Talking About Kids

Send us Fan Mail If we want to improve the economy, if we want to make the population healthier, or even if we want to reduce the deficit, leading economists tell us that we should invest in early childhood development. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening, and, as new research from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) reveals, childcare providers are feeling pinched. My guest to discuss NAEYC’s most recent Early Childhood Education (ECE) Workforce Survey is NAEYC’s Senior Director of Applied Research, Meghan Salas Atwell. As you will hear Meghan explain, childcare providers are caught between rising costs and decreasing revenue. If this persists, the evidence suggests that we all will suffer. More information about Meghan and ECE Workforce Survey is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail When it comes to programs and services for children and families, researchers and practitioners should work hand-in-hand: research should guide practice and, in turn, study what is working to inform the rest of the field. By all accounts, All Our Children Elite Childcare Academy, the beloved program founded by Antoinette Elliott, exemplifies this relationship. Antoinette incorporated best practices and input from expert consultants in the design of the academy, but, as you will hear, I believe that the elements that she created from experience and trial-and-error are benefiting children and families in ways that need to be studied and replicated. More information about Antoinette and All Our Children Elite Childcare Academy - including a link to a complimentary Parent Peace Pack: 10 Powerful Tools to Help You Navigate Tantrums, Picky Eating, Bedtime Battles, and More - is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The research is conclusive: strong public education systems benefit individuals, communities, and, ultimately, society in myriad ways. Unfortunately, public education systems across the U.S.A. are facing pressures that, some believe, impede them from providing all the services that kids, and neurodivergent kids in particular, need. My guest this episode, Kait Feriante, supports public education, but she has seen too many kids with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia fall through the cracks. Kait founded Redwood Literacy to provide independent assessment and intervention services for them. She and I discuss those services and how to tell if a kid in your life needs them. More information about Kait and Redwood Literacy is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Faye Bankler Casell wants your child to read, and she is doing all she can to make that happen.  Faye is a Special Educator, Certified Academic Language Therapist, and Dyslexia Therapist; she has a master’s degree from the Teachers College at Columbia University; she hosts the “Teach My Child to Read” YouTube Channel; and she is the founder of HomeReadingCoach.com. As you will hear, Faye is concerned that not everyone in our kids’ lives is as committed to helping them read as she is. Faye and I discuss this and what you can to do to support early reading interventions. More information about Faye, including links to her website and YouTube channel, is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail The black garbage bag. You may or may not know its significance in the foster care system. Either way, my guest this episode will inspire you. Among other things, Rob Scheer is the author of A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time and the founder of Comfort Cases, a nonprofit with the #BAGBUSTERS rallying cry and the mission to “inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth in foster care.” My hope is that you will never look at a black garbage bag the same way again. More information about Rob, his nonprofit Comfort Cases, and his book, A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time, is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail As we have discussed in previous episodes, trained advocates can help protect the rights of kids in IEP meetings and other legal proceedings. Unfortunately, there are times when additional help is required, times when a lawyer is needed. My guest this episode is Paula Yost. Paula is an attorney who is committed to, what she calls, “legal social work,” which is advocating for kids at the intersection of law and education or social service. Paula and I discuss her role, what you can do to avoid needing an attorney, and how you can tell when you do. More information about Paula, her law firm, and her book, Tumbleweeds: How to be an Advocate for Your Children and Yourself in a Failing System, is talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail Do you have questions about the IEP process or even what an IEP is? You are not alone. Thankfully, my guest this episode can help. Vicki Christensen is an experienced, certified IEP advocate. As she describes in her forthcoming book – Uniquely, Fully, Enough: The Neurodivergent Parenting Journey, a Memoir and Handbook – Vicki has seen it all as a parent and as a professional. She and I discuss some of what she has learned and how you can apply the lessons to the kids in your life. More information about Vicki, Blue Glasses Advocacy, and Uniquely, Fully, Enough: The Neurodivergent Parenting Journey, a Memoir and Handbook is talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail The challenges of transitioning from high school to college are difficult for everyone. For neurodivergent kids, these challenges can be overwhelming. My guest this episode is Tara Williams, owner and founder of Innovative Collegiate Consultants. As you will hear, Tara believes that by selecting the right school, connecting with the right services, and getting the right executive function coaching, neurodivergent students can do more than survive the transition:  they can thrive in college. More information about Tara and and Innovative Collegiate Consultants is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail There are summer camp fanatics, individuals who attribute their best qualities to the counselors they had, the songs they sang, the skits they performed, and the friendships they made in mosquito-infested cabins in the woods near a lake. My guest this episode, Matthew Kaufman, is one such individual. Matt attended summer camp, was a counselor, and, eventually, became a camp director. But he did not stop there. Matt sought to understand the science behind the positive experiences that he and other people were having at summer camps in hopes of bringing those experiences to more people in more locations. The result was his book, The Campfire Effect: How to Engineer Belonging in a Disconnected World. Matt and I discuss his book and things that you can do to bring the summer camp experience to the kids in your life. More information about Matt and his book is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail Darla Bishop likes to talk about a family’s relationship with money, like money is a person. The more I listened to her and thought about it, the more I recognized the parallels. A negative relationship with money, like negative interpersonal relationships, creates anxiety and fear, but a positive relationship is associated with health and longevity. In this episode, Darla and I discuss this and her ideas for improving kids’ relationships with money. More information about Darla is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The guest for Talking About Kids’ second episode of National Children’s Dental Health Month is Shelly Buckholz.  Shelly is the Sealant Program Manager for the Arizona Department of Health Services, and she is going to describe what Arizona is doing to promote children’s oral health. Similar programs are available throughout the United States and in other countries. More information about Shelly and the Cavity Free AZ program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. To kick it off, I asked David Krol on the podcast to provide an overview of children’s oral health. David is former Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Oral Health; the lead author of AAP's clinical report, Maintaining and Improving the Oral Health of Young Children; and an eloquent and passionate advocate for children’s oral health. In other words, the ideal Talking About Kids guest. More information about David is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it is a defined by a variety of conditions that, themselves, may exist on continuums. This can make it difficult…and anxiety provoking…for parents of kids with autism spectrum disorder and their care teams to find the optimal combination of interventions. Thankfully, there are sources like, Theresa Lyons’s Navigating AWEtism websites, that critically review the latest research, unpack jargon, and debunk the myths and fad treatments. I respect Navigating AWEtism and Theresa’s approach, so when she told me that she believes that grandparents play an important and underutilized role in treating kids, I wanted to learn more. Additional information about Theresa and Navigating AWEtism is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In honor of Audre Lorde’s 1985 essay, "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," I devoted the mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. For this final mini episode, I read a poem by Lorde, titled “Hanging Fire,” which is an honest and moving portrayal of adolescence. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail I am devoting the mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this fourth mini episode, I read a classic: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. I am sure it is familiar to you, but, as you listen, please consider whether the narrator is finding emotional regulation in the moment being described. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail I am devoting the mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this third mini episode, I will read “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo. It is a poem about the table around which a family gathers. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail I am devoting these mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this second mini episode, I will read “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In it, Longfellow struggles to reconcile the feelings of peace and goodwill associated with the Holiday season with the American Civil War, which was waging at that time. That struggle seems relevant today. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In her 1985 essay, "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," Audre Lorde argues that poetry gives form to ideas that are "formless" but none-the-less "felt," ideas that precede "understanding." I have always believed that Lorde is describing, among other things, historic and childhood trauma. In honor of this, I am devoting these mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this first episode, I will read Edgar Guest's poem, "A Friend's Greeting," which, as the name implies, is about a friendship. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Matt Sandoval is in the business of transforming kids’ trauma. To accomplish this, he and Free Arts, the organization he leads, employ a simple formula: art + mentors = resilience. Matt and I discuss how this equation works, as well as his tips for using art to build resilience in your home, in your classroom, or in your program. More information about Matt and Free Arts is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Aditya Nagrath believes that math anxiety is real and that one of its chief instigators is memorization. This is why his book, Treating Mathematics Anxiety, and the system he created at Elephant Learning focus on fostering an understanding of math concepts. He believes in it so much that he guarantees that students learn one year of mathematics in three months using his system. Aditya and I discuss his approach and steps you can take to help the kids in your life overcome math anxiety. More information about Aditya, Elephant Learning, and Aditya’s book is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Leah Ellis says that she created The Society of Child Entrepreneurs to help kids develop capacities like resilience and problem solving. The society currently offers workshops and coaching and is piloting a full curriculum with lessons on topics such as turning a passion into a plan. From what I have seen, Leah is doing great things, and the curriculum aligns with evidence-based practices and encourages individual reflection and positive peer-to-peer and child-adult interactions. I do not know enough about encouraging entrepreneurship to comment on that aspect. The little time that I have spent in the entrepreneurship literature suggests a field of wildly diverging theories. However, as you listen to Leah, you may get the sense, as I did, that the experiential learning that The Society of Child Entrepreneurs provides makes learning come alive in ways that benefit participants even if they never start their own businesses. More information about Leah and The Society of Child Entrepreneurs is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Thanksgiving episode, I investigate what James Baldwin and the other James Baldwin have to say about the holiday. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return next week (December 1, 2025).

