Like many of the scenarios we've encountered at Imagine If over the years, "it" rarely happens all at once. A child who used to throw themselves into activities suddenly hesitates before starting. Homework that once felt manageable now ends in...

How often do we stop to consider the normality in our usage of the term ‘normal’ in everyday language,  beyond developmental expectations? For example, when a teacher pauses mid-sentence and says, “Let’s try to behave normally.” A parent who lowers...

What if we told you that most adult–child conflicts don't start dramatically? They start on, say, any ordinary day. For example, you might be running late on an already tight morning. You ask your child to put on their shoes. They don't. You ask...

Joy doesn’t usually make it into conversations about education. We talk about outcomes, and rigour, and readiness. We certainly talk about results. We talk about resilience, grit, focus, and discipline. We even talk about future-proofing children...

“High energy” is one of those phrases a lot of adults use as shorthand. It sounds neutral, even affectionate, but it often carries an undertone of concern. But before a child is ever described as “high energy,” there’s usually a trail of small,...

There’s a line in that rarely makes it into parenting books, but it should: If a parent sees their child as difficult, this perception alone can shape that child’s behaviour more powerfully than the child’s actual temperament or actions. Not the...

We tend to think of learning as something that only happens in the brain. Reading, reasoning, and remembering all sound so intellectual and cognitive. But in truth, it often begins in the body. Before a child can absorb a lesson, they need to first...

“So, what do you do?” This is a normal question to field when you meet anyone new.  It’s a social norm to lead with our job titles, as if our value is measured by a payslip or a LinkedIn headline. But to be fair, it certainly isn’t necessarily...

A collective shiver is bound to go down a parent’s spine when their child sighs and announces, “I’m bored.” It can feel as if we’ve failed them—like a good parent should always have a clever distraction up their sleeve. The modern world doesn’t...