Resources to Raise Kind and Resilient Kids

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Published July, 1, 2026, by Jenny Grant Rankin, phd

Psychology Today

An interview with OFC cofounders Steven Shapiro and Nancy Shapiro Rapport, who serve alongside Rankin on the publication's Board of Advisors, exploring how intentional family culture helps kids withstand pressure from social media influencers and AI companions. The piece cites recent research: nearly half of teens now see social media as having a mostly negative effect (up from 32 percent in 2022), one in three kids already use AI for social and emotional support, and heavy screen time correlates with higher anxiety and depression rates. Steven and Nancy lay out their three-step framework for building family culture: identifying core values, translating them into behavior-based language (drawing on David Friedman's "Fundamentals System"), and practicing consistently through small daily moments. They argue that this work strengthens the parent-child relationship so kids turn to parents first, not last, when they encounter difficult content online.

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40 Family Values Activities

September 2, 2026

  Between the two of us, we spent close to seventy years in schools. Nancy worked closely with  middle schoolers and their parents for three decades as a school counselor while Steven spent his time in classrooms, engaging students in experiential learning. If there’s one thing we noticed over and over again in that time, it’s this: a family that plays a board game together on a Tuesday night is not the same thing as a family teaching a value on a Tuesday night, even if it’s the exact same game. We say that because most lists like this one,

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What We Get Wrong About Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids

May 28, 2026

By now, most of us have heard the statistics about youth mental health. The numbers are hard to ignore. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2023, [40% of teenagers experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year]. Nearly a third reported poor mental health in the past month. Stanford found that three-quarters of high school students and half of middle schoolers reported feeling stressed by their schoolwork “often or always.” And yet, most parents worry more about their child’s math grade than their emotional health. Here is what I know from my combined experience

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How to Increase Confidence in Children: A Parent’s Practical Guide

May 24, 2026

Here’s something I’ve observed after 34 years in education: the kids who thrive, not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and in life after school, almost always share one thing in common. They believe in themselves. Not perfectly. Not without doubt. But fundamentally, at their core, they trust that they are capable and worthy. That belief doesn’t arrive on its own. And it doesn’t come from telling your child they’re amazing. Counterintuitively, that can actually lead to insecurity. Rather, that quiet self-confidence is built in the litany of small daily moments that happen at home. That’s what this guide is about.

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