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The best research we’ve done all year
Kill procrastination, get your kid off their phone, and boost their confidence
Ivy Xu
December 22, 2023
I can’t believe 2023 is nearly over!
When I launched the Prequel newsletter earlier this year, I couldn’t have imagined it would reach hundreds of thousands of parents and spark a movement to teach kids life skills through entrepreneurship.
I’m truly humbled by your support.
Before I sign-off for a long holiday weekend, I thought I’d recap some of this year’s most impactful content with:
3 Newsletters
2 Videos
1 Big Idea
I’m going to take Tuesday off, but will slide back into your inbox next Friday with a sneak peek of what to expect in 2024!
In today’s issue:
3 Newsletters: Kill procrastination, get your kids off their phones, and elevate STEM education.
2 Videos: Proven exercises to boost your kid’s confidence and help them set clear goals.
1 Big Idea: Kids are capable of more than we think.
The break-down 👇
In this newsletter, we dove into research by Dr. Tim Pychyl on how to battle the procrastination monster, and identified two easy things you can start doing today to help your kid remove barriers and just get started.
Your feedback ❤️
Cat: “Was totally thrilled to read some solutions to procrastination that I immediately shared with my daughter.”
Khan: “My child is struggling with time management and procrastination, so this was timely.”
The break-down 👇
Cultivating a healthy relationship between our kids and their screens can seem impossible. In this newsletter, we discussed why screen time limits don’t work, and what you should be doing instead.
Your feedback ❤️
Kortney: “Screen time is a daily topic in our home. Thanks for offering new ideas and potential solutions.”
Sonia: “Bang on with what I needed.”
Lisa: “Education on reduction of screentime is applicable for both children and adults.”
The break-down 👇
The percentage of female computer scientists has declined since 1995. How is this possible? In this newsletter, we spoke to female STEM leaders and teens from BETA Camp who are pursuing STEM careers. We outlined concrete steps you can take to expose your daughter to STEM.
Your feedback ❤️
Doctor: “As a male physician, in the last all-male class at my medical school, I have been encouraging women to consider medical school for most of my life.”
Edward: “I agree that children should be exposed to computers and STEM, even if it is work (in our eyes).”
I ran multiple polls on what we should talk about on YouTube — building self-confidence in kids was #1.
In this video, I shared 3 exercises that we do with kids at Prequel to help them build good self-esteem and confidence to take on the world. The best news is, you can do these exercises at home!
One parent said:
“Kids need to start out with good self-esteem.
Good self-esteem = confidence = no ego issues = being humble & kind = treating others with respect = happiness and success.
Low self-esteem = inferiority complex = easily offended with huge ego issues and bullying behavior (because the only way they can feel good about themselves is by putting other people down).”
I totally agree.
In order to choose a career, build projects, and become who you want to be in the world, you need to set goals. But before you set goals, you need to know where you want to go.
And that starts with defining what success means to you.
This video contains two insightful activities that we’ve done with pre-teens and teens to help them better understand themselves so that they can aim for the right target in life.
Kids are capable of far more than we give them credit for
They have the ability to achieve adult-level, world-class endeavors.
Beyond academics, there is a set of critical life skills that can only be learned by doing.
Real-world, project-based learning yields incredible results because when kids love what they do, they push harder to be better and achieve more.
And this isn’t just my belief — it’s been proven.
At Prequel, our students do it every day. 👇
🧬 Clara is building an AI DNA health coach.
👗 Wade started his fashion career at 10 years old.
🧠 Elizabeth trained an AI model to recognize dementia brain scans.
🧑🌾 Gulbin revolutionized crop irrigation (and she just got into Stanford!).
🚲 Rhett launched a world-class mountain bike park.
🥼 Anagha did a neuroscience internship at Georgetown in the 9th grade.
💰 Shakeel and Navin disrupted the 3 trillion dollar fintech industry.
🌎 Diya gave a speech to the UN to promote female STEM education.
🍎 Mark built a nutrition app to help with his Olympic training.
🤝 Isha invented a product and struck a deal with a $200m company.
📧 Fathima landed her dream internship by facing her fears.
🎨 Jane launched her own graphic design company.
🗞️ Kate established a newsletter to educate parents on educating kids (and she also just got into Stanford!).
This is only the beginning.
Our programs are 100% virtual and 100% life-changing.
Until next time,
Ivy
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