender. If it was simply a matter of being free to speak out, they would have spoken out by now.

Here's an interesting article that sheds light on how government schools are a breeding ground for the transgender craze.

ILLITERACY

By the time a child reaches his teens, his chance of reading for enjoyment drops to 12%, yet reading is the key to a good education.

The US literacy rates are no longer an accurate indicator because the standards no longer reflect true literacy. When half the population cannot read at or above a sixth grade level, we have a problem.

“Government schooling made people dumber, not brighter; made families weaker; ruined formal religion with its hard-sell exclusion of God; set the class structure in stone by dividing children into classes and setting them against one another; and has been midwife to an alarming concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a fraction of the national community.”

— John Taylor Gatto

The Price We Pay for a Tax-Dollars’ Education

Putting children into public school is a gamble you take, and you better be prepared to lose, because 75% of parents do lose.

I base that number on a study done in the Christian community where 75% of public school children no longer share the beliefs of their parents by the time they graduate from high school.

When children are being educated in a system that does not share the family’s values and beliefs, and then they are influenced by peer-pressure, it is no wonder that 75% of them will adopt the values and beliefs encouraged in the system.

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

— E.E. Cummings

A Low-Cost Alternative to School

Homeschooling is the obvious answer, but what if you can't homeschool? Personally, I would sit my kids down in a room full of excellent books and tell them to read anything they want for as long as they want.

In addition to that, I would give them household chores, put them into volunteer programs, and have them develop a minimum of at least one skill to an advanced level, such as a sport, musical instrument, or foreign language.

Then, I would sit back and watch them bloom.

Oh, I would teach them a few manners too. "Yes, please," and "no, thank you" will work wonders for their social and emotional development.

In 10 years, they'll emerge, kinder, wiser, more skilled, and better read than most adults you'll meet, not to mention their schooled peers.

“Children allowed to take responsibility and given a serious part in the larger world are always superior to those merely permitted to play and be passive.”

— John Taylor Gatto

To raise excellent children, keeping them in a bubble for as long as possible is a good place to start. By the time they witness any of the aforementioned behaviors, their heads will have been screwed on so tightly that they'll see things for what they are.

The last thing they'll ever be confused about is their gender, because they’ll be too wise and self-assured to fall for such craziness.

Don’t miss your free download:

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Liz Hanson helps parents raise and educate whole children by bridging timeless wisdom with modern research.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available.

October 24, 2025

Is My Child Behind or Am I Being Anxious?→

October 24, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Perhaps, you have chatted with other family members or friends to learn that their schooled children have already met certain milestones, which yours have not.

Or maybe you have a six-year-old who hasn’t begun to read but all of his friends in school are reading.

Whatever the comparison is you have to remember that your children are on a different trajectory than their schooled peers and even their homeschooled peers.

If you find yourself worried that your children are behind, instead of falling into the trap of comparing your children, focus on the unusual things they have done or the particular interests they’ve developed because they are being homeschooled.

Perhaps your eight-year-old son has learned 20 poems by heart or fallen in love with ancient history or memorized his list of prepositions!

Or it’s possible that your son has taken an interest in woodwork and has been building things like the homeschooled boy I knew who had a collection of knives that he’d carved out of wood.

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

— E.E. Cummings

The woodwork may seem irrelevant to you, but it’s not. It’s a pursuit that contained many gems for this child.

This boy had developed an interest in and a passion for woodwork. Being interested in things lets kids discover what they are good at, what they enjoy doing, and it makes them grow into more interesting people. Most children today are only interested in their screens, and they will probably grow up to be pretty dull individuals.
He had also developed his fine motor skills, because it requires precision to carve wood with a knife, and he must have good control over his fingers. Many children lack fine motor skills and struggle in their penmanship because of it.
Not only had he carved one knife from wood, but he had a collection of different kind of knives that he had carved. During this process, he had educated himself about the kind of knives we make.
Before he began making his knives, he had to imagine the end product which required a good use of his imagination and further helped to develop it. A strong imagination is necessary for any sort of genius to emerge.

Compare the boy’s above skills and traits to the many useless things children do in schools, such as reading books that aren’t worth reading or spending time studying for standardized test.

Keep Your Blinders On

What I discovered while teaching my children is that when a homeschooled child is about nine or ten, your friends will begin to notice a difference between their children and yours. They might comment on what great readers your kids are or how they seem to love learning or how mature and polite they are.

You’ll start to see your children pass their public-schooled peers up in various subjects, and your children will have a love of learning that their schooled peers have lost. If you are homeschooling using sound methods, your children will also be miles ahead in their vocabulary and reading ability. Plus, they’ll have a love of reading too, which is always key to a good education.

But, until then you’ve got to be patient and keep your blinders on.

Be like a race horse. Some race horses wear blinders to stay focused on getting to the finish line.

Not that you’re in a race, but you do have a finish line. Your finish line is the day your children graduate from high school.

You don't want to be distracted into thinking you're doing a poor job when you're not; you're doing your job your way.

Comparison when your homeschooling can cause you unnecessary stress and doubt. Instead, stay focused on what you’re children have accomplished, not what their public-schooled peers are doing. If you can do this, you’ll eliminate half of the stress many homeschooling parents experience.

Because with homeschooling, there’s no race to the top; there’s only the top.

Don’t miss your free download:

Get a copy of Liz’s “could not live without” book, Education’s Not the Point: How Schools Fail to Train Children’s Minds and Nurture Their Characters with Essays by John Taylor Gatto and Dorothy Sayers.

Buy now

Liz Hanson helps parents raise and educate whole children by bridging timeless wisdom with modern research.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available.

