So let kids be bored once in a while. Knowing how to entertain themselves in positive ways is a life skill they ought to develop. And remind them that boredom is never an excuse for bad behavior.

Over the next few years, it became clear that I am, indeed, the problem. Everywhere I go, my kids—I now have two, and they’re 2 and 4 years old—seem to be the wildest kids there.

Not long after the Eaton fire displaced her family from their Los Angeles home, 10-year-old Emory Stumme broke down. The tears came during a family dinner, and she struggled to catch her breath. "You ...