What Does It Mean to Raise Authentic Kids?
What Does It Mean to Raise Authentic Kids?
We're living in a time when authenticity is harder than ever. In 2026, social media has most of us quietly convinced that everyone else is living a brighter, smoother, more put-together version of life than we are. Perfect breakfasts. Perfect families. Perfect responses to every challenge.
But what if we told the real story?
What if we admitted we spent the night on the couch and couldn't face going out? What if we shared that we don't solve problems the way the books say we should — and that it actually worked out fine? Or that we once thought we were an expert at something, only to discover we had so much more to learn? That the path to finding our gift was winding and unexpected, and we're proud of every detour?
We don't need to have no filter. We can still be a little protective of ourselves and each other. But there is a world of difference between being selective and making up a version of ourselves that doesn't exist. When we stop performing and start simply telling the truth of who we are — our struggles, our surprises, our real wins — something shifts.
There's a lightness to it.
And that lightness matters for our children most of all. When kids are free to be themselves, they stop spending precious energy pretending, performing, or twisting themselves into shapes that don't quite fit. They can breathe. They can explore. They can create.
That's something I care about deeply — living authentically. Doing what we need to feel well. Choosing what sits nicely with our values. Honouring what genuinely matches our own skills and temperament, not someone else's.
It's this belief that led me to bring together my three picture books — The Kindness Community, What's MY Skill?, and The Crocheting Scientist — into a single hardcover collection called Authentic Kids.
Each of these stories celebrates a child who finds their own way. A child who isn't following the expected path, but finds something real and meaningful along it. Together, they make a beautiful gift for any family who wants to raise kids who know themselves — and feel proud of who they are.
Authentic Kids is available now on Amazon sites internationally.
For Aussie kids it’s on amazon.com.au
There are some prompts throughout that might start conversations or create some curiosity!