October 16, 2025

Timeless Tips for Encouraging Your Children to Read

October 16, 2025/ Liz Hanson

My son and I were on a train through the south of Germany when I looked to my left and saw a child reading. And then I saw another child reading. And then another child.

I said to my son, "Look, there's actually children reading on this train; how exciting!"

"What a sorry day it is when you get excited about a child reading," he replied.

"I know, tell me about it."

But non-reading kids are the reality today. Kids are staring at screens instead of absorbing what's going on around them, learning from great books, engaging in life, or socializing with real people.

“They are living virtual lives,” as my son put it.

My eyes kept glancing over at these children, and then I noticed their parents were speaking English. At some point, I couldn't hold back any longer, so I went up to the parents and told them it was a joy to see that they were raising kids who actually liked to read.

And they pointed down the train to another family of kids who were reading. I can't tell you what a delight it was to see kids with books in their hands and no screens.

One Family's Success

We talked about the loss of reading in our culture, and they expressed their contentment in having kids who enjoyed a good book. I could see they were really pleased with their success in raising kids who read.

The youngest child, a boy, was playing hangman with his dad. His father said to me, "He is supposed to be reading too!"

These kids were all screen-free. No whining. No complaining. The children were happily occupied on a long train ride through Germany with their noses in books (minus one).

Took me back to my own kids and how they used to do the same. Or they’d gaze out the window and take in the sights or we’d chat about something they found interesting—as I’m sure the children on the train did too.

Amongst many other non-tech activities, screen-free kids will read books, and that's why "reading" kids are so uncommon now. Because kids have their noses stuck in screens, kids everywhere are staring at screens, kids are living in a virtual world.

They are growing up in an alternative reality.

How to Raise Screen-Free Kids

However, luckily for us, it's not difficult to raise children who prefer a book to a screen, either. You just have to do two things.

Keep screens out of sight, and chances are that your kids will never ask for one.
Keep an endless supply of good books in your home.

In my experience, it's much easier to raise kids without screens than with "one hour after dinner" or "two hours on the weekend."

When you raise kids without screens, they learn how to occupy themselves, otherwise known as being resourceful. They won't whine and complain that they are bored, and they won't argue with you over screen time.

Honestly, keeping your kids screen-free will alleviate a lot of the tension in the home too.

And, if you have books in the house, they'll grow up reading too. My son told me, while on this train through southern Germany, that he read so much as a child because books were all there were in the house.

Exactly. He still reads.

Jonathon Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation, spurred a movement to get smartphones out of schools, and it is proving to be quite successful.

But it always baffles me why so many parents wait until they are given permission to do what they know is best for their kids?

When it comes to our children, we have to protect them from the harmful elements of society, and smartphones are a very toxic and damaging element.

We have countless studies to prove it. We also have our common sense.

“In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They sit and stare and stare and sit...
Until they’re hpynotized by it,
But did you ever stop to think,
(What) This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
...
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CANNOT THINK HE ONLY SEES!”

— ROALD DAHL

The No-Tech Kids Movement

Today we have a generation of children who grew up with technology, and who are active in this movement to remove smartphones from schools.

They know the harm it causes their generation, and they want it to stop. We are hearing this from the children!

They want it to stop.

One parent told me that her older kids told her not to let the younger children near technology. They recognized the damage it had done in their lives, and they wanted their mother to understand this and to protect their younger siblings.

The Forbidden Apple Syndrome

There is one caveat with the "no screen" policy, and that is that when you are raising children, you need to find like-minded families to raise your kids with. Your kids can't be the only "screen-free" kids if you are raising them amongst technophiles.

It becomes the "forbidden apple" syndrome. They'll want what their friends have but they can't have. Eventually, they'll grow up and head straight for the technology.

In this case, two hours on the weekend is a good compromise. But if you have like-minded friends who keep their kids off of tech, that's ideal.

The general rule of thumb is that if your kids want a phone, wait until they are at least 16 and let them get a job to pay for it. Also, no smartphones. Flip phones only for as long as they live with you. I got this bit of advice from my mentor and parenting guru John Rosemond, and it is sound advice.

What Can You Do About the Problem of Technology and Your Kids?

Read a book about the dangers of technology on a child's developing brain, socio-emotional skills, and physical health. For this, I would recommend Glow Kids by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras.

Invite some friends to read the book with you and discuss ways you can agree to keep your kids away from screen use.

Become a support group for one another in raising tech-free children.

Given the studies about the harm technology causes to a child's grown brain, it seems a no-brainer that kids growing up without technology would be more intelligent, more socially adept, more emotionally balanced, and have better physical health.

Say no to your kids now, and later they will be grateful to you for protecting them against the ills of screen use in childhood. As more and more studies come out, more and more people are becoming aware of how utterly damaging screen use is to children.

By the time your kids are grown, even more research will have been published. If you let them use screens now, they may grow up to ask you, "Why?"

Many children are asking this question today. Don't let yours be the next.

Don’t miss your free download:

Buy now

Liz Hanson helps parents raise and educate whole children by bridging timeless wisdom with modern research.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses:

Whether you're navigating early childhood, considering homeschooling, or wanting to nurture a genuine love of learning in your child, Liz offers practical guidance rooted in proven principles.

One-on-one consultations available.

October 09, 2025

Less Stuff, More Love: The Case for Simplicity in Family Life

October 09, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Over the years, I've watched a lot of parents raise their children in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, but one family has always stood out for me as remarkable in the simple yet wise choices they made.

I learned a lot from them, as you may too.

