Help your kid discover serendipity

When I think back to my teenage years, I seriously don’t know how I managed it.

My days would start at 5am with skating practice, then I’d put in a full day at school, with my evenings consumed by homework and whatever extracurricular activity I was pouring my heart into that week.

I was busier as a 15-year-old student than I am today as a CEO.

And what I’ve learned now that I’ve…

• set boundaries

• prioritized self-care

• and embraced stillness

…is that structure stifles serendipity.

It’s all about balance. 🧘

Over-scheduling your kid’s day can limit potential for serendipitous discoveries that develop creativity, resilience, and independent learning.

While relaxing the structure of their day may seem counterintuitive (especially if they’re the ambitious type) it can be a powerful way to provide them with agency.

Here are a few ways you can get started:

1. Schedule time for it

“Wait — didn’t you just stay to stop scheduling?”

Yep.

But in order to force yourself to allow your kid unstructured blocks in their day, you gotta schedule their unscheduled time. 😣

This might mean saying “no” to engagements or commitments you would have regularly accepted, or picking one less activity to enroll in next semester.

You gotta commit to removing commitments from your kid’s calendar.

2. Have a plan

Creating unstructured time doesn’t mean letting your kid stare at a screen for hours.

It means that you want to encourage activities without a predetermined outcome. 

Remember when your parents used to lock you out of the house, and you’d create a magical world for yourself in the backyard?

Try to create moments that allow your kid to use their imagination, solve problems creatively, and learn about themselves.

Let them try to cook a meal without a recipe, sit down with a paintbrush, or just spend time outside with their friends.

3. Keep creative tools in the house

We all know what it’s like to feel inspired one moment, and overwhelmed the next. Creativity doesn’t flow out of us in a steady stream — it's more like a dormant geyser that erupts when you least expect it.

Kids are no different.

So it’s important to have the tools they need to take advantage of their creative bursts when they occur. 

This could mean having things like books, art supplies, musical instruments, or science kits available at home.

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Relaxing the structure of your kid’s day to allow for more serendipity isn't about neglecting their education or development — it’s about enriching it. 

Creating a balanced environment where structure coexists with freedom, curiosity, and play, empowers your kid to explore, discover, and ultimately, thrive.

Trust me, they’ll thank you. ❤️