About the Author

Meet the Author

Why He Writes About Parenting?

Kristijan and Positive Education

From Research and Science to Everyday Life

His Professional Work

His Writing

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Meet the Author

 

Kristijan Musek Lešnik is a psychologist and a parent who knows all too well that understanding the theories doesn’t mean you always get it right when raising a child.

He is the Chair of the Positive Psychology Centre at the University of Primorska (Slovenia), where he teaches courses in general and positive psychology. A long-time advocate of positive education, he believes that children and families thrive when psychology is used not to measure perfection but to nurture optimism, resilience, and connection.

Married to a fellow psychologist with a PhD in child clinical psychology, Kristijan writes and speaks about the everyday chaos of parenting with humor and humility. His project Aparenttly (and its sister book The Parenting Mistake Book) explores how even the best-intentioned parents stumble — and how that’s exactly where the real learning begins.

“Good parenting isn’t about getting it perfect — it’s about getting it human.”

 

Why He Writes About Parenting?

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Because even psychologists — perhaps especially psychologists — discover that parenting is humbling, unpredictable, and sometimes hilariously off-script.

Aparenttly was born out of that truth: that good parenting isn’t about never making mistakes, but about being curious enough to learn from them — and kind enough to laugh in the process.

“Knowing child psychology doesn’t stop you from getting things wrong — it just helps you understand what happened, and try again with love.”

His book I Want to Tell You Something — written from the perspective of a father and filled with warm, sparkling life lessons every parent wishes to pass on to their children — has been reprinted three times in the five years since its publication.

 

Kristijan and Positive Education
 

Dr. Kristijan Musek Lešnik (PhD in Psychology) is a psychologist, educational expert, university lecturer, speaker, researcher, and author of numerous books, textbooks, and workbooks in the fields of psychology and education.
As a motivational and invited speaker, he has spoken at numerous conferences, professional gatherings, and educational events — inspiring teachers, parents, and leaders with humor, honesty, and science-based insights.

Kristijan is a strong advocate of positive education, believing that families, schools, organizations, and communities can thrive when psychological knowledge is used not just to measure performance, but to cultivate optimism, well-being, and resilience.
In 2020, his long-standing work and expertise in education led to his appointment as President of the National Board of Experts on Education of the Republic of Slovenia, where he continues to contribute to educational policy and innovation.

 

From Research and Science to Everyday Life

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Years of combining psychological research with everyday practice and lived experience — as a psychologist, education expert, teacher, and parent — made Kristijan aware that parenting, much like life itself, doesn’t always follow neat theories or predictable models.

Married to a fellow psychologist with a PhD in developmental psychology and specialization in child clinical psychology, he quickly learned that professional knowledge doesn’t prevent parenting mistakes; it just gives you more precise language to describe them afterward.

That realization became the heart of Aparenttly: an honest, self-aware exploration of how even the most well-intentioned parents fall into familiar traps — and how we can all reflect, adjust, and sometimes smile as we find our way through them.

 

His Professional Work

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Over the past 30 years, Kristijan has combined academic research, teaching, and public engagement.
His research and publications cover topics such as personality, motivation, child development, human values, and positive psychology, and he has contributed to numerous national and international projects exploring well-being, education, and personal growth.

He is also the founder and editor of Abced.si, a Slovenian portal offering free educational materials and guidance for teachers to support children’s social and emotional development, and Brainscribed.com, a platform providing one of the largest international collections of activities for developing children’s graphomotor and visual-motor skills.

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His Writing

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In addition to his scientific and educational work, Kristijan Musek Lešnik is the author or co-author of numerous publications for teachers, parents, and young readers.
His latest titles range from Positive Psychology for Schools, Parents, and Kindergartens to a series of youth novels, recipients of Slovenia’s Golden Pear Award for excellence in children’s literature. Since September 2024, his youth fiction stories have been published monthly in PIL, Slovenia’s oldest and most respected magazine for schoolchildren.

Kristijan’s writing — whether academic, practical, or personal — always circles back to one core belief: that understanding people (especially the small ones) is easier, and far more rewarding, than judging them.

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