While most of our friends lived in gated communities sporting homes that now range well over a million, this particular family lived in the worst part of town.

Not only was it the worst part of town, but it was one of the worst parts of town, in one of the worst suburbs of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

The mother chose to stay home with her children and the father, who was an extremely talented man, devoted his time to working for a non-profit he believed in while earning extremely low wages.

They had nothing more than a dinky two-bedroom apartment, and they had one beat-up car. There were three children who all shared one bedroom for their entire childhood.

But these parents were more successful in raising their children than some of the well-paid executives the father worked for.

What was their secret?

They chose to raise their children with very little, so that their mother could stay home and educate with them. But the "very little" paid extremely high dividends.

These children were unspoiled, they espoused the mother's excellent values, and they were closely-knit due to their tight living quarters.

They had no extra-curricular activities, no fancy clothes, no 3-car driveways, just simple living. All three children grew up to be wise, kind, and extremely bright.

In a sense, the parents lived lives of service, which modern psychology tells us is the key to lasting happiness; the father’s in his work and the mother’s in her home.

I was reflecting on this particular family the other day after reading an article in the news about the increase in RV living because of the unaffordable cost of living in America.

There was one striking story of a single mother who lost her home and had to move her son and daughter into an RV.

What I found so promising was the change in the boy Dante, who could not longer play his video games and was forced to find his entertainment in the raw and wild outdoors.

Here's what Dante said about his new circumstances: “Before we moved, I hate to say it, but I was just a shut-in. I was inside all the time playing in my room, playing video games, doing whatever just inside,” he said. “But now I’m a lot healthier. I’ve been outside. I’ve been running around, getting some sun.”

Over the past few months, he said he’s learned how to fish and cook and gotten to spend more time with his mom and sister.

“I think it’s actually better than having a big house because I’ve learned a lot of stuff this summer,” he said. “I’ve learned more in three months than I have in my whole entire 11 years of being alive.”

The article goes on to say that "Dante, who celebrated his 12th birthday in the RV, is in no rush to leave."

His mother’s misfortune will probably result in Dante becoming more intelligent, more creative, and more successful in life just by virtue of having to use his mind more.

Sometimes good things come in unwanted packages.

I share these stories with you because Western society tends to forget the things that matter most, such as a mother in the home to instill wholesome values and educate her children, not to mention screen-free childhoods.

A mother's presence will always trump a bigger house, endless play outdoors will always trump a video game, and homeschooling "done right" will always trump a government education.

Don’t miss your free download:

Get a copy of Liz’s “could not live without” book, Education’s Not the Point: How Schools Fail to Train Children’s Minds and Nurture Their Characters with groundbreaking Essays on educating your kids by John Taylor Gatto, Dorothy Sayers, and Liz herself.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is a homeschooling thought-leader, as well as the creator of three unique online courses, Raise Your Child Well: Preserving Your Child's Natural Genius by Laying a Solid Foundation During the First Seven Years; the Smart Homeschooler Academy, educating children who are brilliant, happy, and well-socialized; and How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, Liz has 23 years of experience guiding parents through the amazing journey of raising and educating their children.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

September 05, 2025

How Do You Teach Your Child to Be Creative?

September 05, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Modern sciences tells us that to a significant degree, we wire our own brains. So how does the brain get wired for creativity? Why are some people more creative than others? Can we teach creativity?

To the latter two questions, some people will always be "more" than others—let's not put our attention there—and, contrary to what many experts believe, creativity cannot be taught.

Creativity is not a skill that someone can teach us, such as we might learn critical thinking skills from a logic teacher or how to play the piano from a piano teacher, because creativity is more like curiosity.

We can't teach a child to be curious because children are born curious, but we can teach a child not to be curious. We do this very successfully in school where children learn to curb their questions or stop asking them at all.

And what a tragedy because curiosity is at the root of creativity and creativity is at the root of genius.

Do you ever wonder what great contributions to the world and to humanity have we missed because of our factory school model?

“I don’t want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers. ”

— John D. Rockefeller

According to the late scientist, George Land, we can also teach children not to be creative, yet, without creativity, there is no genius.

Creative people are curious about the external world, the internal world, and the world of possibility. Creative people connect unrelated ideas to form an original idea. They find solutions to problems that others can't see. They imagine what could be and bring it to life.

They are the creators.

But curiosity can’t be all a child needs because all healthy children are born curious. Enter George Land, who did a creativity study for NASA, and what came out of that study was the realization that 98% of children have imaginations that operate in the zone of genius, until they go to school.

“I’ve concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress genius because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves.”

— John Taylor Gatto

But that study was conducted in the 1968. A lot has changed since then, and, besides the problem of school, there are a lot of other factors contributing to dull minds.

So how do we get it right today? Consider that your child is like a garden you want to grow, so you have fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

You have cleared the ground, prepared the soil, created rows, and planted seeds according to kind.

But that's not all that’s required of you to produce a vibrant, healthy garden. You have to water the plants, make sure they get the right amount of sunshine, and sometimes shade, and make sure the soil has the right combination of minerals to nurture the plant.

Children, like plants, also need the right kind of environment in order for their creativity to bloom and blossom. Let's look at a few of the many ways in which you can adjust your child's environment to help nurture his creativity.

1. BE THERE

Science tells us that stress kills creativity. I know this is true, and I'm sure you do too. It's difficult to be creative when we have a lot of stress because our energy goes towards dealing with overwhelming challenges in order to meet our basic needs and responsibilities. What time is there left for being creative?

Children also experience stress. It's critical to their neurological and emotional development that they feel safe, loved, and cared for. Children need a home environment that meets these needs, which means that they also need us.

