There are many things I could say about the importance homelife. Chiefly among them is the fact that the behaviors and relationships that are modeled for children in the home are paramount to their healthy development. A close second is the fact that the work required to maintain a home and care for a family is undervalued in the marketplace. My guest today is Lori Sugarman-Li. Lori’s brand-new children’s book, Our Home: The Love, ...

In previous episodes, Talking About Kids has addressed the need for trauma-informed care and the importance of involving youth in the design and oversight of programs for them. This episode combines the two. Recently, Yehudis Stokes, Marjorie Robb, and their colleagues published a paper on the perspectives of youth, caregivers, and other stakeholders on implementing trauma-informed care in an inpatient mental health program. Yehudi...

The insidious ways in which technology may be harming our kids that we discussed in the previous episode are not new to this episode’s guest, Forest Bronzan. Forest is a veteran tech entrepreneur who, as co-founder and CEO of Digital Detox, is advancing initiatives to promote “digital wellness” in schools and homes. Forest shares his insights and information on these initiatives now. More information about Forest and Digital Detox ...

What you need to know about kids and surveillance capitalism with David DonnellyTalking About Kids has addressed the potential dangers of screens, social media, and our increasingly digitized economy before, but a new documentary, The Cost of Convenience, examines the harm surveillance capitalism is doing to kids in a way that is both subtler and more disturbing. My guest to discuss the film is its Director, documentarian David Don...

My guest this episode, Jenna Edwards, is an actor, activist, and author. Jenna and I discuss her newly-released book, Aggressive Optimism, which is a fictional account of a young woman coping with mental health challenges following a traumatic event. Jenna openly acknowledges that the work parallels her own story, which might be why the protagonist’s thoughts, insecurities, struggles, and successes seem so real, and why I recommend...

Healthy relationships are a building block of resilience and, according to the science, a major predictor of happier and healthier lives. My guest today, Kimberly Louvin, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a therapist who has as adopted a “relationship-first” approach. Kim “enjoys helping young people and their families contemplate how to take a closer look at their relationships with one another.” I believe that her insights...

More and more attention is being paid to the potential dangers kids face when they spend too much time in front of screens. Setting aside the veracity of those claims, it does seem that there are more people suggesting problems than there are suggesting solutions. My guest for this episode, Michael Jacobus, is an exception. Michael has applied his considerable experience as a child development specialist and seasoned youth camp lea...

This is part two of my conversation with Joe Lockavitch in which Joe shares his insights on helping students read and his general passion for education. If you have not heard part one, I recommend navigating to the previous episode. Like most everything in the education sector, Joe’s Failure Free Reading Program has proponents and detractors. Proponents say that they have seen students progress rapidly using the Failure Free Readin...

Joe Lockavitch is enthusiastic about helping students read. That enthusiasm is contagious, so much so that our conversation on learning spans two episodes. This is part one. Joe has been in the field of education for over 30 years, and, during that time, he has held multiple roles, including teacher, school psychologist, and special education director. Most recently, he has turned his attention towards reading because, in his words...

There is a nationwide movement to ban discussions of race or ethnicity from classrooms. Proponents of a ban argue that such discusses compromise learning, undermine white students, and actually promote racism in an environment that should be focused solely on “individuals and merit.” My guest today is Anne Williford. Anne is an Associate Professor and PhD Program Director in the School of Social Work and the Director of the Healthy...

Speak Up Stand Up Save a Life is an annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, that aims to empower middle school students to organize and be changemakers at their home campuses. This year, the conference focused on identifying and overcoming the barriers that prevent kids from accessing mental health or suicide prevention services for themselves or their friends. As one of the conference organizers, I chose to interview Nagasriya Rami...

Tim Cavell approached me at the World Anti-Bullying Forum and claimed that his book on parenting and my book on parenting have some things in common. He was being generous. Tim is the co-author of Good Enough Parenting: A Six-Point Plan for a Stronger Relationship with Your Child published by the American Psychological Association. It is a great book, and I am very happy that he agreed to share some of the insights from it here. Mo...

Toilet issues are not uncommon in kids. Despite this, there is a growing body of evidence that these conditions are often misunderstood and mistreated. My guest today, Dr. Steve Hodges, is a Professor of Pediatric Urology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. A leading authority childhood toileting, Steve’s work is debunking many of the myths about it. If a kid in your life has toilet issues, you will want to pay close atte...

Suicides and suicide attempts peak in spring and early summer, but research shows that the ideation and mental health issues that precede the acts are at their worst now, in the winter. My guest to discuss what you can do help kids who may be having suicidal thoughts is Carla Allan. Carla is the Chief of the Division of Psychology at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Her insights on this topic are both professional and deeply perso...

The research is conclusive: how and with what our kids’ clothes are manufactured affects the environment and kids’ health and well-being. As you are about to hear, my guest for this episode, Simina Gentry, is very passionate about this topic, so much so that she started her own store in the U.S. just to ensure that her own child would have access to safe clothing.   More information about Simina and her store, Atlantic Children...

As we navigate the gift giving season and the accompanying onslaught of sales and advertisements, I think it is important to understand the impact that the media and commercials have on the behaviors and, ultimately, the health and well-being of our kids. My guest to discuss this is Susan Linn. Susan is a world-renowned psychologist; the author of Consuming Kids, The Case for Make Believe, and, most recently, Who’s Raising the Kids...