If we run in and say, oh, he squirted you in the face and I'm so sorry that happened and what can we do so that will never happen again,

then Walter's never going to have any fun. What can we do so that will never happen again?

Then Walter's never going to have any fun.

And none of the boys are going to want to hang out with him.

What else are you supposed to do with squirt guns,

squirt it in the sink?

Welcome to how to, I'm Charles Stuig.

Each week we talk to listeners who are trying to figure out how to solve one of life's problems, like how to survive a

pandemic or how to decide to have a baby. And then we do some research and we

track down an expert and we get their advice to see if it helps. This week we're talking to some parents who've already decided to have a kid and in fact he's five years old,

but they want to know more about how to raise him right.

You want to say hi Walter?

Louder.

Hi!

Walter is a little shy and he's just starting kindergarten.

He lives in Portland, Oregon with his parents, Bob and Jill, and they're grappling with a question

that a lot of parents spend hours agonizing over.

How do we raise kids to be resilient?

Is there a right way to stress Walter to let him struggle and fail

so that eventually he'll know how to deal with problems on his own?

You know once once you can provide safety and food and shelter and all that kind of stuff

You know it's all about that balance between making your kid happy now and making your kid successful in the future.

...