The worst environment for a young child is daycare, preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and even second grade, according to an analysis of approximately 8000 early childhood studies conducted by Dr. Raymond Moore in the 1970s.

One of the many things he discovered is that if children are kept out of school until they are about age ten, they will experience better mental and emotional health. Let me take the liberty of adding that common sense dictates they will be more creative too.

2. FREE TO ROAM

Unstructured play is critical for raising a child who is creative. Play-based programs are not bad but they are not beneficial either, unless you need a break. And, let's be honest, it isn't easy raising children without extended family help. Some of us need more breaks than others, and that's okay.

Structured play found in programs deprives children of the kind of play that comes from within, which is the best kind for developing creativity. As long as you aren't about to pull your hair out, I'd opt for unstructured play over play programs.

Play serves many purposes, all of which are fundamental to the healthy development of a child, and one of them is developing the imagination which make-believe play nurtures.

For example, a child can turn a box into a castle and he will see a castle, he won't see a box. The last thing we want to do is to tell him to "put the box away!" Children encounter problems in their free play which they need to solve. All problems require creative solutions to solve them.

3. STAY OUT OF THE WAY

A child who can help himself should always be encouraged to help himself. Say your child decides that he wants to draw a bird, but every time he draws the bird he messes up the bird's beak. Now he whines from frustration. You don't want to step in and help him.

Let him learn to work through his frustration now rather than getting into the habit of falling apart when things don't go the way he wants them too.

“Parents should not agonize over anything a child does or fails to do if the child is perfectly capable of agonizing over it himself.”

— John Rosemond, Parenting Guru

Habits like "easy-to-get-frustrated" are not easy to break as adults, and they will get in the way of your child's ability to function in a healthy, productive way as an adult.

Tough love means being willing to let our children experience uncomfortable emotions, so they learn to accept them as part of life's journey without losing hope and giving up too soon. How else will they be able to accomplish anything?

4. Rhymes, Rhymes, and More Rhymes

Read rhymes to your children and play rhyming games with them to build their creativity muscle. You say a word or sentence and they have to find a word or sentence that it rhymes with.

Fairy tales will also stimulate a child's imagination, especially if the book contains few to no illustrations.

Children love picture books, and these kind of books have their place, but without the pictures, children use their imaginations to conjure up the scene in their mind. This also makes reading more enjoyable for them.

Have you ever read a book and then watched the film it was based on? There is nothing worse than having a perfectly imagined character in your mind, only to have Hollywood ruin it for you. After that, you will always see the Hollywood actor, never your original creation.

5. A NO-BRAINER

If you've been reading my weekly blog posts, you know what I am going to say next don't you?

Absolutely no screens for your budding genius! Nothing will kill a child's memory, imagination, or curiosity faster than screen use.

The bad news is that if all of their friends are using screens, you may not want to become the "problem" parent. I don't recommend it because the screen becomes the forbidden apple, and your kids will flock to them as soon as they get the chance.

When I was young, my mother threw out all of the white sugar in the house. I used to go to my best friend's horse and eat sugar from the sugar bowl. You don't want your children doing this with screens.

The good news is that if you are able to recruit other parents or find parents whose children are screen-free, then your children will think a screen-free childhood is what's normal. Sadly, it isn't, but they don't need to know this right now.

Did you know that there are many young adults now who are disappointed with their parents for letting them have screens and phones when they were younger?

Please, please, please don't let your child be one of them!

If you follow the guidelines here, your children will be developmentally ahead of most of their peers who are in school and using screens, and they'll be well on their way to living a more productive and enriching life.

Don’t miss your free download:

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

August 28, 2025

Don't Raise Your Children to Have High Self-Esteem!→

August 28, 2025/ Liz Hanson

It turns out that raising a child with the “special-child” syndrome is exactly what kills empathy.

August 21, 2025

The Folly of Dismissing Memory Work in a Child’s Education→

August 21, 2025/ Liz Hanson

A common practice of any serious scholar since time immemorial, rote learning has received an undeservedly bad rap in the postmodern world.

August 14, 2025

3 Strategies for Putting Fun Back Into Learning Vocabulary→

August 14, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Words are many things, but dull or boring is not one of them. If your kids are not having fun learning words, something has gone wrong.

A love of words is essential for any budding genius because words are what we think with and better thinking capabilities will only improve your child's life.

Here are my top tips for putting the fun back into learning words, because there was a time when it was fun for your child. All learning is fun for a child until we ruin it for them.

“Dum spiro, spero (while I breath, I hope)”

— Cicero

But we can always turn things around—never give up hope. It might take longer to get where they’re going but it is never too late to begin.

Tip #1: DITCH THE WORKBOOKS

Workbooks are probably not something your kids look forward to every day, so the good news is that you can ditch them. Instead of vocabulary workbooks, keep the vocabulary lists to yourself and play a game with them.

Start by making a list of ten words, and then ask your kids if they want to play a fun game.

Here's how it works:

Tell your children the first word.
Each child takes a guess at its meaning and writes it down on a piece of paper.
Each child shares his best guess.
You share the actual meaning and see who got the closest.

You can finish the game by having your children write a short story (a paragraph or two) using each of the words used in the game for that day. You can even write the story together—that might be even more fun.

Next, put the list in a visible place, i.e., the refrigerator or a bulletin board, or tape it to the wall; challenge them to test their new knowledge by using the words as many times as they can during the week.

Ask the kids if the game was fun. If they say yes (and they will!), then tell them they get to choose a name for it and you'll play it again when you have time. Treat it like a special game they play when you "have time." Of course, you'll make time at least two days out of the week!