Send us Fan Mail Maria Gallucci is a CODA, which stands for a Child of Deaf Adults. As she chronicles in her new book, Raised in Silence: Lessons on Listening, Love, and Loud Family Dinners from a Child of Deaf Adults, being raised by two deaf parents, learning American Sign Language (ASL) as her primary language, and, while still a child, helping her parents navigate the hearing world was often challenging for Maria. However, as she and I discuss, being a CODA also increased Maria’s capacity to empathize and to communicate and truly connect with others, skills she uses as a parent and as a professional and skills she hopes to foster in others through her work and this book. More information about Maria and Raised in Silence: Lessons on Listening, Love, and Loud Family Dinners from a Child of Deaf Adults is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Harvey Araton is an award-winning reporter and best-selling author whose journalism and fiction expertly explore both the best and worst of sports. Harvey’s forthcoming work, The Goal of the Game, is his first written for middle readers, and the title is both a declaration and a question. As you will hear in our discussion, Harvey’s career has afforded him unique insights into what youth sports does well, where it is being led astray, and what should be done to ensure positive sports experiences for all kids. More information about Harvey and The Goal of the Game is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Is it possible to foster in kids the skills and knowledge needed to avoid trafficking and exploitation without needlessly exposing them, even in small way, to the devasting ugliness of those worlds? My guest today, Erin Williamson, believes that it is possible. Erin is the Chief Programs & Strategy Officer at Love146, an organization that has been fighting to end child trafficking and exploitation for over two decades. As you will hear, the approach Love146 takes is evidence-based, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate. In short, it is everything we advocate for on Talking About Kids. More information about Erin and Love146 is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a public health leader writes a memoir? In Harper Bailey’s case the resulting work is as instructional as it is engaging. As you will hear in our discussion, this was intentional. Harper wanted It Was Her: A Memoir, her debut book, to inspire readers to do the “inner work so children don’t inherit unhealed wounds.” As you will also hear, that inner work is demanding and perpetual, and it might even take on different forms depending on where an individual is in their journey. More information about Harper and her book is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the second part of my episode on the cognitive health of deaf children. My guest is Donna Jo Napoli, Professor of Linguistics and Social Justice at Swarthmore College, author of fiction and science books, and co-director of Rise Videobooks. The first part focused on early language and cognitive development. This second part focusses on what Donna Jo and her colleagues are doing to improve the reading skills of deaf students. More information about Donna Jo, her books, the research we discussed, and RISE Videobooks is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail More than half of all deaf students who graduate from high school have reading skills at or below fourth grade level. Research indicates that low literacy makes it difficult for individuals to obtain or maintain any employment, let alone the kind of employment that affords independence, a house, and a family. For well over a decade, Donna Jo Napoli – my guest this episode – and her colleagues have been publishing articles on why deaf students seem to have this literacy deficit. As you will learn, Donna Jo places the blame firmly on a care system that emphasizes technology and convenience over techniques that actually support early language acquisition and social and emotional development. Donna Jo is a Professor of Linguistics and Social Justice at Swarthmore College, the author of fiction and science books, and the co-director of RISE Videobooks. In this two-part episode, Donna Jo and I discuss what can be done to improve the cognitive health of deaf children. This first part focuses on early language and cognitive development. The second part focusses more on what Donna Jo and others are doing to improve reading skills. More information about Donna Jo, her books, the research we discussed, and RISE Videobooks is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Recently, Lucy Foulkes, a Research Fellow in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper titled, “Mental-health lessons in schools sound a like a great idea. The trouble is, they don’t work,” in which she asserts, “the only information we should teach en masse is where a young person should get help.” My guest today to discuss this article and get beyond its provocative title is Kevin Runions. In addition to being a friend of Talking About Kids, Kevin is an academic researcher, an independent consultant, and a globally-recognized expert on the important components of school climate, like bullying initiatives and mental-health lessons. Spoiler alert: Keven and I do not believe that the research Lucy cites supports her conclusion. More information about Kevin, including how you can engage him to improve school climates where you live, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Do you know where the substitute teachers for your child’s preschool come from? If you are like me, you might imagine that potential substitutes and administrators sit down and get to know each other, possibly over tea and finger sandwiches. My guest this episode, Paul Buckley, will tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. Paul explains that current staffing practices afford preschools and substitutes very little, if any, say in the match process and offer few opportunities to build relationships and provide consistency. In the end, Paul believes that it is the children’s development that suffers, so he used his experience as a preschool instructor and as a leader in a large tech firm to develop a different staffing process, which he named Ratio Staffing. Paul and I discuss the problem, how Ratio Staffing corrects it, and his tips for discerning whether a preschool is supporting its teachers and substitutes. More information about Paul – including a link to Ratio Staffing, where, for a limited time, the code “aboutkids” gets preschools an extended 60 day free trial – is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Piper Gibson is a Doctor of Functional Medicine; the Founder of the Tic Disorder Institute: Regenerating Health; and the author of Tic Talk: Common Misconceptions, Natural Approaches, and Real Conversations about Tic Disorders. Piper is on a mission to counter the narrative that we should ignore kids’ motor or vocal tics and hope that they grow out them. Instead, as she and I discuss, Piper argues – and has the research to back it up – that the experiences of kids with tics can be vastly improved by addressing how they are affected by biological factors, environmental conditions, emotions, and physical fitness. More information about Piper, the Tic Disorder Institute, and her book is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Family law is complicated. There are prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, custody petitions, visitation petitions, and post judgment matters, among other issues. Moreover, family law exists within an evolving society where perspectives, opportunities, and technologies are constantly changing and influencing the outcomes. This is why I was excited to have Kelly Scott on the podcast. As a seasoned attorney in a leadership role within the family law community, Kelly is a careful observer of family law trends. Kelly and I discuss the trends and how they potentially affect kids. More information about Kelly is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail David Pisarra wants to help fathers navigate their custody and divorce cases to secure more time with their kids. Like several previous Talking About Kids guests, David believes that the processes and systems can be easily biased against fathers, and David wants to help fathers overcome the obstacles. David and I discuss his perspective, his experience as a family law attorney, the dos and don’ts of family court, and Dad’s Law School, David’s online community that he designed to educate and support fathers. More information about David and Dad's Law School is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Lee Norwood is passionate about helping families find the “perfect college fit.” As the founder of Annapolis College Consulting and a member of the CounselMore Executive Board, Lee spends a lot of her time dispelling myths about college admissions, testing, tuition, and the role of a college consultant. Lee recently launched College Sharks, which offers on-demand virtual college coaching at a fraction of the cost of hiring a college consultant by the hour. Lee and I discuss the dos and don’ts of applying to college, what college consulting is and what it is not, and why accessing college consulting might be cost-beneficial for families of college-bound kids. More information about Lee – including a link to College Sharks, where, for a limited time, the code “TALK50” gets you 50% off a subscription  – is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the final mini summer vacation episode of Talking About Kids. In the previous five episodes, I asked some past guests to recommend movies or episodes of TV shows to inspire parents, educators, and direct service providers. This final recommendation comes from me. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the fifth of six mini summer vacation episodes of Talking About Kids. To help listeners have a rejuvenating summer, I asked some previous guests to recommend movies or episodes of TV shows to inspire parents, educators, and direct service providers. This fifth recommendation comes from Seanna Leath, Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Affiliated Faculty in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the fourth of six mini summer vacation episodes of Talking About Kids. To help listeners have a rejuvenating summer, I asked some previous guests to recommend movies or episodes of TV shows to inspire parents, educators, and direct service providers. This final recommendation comes from Stanley Krippner, the celebrated humanistic psychologist who was recognized by the American Psychological Associations with its Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the third of six mini summer vacation episodes of Talking About Kids. To help listeners have a rejuvenating summer, I asked some previous guests to recommend movies or episodes of TV shows to inspire parents, educators, and direct service providers. This third recommendation comes from David Riedman, the founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database and an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the second of six mini summer vacation episodes of Talking About Kids. To help listeners have a rejuvenating summer, I asked some previous guests to recommend movies or episodes of TV shows to inspire parents, educators, and direct service providers. This second recommendation comes from Sarah Lindstrom Johnson, Associate Professor in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the first of six mini summer vacation episodes of Talking About Kids. Summer is a time for relaxation and, hopefully, rejuvenation. It is in that spirit that I asked some previous guests to recommend movies or episodes of TV shows to that they find inspirational for their positive depictions of relationships between parents, educators, or direct service providers and kids. The first recommendation comes from Aaron Kupchik, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Like my previous guest, Ulric Shannon, my guest this episode, Edgar Palacios, believes that students are more successful when they see themselves reflected in their teachers, and, like Ulric, Edgar is a graduate of the Surge Institute. Today, Edgar is the CEO of the Latinx Education Collaborative (LEC), an organization he founded to support Latinx students by supporting Latinx educators. Edgar and I discuss his work and his commitment to creating optimal learning environments for all students. More information about Edgar and the LEC is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Ulric Shannon believes that students who do not see themselves reflected in their teachers and in the educational leadership develop harmful beliefs about authority, power, and value. Indeed, statistics show that the faculty in many school districts do not share the demographics or the backgrounds of the student bodies they serve. Ulric set out to change this. In this episode, Ulric and I discuss what he did, whether it is working, and how you can get involved. More information about Ulric and Surge is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail To succeed, to be happy and healthy, kids need safety and support. Unfortunately, too many kids do not feel safe or supported at school or in out-of-school-time programs (OST) because they do not share the dominant culture’s abilities, race, religion, orientation, identity or identity expression. For the third year in a row, Talking About Kids was granted media access to all of NYC Pride’s events, and took the opportunity to ask two of the parade Grand Marshalls about the importance of safe spaces for kids. The first voice you will hear is Elisa Crespo, the Executive Director of the Stonewall Community Foundation. After her, you will hear Alaina Daniels, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Transformative Schools. More information about these activists, including links to their organizations, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail There is a richness to the new children’s book, Like That Eleanor: The Amazing Power of Being an Ally by writer Lee Wind and illustrator Kelly Mangan, that affords a caregiver and a child myriad opportunities for discussion, exploration, and, ultimately, connection. It weaves history lessons with contemporary, school scenarios that young children will recognize in a way that entertains while modeling skills that young children need. I think Lee and Kelly have created something special, and I was excited to talk to both of them about their process and what they want kids and adults to take away from this book. More about Lee and Kelly and Like That Eleanor: The Amazing Power of Being an Ally is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guests this episode to talk about Norway’s antibullying ombudspersons, what they do, their value, and tips for bringing this important initiative to your community are three of Norway’s most experienced ombuds: Kaja Vintervold Asmyhr, Bodil Jenssen Houg, and Jon Halvdan Lenning. Our conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2025 World Anti-Bullying Forum, in Stavanger, Norway. The 2025 World Anti-Bullying Forum was hosted by the Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioural Research in Education at the University of Stavanger (UiS) in collaboration with the teacher education programs at UiS; the UNESCO Chair in Diversity, Inclusion and Education; the Knowledge Centre for Education; and the Partnership Against Bullying. This biannual conference – the largest and most important of its kind – is an initiative of the Swedish NGO, Friends, and its Presenting Sponsor is BRP, a global leader in powersports products