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Help! My Kid Hates Writing

How to Turn Struggling Students into Brave Writers

Author Julie Bogart

Hardcover

$30.00 US

Penguin Adult HC/TR | Tarcher

6.32"W x 9.27"H x 1.1"D | 16 oz | 12 per carton

On sale Apr 15, 2025 | 304 Pages | 9780593713167

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A practical resource to help you turn struggle into success and become the writing coach your kid needs—from the creator of the award-winning Brave Writer curriculum

Writing is often hard—for kids and for adults. How can we help our children get past the difficulties and learn the writing skills that are so necessary for communication, creativity, and critical thinking?

In Help! My Kid Hates Writing, Julie Bogart shares the secrets to breakthroughs in writing that have made her award-winning Brave Writer program a smash hit among homeschoolers and beyond. From unlocking the joys of freewriting to overcoming fear of the red pen, it blends useful advice and hands-on exercises with in-depth explanations of the underlying philosophy—and throws in more than a few pep talks for parents along the way.

Teach your kid not just what to write but how to write—and research, revise, and polish—with this encouraging and educational guide to language arts.

“Julie’s approach to writing instruction fits beautifully with my conscious parenting principles. She puts the child’s experience at the center of her pedagogy, which in turn allows a child to develop naturally as a writer. Parents will find practical help and relief in these pages.”
—Dr. Shefali, New York Times bestselling author and clinical psychologist

“In an era of AI writing tools, Julie Bogart offers something irreplaceable: a warm, practical approach to helping children discover their own desire to write. She shows how to transform writing from a dreaded chore into a natural form of self-expression and connection. An invaluable guide for raising writers who write because they want to, not because they have to.”
—Barbara Oakley, author of A Mind for Numbers and Learning How to Learn

“This book should be required reading for parents, teachers, and especially those who have chosen to guide their children’s education at home as parent-teachers. In this book, Julie provides all the intel we crave, but most importantly, she gives us confidence. I’m prepared to cheer my kids on as they express themselves through writing, and it will be so much fun!”
—Amber O’Neal Johnson, author of Soul School and A Place to Belong

“Warning: Help! My Kid Hates Writing may lead to a wave of young, confident writers! Julie Bogart’s guide transforms writing from a dreaded task into an adventure in self-expression. With practical advice and heartfelt insights, she empowers kids to find their voice, making writing a tool for self-discovery. A must-read for anyone wanting to turn reluctant writers into brave, creative communicators.”
—Leah Boden, author of Modern Miss Mason

“You’ve seen it on your kids’ faces; you’ve probably felt it yourself: a reluctance to write. Julie Bogart understands those feelings and where they originate, and she knows how to coach writers of all ages past the discomfort to the place where writing becomes an experience of discovery and delight. I can already tell this is a book I’m going to want a spare copy of—one to keep and one to share.”
—Melissa Wiley, author of The Nerviest Girl in the World and cohost of the Brave Writer podcast

“Why write? That’s the powerful question Julie Bogart asks right from the start. Before you answer, this book is the life raft you never knew you needed. Parents, every fear you’ve ever had about writing or teaching your child to write will dissipate while reading this book. Julie does what she does best—takes you by the hand and gently shows you the way forward. She gives us all permission to become awesome adults while doing the hard work of parenting. I am a braver writer because of this book.”
—Leslie M. Martino, author of The Joy of Slow

Julie Bogart is the creator of the award-winning Brave Writer program, teaching writing and language arts to hundreds of thousands of families around the globe for more than twenty-five years. She is the author of The Brave Learner and Raising Critical Thinkers and the host of the popular Brave Writer podcast. Bogart holds a BA from UCLA and an MA from Xavier University, where she’s taught as an adjunct professor and was awarded the prestigious Madges Award for Outstanding Contribution to Society. She has five adult kids and three grandchildren. View titles by Julie Bogart

If we approach AI as a tool rather than just as a mechanism by which people cheat, we may unlock uses we haven’t even considered yet!

The best role for a GPT in my mind is to use it like a virtual writing coach and as a source of starter text when we find the blank screen a bit intimidating. (Remember to vet any information it gives, though, since 15 to 20 percent of the results can be hallucinations.) AI can never do our thinking for us, but it can help us over the hurdle of just starting. That starter text is something to react to—we can “write back” in the same way we might “text back” or pop off with a social media comment in reaction to someone else’s comment.

To preserve the power of original thinking, I suggest two key practices in the age of AI.

1. Continue to hold big juicy conversations with students. For parents, this means that you deliberately discuss provocative ideas with your kids without being dogmatic propagandists for your own view‑point. Allow the conversation to ramble, to include both logical and illogical ideas, to engage in exploration of ideas more than persuasion to your viewpoint. The more your kids learn to get comfortable talking about what they want to know and how they think, the better they’ll be at guarding their original ideas and writing voice. They will want to include their own way of expressing themselves in their writing, even if they use a GPT as a tool for writing.
For teachers, this may mean you shift some of your assessment tools to oral presentations and tests. Presentations require a student to put whatever they’ve learned into their own words and to express them in front of an audience (even if it is an audience of one—you). If they use a GPT to help them find language and ideas, they will still have to know that information well enough to say it to a teacher or to an audience of students, fielding questions for clarity at the end.

European students and American graduate students are used to oral exams and orally defending their writing. This may be a moment in education where we pivot to include more opportunities for students to speak about what they’re learning rather than only writing about it. One colleague at Xavier University told me that he invites his students to come to his office to talk about their papers after they write them. The conversation reveals how well the student knows what they put into their paper. Naturally, in large lecture hall classes, these options may not work as well; this is where labs and discussion sections are essential.

