NewKid

#7 | Using AI to Help Our 3 & 5 y/o Kids Learn, with Lydia & Kevon

Mathilde Baillet — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 06:29:16 -0800

Let me introduce you to Lydia and Kevon. Their energy, their relentless desire to turn ideas into experiments into products, together, is an inspiration. Lydia’s a math tutor, Kevon’s worked at the crossroad of tech and education for years. She’s the determined, achieving mother passionate about how to get students (including her own kids) cultivate interest in learning ; he’s the creative, tinkerer dad exploring how the latest tech tools can enhance learning possibilities, spicing up what schools provide, now empowering 12-16 years old to get out there with their unique projects. They are the parents of two daughters, 5 years old Avery and 3 years old Audrey.

Together, we talk about:
- navigating between creative learning and the school system learning
- children meltdown and the Whole Brain Child
- homeschooling vs “semi-homeschooling”, making time to bond with your kids
- local vs international schools in Hong Kong, homework and the pressure to perform
- knowing what you love and pursue it, teaching girls toughness
- what makes a good partner and teammate : enforcing what you said, being on the same side, (then) talking, taking responsibilities over
- Alpha School, reimagining the teacher's role
- AI x kids : carefully embracing AI to enhance learning

00:00 Introduction: Meet Lydia & Kevon
01:48 Family Background & Professional Journey
04:16 Building Fun Sheets: A Family Project
06:56 Challenges of Raising Young Children
16:01 Parenting Styles & Handling Meltdowns
24:25 Education in Hong Kong: School Choices & Pressures
32:00 Homeschooling vs. Traditional Schooling
42:40 Nurturing Traits: Independence, Toughness, and Curiosity
47:46 Communication & Partnership in Parenting
54:26 Bringing Creativity into Learning
57:12 Building in Public: Kevon’s Journey with Public Lab
1:01:33 Exploring AI in Education & Parenting
1:08:14 Thoughts on Alpha Schools & AI-Driven Learning
1:20:59 Book & Resource Recommendations
1:24:35 Worldschooling & Cultural Exchange
1:27:19 Final Thoughts

dig deeper:
- approaching music differently: https://instagram.com/p/DOxcAG6E5Fk
- how Alpha School works, by founder Mackenzie Price: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENdAWT6N0V4
- The Anxious Generation, a book by Jonathan Haidt: https://jonathanhaidt.com/anxious-generation/
- Brave New Words, How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing), a book by Salman Khan, founder of Khanmigo and the Khan Academy: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740806/brave-new-words-by-salman-khan/
- The Whole-Brain Child, a book by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson: https://drdansiegel.com/book/the-whole-brain-child/
- The Disengaged Teen, a book by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop: https://www.thedisengagedteen.com/

#6 | It Is Enough Because We Care And We Try, with Sam & Simon

Mathilde Baillet — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 09:28:07 -0700

In this episode, Sam and Simon walk us through the 17 years of experience parenting their three children. Beyond the parents lies the couple. And there is a lot of wisdom to take from their journey.

Together, we talk about their evolving roles over the years, the pain of being successful, the masculine archetype, cherishing connection above anything else, making sure a child is being heard, expectations with regards to school and sports, the commitment to one another, embodying ourselves what we want to pass on to our children, the need to heal from our own trauma, to go through hard stuff together as a couple, the messy middle of navigating tech at home, and their own recipe for a good enough relationship to tech.

00:00 Introduction
04:15 Meet Sam & Simon
14:21 Parenting Philosophy & Roles
21:09 Intentional Parenting Differences
28:06 Expectations Around School & Sports
47:04 Childhood Influences & Family Background
57:44 Healing, Trauma, and Generational Patterns
1:11:23 Tech, Social Media, and Parenting in the Digital Age
1:41:09 Advice, Resources, and Closing Thoughts

dig deeper
- Seen, the Film : https://seenthefilm.com/
- The Social Dilemma : https://youtu.be/uaaC57tcci0?si=8SdX-qd56Dqsosdh
- Embrace Kids : https://youtu.be/UVfkDwQaHik?si=XsQ1FlD_d_i1WKo9
- Circle of Security : https://youtu.be/1wpz8m0BFM8?si=vvVwKwO9LpwipEQC

#5 | Bonding through Building (a Plane), with Natasha & Latham

Mathilde Baillet — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 03:27:11 -0700

In this episode, meet Natasha and Latham, homeschooling their two children around a pretty unique project : building an airplane!