Every week, do a game review (without calling it that). See who remembered the most definitions. Since you'll have children of varying ages playing,

Don't give any prizes for winning because of the age differences of your children; otherwise, the older kids will always win and the younger kids will feel cheated. Let it be about the fun.

Also, make sure you have some words for the younger kids and some for the older kids. You don't want it to be too difficult for the little ones or too easy for the older set.

A way to choose the words for your list each week is to take note of interesting words in the books you are reading to them. Choose the words surreptitiously, as you don't want to spoil it for them.

Tip #2: Ditch the Word Root Books

I bought word root books for my kids because, in the early days, that's what I was told I needed. While the books were not boring, it was a dull way to study fascinating words. I have since discovered that a better way is to hire a Latin teacher.

Children love learning Latin!

They really do. There are different opinions on the subject of when to begin teaching but as most Latin teachers teach online, my recommendation is to wait until the children are older, as the screens are too damaging for them.

A child of about eight or nine is at a good age to begin studying grammar, because he is old enough to understand grammar but not so old that he may prefer to do other things besides memorizing Latin conjugations. On the other hand, an eight or nine-year-old child will find it great fun.

“Latin is, quite simply, the most utterly wonderful...thing.”

— Mr. N. M. Gwynne

Many of our English words derive from Latin roots. A child who is studying Latin and comes across an English word from a Latin root may not know the word, but he'll be able to figure it out because he knows the Latin.

One little boy I taught got so excited when he read the back of a penny and understood the Latin words. Latin is sort of a secret language too because probably no one else in your family knows it, or any of your children's friends.

If you have two children studying Latin, watch out! They'll have a lot of fun communicating in Latin while knowing that you can't understand a thing.

When it comes time for the SAT exam, your Latin students will ace the language arts section, because knowing Latin will give them a much larger vocabulary. If they do come across a word they don't know, the Latin will help them figure out the meaning of it.

When you consider that language arts is half of the exam, you can see the advantage Latin will give your children when it comes time for them to go to college.

But there's more! Besides being an excellent and fun way to help your children build their vocabularies, Latin is a useful language that will improve them in every way.

“Animus risu novatur (the spirit is refreshed with laughter)”

— Cicero

Studying Latin disciplines the mind and strengthens the memory, both of which contribute to higher intelligence. It also teaches one to have patience because studying Latin is difficult, and one has to have patience to stick with it. It teaches perseverance and resilience for the same reason.

By studying Latin, children learn to become versatile with language and to have more mastery over putting words together in creative and beautiful ways, plus they'll learn a lot of grammar.

One last thing: if you want to understand the importance of learning Latin, pick up a copy of Gwynne’s Latin and read Mr. Gwynne’s opening chapters. Very eye-opening!

Tip #3: Ditch the Dumbed-Down Literature

Raise your children on quality literature. You want to respect their intelligence by meeting it with good books instead of insulting it with silly stuff. Besides that, quality literature will help to increase their vocabularies while enjoying a great book.

If they read books with an extensive use of vocabulary, they'll learn more words. Reading, if the love of reading has not been ruined for your child (only 14% of children read for enjoyment now), is an excellent way for a child to develop a good vocabulary, as long as he is reading quality literature.

One thing I would not do is have your children look words up. You want to have a dictionary for them, note the words they do not know, and figure out a way to help them learn the word, but do not make them stop reading to look a word up, unless they want to.

An easy way to ruin a child's love of learning is by making them look up words when they're in the middle of a good story.

Instead, take the above strategies and use them to instill a love of words in your child, have a dictionary on hand, and chances are they'll look up the words that sound interesting to them.

I look words up all of the time because I love words. And having studied Latin, I love digging into the history of a word.

Your kids will too because words really are fun!

Don’t miss your free download:

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

August 07, 2025

Will Today’s Tech-Savvy Kids Face a Dementia Crisis Tomorrow?

August 07, 2025/ Liz Hanson

For the first time in history, parents may find themselves having middle-aged children with dementia.

Researchers are predicting that kids growing up with technology from a young age may become ripe for developing Alzheimer’s while still relatively young.

That's scary news.

Screens have become babysitters for children, but they are also used to replace in-classroom teaching, and even homeschooling. This is where it gets tricky.

One of the most ridiculous assertions I've heard from the "experts" is that technology used for education is "more beneficial."

Before we decide if screen use for education is "more beneficial," we have to first determine if screen use is in fact beneficial. That would be the logical place to start.

Let's look at the facts

We know from research and empirical evidence that screen-kids have poor social skills, lack emotional regulation, and tend to have more mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.

They are also at greater risk for suicide, which is an increasing and tragic problem in American society.

We know that screen-kids can suffer from obesity, which leads to other health problems, such as heart diseases at earlier ages and musculoskeletal issues. It is also a cause for low self-esteem.

We know that screen-kids are susceptible to near-sightedness, which leads to eye diseases at earlier ages, and we know that some eye diseases can lead to blindness.

We know that screen-kids have slower language development. They are also less likely to become readers, which will affect their academic performance and have a subsequent impact on their professional lives. .

But, somehow when the technology is used for "educational" purposes it's "more beneficial?"

Who's fooling who?

Here are some simple truths to consider when evaluating such claims:

1. In 2024, the tech industry sold us 512 billion dollars worth of products and services, according to Statista. Globally, it earned 1.6 trillion dollars, with the Americas being its largest consumer base.

2. The tech industry spends oodles of money funding lobbyists in Washington. These lobbyists then persuade congressman to vote in favor of spending that supports the tech industry’s interests, including online learning for kids through the public school system.

