In our anniversary issue, we have selected 24 special interviews from hundreds. You can look forward to revisiting interviews with the Danish family therapist Jesper Juul, the philosopher Barbara Bleischand the psychotherapist Allan Guggenbühl. And many more besides. The 25th interview is a little out of the ordinary – more on that in a moment.
If there is one thing all these conversations have in common, it is this: parents do not have to have everything under control. Nor does their child. «Children,» says the renowned paediatrician Remo Largo, «do not develop according to a curriculum, but at their own pace. Every child wants to develop – and thus to learn – but in their own way. You cannot make a child. You can only support them. Supporting them means: standing by the child, especially when things aren't going well. And telling them the one thing that matters most – we love you and believe in you.»
For 25 years, we have been asking people about the secret to good parenting. In their own way, they have all said something similar: it's about connection, about weathering tensions, and about trusting the child. Parents love, ask questions, make mistakes, and carry on. Child and adolescent psychologist Philipp Ramming has found an apt metaphor: parenting is like sailing on stormy seas. If you resist, you'll capsize the boat. Tacking close to the wind and zigzagging may take longer, but it keeps you on course.
A few weeks ago, I sat down with Mikael Krogerus, the award-winning journalist and long-standing columnist for *Fritz+Fränzi*. He asked me whether being a parent is harder today than it used to be. What makes a good father. And what advice I'd give my children to take with them when they become parents themselves one day. We spoke for two hours, and the result is the 25th interview for our anniversary issue – my most personal one yet.
I would like to thank you, dear reader, for your loyalty over the years. I hope you enjoy reading this and gain some valuable insights.
Yours sincerely,
Yours, Nik Niethammer