Together, we talk about down to earth topics like what's a usual weekday in their family, the cost of building an airplane, the tools they’re using to support their home education, the social aspects of homeschooling too.

We also take a step back, dig deep into topics like what they learnt from their time in the military, the sense of identity when you give up a pretty exciting career to dedicate 100% to your children's education, we talk about doubt, about the pressure to “get it right”, about bringing your son’s desire to work with his hands into an academic setting so that he could unlock that same level of learning.

Overall, we talk about team work, about adversity, about resilience, about togetherness and identity. Enjoy!

00:00:00 Introduction & Meet Natasha and Latham
00:03:50 Natasha’s Background & Family Dynamics
00:06:10 Latham’s Background & Transition to Homeschooling
00:10:25 Deciding to Homeschool & Family Decision Process
00:14:59 Homeschooling Both Kids & Daughter’s Journey
00:17:56 What Keeps You Up at Night? Parental Concerns
00:20:00 A Typical Homeschool Day
00:23:05 Structuring the Day & Learning Styles
00:28:46 Measuring Progress & Academic Growth
00:32:46 Social Aspects of Homeschooling
00:36:30 Support Systems & Community
00:39:00 Financials & Building the Airplane
00:42:00 Kids’ Big Projects & Aspirations
00:45:00 Documenting the Journey & Introspection
00:48:00 Parental Identity & Non-Judgment
00:52:00 Military Lessons & Parenting
00:56:00 Tech, Social Media, and Screen Time
01:00:00 Final Thoughts & Book Recommendations
01:01:30 How to Reach Out & Closing

More about them, and the references they talk about: https://newkid.ai/p/ep5-bonding-through-building-a-plane

#4 | Nurturing Freedom and Seeing Kids as Sunset, with Carina & Franco

Mathilde Baillet — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 06:42:34 -0700

In this episode, we explore being back in Hong Kong after two years in London, giving children a fair amount of freedom at a very young age, picking up schools, inspiring teachers and more.

00:00 – Introduction: Meet Carina and Franco, parents raising two young children in Hong Kong with a unique approach to freedom and independence.

01:30 – Family Background: Moving between Hong Kong and London, and how their experiences shaped their parenting.

03:00 – Parenting Philosophy: Embracing being the minority in Hong Kong by encouraging freedom, independence, and limited extracurriculars.

06:00 – Balancing Love: Honest stories about sibling rivalry and the challenge of giving equal love to both children.

09:00 – Language & Culture: Navigating bilingualism, cultural expectations, and the influence of tradition in Hong Kong.

13:00 – School Choices: Picking schools based on happiness and strong teacher-student bonds, not just academics.

18:00 – Extracurriculars & Free Play: Why they intentionally limit activities and prioritise unstructured family time.

22:00 – Reflections on Upbringing: How their own childhoods and inspiring teachers influence what they want to pass on to their kids.

27:00 – Technology & AI: Thoughts on introducing AI, screen time policies, and preparing kids for a changing world.

32:00 – Core Values: The importance of self-confidence, family connection, and leading by example.

36:00 – Inspirations & Final Thoughts: Who inspires them, what they hope to pass on, and advice for other parents.

39:00 – Outro: Reflections on parenting, support, wrap up

#3 | Unwrapping Unlimited Screen Time, with Lindl & Steyn

Mathilde Baillet — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:55:48 -0700

01:07 intro

03:30 Montessori schooling and Taking Children Seriously

04:59 about to relocate: from a Montessori school to homeschooling with a tutor

11:25 Lindl’s experience as a homeschooled kid

14:52 Steyn’s experience in a mainstream school

16:09 the ideal mix

17:36 what’s an exceptional tutor

20:00 Steyn’s focus : the ability to feel and sense, to better solve problems

24:42 Lindl’s focus : be true to yourself (about manners, too)