3. It is not a secret that research is subject to as much fraud as any other industry. Studies can be manipulated to bring about a corporation’s desired outcome.

Any statistician will tell you how easy it is to manipulate a study. How many researchers have had to resign or been imprisoned because they published studies riddled with fraud, such as Sami Anwar, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and Stanford principal, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who resigned because of a scandal over falsified research?

Big pharma is another perpetrator. Read Peter C. Gotzsche's book, Deadly Medicines and Organized Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Health Care.

You can't rely on the researchers or the media to tell you the truth. If something doesn't make sense, turn away from it. We have a rational-thinking mind for a reason. We have to use our own common sense in matters which concern the well-being of our children.

The world has always been plagued with unethical and greedy people who put their self-interests first. This is nothing new.

We all know that a child sitting in front of a screen will be disadvantaged compared to a child who is outdoors playing with friends or inside reading a book or learning something of interest.

We also know that children being taught by a real teacher with real books is a better choice for the child than putting said child in front of a screen and calling it an "education."

It’s called "online learning," but what are the children actually learning? Are they learning grammar? Are they learning how to read a challenging book and think about it? Are they learning to write well?

I'm afraid not.

As I write, an ongoing study is being conducted at the Cincinnati's Children's Hospital where children from birth are being subjected to MRI's (even though we do not know the long term effects of MRIs on children) to determine the effects of screen use on their brains.

It turns out it's not so good.

We know from this study that the lining of the white matter in these children's brains is thinner, which is how a brain looks in an older person, especially one who is prone to dementia or Alzheimers.

Now we begin to see why some parents may find themselves with dementia-ridden children later, if they aren't careful. If it sounds like hyperbole, it’s not. It’s the logical conclusion of what research has told us so far.

IGNORE THE PEDIATRIC GUIDELINES

Ignore the pediatric guidelines for screen time. We see the recommendations change as we do more research, so how can we rely on them? A “best guess” is not good enough when it comes to the safety and well-being of our children.

When my children were young, a child under two could watch up to 30 minutes of television a day; I believe that was the recommendation. Slowly they inched back until now they are saying children under two should have zero screen time!

Some experts are saying zero screen time for kids under five, and rightly so.

Maybe 30 years from now the pediatric recommendation will say NO screen use is best for all children, but that will be too late for your child. The damage will have been done.

Don't wait for the mainstream spotlight to shine on the obvious: Do what mothers have always done and protect your children from harm. A healthy brain can learn anything; a damaged one, not so much.

Why take the risk?

Are you interested in a workshop on weaning your children off of screens? If you are, send an email to support@smarthomeschooler.com and put “No Screen” in the subject line.

Don’t miss your free download:

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

July 31, 2025

Online Dictionary or a Book Dictionary: Which Makes Kids Smarter?→

July 31, 2025/ Liz Hanson

Online dictionaries, which I use frequently, and real-book dictionaries offer very different experiences. The question is, does using one versus the other make our children smarter?

In order to answer this question, let me tell you the story of what led me to ask it. In that story lies the answer.

You see, in my home, I always had a huge copy of The American Heritage Dictionary, so big that it was not always easy to move around the house.

It was the dictionary my kids grew up using when they needed to look up a word.

Because I live overseas right now, said dictionary was sadly abandoned to a storage unit, which is why I've grown used to the ease of an online dictionary.

I can take my online dictionary anywhere I go and it weighs under a pound, being housed in my smartphone.

Tired of looking up Turkish words online (I'm slowly learning Turkish), because it forced me to turn on my phone while I was trying to study, so I had an idea: why not buy a pocket hand-held English/Turkish dictionary?

And then the other day something strange happened.

On this particular day, I was looking up how to say "stove top," because my stove top quit working, and I needed to call a repairman.

“If Language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant. If what is said is not what is meant, then what ought to be done, remains undone.”

— Confucious

But, as I was looking up "stove top," I started to read about the words I met on my way to finding "stove top," and what I realized was that I missed reading dictionaries!

My mind started to go back to my youth and how my siblings and I used to have a lot of fun playing dictionary games.

One of us would pick a word and ask the others what it meant. Whoever knew the meaning and gave the best guess scored a point.

The game was fun, which is why we made it up, but we were also encountering new words and improving our vocabularies.

As children, however, we didn't think about the learning aspect, but that's exactly the point. We were having fun playing with words and, at the same time, developing an appreciation for and a knowledge of them.

“Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination.”

— Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein

We often read the dictionary for fun, too, because when a child develops a love of words, reading a dictionary is fun.

As I was reading these additional words in my new Turkish dictionary, I started to think about the experience of looking a word up online, and it dawned on me that I never encounter additional words online.

I look up one word, and that's all I ever see. It's a very limited experience, and while I may learn the definition of one word, my learning ends there.

Nor is an online dictionary much fun. I suppose it might be for a ten-year-old child, but mind-stunting fun is not what our kids need, especially at such young ages.

What I realized is that children who grow up using online dictionaries will never experience the joy of a hand-held dictionary, and they'll never invent dictionary games with their siblings.

But more importantly, never—during a search for one word's meaning—will they ever learn about the other words they encounter along the way.

Because they won't encounter any.

Which translates into the likelihood of their having smaller vocabularies and, therefore, less ability to think at wider and deeper levels because we need words to think with!

Let me state the obvious: thinking that's limited because of a reduced vocabulary equals a limited mind.

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

Would it be fair to say that kids who grow up using hand-held dictionaries are smarter? We'll have to wait for a future researcher to tell us the answer, but until then, I'm going to err on the side of they just may be!

