‘Twas the month of orchidness. I had a spotty month posting in December, as book bidness and then the holidays massacred blog production, but got some good traffic despite. The leaders:
1. Are “orchid kids” the same as “gifted children”? was my blog reaction to Lisa Belkin’s’ blog reaction at the Times to my Atlantic piece, “The Orchid Children.” The short answer to the question was No. See the post for why that doesn’t quite cover it.
2. Coming sort of soon to a bookstore near you: “The Orchid and the Dandelion” announced my deal to do a book on the orchid or ‘sensitivity’ hypothesis. But the real interest was clearly in how this hypothesis can change one’s approach to parenting.
3. Does the “orchid-dandelion” metaphor work for you? My duel with David Shenk is a smackdown between me and David Shenk over the pros and cons of the orchid-dandelion metaphor. Shenk (and some other readers) worried the metaphor does more than I want it to, to bad effect. Most readers urged me to stay with it. I’m still thinking.
4. Two-year-old Hamlet: A toddler takes on Shakespeare.
In which we get cute and Hamlet in one package. Irresistible. See for yourself:

5. Stress is an old, old companion Which shouldn’t be news, but sort of is.