25:28 about discipline

25:57 the non-coercive approach : how do you make other people feel

29:21 screen time : creating an environment where they will flourish

31:32 how their kids deal with screens

32:58 crafting the environment

37:38 building a YouTube look-alike app using AI, involving kids in the curation

40:20 Minecraft and creativity ; video games

41:49 watching stories together

46:48 screens and boredom

51:01 trust the process

52:39 no time outs

53:44 dealing with crisis and sibling rivalry

59:39 Taking Children Seriously

01:00:58 The Sovereign Child

01:02:16 disagreements

01:07:05 AI and kids : from fact checking to video generation

01:11:30 AI and what to be hopeful for

01:15:11 content they’d like to share with parents (see below)

01:18:24 about their life philosophy : "I don't know what can be more important in life than how we make other people feel, which makes it easier to raise your kid in a non coercive way" ; "being able to say I am sorry"

#2 | Sylvana & Eamon : treating children as whole people, embracing loneliness and the growth mindset

Mathilde Baillet — Tue, 20 May 2025 04:40:55 -0700

In this episode, Sylvana and Eamon talk about the importance of treating their children as whole people, taking their thoughts and feelings seriously from the time they were born. They talk about the benefits of (alternative) school, about learning how to love being alone, about how you instigate and nurture a growth mindset, and why - although crucial to them - they think it’s too early to teach their daughters computer programming. It’s been quite a passionate exchange!

00:00 intro
01:24 [singular choice] treating our children as whole people, why it matters to them
10:36 [mainstream choice] school as the place to navigate the challenges of being around other humans
15:50 why a montessori school
23:30 montessori vs waldorf
25:56 [wish was taught at school] don’t get in the way of curiosity!
32:30 [from their own education, the good] embracing being alone, risk taking and giving a try
40:37 [from their own education, the less good] the importance to prepare for motherhood, to be a really present and loving father
44:59 [the trait they're trying to nurture] growth mindset, knowing some basic programming concepts
51:11 [technology serving this mission] helping kids make informed choices
1:03:16 [advice to your earlier selves] patience & refill your own ressources
1:04:47 parenting resources that Sylvana & Eamon recommend
wrap up
1:07:50 wrap up

Dig deeper:
• coding programs for kids, Scratch
• making sense of the past, the Landmark Forum
• toddlers growing, around the world, Becoming You, The First 2000 Days of Life
• creating healthy connections first, Listen, Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges, by Patty Wipfler and Tosha Schore

#1 | Sandra & Yotam : aiming at raising a trilingual, equanimous and social child

Mathilde Baillet — Fri, 02 May 2025 02:21:09 -0700

In this episode, we discuss about raising a multi-cultural child - Sandra’s from Colombia, Yotam’s from Israël, kiddo’s been born and raised in Australia: the sense of identity, the ability to communicate in multiple languages with the extended family. We talk about discipline. We explore the importance of routines, their three-question routine at night (1. your favorite part of the day ; 2. something that made you laugh; 3. something you didn’t like). We dig into what’s most important to nurture, in that case for them equanimity, knowing where you come from and being able to make friends. We also talk a bit about how they see technology serving their 5 year old kid and as he gets older. About being flexible on things that matter less (short videos while you brush your teeth) and strict about just a few, important things. I couldn’t wrap this up better than with Sandra’s own words:

“I want our son to have the financial intelligence of Yotam and my social intelligence”

00:00 intro
02:34 raising a trilingual child, why it matters to them, the challenges
10:19 discipline, how they are trying to stay away from what seems to be the norm in Australia
14:45 the importance of routines
19:58 traits they're trying like to nurture : equanimity, a multicultural background, the ability to make friends
29:25 technology and raising a kid
34:45 AI tools for kids
40:53 parenting resources that Sandra & Yotam recommend
46:50 wrap up

Dig deeper:

Seen, a film about parenting, about knowing where you come from (aka your own childhood) to make more informed decisions as you’re raising your child
MindHeart, about gentle parenting (esp. targeting Latin American parents)
Parent.tv, about helping parents navigate specific questions along their parenting journey, video content behind a subscription wall (Sandra actually translated their content to Spanish 😎)
Maggie Dent, about raising boys, and her books From Boys to Men and Mothering Our Boys (that I haven’t read yet but certainly will)
(bonus: the dino friend we came across last summer)