Don’t miss your free download:

Get a copy of my “could not live without” book, Education’s Not the Point: How Schools Fail to Train Children’s Minds and Nurture Their Characters with groundbreaking Essays on educating your kids by John Taylor Gatto, Dorothy Sayers, and yours truly.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one parenting and homeschooling consultations.

July 10, 2025

What Life Lessons Are You teaching Your Children?

July 10, 2025/ Liz Hanson

What Life Lessons Are You Teaching Your Children?

Are you stopping long enough to reflect upon the messages you send your children through your words and actions—even the expressions on your face?

Because we each impact our children's understanding of themselves and the world they live in every single day by the way we show up for them.

It’s easy to overlook this aspect of parenting, but it’s critical that we stay alert to our own shortcomings and do our best to correct them.

“Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home.”

— Phyllis Diller

A common bad habit that 99% of us have is the habit of engaging with our phones too often.

Tell me if this scenario rings a bell: you hear your text go off, so you pick up your phone. A friend has texted you, so you text her back. You exchange a few texts and then your child asks you for something. But now you’re in the grip of your phone, so you tell your child you’ll be right there.

But you aren’t right there and now your child begins to whine. You start feeling annoyed with the child. Finally, you pull yourself away from your phone, but you’re annoyed that you couldn’t finish what you were doing.

Your child can feel you are irritated. And the beat goes on.

Now let me ask you a question: wouldn't you throw your phone away in a heartbeat if you thought your child would look back to his childhood and see you as a parent who was glued to her smartphone?

Of course, you would.

And for your child, this translates into a belief about himself that his needs are not important enough to be met. He has adopted a belief about himself that isn’t true. And he’ll enter adulthood with the belief that his needs aren’t important, and he’ll be comfortable in relationships with people who ignore his needs.

Why? Because that’s what’s normal for him. That’s the world he grew up in and that world shaped his beliefs about himself, and it shaped his belief about the way he should be treated by others.

And this is what happens when the “few” minutes on our smartphones add up to hours and the hours add up to days and then weeks and then months. And, sadly, our kids will grow up to repeat the same pattern with their children.

It’s the little things we do that add up to the big things which determine the quality of our parenting.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

— Aristotle

I'm not suggesting we should cater to our child's every whim but spending too much time on our phone, for example, is like sitting around watching television all day.

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Most of us would consider watching a lot of television negligent parenting because we know better. But somehow smartphones and other bad habits slip through the cracks, and we don't think twice about them.

It's easy to go through the parenting years oblivious to ways that seem inconsequential at the moment but prove later to have hurt our children.

That’s why taking an inventory of our habits periodically will help us stay present to the way we show up for our kids. If we notice that we’ve developed a bad habit, such as using our phones too much, then we can take steps to correct it while our children are still young.

It’s not as difficult as it might sound.

The first step is to define the bad habit. Be specific. For example, if every time you have coffee in the morning, you pick up your phone, state it as such.

Next, decide on a new habit you can adopt to replace the old habit. In this case, decide that every morning when you have coffee you’ll read a book instead. Or maybe you’ll drink your coffee and be present to enjoying a quiet moment before the children wake up.

To avoid the urge to pick up your phone, the night before you want to put it out of sight and out of reach. Create obstacles that make it difficult to pick up your phone in the morning.

Decide on a time of day when you can look at your phone. Set a timer so you don’t find yourself hours later coming out of a virtual vortex.

Start with one bad habit, conquer it, and then choose another. The process of breaking a bad habit is always the same.

We will naturally become more effective parents if we become aware of the little things we do that add up to the big lessons we teach.

With this in mind, what bad habit would you like to conquer to become a better parent?

Don’t miss your free download:

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

July 03, 2025

The 6 Purposes of Modern Schooling or Why Kids Never Grow Up

July 03, 2025/ Liz Hanson

What is fundamentally wrong with school? Why is the world such a mess?

John Taylor Gatto answers this question for us. What follows is a short excerpt from his essay, as published in, Education’s Not the Point.

“Theorists from Plato to Rousseau knew well, and explicitly taught, that if children could be kept childish beyond the natural term, if they could be cloistered in a society of children, if they could be stripped of responsibility, if their inner lives could be starved by removing the insights of historians, philosophers, economists, novelists, and religious figures, if the inevitability of suffering and death could be removed from daily consciousness and replaced with the trivializing emotions of greed, envy, jealousy, and fear—then young people would grow older but they would never grow up.

In this way a great enduring problem of supervision would be decisively minimized, for who can argue against the truth that childish and childlike people are far easier to manage than accomplished critical thinkers.

With this thought in mind, you’re ready to hear the six purposes of modern schooling I found in Dr. Inglis’ book. The principles are his, just as he stated them nearly 100 years ago, some of the interpretive material is my own:

#1 Purpose

The first function of schooling is adjustive. Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority.

Fixed habits.

Of course this precludes critical judgement completely. If you were to devise a reliable test of whether someone had achieved fixed habits of reaction to authority, notice that requiring obedience to stupid orders would measure this better than requiring obedience to sensible orders ever could.

You can’t know whether someone is reflexively obedient until you can make them do foolish things.

#2 Purpose

Second is the diagnostic function. School is to determine each student’s proper social role, logging evidence mathematically and anecdotally on cumulative records.

“Boredom and childishness are closely allied with one another; those trapped in both states have no clear idea of what to do with time, no wisdom about priorities.”

— John Taylor Gatto

#3 Purpose

Third is the sorting function. Schools sort children by training individuals only so far as their likely destination in the social machine and not one step further.

