The Socratic Parent

The secret to lasting change

Hi, I'm Mark 👋

After earning a PhD and spending 15 years in the corporate world, my wife and I made a big decision: I would become a stay-at-home dad.

I was excited, determined to do a good job, and dove into research—psychology, neuroscience, philosophy. I quickly realized the biggest challenge parents face isn’t knowing what to do. It’s remembering to do it consistently.

Parenting isn’t a one-time effort; it’s a practice—daily, relentless, and deeply impactful. I didn’t want to leave it to chance. So I created The Socratic Parent as a simple way to keep the most important parenting principles top-of-mind, even on the busiest days.

Meet Socrates: The Secret to Lasting Change

Most parenting advice is about what to do. But real transformation happens when you change how you think.

That’s where Socratic dialogue comes in.

Socratic dialogue is criminally underused. It’s the single best way to change behavior and create personal transformations—not by giving answers, but by asking the right questions. It is powerful because it:

• Encourages self-discovery instead of passive learning

• Breaks down false beliefs and cognitive biases

• Engages both the emotional and rational mind

• Creates internal motivation for change

• Leads to deep and lasting behavior shifts

It works by guiding you through open-ended, thought-provoking questions that challenge assumptions, expose blind spots, and lead to deeper self-awareness. Once you reach a profound realization through Socratic questioning, it’s nearly impossible to “unsee” it

This creates genuine, lasting change.

Even better, rather than pushing one parenting philosophy, socratic dialogue allows us to explore different frameworks—Adlerian Psychology and Positive Parenting, Stoicism, Gentle Parenting, Attachment Theory, and more—so you can apply the best ideas for your family.

The Highest Leverage Job You’ll Ever Have

Parenting is high-stakes, complex, and long-term. It’s also one of the highest-leverage activities you’ll ever do.

But here’s what makes it hard: parenting is an inner-scorecard activity.

• No one is watching.

• There’s no scoreboard.

• No performance reviews.

• No awards.

Just your effort, with no external validation. That’s why it’s so easy to lose focus.

But with the right questions, the right mindset, and a commitment to continuous learning, we can become better parents every day.

If that sounds like something you’d find valuable, I’d love for you to join me.

Subscribe to The Socratic Parent, and every week you’ll get:

1. One short reflection to refine your approach

2. One powerful question to guide your parenting decisions

3. One deep conversation to provoke ideas through Socratic dialogue

Parenting is too important to risk. Let’s be intentional about it—one week at a time.

Until next week,

Mark Snape

Editor of The Socratic Parent

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts—just hit ‘reply’ and share. And if you found this newsletter valuable, please share it with a friend who might too.

---

Join Me

Parenting is a constant weekly practice and my newsletter is carefully crafted to help you parent with more clarity, confidence, and purpose. Join the first wave of thoughtful parents: click here now to subscribe