Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan welcomed their second child, a daughter named August, to the world this week in a fitting way: via Facebook post. Zuckerberg and Chan, a philanthropist and pediatrician, espoused the wonders of a childhood spent offline in a heartfelt letter to their newborn daughter.
The couple wrote a letter to Max, their first daughter, in 2015. That letter was about the world they hoped Max would inherit, but the letter they wrote to August has a different tone: “Rather than write about growing up, we want to talk about childhood. The world can be a serious place. That’s why it’s important to make time to go outside and play.”
Zuckerberg and Chan continue, “You will be busy when you’re older, so I hope you take time to smell the flowers and put all the leaves you want in your bucket now.”
For people as busy as Zuckerberg and Chan, the advice resonates. They finish the letter by reminding their newborn daughter—and us—that “Childhood is magical. You only get to be a child once, so don’t spend it worrying too much about the future. You’ve got us for that, and we’ll do everything we possibly can to make sure the world is a better place for you and all children in your generation.”
Read the entire letter here.