2. Encourage timed writing. At home, freewrite as a family. Set aside time to handwrite (or type) freely with no agenda. Help students get comfortable forming their own ideas in their own words with their own hands. The more someone feels comfortable with writing their own thoughts, the more likely it is that they will be able to use a GPT in a skillful way. A regular freewriting practice helps individuals know their own thoughts first in their own vocabulary. Once they have a good grasp of what they think about a topic, they will be better at providing the prompts to a GPT, should they choose to use one, and they’ll be better editors too. At school, use in‑class timed writing to help students get used to taking dictation from their own minds. Some of this writing should not be graded. Some teachers I know keep the in‑ class writing instead of returning it to the students, as a reference for the papers students write at home (a way to compare syntax and writing style). In addition to freewriting, teachers can also ask students to make lists, to write two sides of an issue, and to define terms that are relevant to the coursework and more. In‑class writing can also be collaborative—discussing a topic in a group and writing a summary of the group’s ideas.

RESPONSIBLE AND ETHICAL USES FOR AI
Naturally, there are legitimate concerns about AI beyond the issue of cheating on school assignments. Should these programs train on the open internet without regard for copy‑ right? (Several news outlets, publishing houses, and authors have filed lawsuits related to this very question.) What motivation will anyone have to create original online content if it’s merely going to be scraped for AI without any credit or link back to the creator? Would we be better served if GPTs provided the top five links to their sources, as some GPTs are starting to do? Computer programmers say that the more a GPT trains on GPT‑generated content, the more the technology erodes its own ability to sound as natural as a human writing voice; will we run into a tipping point where there is too much AI‑generated content online, and how will that impact the output of these language‑based tools?

As of this writing, these questions are not yet answered. That said, AI is almost certainly here to stay, no matter what anyone feels about it, and it has the potential to be an incredibly powerful tool if it is used responsibly and ethically. In the era of AI, the superpower we want to cultivate in our students is the integrity to take full responsibility for vetting any AI‑ assisted writing they create for accuracy, while knowing their own point of view well enough to represent and defend it. To me, this is an incredible opportunity to teach our kids the importance of critical thinking, tracking down sources, and understanding the role of experts in any field. Additionally, once kids get the hang of interacting with these GPT tools, they may find that their writing actually improves. The moment a student is most interested in improving their writing is right while they’re writing. A GPT offers students a chance to get starter text, to upload and improve their own drafts, and to edit the copy a GPT creates. In those spaces, a student is applying their analytical skills to the writing, which in turn refines how they express themselves.

Here are a few ways I think AI helps us in the world of writing.

For those people who are endlessly tormented by the blank page and blinking cursor, how wonderful is it that you can grab starter text from AI?

To use ChatGPT or one of its similar language generators, the user has to get better and better at issuing prompts. The writing you get back is only as good as the precise, nuanced questions you pose. This, in itself, is an invaluable writing skill!

Students have to vet what they learn from ChatGPT. They must understand the subject area about which they are writing well enough to see and correct any AI hallucinations. They also have to be able to modify what the program generates to suit the exact parameters of the assignment.

ChatGPT can provide models of common writing formats; offer real‑time corrections to spelling, punctuation, and grammar; and provide counter‑arguments to consider in order for a paper to be strengthened. The repetition of these formats and edits conditions the student to be more fluent in their writing skills. They’re being instructed by a depersonalized program and are less likely to suffer the self‑esteem hit that most writing instruction seems to guarantee.

ChatGPT will save so much time. This is a feature we forget about, but it’s an essential one. Whether providing a travel plan to visit Boston for the weekend or helping someone craft an application for a job, ChatGPT provides clear, intelligible language that addresses the prompt directly and immediately.

How else can AI help us in the world of education? For a little assistance with brainstorming, I asked ChatGPT to provide ten tips, and here they are, as written!

ChatGPT can be utilized for various academic purposes, including:

1. Research Assistance: ChatGPT can help researchers find relevant papers, summarize research articles, and provide insights into specific topics.
2. Writing Assistance: Students and researchers can use ChatGPT for brainstorming ideas, outlining essays, and generating drafts for academic papers.
3. Language Learning: ChatGPT can assist language learners in practicing writing and speaking skills through conversation and feedback.
4. Tutoring and Education: ChatGPT can serve as a virtual tutor, providing explanations, answering questions, and offering interactive lessons on a wide range of subjects.
5. Data Analysis and Interpretation: ChatGPT can help analyze data, interpret statistical results, and provide insights into complex datasets.
6. Literature Review: ChatGPT can assist in conducting literature reviews by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps in research, and generating annotated bibliographies.
7. Programming Assistance: ChatGPT can provide guidance and support for programming tasks, debugging code, and explaining programming concepts.
8. Ethical Considerations and Debates: ChatGPT can engage in discussions about ethical issues in various fields, helping students and researchers explore different perspectives and arguments.
9. Simulation and Modeling: ChatGPT can assist in creating simulations and models, explaining mathematical concepts, and solving equations.
10. Collaborative Projects: ChatGPT can facilitate collaboration among students and researchers by providing a platform for brainstorming ideas, sharing resources, and coordinating tasks.

These are just a few examples of how ChatGPT can be used in academic settings. Its versatility and ability to generate humanlike text make it a valuable tool for various educational and research purposes. However, it’s essential to use ChatGPT responsibly and critically evaluate its outputs, especially in academic contexts where accuracy and rigor are crucial.