who, through its Ride Out Intimidation program, takes a firm stand against bullying. More information about Kaja Vintervold Asmyhr, Bodil Jenssen Houg, and Jon Halvdan Lenning; the resources they mentioned; the antibullying ombudspersons initiative and its supporters; the World Anti-Bullying Forum; the conference organizers; and BRP’s Ride Out Intimidation program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail It is not uncommon to hear divorces and adoptions described as “finalized.” However, if you have been through either, you know that the most difficult parenting begins after the legal documents are executed. My guest this episode is Ronald Platt, co-founder of the National Association for Single and Divorced Families (NASDF). NASDF exists to support parents with vetted resources that save time and promote well-being and stability. Ron and I explore the experiences that prompted him to start NASDF and those things that we all can do to help single and divorced families. More information about Ron and NASDF is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This episode is about digital wellness, and my guest is Michael Rich. Michael is a pediatrician, the Founder and Director of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital (a Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital) and the author of The Mediatrician’s Guide: A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen-Saturated World. In his book, Michael writes, “The best strategy for protecting your child from potential harm is to teach them not just to survive, but to thrive in the screen media environment: to cultivate their awareness, develop their critical thinking, awaken their creativity, and nurture their empathy, providing them with the skills to harness the positive affordances and to recognize and avoid the negative influences of the screens that surround us all.” Michael and I discuss this wonderful goal and some techniques for making it a reality. The episode was recorded during a live webinar that Talking About Kids regularly convenes with the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health (AAAH), so you also will hear from Celeste Krell-Colum and Vinny Chulani of AAAH. More information about Michael, the Digital Wellness Lab, his book, and AAAH is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Emotional regulation comes up a lot on Talking About Kids. That is because a growing number of experts believe that it is fundamental to a child or adolescent’s health and well-being. My guest this episode, Bethany Bilodeau – or “Dr. B” as she is known to her fans – is one of those experts. Dr. B and I discuss her insights from her book, Ease the Pain in the Classroom: A Guide to Safety and Regulation, and techniques that you can employ today to keep yourself and the kids in your life regulated and ready for success, however you define it. More information about Dr. B and a link to her contact information and book are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail I get excited when I learn about new or innovative ways to address any of the many adversities that kids face, but I get more excited when I learn about ways to prevent adversities from occurring in the first place. In a previous episode of Talking About Kids, a guest and I discussed sleep apnea in children, its terrible consequences, how to treat it, and how it often results from a child having an underdeveloped jaw. In this episode, my guest, Ben Miraglia, and I do a more in-depth examination of the consequences of underdeveloped jaws in children – which include everything from crooked teeth to chronic pain – and we discuss how to prevent these problems from ever occurring. Ben is the Chief Clinical Officer at Toothpillow. Ben brings more than his two decades of experience to that role. As you will hear, he brings a passion and an intellectual curiosity that I hope you will find as engaging as I do. More information about Ben and links to resources he cites are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail As its title implies, Joanna Parga-Belinkie’s new book – The Baby Bonding Book: Connecting With Your Newborn – is centered on the connection between the infant and the primary caregiver. The book is thoughtful, smart, practical, and a pleasure to read. It is no wonder that the American Academy of Pediatrics selected Joanna as an official spokesperson and the co-host of its flagship podcast, Pediatrics On Call. Joanna and I discuss her book and tips for parents of newborns next. More information about Joanna and links to resources are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail When it comes to understanding the terrible adversities that some kids face, like sibling sexual abuse, it is important to separate the facts from the hyperbole and the anecdotes that get used to generate fear or to gain attention. Trusted and proven sources of information are critical, and there is no more trusted source for this topic than the Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) at the Crimes against Children Research Center, a center that has been studying family violence and related topics since 1975. My guest today to share information and resources about sibling sexual abuse is Tanya Whitworth, a Research Scientist at SAARA and a generous guest and advocate. More information about Tanya and links to resources are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Just under a year ago on Talking About Kids, the attorney Charles Jamieson recommend mediation, not litigation, to protect kids’ well-being during a divorce. My guest today, Karen McNenny, is a mediator and more. Karen is a Certified Divorce Coach, CoParenting Specialist, Crucial Conversations trainer, and Gracious Space facilitator. As you will hear, Karen is passionate about shifting the focus from “getting a divorce” to “being divorced,” because, she contends, it is everything that happens after the paperwork that really impacts kids. More information about Karen and divorce coaches is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Where’s the Party, the latest children’s book from Scott Casperson, is described as the story of a cupcake rediscovering “joy within its community and the comfort of being alone.” That intrigued me, especially the part about finding comfort in being alone, so I read it. In this episode, Scott and I discuss his motivation for the book, my reaction, and the skills kids need to be content without screens or other people to entertain them. More information about Scott and his books is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Talking About Kids is committed to the science of raising happy and healthy children and adolescents. Unfortunately, there are times when the best research seems out of sync with the needs of families. For example, it is rare for me to encounter the parent of a neurodivergent kid who is completely satisfied with their child’s diagnosis or the care their child is receiving. This is especially true for kids whose issues are defined by a combination of symptoms, some of which may be contradictory or shared by multiple syndromes. My guest today is Ethan Pompeo. Ethan has pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections or PANDAS. In this episode, Ethan describes how his and his family’s inability to find a suitable treatment for him eventually led them to CBD. Ethan and I discuss PANDAS, his experience with CBD, what CBD is and is not, the state of the research on CBD as a treatment for PANDAS and other conditions, and how Ethan’s company, Green Valley Nutrition, is helping advance the science. While researchers from groups like the Harvard Medical School agree that the available studies of CBD are promising, the consensus in the scientific community is that there is more to learn, which is why you should review the evidence yourself and consult with the care team before introducing CBD into a kid’s treatment regimen. More information about Ethan and links to Green Valley Nutrition and the other resource we cite are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the fifth and final episode in a series of discussions I was lucky enough to have with esteemed developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb talks about applying her developmental-relational approach in out-of-schooltime programs and in public policy. It builds on concepts explained in greater detail in the first two episodes of the series. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the fourth in a series of discussions with the eminent developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb offers instructions for educators on applying her developmental-relational approach in the classroom. It builds on concepts explained in greater detail in the first two episodes of the series. The next and final episode will explore applying the developmental relational approach in public spaces and policies. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the third in a series of discussions with the developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb offers insights for parents on how to apply her developmental-relational approach in the home. It builds on concepts that were explored in the previous episodes. The next episodes will explore applying the developmental-relational approach in the classroom, and in public spaces and policies. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the second in a series of discussions with the famed developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb explains her developmental-relational approach and the concepts that are important to it. Subsequent episodes will explore how to apply this approach in the home, in the classroom, and in public spaces and policies. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The impact of Debra Pepler’s scholarship and work on the positive development of kids is global. You do not have to take my word for it.  You can ask the Canadian Psychological Association, who bestowed on her the Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology; or the nation of Canada who made her an Officer of the Order of Canada; or Oprah, who sought out Deb to help the audience of Oprah Winfrey Show understand and prevent childhood bullying. Recently, Deb has been reflecting on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids, which she calls a “developmental-relational” approach. I have had the good fortune of helping Deb organize these reflections in a series of conversations that will premiere on Talking About Kids over five weeks. This episode is a brief primer on her developmental-relational approach and some other concepts that are important to her work. It was recorded in a live webinar that Talking About Kids convenes monthly with the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health (AAAH), so you also will hear from Celeste Krell-Colum and Vinny Chulani of AAAH. More information about Deb and AAAH is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail For the final Black History Month episode of Talking About Kids, I want to explore steps that we all can take to help protect Black students from the harm caused by gendered and racial stereotypes in the classroom.  As you will hear from my guest, the celebrated scholar Sheretta Butler-Barnes, the things that benefit Black students actually benefit all students. Sheretta is the Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, where she also is the Principal Investigator for the Black Families, Racism, & Resilience Lab. More information about Sheretta is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Racial socialization competency refers to a parent’s or caregiver’s ability to communicate with their kids about race and to impart strategies for coping with racial discrimination, and the research shows that higher levels of competency are associated with better outcomes for Black children and youth. For this third Black History Month episode of Talking About Kids, I asked Dr. Riana Elyse Anderson to explain racial socialization competency, its components, and how it can be developed. Riana is an Associate Professor at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and the developer of the EMBRace (Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race) program, racial socialization skills training for parent and caregivers. More information about Riana and the EMBRace program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail As adolescents transition into adulthood and independence, their needs change. For Black History Month, Talking About Kids is looking at the specific needs of Black youth and young adults. My guest to help me do that is Mavis Sanders. Mavis is a senior research scholar at Child Trends who recently released a wonderfully insightful brief entitled, “Black Emerging Adults Identify Protective Community Resources That Promote Their Well-Being.” More information about Mavis and her research brief and a link to sign up for Child Trends’ quarterly newsletter on Black children and families are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Talking About Kids is designed to support the positive development of all kids with the recognition that the factors that influence that development will be unique for each child based on their individual characteristics as well as those of their family and community. For Black History Month, Talking About Kids is examining the factors that influence the positive development of Black children and youth, and we kick off the month with insights from Seanna Leath. Seanna is an Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where she directs the Fostering Healthy Identities and Resilience (FHIRe) Collaborative, a research lab devoted to studying the development of Black girls. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Tracy Pedrotti of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Seanna and her work and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest today is Sasha Saidman. Sasha is the author of multiple children’s books, including First Day, All Out of Ducks, and, my personal favorite, Melonade. As you will hear, one of the things that makes Sasha special is her willingness to unabashedly explore the adversity she has experienced in order to write authentic books that resonate with young children and their caregivers alike. More information about Sasha and her books and a link to the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail A lot has changed since the days when baby monitors were little more than pastel-colored intercoms. Today, baby monitors transmit video as well as sound, they play lullabies and have night vision, and some even proport to be able to alert parents to changes in their baby’s breathing. While these advancements should result to healthier and happier children, the temptation to replace actual physical contact between a parent and a child with monitoring is great and doing so would be incredibly damaging. The people at LittleOne.Care think that their baby monitor, Elora, not only avoids this temptation but actually strengthens the connection between a parent and a child and even among members of their community. My guest to explain how Elora accomplishes this is LittleOne.Care’s CMO and a driving force behind Elora, Ami Meoded. More information about Ami and a link to LittleOne.Care are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail It has been just over two weeks since Baby New Year 2025 arrived, so for this sixth and final mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I am going to discuss births, deaths, and the fetal mortality rates and maternal mortality ratios. Links to the data I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week.

