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1 week ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
For Christmas one year, my brother gave my husband a book called Poems That Make Grown Men Cry. My husband has never shown the least bit of interest in poetry, but I suspect my brother was stumped for a gift and saw this at the bookstore. “Plus, I want to see if the title is true,” he added. My husband dutifully read a few of the poems, but I never saw him moved to tears. Fast forward to last weekend, when I was reorganizing the bookshelves in the living room and came across this book.
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1 week ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
Several weeks ago, I spoke to a large group of elementary students in grades 4 to 6. One teacher had asked her class to prepare questions in advance, which were written on pieces of paper and handed to me at the front of the room. I did my best to get through them but ran out of time. I stuffed the rest of the questions into my bag. Back home, I found myself flipping through them—there’s something irresistibly cute about children’s handwriting—and one question jumped out at me.
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2 weeks ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
There is a story in Julie Lythcott-Haims’ 2014 book, How to Raise an Adult, that I often think of. She describes a Seattle mother named Catharine Jacobsen, who once called her own mother to complain about being cold and wet while watching her child’s soccer game. Catharine’s mother was unsympathetic. I have no idea why you’re standing out there. You aren’t showing your kids anything.
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2 weeks ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
Why do we scroll on our phones so compulsively? I've heard many explanations, from accessibility to abundance to boredom to addictive design, all of which are likely true. But recently, I heard another intriguing explanation. It came from Dr. Anna Lembke, author of Dopamine Nation.
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3 weeks ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
I told someone the story about my 10-year-old son riding his bike alone to Walmart, two kilometres from our house. He wanted to buy a Beyblade toy with his own money. I didn’t have time to take him, so he begged to go on his own. He had to cross four lanes of traffic (at a stoplight), navigate a busy parking lot, lock up his bike, find the toy, do the transaction. It seemed to take forever, but finally he came home, far more delighted by his independent outing than by the toy itself.
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3 weeks ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
The first time I heard about "FAFO" parenting was when a woman I know shouted it at her son when he refused to get in the car. The son hopped in immediately, so clearly he knew what it meant, even though I was still in the dark. An Internet search revealed a trending phrase that stands for "f--k around and find out." The gist of it is, let your kid run into the natural consequences of behaviours they have been warned about (within reason), and that will teach them a lesson.
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1 month ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
Nick Epley is a psychologist from the University of Chicago. Several years ago, he conducted an interesting study where he asked commuters on trains and buses to make a prediction: How would they feel after having a spontaneous conversation with a stranger next to them? Most thought they'd feel worse. They believed that solitude made for a better commute. So Epley and his team designed an experiment. Participants were divided into three groups.
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1 month ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
Reader Question: "I'd love your thoughts on how to handle tech that other kids bring to your house, on outings, to group dinners, etc. I've noticed a growing number of kids whipping out their phones in social settings, and all the others surround them like moths to a flame. Often there's a quick 'Put that away!' from the kid's parent, but it's never enforced. We had an 11-year-old over to play.
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1 month ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
Today is my birthday. I'm sitting in my living room in the semi-darkness of early morning, kids still asleep upstairs, sipping a mug of hot tea. I can hear birds chirping outside, and I am thinking about how strange it feels to get older. Author Neil Pasricha has a fun practice of making a list of things he's learned by the time each birthday rolls around, and I'm going to do that, too. These are in no particular order. Buy the mangoes because they will ripen eventually, and then you'll be glad.
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1 month ago | 
katherinemartinko.substack.com | Katherine Martinko
For many years, I worked as a columnist and editor in environmental news. I was a proponent of taking small steps to reduce one's carbon footprint. There is cumulative power in minor acts, repeated over time and modeled for others, even if they don't feel like they're changing the world in the moment. And they have a hopeful effect on individuals, which counts for a lot. I'm no longer working in that field, but that same philosophy applies to dealing with digital media.