The data makes for grim reading, but there are people fighting to turn it around. Saira Aspinall is the Publicity and Partnerships Director of the School Library Association. The organisation is about to launch Reading Reboot - a reading programme that should have a remarkable impact on pupils’ academic success and well-being - simply by showing them how to enjoy pressure-free reading.

In Britain, it is not a requirement for schools to have any library provision of any kind, meaning we can’t rely on the education system to foster a love of books in our kids. So what can we do at home?

In this episode we explore:

* The startling decline in children reading – and being read to – for pleasure, and how this is even more severe for boys than girls

* The wide-ranging psychological benefits of getting lost in a book for young people

* Practical, low-pressure ways you can help your kids develop of love of reading

* Why trying to impose ‘the classics’ or your own reading tastes on your kids rarely works

* The role reading can play in helping parents in the constant battle with screen time

I hope you enjoy the episode - please share your thoughts below.

My book is out in paperback! It’s called Good Anger: Why We Shouldn’t Fear Our Rage and it’s a blend of psychology, history and memoir about how embracing a taboo emotion can help people pleasers, conflict avoiders and anyone suffering with anxiety.

There is also a new chapter on parenting I think you’ll love.

Good Anger was named a book of the year by The Independent, GQ, Glamour, Esquire and The Next Big Idea Club and featured in the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and more.

It can be ordered online at Amazon or Waterstones.

Modern parenting is full of these experiences. But how much should we really be giving ourselves a hard time about our tech use, and where should we draw the line between being present with our children and acting as though phones and the internet don’t exist?

The psychotherapist and author Dr. Aaron Balick is an expert in how technology impacts our mental health and relationships with each other. I’ve worked with him on various writing projects over the past couple of years, so I was curious to get his advice on parenting at a time when tech anxiety can feel like it’s reaching fever pitch.

In this conversation we discuss:

* Why scrolling is so addictive and the importance of parental modelling

* The right way to talk to older children about their internet use

* Epistemic laziness and how to set boundaries when using AI

* The fight for analogue experiences in a digital age

* What makes him hopeful about the future of technology

Dr. Aaron Balick is the author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking and the Substack Applied Psychodynamics.

If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy my book, Good Anger: How Rethinking Rage Can Change Our Lives. It’s a blend of psychology, history and memoir about how embracing a taboo emotion can help people pleasers, conflict avoiders and anyone suffering with anxiety become happier.

It was named a book of the year by The Independent, GQ, Glamour, Esquire and The Next Big Idea Club and featured in the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and more. It can be ordered online at Amazon or Waterstones.

It’s not just the sudden lack of time and sleep, it’s the guilt of leaving your partner holding the baby. Months can fly past without you having exercised once.

As this episode’s guest Lawrence Price puts it, “there's a huge shift in the hierarchy of needs in your life” – and looking good in a vest or chasing a new PB is no longer anywhere near the top.

But once you’re out of the newborn trenches, fatherhood actually leaves you with more good reasons to take care of your body, not less. Aside from meaning we’ll be around longer and healthier for our kids, working out means we can show up for our families as what Lawrence calls “the most powerful version of ourselves”.

In this episode we explore:

* Why new dads often suffer with poor body image – and how to tackle it

* The right (and wrong) ways to reenter the gym after a long layoff

* The truth about fat reduction, skipping breakfast and high protein diets

* What Carl Jung has to teach us about fitness

Lawrence Price is one half of podcast The Secret Life of Dads and one of the UK top fitness experts. Check him out on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy my book, Good Anger: How Rethinking Rage Can Change Our Lives. It’s a blend of psychology, history and memoir about how embracing a taboo emotion can help people pleasers, conflict avoiders and anyone suffering with anxiety become happier.

It was named a book of the year by The Independent, GQ, Glamour, Esquire and The Next Big Idea Club and featured in the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and more. It can be ordered online at Amazon or Waterstones.