Send us Fan Mail In this fifth mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I am going to explain the differences between a preparticipation physical examination and an annual well child examination. Links to more information are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return soon.

Send us Fan Mail 2025 is just a few days old and the United States has already seen old adults, young adults, and adolescents injured or killed in a mass shooting in New York City, a bombing in Las Vegas, and, what is being described as, an act of domestic terrorism in New Orleans. I think 2025 needs a restart, so, for this fourth mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I am going to look at second chances. In particular, I will examine a recent update to a decade-old report from the Word Health Organization called, Health for the World’s Adolescents: A Second Chance in the Second Decade. Links to the reports I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return soon.

Send us Fan Mail In this third mini holiday break episode of 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids and the final episode of 2024, I want to talk about kids and humor. In particular, I will present a little bit about what we know about humor’s importance to development, its role in establishing and maintaining relationships, and why at least one world leader thinks it is crucial to our survival. Links to some of the articles I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in 2025.

Send us Fan Mail In this second mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I share some seasonal joy in the form of brand-new statics from the Monitoring the Future study, which is conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse. Here is a sneak peek: The substantial declines in adolescent substance use that started in the 1990s continue! A link to the Monitoring the Future study is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in 2025.

Send us Fan Mail In this first mini holiday break episode, I share a brand-new article from Pediatrics. It is entitled “Children’s Understanding of Commonly Used Medical Terminology,” and it examines “jargon-oblivion” or the problem that some professionals who work with kids do not recognize that those kids do not understand all of the words or phrases that are being used in their care. A link to the article is talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in 2025.

Send us Fan Mail This is the final episode in Talking About Kids’ four-part series on eating disorders. In the first episode, Bryn Austin described the prevalence and stigmas of eating disorders. In the second episode, Jean Doak explained the harm caused by them. In the third episode, Anna Lutz and I discussed preventing eating disorders and how to intervene when issues arise. My guest to wrap up the series and describe some of the federal and state-level resources that are available to help address eating disorders, body image issues, and nutrition in the classroom, program, or home is Noelle Veilleux Markham. Noelle is a registered dietitian and the Population Health Dietitian at the Arizona Department of Health Services. More information about Noelle and links to resources she recommends are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the third of four episodes in Talking About Kids’ series on eating disorders. In the first episode, Bryn Austin described the prevalence and stigmas of eating disorders. In the second episode, Jean Doak explained the harm caused by them. In this third episode, we examine how to prevent eating disorders or intervene when issues manifest. My guest to provide her expert insights on these topics is Anna Lutz. Anna has a distinguished history as a dietician and eating disorder specialist. She is co-owner of Lutz & Alexander Nutrition Therapy, which focuses on eating disorders and pediatric and family nutrition, and she is the co-creator of Sunny Side Up Nutrition, which is a website and podcast that assists parents in feeding their kids successfully. More information about Anna - including links to Lutz & Alexander Nutrition Therapy, Sunny Side Up Nutrition, and a tool for finding treatment providers in your area - is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the second of four episodes in Talking About Kids’ series on eating disorders. In the first installment, the preeminent Bryn Austin addressed the prevalence and stigmas of eating disorders. The core of this episode is on why we care. My guest to help us understand the harm to kids caused by body image issues, unhealthy eating behaviors, and eating disorders, is the amazing Jean Doak. Jean is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and the Clinical Director in the universally respected Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (CEED). CEED was founded to help ensure access to appropriate care for everyone, and, for over 20 years, CEED has been doing just that through its three pillars of research, training, and service. More information about Jean and links to resources she recommends are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the first in Talking About Kids’ series on eating disorders. Over four episodes, leading experts and I will discuss prevalence, consequences, prevention, and the resources available to help you help the kids in your classroom, program or home. We will address body image, food, language, and when and how to intervene. My guest to start us off with a description of who is impacted, who is at-risk, and who is often overlooked, is the award-winning researcher, educator, and advocate, Bryn Austin. Bryn is responsible for some of the most-cited and most-impactful research on eating disorders. She is the Founding Director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) at Harvard University, where she also is a Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health and a Professor of Pediatrics in the Medical School. More information about Bryn and resources hand-picked by her, including a tool for finding treatment providers in your area, are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Sibling aggression and abuse are often described as “invisible” by experts because of society’s tendency to confuse them with sibling rivalry or dismiss them as a natural part of growing up. However, the consequences of sibling aggression and abuse are very visible and potentially debilitating. My guest this episode is Corinna Jenkins Tucker, Director of the Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) at the University of New Hampshire. Corinna and her colleagues at SAARA are working to increase awareness of sibling aggression and abuse and provide guidance on preventing and addressing their occurrences. More information about Corinna and SAARA is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is an evidence-based therapy that can help kids overcome anxiety, depression, guilt, and a variety self-defeating thoughts and behaviors. My guest today to explain REBT is the legendary therapist Debbie Joffe Ellis. Among other things, Deb is a licensed mental health counselor, an adjunct professor at Columbia University (where she teaches Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Comparative Psychotherapies), and the author of second edition of the book Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com

Send us Fan Mail Stanley Krippner has received multiple lifetime achievement awards from the American Psychological Association, including the Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology and the Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to Humanistic Psychology. He is the subject of the edited volume, Stanley Krippner: A life of dreams, myths, and visions, and his own three-volume memoir, A Chaotic Life, came out just this year. At 92, Stan continues to write, lecture, and conduct research. I recently had the opportunity talking with Stan about helping kids process dreams. The interview took place in my living room, where he is better known by my wife and daughter as Uncle Stanley. More information about Stan, including a link to his autobiography, is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Zetta Elliott writes the kinds of books that she wanted to read when she was younger. They are sweeping, fantastic, and crackling with energy. Zetta and I discuss the latest addition to her Dragons in a Bag series, entitled The Oracle’s Door, and what it means to kids to read about aspirational protagonists with whom they share experiences, gender, and skin color. More information about Zetta, including a link to her books, is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail There is a simple equation when it comes to raising a healthy and happy kid: the more competent and caring adults there are in the life of a kid, the better off that kid will be. Unfortunately, policies and prejudices often prevent fathers from being present to their own children. My guest today to discuss these problems and what is being done to address them is the dedicated father, public servant, and public policy researcher at MEF Associates, Sundjata Aya. More information about Sundjata, including a links to his research projects, is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail By several measures, 2024 is on course to be one of the worst ever in terms of gun violence on school campuses. My guest this episode to discuss these tragic incidents is David Riedman. David is the founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, arguably the most complete accounting of school shootings in the United States. As you will hear, David's own analysis of the data has revealed some chilling findings that suggest that many schools’ prevention efforts and active shooter plans are, at best, inadequate and ill-informed, and, at worst, making students more vulnerable. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Tracy Pedrotti of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about David, the K-12 School Shooting Database, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The U.S. is in the middle of what many experts are a calling a “mental health crisis.” As a result, there is increased interest in initiatives that place mental health clinicians on campuses. Despite research suggesting that this model should help students, there was, until recently, little evidence that school-based mental health services have the desired impacts. My guest this episode is Ezra Golberstein, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Ezra and his colleagues recently published an article entitled, “Effects of School-Based Mental Health Services on Youth Outcomes,” in which he examines the causal effects of the approach. He and I discuss his findings. More information about Ezra, including a link to his article, is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail I doubt that anyone listening to the Talking About Kids podcast needs science to tell them that kids form deep attachments to their pets. However, it is worth noting the research on kids’ emotional reactions to a pet’s death. Studies show that a pet’s death may be traumatic for children and associated with subsequent mental health difficulties. A mitigating factor may be bereavement or how kids are allowed to process that death. My guest today to explore this topic is licensed mental health counselor and animal lover Anne Marie Farage-Smith. Anne Marie shares some practical tips for supporting children from her newly released book, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss: An Animal Lover’s Guide to Grief. More information about Anne Marie and her book are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest this episode is Timothy McKnight, a respected pediatrician, a second-generation Black physician, and an innovative leader. Tim believes that more can be done to address the healthcare disparities that too many families face, and he believes that pediatricians are in a unique position to help bring about the necessary changes. It is why he teaches leadership skills to pediatricians and why he is the Director of a program that supports students from communities that face healthcare disparities on their paths to becoming physicians. Tim and I discuss his inspirational work, as well as what you can do to help end healthcare disparities. More information about Tim is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Bullying comes up a lot on Talking About Kids. When it does, we typically are discussing statistics and system-wide initiatives. My guest this episode to discuss bullying in adolescence is globally-recognized expert, Kevin Runions. In his roles as Area Lead Consultant for Research, Evaluation & Monitoring with School Mental Health Ontario, Kevin is supports 76 school boards serving over 2 million elementary and secondary students. In other words, he deals in statistics and system-wide initiatives, but, as you will hear, Kevin believes that to stop bullying we need to pay more attention to the unique individuals involved, including the bullies. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani and Tracy Pedrotti of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Kevin and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Talking About Kids is kicking off our fourth season with a very special guest, Kitty Felde. Kitty is a veteran public radio journalist who has won multiple awards for her coverage of Capital Hill. Kitty’s desire to expose kids to the genuine Capital Hill and the real workings of government lead her down an unconventional path, that of writing mysteries. Kitty discusses her Fina Mendoza book series next. More information about Kitty – including links to the books, the teacher's guides, and her booking information – is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the final mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some statistics about kids that are related to the Positive Indicators Project's measures of kids "Helping Others to Flourish" that I described in the previous episode. To help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season, I share some encouraging statistics about kids and volunteerism. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return next week with a very special guest!

