Happy Kids: It’s Not an Impossible Dream

The first of the lilies to bloom!

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While struggling to figure out what to write this week, I realized I hadn't revisited my old blog posts in a while. Rereading the piece below made me think more deeply about how we grossly underrate the importance of supporting kids to be happy — of letting them feel satisfied with themselves, rather than feeling like they've disappointed everyone in their lives, including themselves. If anything, this problem has only grown worse in the ten years since I first wrote it.
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Many will blame technology for the crisis we find ourselves in. We're told kids are too connected to their devices and not connected enough to real life. But along with Dr. Peter Gray, I'll argue that the real driver of this unhappiness isn't screens — it's that we don't allow kids to be competent. We rush them along, force-feed them information, and rescue them the moment they struggle, leaving them no room to discover what they're actually capable of. They aren't allowed to follow their curiosity, play, make mistakes, and figure things out for themselves. That's the real crisis: we're raising a generation of kids who aren't just unhappy, but less able to find their place in the world. 

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What Happens When Kids Are Given the Chance to Be Happy?
2/14/16
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No, this isn't the setup to a joke every five-year-old has in their repertoire, nor is it rhetorical. It's one of the many questions we should be asking ourselves every day. What, indeed, can happen when a child is not coerced, controlled, diagnosed, criticized, punished, bullied, antagonized, shamed, manipulated, or afraid to simply be themselves? 

What if we celebrated differences instead of pathologizing them? What if every child was offered choices instead of directives and ultimatums? What if every student was honored instead of patronized? What if kids were given the space to struggle and learn from their mistakes instead of being reprimanded for making them? What if we revered cooperation over competition? What if we expected equality and justice, not entitlement? What if education became a conversation instead of a lecture? What if flexibility replaced rigidity? What if a young person's ideas and interests were affirmed instead of dismissed? What if no decision a young person made was born of desperation? What would our planet look like if every young person were free to follow their own spirit of independence?

I will argue, quite strenuously, as usual, that we would discover a world filled with people who are creative, intelligent, curious and interesting, witty, empathetic, emotionally healthy, funny, talented, generous, wise, passionate, intuitive, compassionate, resilient, imaginative, courageous, honest, real, ingenious, ethical, hardworking, dedicated, intrinsically motivated, out-of-the-box thinkers — people committed to ensuring others have that same chance to simply be happy.

This is where my work begins — helping young people to welcome challenges, ask the hard questions, prioritize play, discover their passions, and, in the process, discover just how capable they truly are.

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DRC News

It was a quiet week at the Center, interspersed with medical appointments and a visit to The Wild Center to see the Trolls. I spent my days focused on collecting info from families (both consultation and in-person) to write the quarterly reports due on the 30th.  

This little guy came by to visit our wild backyard, which is the perfect habitat for all the village-dwelling critters.

​If you have not had the opportunity to see the Trolls at The Wild Center, I highly recommend you go. We borrowed passes from the Canton Library and only paid $10 each.  Thank you to our library for offering one more valuable service to the community!

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Thank you!
Thank you to the North Country Savings Bank for the $200 Sponsorship! We are grateful for their continued support.

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Volunteer Opportunity

As we look ahead to the 2026–27 academic year, Deep Root Center is expanding our hands-on projects and activities for student members — and we need your help to make it happen.
We're looking for passionate people who are eager to share their skills and enthusiasm with young learners. This is a meaningful opportunity to be part of a vibrant, community-driven space where youth and adults come together to explore, discover, and grow.

If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you! Reach out to [email protected] or complete the volunteer application linked here.

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Defining DRC
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The best way to describe self-directed learning is to show it in action. At DRC, kids engage in projects and activities guided by their own interests, whether individually or as a group. We aren't confined to "canned" lessons dictated by some nebulous, pre-determined curriculum. This is what allows us to stay flexible and open to any idea that arises at any point during the day.

Learning here is organic and natural — not forced into a one-size-fits-all mold. We're more interested in the long game: fostering growth and the independence that comes with it.

Learn more about our programs by visiting our website.