Boys & Girls

Raising kids from toddler to twelve. Character, chores, school, screens and the childhood they will thank you for.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

The Screen-Time ResetThe honest why, a 30-day reset challenge, 100 things to do instead and a family tech agreement you can print.Start the reset

GuideSam OrtizNov 8, 20265 min

Your kids will stay at the table if you make it short

Fifteen minutes, phones in a basket, and better questions than "how was school." A plain plan for getting your family to the table and keeping them there.

How to Teach a Kid to Shake Hands and Really Mean It

From the Boys & Girls archive

Older stories

GuideSam OrtizSep 23, 20266 min

Fifty Books Worth Reading Aloud, and How to Finish Them

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Raise a Girl Who Is Kind and Still Says No

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Help a Shy Child Make One Friend, Not Ten

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

Read the Report Card Backwards

GuideWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Give Your Kids Their Saturdays Back, Mud and All

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Discipline Without Yelling Starts With Saying It Once

Boys & Girls on video

Worth an hour of your evening

From channels we rate. Plays on YouTube.

Dad UniversityMay 21

Teaching Kids Manners – Being Polite & Respectful | Dad University

TEDSep 14

The Single Most Important Parenting Strategy | Becky Kennedy | TED

Learning with LoveJun 13

HOW TO TEACH KIDS TO BE POLITE - 20 tips for great manners!

Live On Purpose TVAug 15

Teaching Children Respect In 10 Minutes Or Less

The Eclectic HomeschoolerApr 4

How Our Kids Do CHORES... Without Me Nagging!

Nicholeen Peck - Teaching Self GovernmentMay 29

How To Get Kids To Do Chores Without Nagging

Jordan Page, FunCheapOrFreeMay 26

Allowance system for 8 kids! What we pay, chores, teaching kids about money + more! | Jordan Page

Nicholeen Peck - Teaching Self GovernmentJan 26

How To Teach Responsibility To A Child

The Ramsey Show HighlightsMay 17

How To Motivate Kids To Do Chores?

Ode to AbodeOct 26

HOW TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO DO CHORES | TRIED & TRUE METHODS AND TIPS + A SIMPLE SYSTEM THAT WORKS

Cassie Dilley CoachingNov 1

TEACHING KIDS TO BE RESPONSIBLE: Why young kids should do chores and how to start a chore system

NACD (National Association for Child Development)Mar 30

Teaching Responsibility: Chores

Marriage Kids and MoneyJul 26

Why Kids Should Do Chores at Home (And How To Get Started)

ParentingPuzzlePodJul 18

The Art of Teaching Kids Responsibility Through Chores

Christian Homemaking Podcast - Mystie WincklerMay 8

Ditch the Chore Chart: A Better Way to Teach Kids Responsibility

Fields Full HouseMar 2

How to Train Your Kids to do CHORES || Large Family

Boys & Girls quizzes

Quiz yourself, then your friends

All quizzes

GuideSam OrtizOct 10, 20266 min

Gifts that build a kid, sorted by what you can spend

Twelve gift categories across three budgets, plus one to save for and one that's free. Each one is built to still be in use come March.

GuideSam OrtizOct 6, 20266 min

Sorry Is the Cheap Part of an Apology

Two syllables shouted at the ceiling don't fix anything. Teach your kid to own it, repair it and do better, and the word will start meaning something.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

Ask it

GuideSam OrtizOct 6, 20266 min

Give Your Kid a Job Somebody Else Is Counting On

Cleaning his own room teaches tidiness. Feeding the dog before dinner teaches something bigger. Chores by age, built on that one idea.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

7 min read

The cheapest money mistake your kid will ever make

A bad purchase costs nine dollars at age ten and nine thousand at twenty-five. Teach money in the right order and let the cheap lessons happen.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideSam OrtizOct 6, 20266 min

Saying No Without Losing Friends, and the Scripts That Help

Most kids aren't too weak to say no. They just over-explain. Teach them the short no and the warm yes, and the rest gets easier.