Send us Fan Mail In this fifth mini summer episode of Talking About Kids, I introduce the Positive Indicators Project, which is a movement to measure and track positive behaviors and attitudes in kids. I also present concepts, like gratitude and thrift, that the project has defined, categorized, and analyzed. A link to the project is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in the Fall.

Send us Fan Mail This is the fourth mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some favorable statistics about kids and delinquency. I hope these encouraging facts about kids will help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in the Fall.

Send us Fan Mail This is the third mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some encouraging statistics about kids and substance use. I hope these encouraging facts about kids will help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in the Fall.

Send us Fan Mail This is the second mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some encouraging statistics about kids and sex. I hope these encouraging facts about kids will help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in the Fall.

Send us Fan Mail This is the first mini episode of Talking About Kids for summer 2024. In it, I share some little-known facts about kids in the U.S., and I present the theme for the remaining summer episodes: namely positive facts about kids to help us through the stress and fear-mongering that are all too present today. Links to some of the research I cite are are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in the Fall.

Send us Fan Mail Divorce is hard on kids. My guest this episode is the attorney Charles Jamieson. Charles has spent over 40 years using his skills and considerable experience to help families around the country mitigate the damage divorce proceedings can cause. His insights are as practical as they are valuable, and I am grateful that he found the time to share them here. More information about Charles and his practice is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Nationwide, school libraries – often refuges for students who are being othered by their classmates – are being weaponized. In this final Pride Month installment of 2024, I asked several of the Grand Marshals of the 2024 NYC Pride March to react to the growing movement to deny students access to books with queer and trans voices. In this episode you will hear: - Robin Drake, Afrolatino trans male, advocate, and professional with the Hetrick-Martin Institute - Eshe Ukweli, writer, content creator, and digital strategist - DaShawn Usher, Senior Director of Communities of Color and Media at GLAAD and Founder and Executive Director of Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI) - Baddie Brooks, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and champion for queer and transgender communities - Miss Major, author, pioneering activist, and community organizer for transgender rights; and - Michelle Visage, singer, producer, and permanent judge on RuPaul's Drag Race More information about these activists, including links to their organizations, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail For the second year in a row, Talking About Kids was granted media access to all of NYC Pride’s events, including the 2024 NYC Pride March. At the press conference for the march, each of the Grand Marshals described their platforms and the changes they hoped their profiles would affect. I found it interesting that most of them used their time to address issues that impact all children and families, like this nation’s lack of affordable housing. In this episode you will hear: - DaShawn Usher, Senior Director of Communities of Color and Media at GLAAD and Founder and Executive Director of Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI); - Eshe Ukweli, writer, content creator, and digital strategist; - Raquel Willis, transgender rights activist, the former national organizer for the Transgender Law Center, the former executive editor of Out magazine; - Baddie Brooks, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and champion for queer and transgender communities; - Robin Drake, Afrolatino trans male, advocate, and professional with the Hetrick-Martin Institute; - Miss Major, author, pioneering activist, and community organizer for transgender rights; and - Michelle Visage, singer, producer, and permanent judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. More information about these activists, including links to their organizations, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail It goes without saying that would-be parents who are supported have healthier babies. For this fourth Pride Month installment of Talking About Kids, I want to address the perinatal care that queer individuals receive because it can be stressful and dehumanizing in ways that have negative short-term and long-term consequences for them and their children. My guest to discuss this issue is Bianca Sprague. Bianca is a passionate advocate for perinatal care for marginalized communities, an author, an educator, and the founder of bebo mia, a training and mentorship organization that promotes “anti-racist, anti-oppressive, trauma-informed and intersectional” approaches to reproductive health. Bianca and her team assembled some materials just for Talking About Kids listeners. Those can be found at bebomia.com/aboutkids and at talkingaboutkids.com. In addition, Talking About Kids listeners receive 15% off of bebo mia resources when they use the code TAK15 at bebomia.com. 

