Why You Should Talk to Kids About Money, Give Them More Freedom and Rethink the Starter Phone

September is almost in the rearview mirror, and hopefully that means everyone is finally remembering their lunch, finding both shoes and getting out the door without somebody yelling, “COME ON, WE’RE LATE!” on repeat. Either way, we’ve made it through the first month of the school year.

Here’s what's up this week:

• Talking to kids when money is tight

• Free-range parenting is making a comeback

• The smartwatch is a better option than a starter phone

• New parents are still way too hard on themselves

• A food allergy that can look like a stomach bug

• What’s behind teen girls skipping breakfast

• “Grandmaslop” is now a thing (sorry)

Also known as raising kids in 2026, where we’re being more transparent, giving them more independence and asking Grandma to step away from the AI.

Editor, ParentsCanada

Kids Know When Money Is Tight (and That’s Okay)

You may think you’re keeping grown-up money worries on the down-low, but kids pick up more than we realize. A new Canadian survey from Vanguard Investments Canada found that 68 percent of financially stressed parents feel pressure to hide money worries from their kids, and yet 70 percent of those respondents say their kids overhear conversations about finances anyway.

It’s no secret that kids who know too much about household finances can feel worried and anxious about money, but we also know that leaving kids to imagine how bad things might be can lead to unnecessary stress. The trick is to split the difference in a reassuring, age-appropriate way. They don’t need to know the details of your mortgage payment or if you’re concerned about paying the phone bill on time, but you can share enough to ease their minds: “Things cost more right now, so we’re being careful about what we spend.” It gives kids an explanation without handing them an adult-sized worry.

👉 How much information is too much? Here’s what kids need to know about your family finances (and what they don’t).

New Parents Are Still Way Too Hard on Themselves (Especially About Feeding!)

We’ve been saying it for years. Parents are their own worst enemies when it comes to pressure, and it starts early: We have feeding apps, parenting podcasts and approximately 47 million TikToks telling us how to raise a baby—and yet new parents still worry they’re supposed to instinctively know what they’re doing.

Research continues to show that the gap between what new parents expect and what early parenthood actually looks like can fuel guilt, self-criticism and emotional exhaustion. Feeding can be an especially big pressure point, particularly when breastfeeding doesn’t go according to plan.

So consider this permission to stop grading yourself. Breastfeeding can take time, practice, support and sometimes a little help. That’s why we teamed up with our friends at Munchkin to create our Finding Your Flow e-guide. It’s filled with practical information for navigating breastfeeding from those first moments through the first year—because nobody’s getting bonus points for making something harder than it needs to be.

👉 Take a look at Finding Your Flow—and give yourself one less thing to figure out on your own.

In partnership with

The Resurgence of Free-Range Parenting

Remember when kids went outside and nobody knew exactly where they were until dinner? (For some of us, we remember this because we were these kids!) It was wonderful, having that kind of independence, but also a little wild when you consider that there was no way to reach anyone. You had to find a pay phone—and probably a quarter to use it—if you needed to update your parents on your whereabouts.

Today, kids are reachable and trackable with the swipe of a finger. Perhaps that’s why there’s a growing push to give kids back some of the freedom they’ve lost.

In a new book called Restoring Childhood: How to Set Kids Free in the Age of Anxiety, out just last week, psychologist Peter Gray argues that free play, autonomy and solving problems without adults constantly stepping in are important parts of childhood. But he’s not suggesting a full return to the wilds of 1987. You aren’t sending your six-year-old off into the wilderness with some sunscreen and a granola bar. Start small: Let them take the dog for a walk around the block, let them go play at the nearby park with friends, send them into the store on their own to grab a carton of milk. Because sometimes stepping back is exactly what kids need to step up.

👉 Free-range parenting is about more than letting kids roam the neighbourhood. Here’s how it works—and how it compares to five other common parenting styles.

Smartwatch or Starter Phone—That Is The Question

So, now that we’ve suggested giving our kids more autonomy, let’s acknowledge the obvious: It can be a lot easier to give them freedom when we know we can still reach them. But if you're not ready to give your kid a smartphone but want to be able to check in, consider a smartwatch.

Kids’ versions don't have to be insanely expensive and can offer calling, messaging and GPS without social media, web browsing and a gazillion apps. And more parents seem to be using them as a first step into connected tech: A 2026 survey in Finland found that 36 percent of parents of kids ages 5 to 12 chose a smartwatch as their child’s first phone, up from 16 percent the year before. They’re becoming increasingly popular as a halfway point between no device and a smartphone, but they aren't completely problem-free: Distraction and privacy concerns still come with the territory. Turns out even the starter device needs some starter rules.

👉 Thinking about a smartwatch for your kid? Here’s what to consider before you buy.

The Food Allergy That Can Look Like a Stomach Bug

Here’s one for the "things we wish someone had told us sooner" file: A little-known food allergy called FPIES can make babies and young kids seriously sick without causing the hives, swelling or breathing problems most of us have been taught to watch for.

Researchers at the Montreal Children’s Hospital recently published the first Canadian study of “food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome” (FPIES), a condition that can cause sudden, severe vomiting, lethargy and dehydration one to four hours after a child eats a trigger food. Because it can look a whole lot like a gastro bug, some families make repeated trips to the ER before getting the right diagnosis.

The good news is that more than 80 percent of kids in the Canadian study eventually outgrew their trigger food, often before school age. But this is one of those patterns worth filing away in your parenting brain: If your child repeatedly gets very sick a few hours after eating the same food, it's worth mentioning the connection to their healthcare provider.

Teenage Girls Are Skipping Breakfast—But Why?

If breakfast is increasingly optional in your teenage daughter’s world, she has plenty of company. New research from the Public Health Agency of Canada, using data from more than 13,000 Canadian adolescents, found that 33.5 percent of girls ate breakfast fewer than five days a week, compared with 26.6 percent of boys.

There isn’t one tidy explanation, either. Teens may choose to sleep longer rather than eat breakfast, they may not feel hungry first thing or they may just not leave enough time. But girls in the study were also considerably more likely to report restrictive eating, and the researchers point to societal pressure around body image as one possible factor. So before launching into the breakfast lecture, ask why she isn’t eating. A kid who needs a portable breakfast is dealing with something very different from one who is deliberately avoiding it.

👉 If it’s just a matter of finding solutions for the morning rush, these make-ahead freezer breakfast sandwiches are a game-changer.

Welcome to the Age of “Grandmaslop”

We regret to inform you that “grandmaslop” is now a word you need to know.

It describes grandparents—and other enthusiastic relatives—using real photos of kids to create AI-generated images. Adorable fairy princess! Astronaut! Tiny firefighter! Aside from the resource use that comes with generative AI, the bigger issue for parents may come when they discover someone has uploaded their child’s photo to an AI platform without asking.

If your family already has rules about posting pictures of your kids online, it may be time for a 2026 update: Please don't upload their photos to AI tools either. Grandma can still make the photo calendar. She just has to use images of the actual children rather than the AI-enhanced set.

👉 While we’re updating the digital grandparent rulebook, check out the social media dos and don’ts every grandma and grandpa should know.