So much for making boys and girls their personal best.

#4 Purpose

The fourth function is conformity. As much as possible, kids are to be made alike. As egalitarian as this sounds, its purpose is to assist market and government research, people who conform are predictable.

#5 Purpose

The fifth function Inglis calls “the hygienic function.” It has nothing to do with bodily health. It concerns what Darwin, Galton, Inglis, and many important names from the past and present would call, “the health of the race.”

Hygiene is a polite way of saying that school is expected to accelerate natural selection by tagging the unfit so clearly they will drop from the reproduction sweepstakes.

That’s what all those little humiliations from first grade onward, and all the posted lists of ranked grades are really about. The unfit will either drop out from anger, despair, or because their likely mates will accept the school’s judgement of their inferiority.

#6 Purpose

And last is the propaedutic function. A fancy Greek term meaning that a small fraction of kids will quietly be taught how to take over management of this continuing project, made guardians of a population deliberately dumbed down and rendered childish in order that government and economic life can be managed with a minimum of hassle.

There you have it. We don’t even need Karl Marx’s conception of a grand warfare between classes to see that it’s in the nature of complex management, economic or political, to require that most people be dumbed down, demoralized, divided from one another and from themselves, deprived of deep relationships, and discarded if they don’t conform.

The motives for the disgusting decisions which have to be made to bring these ends about don’t have to be class-based at all, they can stem purely from greed, or fear, or self-preservation.

All they require to perpetuate themselves across the years is a belief that efficiency is a paramount virtue, an absolute good rather than the virtue of machinery that it is.”

End of Excerpt

The facts John shares about the agenda behind modern schooling are accurate. He was a whistleblower who exposed compulsory schooling for what it is: a multi-purpose machine intended to dumb down your child and deprive him of any real meaning or fulfillment in his life.

This is no grand conspiracy theory; it is fact. I have checked many of the sources myself. Looking back on my own experiences in the public school system, they never made more sense to me than they did after reading John’s essay, The Short Angry History of Compulsory Schooling.

“When you spend some time watching schools, you gradually become aware of what childish places they are, that kids
and teachers are held prisoners there in a childhood they would willingly have left long ago, if they knew how, and if the institution had encouraged them to escape that dependent condition.”

— John Taylor Gatto

I entered kindergarten curious, bright, and eager to learn. 18 years later, I barely graduated form high school.

I was not alone.

And that’s why, when you look at the educational choices you have today, public school is not an option for any thinking parent. Homeschooling makes the most sense. Putting children into alternative schools that follow a modern model may be a little better, but not by much.

Children need one-on-one learning, they need a supportive learning environment, and they need the freedom and time to discover who they are.

Parents and teachers who are dedicated to helping the child develop a love of reading, learn how to think for himself, and become his very best could change the course of history.

Don’t miss your free download:

10 Books Every Well-Education Child Should Read

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a “whole” child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

June 24, 2025

Should My Child Learn Computer Programming?

June 24, 2025/ Liz Hanson

(A thoughtful answer from a screen-cautious educator)

We are living in a time where the use of technology occupies us for hours each day, especially if we need to use it for work.

Which makes many parents wonder if they should enroll their children in a computer programming course, so they are well-prepared for advancing in the modern world.

The thing with computer use is that the younger generations instinctively know how computers work. I'm sure you've seen the typical scenario of a frustrated older person asking a younger person for help with something computer-related.

The older generations have missed out on the collective understanding of computers that has infected the younger generations. Even though my children did not get computers until they were in college, when they did get them they instinctively knew how they worked.

This astounded me. How could they figure things out in minutes when the same things would take me hours or days to figure out?

Because people over 50 missed the computer bug. Using a computer is not instinctive for us so we have to be taught how to do every little task!

When it comes to the question of enrolling your child in a computer programming course, your child will fare better if you wait.

The reason is simple: the more we use computers to think for us, the less we develop our thinking muscles. With the deluge of AI, people who can think creatively and innovatively are going to be in demand soon because everyone else will have “brains of mush”, as one tech expert put it.

And one of the keys to critical-thinking skills is reading.

Reading is critical for the young. Children who grow up with screens, regardless of the justification for it, are unlikely to become skilled readers. That’s not to say it’s impossible but to point out that you are gambling with your child’s future.

Think about this: have you ever visited a friend who has the television on? Everyone in the room will be talking, and then slowly each person gets pulled to the screen.

Screens put us in a trance-like state.

You must know what I mean; it's happened to me many times while traveling in foreign countries where it’s often the custom to keep the television on for background noise.

A very weird custom. Why not turn on some background music instead of a mesmerizing screen?

Anyway, my point is that if a child has to choose between using a screen and reading a book, he'll choose a screen because the screen has a magnetic pull on him. It’s difficult for us “knowing” adults to resist our own screens, so you can imagine how impossible it will be for your child.

If you want to raise a child for the future—as counter-intuitive as it sounds—keep him off of screens until the mid-teenage years and forget about the computer programming courses.

A well-chosen movie now and then is fine, but, for the most part, you want your kids engaged in life, using their minds, and learning all they can through books and real-life experiences.

Instead, give them great literature to read, homeschool them using sound methods, and watch them rise amongst the few who have well-formed minds and can think for themselves.

Don’t miss your free download:

A “Could Not Live Without” Book!

Get a copy of Liz’s, Education’s Not the Point: How Schools Fail to Train Children’s Minds and Nurture Their Characters, with groundbreaking Essays on educating your children by John Taylor Gatto, Dorothy Sayers, and Liz herself.