Send us Fan Mail During Pride Month, Talking About Kids is devoted to LGBTQ+ issues. This third installment is about the rights of LGBTQ+ youth. My guest is Gaelle Esposito, a Partner with the lobbying, government relations, communications, and legislative advocacy firm Creosote Partners. Gaelle and I discuss the current state of the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and what you can do to help ensure their access to health and mental health care and education. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail During Pride Month, Talking About Kids is devoted to LGBTQ+ issues. This second installment is about supporting Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ youth. My guest is Jerico Cummings. Jerico is a 2SLGBTQ+ Training & Community Engagement Specialist for the Paths (Re)Membered Project at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. The mission of the Paths (Re)Membered Project is to protect the health and wellbeing of 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous people. Jerico will discuss the Two Spirit tradition, what all of us can learn from it, and how the needs of 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous youth might differ from those of non-Indigenous youth. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In honor of Pride Month, Talking About Kids is devoting its June episodes to LGBT+ issues. This first installment is about how understanding history can help LGBT+ youth, and my guest is the “Hip Historian,” Marshall Shore. Marshall is known throughout the southwestern United States and beyond for excavating videos, news stories, and other lost artifacts from the distant and not-so-distant past and using them to make history come alive in engaging events. Along the way, Marshall has helped right some past wrongs that were done to LGBT+ Americans and brought attention to both their contributions and hardships they faced. In doing so, Marshall has comforted and inspired LGBT+ youth. He has advice for how you can do the same. More information about Marshall and how to bring him to your community is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail George Walker is an artist, educator, and historian, who is best known for his books about public figures ranging from Leonard Cohen to Tom Thomson. George tells these stories without words, using only images printed from wood he engraves. These wordless novels, as they are known, are in the tradition of works by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, and Otto Nückel, all famous artists who have inspired George and whom he has written about in his more academic books on creating relief prints and on appreciating wordless novels. I was excited to have George on the podcast because I think there is something profound about his art and his medium that can really benefit kids. First, wordless novels are accessible to everyone, regardless of their language or level of literacy. Children at every age can pick them up, engage their imaginations, and infer a story. As a child develops, a great wordless novel affords the inference of more nuanced stories or even different stories all together. Second, relief printmaking is an inexpensive technique that children can learn very quickly to make their own stories or individual art pieces, but, while it is easy to pick up initially, relief printmaking scaffolds perfectly, allowing infinite room for children to challenge and develop their skills. Of course, George explains all of this better than I do. More information about George and his art is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail As a writer, social media figure, and, now, children’s book author, Gina Prosch has focused on hope and joy. The second book in her Holly’s Choice series was just released. It is called, Hope! More Than Wishful Thinking. True to its title, it addresses hope, but, as you will hear, Gina’s conception of hope is not a Pollyanna one, but a practical and empowering one that, in my opinion, aligns with a growth mindset. More information about Gina and her books is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Mentors have come up before on Talking About Kids, but the work of my guest today, Noelle Hurd, challenges more traditional notions of how mentors are identified and recruited and their role in the life of a kid, especially a racially or ethnically marginalized one. Noelle is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where she also runs the Promoting Healthy Adolescent Development (PHAD) Lab. More information about Noelle is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Vot-ER is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that believes that a healthy and inclusive democracy makes for healthy communities. To that end, Vot-ER works to integrate civic engagement into healthcare. My guest this episode to discuss Vot-ER’s rationale, how it goes about promoting an inclusive democracy, and what you can to do to achieve similar goals in your community and for issues you care about is Vot-ER’s West Coast Deputy Field Director, Sandra Gutierrez. The episode was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from Alliance members and other listeners. If you would like to participate in the webinars, you can join the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health’s mailing list at healthyazyouth.org. More information about Sandra, Vot-ER, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The website for the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University lists the factors that “predispose children to positive outcomes in the face of significant adversity.” Among them is “sources of faith.” My guest this episode to help me understand how faith traditions build resilience is David Myles. David is an award-winning speaker, radio host, and professor who attributes his own resilience in the face of adversity to his faith. David generously allowed me to ask him some difficult questions about the role of that faith and the mechanisms of its impact. More information about David is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Child maltreatment is a major public health concern in the United States, but are the mandated reporting laws that were intended to reduce child maltreatment working? My guests this episode, Rachel Rosenberg and Sarah Catherine Williams, are two of the authors of a new report from ChildTrends. As you will hear, their research suggests that mandated reporters need better training to help make the system more effective and to reduce the stigmatization of families who are experiencing financial insecurities. More information about Rachel, Sarah Catherine, and their report, Mandated Reporting Policies Do Not Promote More Accurate Reporting of Suspected Neglect, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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, Work, and Heart of Family, takes on both of these issues, illuminating unpaid labor and encouraging families to take on the work of the home as a way to bond and promote individual growth. More information about Lori and Our Home: The Love, Work, and Heart of Family is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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. Yehudis Stokes is a Registered Nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and a Clinical Nurse Specialist with the Psychosocial Oncology team at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Marjorie Robb is the Acting Chief of Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Division Chief of Community-Based Psychiatry. The episode was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from Alliance members and other listeners. If you would like to participate in the webinars, you can join the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health’s mailing list at healthyazyouth.org. More information about Yehudis, Marjorie, their research, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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 is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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 Donnelly. More information about David and The Cost of Convenience is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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 the book for young readers who are facing their own challenges. More information about Jenna and Aggressive Optimism is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail 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 can help you do the same. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Kim and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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 leader to the creation of Reset Summer Camp, a summer residential program in which participants, “detox from their screen addiction and learn how to self-regulate, as they participate in individual and group therapy.” Even if the kids in your life are unable to attend Reset Summer Camp, you will learn a lot from Michael’s insights on helping young people develop healthier habits and, ultimately, lead healthier lives. More information about Michael and Reset Summer Camp is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail 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 Reading Program. Detractors point to a lack of empirical evidence for its effectiveness (according to the What Works Clearinghouse, the single rigorous evaluation of Failure Free Reading found moderate positive effects on comprehension), and they say that it is not easy to integrate into existing curricula. Regarding the latter, I imagine Joe thinks that is part of the point because he is fond of stating that, the “real enemy” of students with chronic reading challenges is the existing instructional approach. More information about Joe and his Failure Free Reading Program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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, “we are underestimating the reading potential of chronically failing students.” As you will hear, however, Joe’s insights on students extend well beyond reading. More information about Joe and his Failure Free Reading Program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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 Schools Initiatives Division at the Prevention Research Center at Colorado State University. Anne and her colleagues have studied what actually happens when such bans are implemented. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Anne and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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 Ramisetty and Kaylee Woods. When Nagasriya and Kaylee were high school students, each started movements at their schools that continue to improve the mental health of students and community members. Our conversation was recorded in front of the live audience at the conference. More information about Nagasriya, Kaylee, and the Speak Up Stand Up Save a Life conference are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail 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. More information about Tim and his work is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail 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 attention. More information about Steve and his work is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail 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 personal. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Beheir Thompson and Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Carla and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this third mini Holiday Break episode, I share David Reidman's (K-12 School Shooting Database) analysis of one of the first school shootings of 2024. Links to the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this second mini Holiday Break episode, I revisit the science of why New Year's resolutions fail or succeed, and why, if your resolution is to improve your mental health, you should keep it for the sake of your kid. Links to the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this first mini Holiday Break episode, I explore A Christmas Carol's central idea, which I argue is empathy. Links to the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in the new year.

Send us Fan Mail 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, Samantha 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.   For more information, go to talkingaboutkids.com. 

Send us Fan Mail 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?; and a ventriloquist who appeared frequently on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Beheir Thompson and Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Susan and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Kids need sleep. Adequate sleep helps prevent Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, mental health problems, and even injury. My guest today, Blaine Leeds, and his colleagues believe that apnea is to blame for many kids’ sleep issues. Blaine is a dentist, an innovator, the author of What Happens When Your Child Doesn’t Sleep, and a passionate advocate. More information about Blaine, including links to his book as other researchers and practitioners he cites, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Thanksgiving episode, I look at the "Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving" from the National Museum of the American Indian and read from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. Links to the article and the full address are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (December 4, 2022).

Send us Fan Mail This is the second installment in a new segment in which a colleague and I examine classic and obscure books about kids from the past. We will be looking at what has changed and what has stayed the same to try to uncover universal truths and inspiration that you can use as you care for your own kids. This episode focuses on the introductory chapter of book from 1950 called How to Live with Children by Edith Neisser. My guest to help me with this effort is Lori Robinson, a social worker and therapist with years of experience working with children and families. She also is an autodidact with an exceptional capacity for contextualizing and putting into practice research on kids. More information about Lori is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Veterans Day episode, I explore some of the reasons why the schools run by the  Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) are outperforming schools in the rest of the United States. Links to some of the materials I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (November 20, 2023).

Send us Fan Mail If you want the children and youth in your classroom, in your program, or even in your home to succeed, then you need to understand them, but gaining insights or even engaging them as cocreators of their experience is not always easy. Here to discuss what Rising Youth Theatre does to share decision making and activity leadership with the young people in its organization are two of Rising Youth Theatre’s Producing Artistic Collaborators, Ty Muhammad and Sarah Sullivan. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. The episode was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from Alliance members and other listeners. If you would like to participate in the webinars, you can join the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health’s mailing list at healthyazyouth.org. More information about Ty, Sarah, Rising Youth Theatre, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest this episode to talk about the importance of a developmental-relational perspective in addressing and preventing bullying is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University, the recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service, and my new friend:  Debra Pepler. Our conversation was recorded in front of a live audience the 2023 World Anti-Bullying Forum, in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is the first time that the Forum has been hosted in the U.S., and more than 500 researchers, practitioners, policymakers, educators, young people, and more have gathered for three days of panels, symposia, keynotes, and workshops with the goal of advancing our global understanding of and our work to prevent bullying. 2023 World Anti-Bullying Forum was hosted by the UNC School of Education and was powered by BRP, a global leader in powersports products who, through its Ride Out Intimidation program, takes a firm stand against intimidation. More information about Debra, her work, the UNC School of Education, BRP’s Ride Out Intimidation program, and the World Anti-Bullying Forum is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Lice. We have checked for them, we have been checked for them, and we have worried about the.  But how much do we really know about lice?  In light of some relatively new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, I asked Ilene Steinberg – Founder and CEO of the Center for Lice Control and the so-called “Lice Queen” – to come on the podcast and help me comb through the myths and facts about lice. More information about Ilene and a link to her Professional Lice Treatment kits are at talkingaboutkids.com. Talking About Kids listeners receive 15% off the price the kit when they use the code CLCTAKE15OFF. 

Send us Fan Mail A couple of weeks ago, the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) held its annual conference. At it, a study from 2015 received some new attention. That study is “Discipline and Participation:  The Long-Term Effects of Suspension and School Security on the Political and Civic Engagement of Youth” from the journal Youth and Society. My guests to talk about the study and its importance, are the study’s authors:  Thomas Catlaw and, long-time friend of Talking About Kids, Aaron Kupchik. More information about Tom and Aaron, including a link to their study, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Globally, the rights of indigenous kids are protected, in part, by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. For this mini Indigenous People’s Day episode of Talking About Kids, I briefly examine the adversities indigenous kids face, what the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child asserts about the rights of indigenous kids and all kids, and the United States’ position on those rights. Links to the materials I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (October 16, 2023).

Send us Fan Mail For as long as there have been kids, people have offered advice on how to care for them. Talking About Kids is introducing a new segment in which a colleague and I examine classic and obscure books about kids from the distant and not-so-distant past. We will be looking at what has changed and what has stayed the same to try to uncover universal truths and inspiration that you can use as you care for your own kids.  In this episode, we analyze a chapter called, “The Bad Child,” from the 1920 book series, The Kindergarten Children’s Hour by Lucy Wheelock.  My guest to help me with this effort is KellyAnn Bonnell, the Early Childhood and Elementary Education Coordinator at Feather River College. KellyAnn has an encyclopedic knowledge of early childhood education theory, but she also is a skilled practitioner whom I have seen transform classrooms. More information about KellyAnn is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Incorporating the arts into education helps students succeed academically and socially. Despite this, art programs continue to face cuts and even elimination. To help counter this, I enlisted the help of Art Roche. If you have been a fan of animation in the last 20 years, it is likely that you have seen Art’s work or work that he supervised. Art created the Cartoon Network series, Nacho Bear, and he continues to consult on Apple TV+’s Peanuts series, Camp Snoopy. But I asked Art on because of his two wonderful instructional children’s books, Art for Kids: Cartooning and Art for Kids: Comic Strips. If your kids are not getting enough opportunities to be creative, Art can help you get them drawing. More information about Art and his books is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The rising cost of college is in the news once again, as are 529 plans and student loan repayment. As a result, I wanted to revisit the topic of paying for college and how to balance saving for college with saving for retirement. My guest to help unpack these issues is Brad Baldridge. Brad is a College Funding Specialist and the host of the Taming the High Cost of College podcast. Brad has helped thousands of families plan for the expenses of college, and I am grateful that he agreed to share some of his insights here. More information about Brad is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The transition from high school to college can be difficult for some students. Here to talk about that is Amy McGrath. Amy is the Vice President of Educational Outreach and Student Services for Arizona State University and the Managing Director the ASU Preparatory Academy, which is a network of public charter schools sponsored by ASU. Starting now, Talking About Kids will be dedicating one episode a month to supporting the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services. We will be using Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health as a model, so, once a month you will also hear Vinny Chulani and Beheir Thompson participate in the discussion and share information about Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health’s activities and resources. These episodes are recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. If you would like to participate in the webinars, you can register here. I hope that these episodes will inspire you to join the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health or whatever alliance exists in your community or, if none exists, to form your own. More information about Amy, Vinny, Beheir, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Millions of kids in the U.S. have jobs. For this mini Labor Day Episode of Talking About Kids, I want to examine what we know about the benefits and risks of juvenile employment. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (September 11, 2023).