GuideSam OrtizOct 1, 20267 min

Kick the Can Still Works, If You Let Kids Run It

The old backyard games cost nothing and teach more than most leagues. The trick is teaching the rules once and then getting out of the way.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideSam OrtizOct 1, 20266 min

Stop Planning Outdoor Time and Make It the Default

Kids don't need another park trip. They need a back door that opens every afternoon and a parent who won't cave when the whining starts.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideCal BrennanOct 1, 20267 min

Your kid's bored. Good. Now don't fix it.

The whining is the toll. The fort, the comic or the backyard invention shows up about twenty minutes later, if you don't step in first.

GuideSam OrtizOct 1, 20266 min

The Free Birthday Traditions Your Kid Will Remember at Thirty

The party fades by Tuesday. The pencil line on the doorframe doesn't. Pick a few rituals that cost nothing, and never skip them.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

Ask it

GuideSam OrtizSep 29, 20267 min

The Driveway Pickleball Court Starts at the Kitchen Line

You don't need a real court or a real net. You need sidewalk chalk, twenty feet of rope and the patience to skip the serve for a month.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Set Up the Internet for Your Kid Before They Can Argue Back

The filters, settings and house rules that work on a seven-year-old, plus the one sentence that does more than all of them combined.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

The Under 100 Dollar Birthday Party Kids Actually Remember

Skip the trampoline park package. Two hours, one big idea, and a cake your kid helped wreck beats anything you can rent.

GuideMarcus ValeSep 23, 20266 min

Make Grandparents a Weekly Habit, Not a Holiday

The grandparent bond isn't built at Christmas. It's built on a standing Sunday call with a job attached, and it changes both of them.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

First Tools for Kids Start With a 10-Ounce Hammer

Buy the real hammer, not the plastic one, then give your kid a job that actually needed doing. Here's what fits small hands and what goes wrong.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

6 min

Teaching a Kid to Tell the Truth When It Costs Him Something

6 min

How to Teach a Kid to Lose Without Losing It

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

Ask it

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

When to Give Your Kid a Phone and What the Rules Should Say

Skip the birthday-number debate. Use a ladder of devices, a written contract, and one rule most families forget until it's too late.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

6 min read

Telling Kids the Hard News Without Handing Them Your Fear

Your eight-year-old heard something on the car radio. What you say in the next ninety seconds matters more than anything you say later.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

Older articles

Older Boys & Girls stories

Boys & Girls

Your kids will stay at the table if you make it short

A kid who can swim still needs someone watching

The long, dull dinner is training your kid for everything else

Don't Replace the Ten Dollars He Lost

The first pocket knife is a lesson with a blade attached

How to Teach a Kid to Shake Hands and Really Mean It

From the Boys & Girls archive

Fifty Books Worth Reading Aloud, and How to Finish Them

Raise a Girl Who Is Kind and Still Says No

Help a Shy Child Make One Friend, Not Ten

Read the Report Card Backwards

Give Your Kids Their Saturdays Back, Mud and All

Discipline Without Yelling Starts With Saying It Once

Worth an hour of your evening

Quiz yourself, then your friends

Gifts that build a kid, sorted by what you can spend

Sorry Is the Cheap Part of an Apology

Give Your Kid a Job Somebody Else Is Counting On

The cheapest money mistake your kid will ever make

Saying No Without Losing Friends, and the Scripts That Help

Kick the Can Still Works, If You Let Kids Run It

Stop Planning Outdoor Time and Make It the Default

Your kid's bored. Good. Now don't fix it.

The Free Birthday Traditions Your Kid Will Remember at Thirty

The Driveway Pickleball Court Starts at the Kitchen Line

Set Up the Internet for Your Kid Before They Can Argue Back

The Under 100 Dollar Birthday Party Kids Actually Remember

Make Grandparents a Weekly Habit, Not a Holiday

First Tools for Kids Start With a 10-Ounce Hammer

Teaching a Kid to Tell the Truth When It Costs Him Something

How to Teach a Kid to Lose Without Losing It

When to Give Your Kid a Phone and What the Rules Should Say

Telling Kids the Hard News Without Handing Them Your Fear