Many parents sense it: something’s missing in how we prepare young kids for real life. In this episode, we sit down with Sandy Stone, founder of Pretend City, a nonprofit in Orange County that has served over 2.4 million children and families. Built from the ground up using real neighborhood data, Pretend City offers hands-on experiences—from running a grocery store to visiting a doctor’s office—that help kids develop practical skills, empathy, and confidence before they even reach kindergarten.