Send us Fan Mail Not long ago, Rebecca Sugar, creator of Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe, and I were discussing things that undermine the health and wellbeing of kids. I must have been painting a bleak picture because she suggested that I read Living in a World That Can’t Be Fixed: Reimagining Counterculture Today by Curtis White. I did, and then I immediately delved into his other writings, including The Science Delusion:  Asking the Big Questions in a Culture of Easy Answers and the brand new Transcendent:  Art and Dharma in a Time of Collapse. In these and other works, I think Curtis makes a strong case for the importance of arts education. Given the increased emphasis on STEM in schools at the expense of the humanities, I thought it was important to have Curtis on the podcast to share his perspective. More information about Curtis, including links to his books, is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Participation in sports declines during adolescence. There are many reasons for this, and I want to address all them because, when kids stop playing sports, they miss out on the mental and physical benefits that sports afford. My guest today is Pam Luk. Pam believes that one of the reasons adolescents quit sports is that athletic wear for kids does a poor job of accommodating different body types. Pam share her story and what she did to address the problem next. More information about Pam and Ember & Ace is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Adolescence is a time of experimenting, and that experimenting sometimes involves trying illicit drugs. Unfortunately, dealers are adding fentanyl to illicit drugs, like cocaine and methamphetamine, to make them cheaper and more potent, but fentanyl also makes them more deadly. Every day in the U.S., over 150 people die from overdoses related to fentanyl. To explain what fentanyl is and what you, as people who care about kids, can to do prevent overdoses from happening, I reached out to my friend Haley Coles. Haley is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sonoran Prevention Works and a pioneer in harm reduction. More information about Haley, Sonoran Prevention Works, and harm reduction is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail News about increases in adolescent suicide can seem overwhelming, so in this second mini summer vacation episode of Talking About Kids, I want to share a newly published paper on the care of kids with suicide-related symptoms that I think it suggests something constructive that we, as people who care about kids, can do to help reverse the trend. Links to some of the research I cite are talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in mid-August with an important examination of fentanyl.

Send us Fan Mail Back-to-school sales are underway, so in this a mini summer episode of Talking About Kids I decided to address the “back” in “back-to-school.” That is to say, I examine lower back pain in students, its prevalence, its causes, and how to prevent it. Links to some of the resources I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in mid-August with an important examination of fentanyl.

Send us Fan Mail This episode was recorded in front of a live audience on July 19th, 2023, at the Adloscent Health Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. My guests are Veenod Chulani, Section Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and Beheir Thompson, Adolescent Health Program Coordinator for Affirm. Along with their colleagues, Vinny and Beheir are working to bring professionals together to advance health equity for youth. Their insights on what adolescent-centered care entails, why it is important, and what steps you can take to become more effective when working with youth are addressed. More information about Vinny, Beheir, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest for this episode is Stephanie Young Moss. Dr. Stephanie, as she is known professionally, approached me with a unique thesis:  pharmacists can help reduce healthcare disparities among families. Her education and decades of experience as a pharmacist and an activist convinced me, and I am eager for you to hear her insights as well as the advice that she, and every pharmacist, has for parents. More information about Dr. Stephanie is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail All kids are unique, but some do better in typical classroom settings than others. The process of recognizing that a kid has special academic needs can be frustrating and stressful for parents, educators, professionals, and the student. Unfortunately, recognition is often just the beginning. The meetings and myriad terms, initials, and acronyms that follow a diagnosis can be confusing and intimidating. In this episode, I am going to address one of the more common ones:  the IEP, or the Individualized Education Program. To help explain the IEP, I have enlisted the help of Kimberly Robinson. Kim came highly recommended to me because of her over 20 years of experience working as a Speech Language Pathologist and her expertise formulating and monitoring IEPs. More information about Kim is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail For this final episode honoring Pride Month, I attended four NYC Pride events and interviewed speakers, dignitaries, and leaders. I asked them all one question:  What words of advice or encouragement do you have for kids who are not feeling valued and supported as they realize their orientation, identity, and identity expression?  In this episode you will hear: -Gabrielle Souza, Executive Director of The Okra Project, a mutual aid collective that supports Black Trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people; -Sage Dolan-Sandrino, queer trans activist, journalist, and the inaugural Monica Roberts Fellow at the National Black Justice Coalition; -Melissa D’Andrea, Executive Director of PFLAG NYC, a family-based organization committed to celebrating LGBTQ+ young people and creating a better future for all; -NYC Pride March Grand Marshal Yasmin Benoit, award-winning British asexual activist, creator of the popular #ThisIsWhatAsexualLooksLike movement, and co-founder International Asexuality Day; -NYC Pride March Grand Marshal Hope Giselle, organizer, trans activist, and best-selling author of Becoming Hope: Removing the Disguise; -NYC Pride March Grand Marshal Randy Wicker, legendary, trailblazing LGBTQ+ activist;  -NYC Pride March Grand Marshal AC Dumlao, Chief of Staff at Athlete Ally, a nonprofit working to educate and activate athletic communities to eliminate homophobia and transphobia in sports, and creator of the popular Facebook page “Call Me They”; and -Sandra Pérez, Executive Director for NYC Pride. I recommend sharing the powerful advice and encouragement they offered with the kids in your life. More information about these activists, including links to their organizations, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail For this fourth episode of Pride Month, Talking About Kids was granted media access to The Rally, NYC Pride’s annual protest and activism event that takes place just a few blocks away from the location of the Stonewall Riots, the 1969 protests that sparked the gay rights movement. I asked three of the speakers for advice for caregivers on how to support kids as those kids realize their orientations, identities, and identity expressions.  In this episode you will hear: Gabrielle Souza, Executive Director of The Okra Project, a mutual aid collective that supports Black Trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people;Sage Dolan-Sandrino, queer trans activist, journalist, and the inaugural Monica Roberts Fellow at the National Black Justice Coalition; andMelissa D’Andrea, Executive Director of PFLAG NYC, a family-based organization committed to celebrating LGBTQ+ young people and creating a better future for all. More information about these activists, including links to their organizations, is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Lane Kantor is my guest for this third episode of Pride Month.  Lane is an MD with a Masters degree in Public Health. Recently, Lane and their colleagues conducted a study of the knowledge gaps and educational needs of the parents of transgender and nonbinary kids. Lane shares what they learned and recommendations for supporting kids as they realize their identities and how they want to express them. More information about Lane, including links to the research they cite, is talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail For the second episode of Pride Month, I asked Stephen Russell to describe what we know from research about supporting kids as they realize their orientations and identities. Stephen is the Director of the School of Human Ecology at the University of Texas at Austin. He also is the author of the award-winning book, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Schooling. I am honored that he found time in his busy schedule to share his insights here on the Talking About Kids podcast. More information about Stephen, including links to his research, is www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In honor of Pride Month, I wanted to look at sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in kids. In particular, I wanted a better understanding of the terms that are used to describe gender identity and gender expression. I also wanted to get an overview of what happens when we fail to support kids who are perceived as not conforming to prevailing sexual and gender norms. To help with this, I reached out to Madelaine Adelman. Maddie is a Professor of Justice Studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, an author, and, for over two decades, one of the driving forces in GLSEN, a national organization that was founded by teachers to promote safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. More information about Maddie and links to resources for parents and educators are at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail School shootings are all-too-frequently in the news. When they are, there is a good chance that my guest’s work will be cited. David Riedman is the co-founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, which contains detailed information on all school shootings in the United States from 1970 to present. David, an expert on security and crisis management, has spent a lot of time with this information, and his conclusions about our society’s response to school shootings might surprise you. More information about David, including a link to the K-12 School Shooting Database is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Aaron Kupchik returns to Talking About Kids to discuss his new research on the origins of contemporary school discipline practices. Aaron is a Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware and the author of numerous articles and books, including the award-winning Judging Juveniles: Prosecuting Adolescents in Adult and Juvenile Courts and Homeroom Security: School Discipline in an Age of Fear. When I initially invited Aaron back to provide an update on school violence, Aaron replied, “I don’t study school violence. I look at the crappy things adults do because of an irrational fear of school violence,” which is why we like him. More information about Aaron, including links to his books, is at www.talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to examine the evolving demands of motherhood, and I could think of no better person to help me do that than Nicole Feliciano. For nearly two decades, Nicole has convened and supported mothers, initially through her wildly successful blog, MomTrends, then with her book Mom Boss: Balancing Entrepreneurship, Kids & Success, and most recently with Ski Moms Fun, which is a podcast and social media focusing on winter sports and motherhood. She and I discuss the changes she has seen and her advice for staying balanced. More information about Nicole, including links to her projects, is at TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest this episode is Sheryl Cababa. Sheryl is the Chief Design Officer at Substantial, an insights, design, and development firm based in Seattle, WA. Sheryl and her colleagues are working with amazing partners – like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – and using equity-centered research to improve education technology. Sheryl and I discuss what “equity-centered research” is and how it might benefit the kids in your life. More information about Sheryl and her new book, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers, can be found at TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Public opinion of school boards is low, and that is understandable. When school boards are not making headlines for banning books, enacting discriminatory policies, or arming teachers, videos of brawls erupting at school board meetings are blowing up social media. So when the award winning educator, AJ Crabill, comes out with a brand new book that proports to outline how school boards can improve so that student outcomes can improve, I jumped at the chance to talk with him. The book is called, Great on Their Behalf:  Why School Boards Fail, How Yours Can Become Effective. I think it is smart, accessible, and right. More information about AJ and his new book can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail When Bessel van der Kolk – famed researcher and author of The New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score – says that neurofeedback has the potential to help kids reshape their brains to be more regulated and more open to new experiences, one takes notice. After all, helping kids stay regulated is the first thing that we, as people who care about kids, need to do to ensure their success. Consequently, I was excited to talk with Dianne Kosto, the CEO and Founder of SYMMETRY Neuro-Pathway Training because she is a self-described “mom on a mission” to bring neurofeedback services to everyone. The story of Dianne’s passion, what neurofeedback did for her kid, and what it potentially can do for the kids in your life, are the topics of this episode. More information about Dianne and SYMMETRY Neuro-Pathway Training can be at TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The introduction of the U.S. Department of Education’s webpage on STEM states, “In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it's more important than ever that our nation's youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions. These are the kinds of skills that students develop in science, technology, engineering, and math, including computer science—disciplines collectively known as STEM/CS.” While this is an excellent summary of the need, getting kids interested in STEM can be tricky, especially when they are very young.  To help explain early childhood STEM, I reached out to Karen Martinson.  Karen is the founder of Early STEM Ed, an organization that supports parents, teachers, and out of school time professionals in establishing and maintaining early STEM education programs. She also happens to be the teacher that turned my kid into a chemistry junkie. More information about Karen can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this Spring Holiday episode, I discuss the ways that expectations affect kids and how we, as adults who care about them, can adjust our expectations to help them succeed. Links to the research I cite are at www.TalkingAboutKids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week.

