Raising Conscious Humans: Raising Children With an Inner Compass

When do children stop trusting themselves?

They start out asking why about everything. They know what they like. They challenge us. They follow their curiosity without wondering whether they’re doing it “right”. And then, somewhere along the way, many start looking outside themselves for the answers.

In the 2nd episode of Raising Conscious Humans, I sit down again with Hwee Keng Maeder, mother of three boys, including Singapore’s youngest Olympic medallist, Max Maeder, to talk about how we protect that inner compass instead of slowly overriding it. She tells me, “You can’t want to raise a curious child that doesn’t challenge you. Then it’s not a curious child.”

We talk about knowing when to step in and when not to rescue, including why she resisted bringing her youngest home from a summer camp in Greece even when he called every day asking to leave. We also talk about giving children real responsibility, letting them face consequences, and creating different “pockets” where they can build confidence and self-worth, so their whole identity doesn’t rest on our approval or how well they perform.

And I share a moment with Ollie that made me realise how easily our children’s struggles can start to feel like a reflection of us.

At the heart of it is one question:

How do we raise children who can trust themselves?

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:00 Curious Child vs. Compliant Child

00:03:38 It’s Okay to Say, “Not Right Now”

00:04:49 Honouring the Child’s Agenda, Not Ours