Noodles In the Sandbox - Episode 108 - The Carpenter and the Gardener

Noodles in the Sandbox

In this episode, I had the privilege and the pleasure of sitting down with my friend and fellow parent, Alex Watkins to dive into The Gardener and the Carpenter, a book by Alison Gopnik that takes a humorous yet heartfelt look at the reality of modern parenting. Navigating the “gardener” vs. “carpenter,” approach to parenting, we discuss the struggle between curating experiences for young people and letting go of our expectations. We share personal stories—unexpected car lockouts, the painful art of traditional oyster stew, and the simple delights of mortifying our kids with “brain rot.” We also wrestle with modern parenting dilemmas around how to embrace the beautiful chaos of raising young humans, creating meaningful family traditions, fostering independence, and the tightrope of kids and tech. Our conversation around this book helped me see the role of childhood in the broader context of the human enterprise and how important it is to effectively hold that space for them to innovate and learn through play…and all in a way that focuses on the richness of our relationships with our kiddos, rather than the “outcomes” of our “parenting”...which is something that I think we all yearn for in the end. So grab a coffee (or a glass of wine in my case) and tune in to laugh, reflect, and (maybe even) feel seen. Let’s go.

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