With all of our emphasis on academics and what it takes to get into college, essential life skills ... For younger kids, break a larger task down into manageable chunks and gradually increase ...

But the art of growing stuff can also promote important life skills in children ... How to grow it: Encourage kids to zone out while they’re doing a rote task such as watering or digging.

Intensive parenting pushes children to achieve outer markers of success, often well before the child has a chance to develop ...