It’s that time of year again – parents are making their annual trip to Staples to fulfill comically-specific school supply lists while kids devour ice pops and plead for just one more week of late bedtimes.

But while back-to-school season is mostly advertised as a chance to go shopping, it can also be an opportunity to set your kids up for something that lasts longer than a Jansport backpack. For parents seeking deeper connections this season, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson has some advice.

The renowned clinical psychologist’s DailyWire+ series “Parenting” has advice for parents and children of all ages. In a world where kids are more likely to hear about gender identity than personal responsibility in the classroom, Peterson’s advice is needed now more than ever.

So, if you’re looking to do more this fall than search TikTok for artful Bento boxes, here are five pieces of back-to-school wisdom from Dr. Peterson.

Teach kids real self-worth, not fake self-esteem.

In today’s classroom, your child is more likely to be told they’re perfect “just the way they are” than encouraged to act in ways that merit the description. Peterson cuts straight through that lie in “Parenting.”

“The school system does a lot of false self-esteem training. ‘You should feel good about yourself, no matter who you are.’ First of all, that’s rubbish,” He states. Peterson reminds parents that yes, every child has intrinsic worth, but cautions that they need to learn that self-respect comes from responsibility.

“A lot of how you should feel about yourself is conditional, like are you a useless scoundrel causing trouble for everyone? Or are you pulling your weight? And if you’re pulling your weight and doing what you should, then you should have some reasonable regard for yourself. And that’s a way more stable basis for self-esteem,” he advises.

Stop doing everything for your kids.

Packing their backpacks, double-checking their homework folders, and solving every argument: these are all things parents do with good intentions. But, according to Peterson, that “help” might be doing more harm than good.

“Don’t do anything for anyone that they can do themselves,” he says.

“When you spoil a child, so to speak, what you do is you take away from them the opportunity to develop their own competence by doing too many things for them,” Peterson explains. “And what that means is that they stay overgrown children. And you might say, ‘Well, what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t it mean that I love them?’ It doesn’t mean that at all. It means that you are so conflict-averse or so afraid of losing them because they become independent and go away that you were interfering with their development.”

Nurture their passions

With busy schedules and endless distractions, it’s easy to miss subtle clues about what holds your child’s interest. But Peterson urges parents to notice the things that light them up.

“Many of the people that I’ve spoken to who’ve been extremely successful in later life found something they were interested in early and had parents who noticed their interest and fed it,” he says.

Whether it’s music, math, or making elaborate forts out of cardboard, your child’s interests are the seeds that can sprout into a purposeful life. Back-to-school time can be the perfect season to ignite that passion.

Don’t be afraid to have hard conversations.

Most parents sense when something’s off, but fear keeps them from digging deeper. Peterson challenges that instinct and insists that bringing up tough topics early makes them easier to handle in the long run.

“You can tell your kid, ‘Look, it might be an unpleasant conversation that we have to have, but I’m on your side and would like to get to the bottom of this,’” he says.

Back-to-school time can surface stress, fear, or even bigger issues. He tells parents not to choose silence, but instead to listen, love, and lead children on the right path.

And in the end, you’re teaching kids the vital life skill of resilience. “Tragedy comes to everyone,” Peterson says. “It’s necessary, and possible, to help your children and yourself optimize yours and their resilience in the face of life’s difficulties.

Give kids structure and rules, no matter what.

Want your child to feel safe? Endless choices aren’t the answer. Ultimately, boundaries are better.

“One of the ways you make your kids secure is by having a set of rules that don’t change no matter what,” Peterson says.

This structure, paired with predictable routines, creates what Peterson calls “islands of stability,” which are essential in times of change. “By putting down the rules and enforcing them carefully and thoroughly, you make your kids way more secure,” he says.