Send us Fan Mail Cyndi Coon is an Applied Futurist and a self-described “time traveler and rule-bender.” I first collaborated with Cyndi on an Emerge: A Festival of Futures event at Arizona State University. Since then, I have followed the work of her and her colleagues as they futurcast for government agencies and high-tech private sector companies.  What is “futurcasting”? Well, I am going to let Cyndi explain it, but I think you will find that it directly applies to kids and education. More information about Cyndi is at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the final episode in Talking About Kids series using the history of HomeBase Youth Services to examine the lifecycle of a nonprofit from founding, through hardships, and into maturity. To conclude the series, I thought it would be important to hear from some of HomeBase’s clients. Several years ago, three young adult residents offered to - anonymously and with the support of the clinical staff - share their stories to help professionals better understand the lasting effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the importance of programs like HomeBase. As mentioned, there are three anonymous, yet distinct, voices in this podcast. Each is generous and courageous. More information about HomeBase Youth Services is at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the third episode in Talking About Kids’ series using the history of HomeBase Youth Services to examine the lifecycle of nonprofits from founding, through hardships, and into maturity. My guest this episode to discuss managing a large, complex and community-embedded nonprofit is Dede Yazzie Devine. Dede is the CEO of Native American Connections, a position she has held for over 40 years. Some nonprofit administrators embody the mission of an organization. Others are masters of the technical logistics of the work. Somehow, Dede is both. More information about Dede, Native American Connections, and HomeBase Youth Services is at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is the second episodes in the series that uses my experience with HomeBase Youth Services to examine what it is like to found a nonprofit, the role of a nonprofit Board of Directors, and how mature nonprofits grow and embed themselves in communities. My guest for this episode is Neil Sutton. Neil is an entrepreneur and serial community servant. He was on one of the first Boards of Directors for HomeBase and its Chair through the through the roughest time in its history. We discuss how he led HomeBase through those trials and, more importantly, why he did. More information about Neil and HomeBase can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail There are over 1.8 million nonprofits in the United States. Tens of thousands of new nonprofits are launched every year, and tens of thousands fail. With 10% of the U.S. workforce employed in nonprofits, I thought I would use my experience with HomeBase Youth Services to examine what it is like to found a nonprofit, the role of a nonprofit Board of Directors, and how mature nonprofits grow and embed themselves in communities. My guest for this first episode in the series is Dan Minton. Dan was the first Executive Director of HomeBase, a position that came with very little pay and a lot of heartache. Today, Dan is the Associate Vice President of The Steier Group, a national firm that assists nonprofits with fundraising and capital campaigns. More information about Dan, The Steier group, and HomeBase Youth Services, is available at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Protecting kids from the cyberbullying can be, to say the least, frustrating. Parental controls and gatekeeper apps can be easily bypassed, other restrictions might be incompatible with assigned schoolwork, and all oversight seems, at least, a step behind how young people are engaging in the digital world. But there is hope! My guests for this episode, Yasin Silva, Director of the Data Science Graduate Program at Loyola University Chicago, and Deborah Hall, Associate Professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Arizona State University, share what we know about cyberbullying and discuss the technology they are developing to promote a positive relationship-based approach to cyberbullying prevention and cessation. More information about Yasin, Deborah, and the BullyBlocker project is at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail If you are a parent or you work with parents, then you know that the topic of paying for college can be unpleasant, which I why I am so glad that I was introduced to this episode’s guest, Ann Garcia.  Her book, How to Pay for College, is easy-to-read and implement.  More importantly, Ann is committed to the belief there is a college that fits your budget, your values, and your kid, but it might not be the one you are focused on right now. More information about Ann, including information on purchasing How to Pay for College, can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail With all of the headlines about the pending death of writing at the hands of artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, I thought it would be useful to talk about the value of reading and writing and how we inspire kids to do both. My guest to help explore these issues is Sharon Lynn. Sharon teaches writing at UAT, a technology university where the students and faculty are very familiar with chat bots. She and I discuss strategies for engaging students and her own experience writing and finding a publisher for her wonderful new book, Death Takes a Bath: A Cotswolds Crimes Mystery. More information about Sharon and her book can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail As communities struggle to address the impact of the pandemic on student learning and well-being, there seems to be renewed interest in year-round schools.  In this episode of the Talking About Kids podcast, I wanted to address what year-round schooling is and what we know about it. To answer these questions, I enlisted the help of Cara Jackson, a Senior Associate at Abt Associates who evaluates and conducts systematic reviews of educational programs. In response to Education Next’s article, “Busting the Myths About Year-Round School Calendars,” Cara recently wrote a piece entitled, “Do Year-Round Schools Work? Three Questions to Ask.”  We ask and answer those questions here. More information about Cara and some resources hand-picked by her are at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The science is clear:  Kids need to be able to regulate their emotions and overcome adversity and frustration to be successful in a classroom, in relationships, and in life.  Social and emotional skills do not detract from learning other subjects. Rather, these skills allow all learning to occur. My guest this episode, Kate Lund, knows this.  As she bravely describes in her book, Bounce:  Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive in School, Sports and Life, Kate's own early childhood experiences taught her the importance of managing emotions and of resilience. She brings these insights to her work as a clinical psychologist and a peak performance coach, and she is sharing them here for you. More information about Kate and her work can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this final mini Holiday Break episode, I asked Dan Uttech and Anthony Smith, two Response to Intervention Behavior Specialists from Cartwright Unified School District in Phoenix, to share insights on their approach to their roles and to address misconceptions that might exist between parents and school faculty and staff. More information about Cartwright Unified School District is at www.TalkingAboutKids.com. Full episodes of Talking about Kids return next week when my guest will be psychologist and best-selling author Kate Lund.

Send us Fan Mail In this fourth mini Holiday Break episode, I address Teens and Pornography, the new report from Common Sense Media; I discuss what is and what is not included in the report; and I offer my own interpretation of some of the findings. Links to the research I cite are at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this third mini Holiday Break episode, I look at the research on Pediatric Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I present its definition, describe its prevalence, explore why we should care, and describe treatment options. Links to the research I cite are at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this second mini Holiday Break episode, I look at the science of why New Year's resolutions fail or succeed, connecting it to the research on students' success in the classroom. Links to the research I cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this first mini Holiday Break episode, I explore the research on the ways being exposed to foreign cultures impacts children and adolescents. Links to the research I cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in the new year.

Send us Fan Mail In the United States, 6.6% of public-school students are enrolled in gifted and talented programs, but enrollment is not evenly distributed. For example, 12.6% of Asian students are enrolled, but only 4.5% of Hispanic students and 3.6% of Black students are. Scott Peters, my guest for this episode, has been studying and writing about these and other discrepancies for some time. Scott is a Senior Research Scientist at NWEA, where he specializes in educational assessment and data use. A series of articles he wrote about equity within gifted and talented programs is receiving a lot of attention, and I am grateful that he agreed to share his insights in this podcast. More information about Scott and his research can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.    

Send us Fan Mail The Holiday Season is a great time to take the kids to a children’s museum, but museums can be intimidating, especially if you have not been before. To help you make the most of your next visit, I sought guidance from Kate Wells. Kate is the co-founder and CEO of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, a top destination in Arizona and one of the highest ranked children’s museums in the U.S. Kate is passionate about her work, and her insights might even help you create your own interactive learning space.  More information about Kate and the Children's Museum of Phoenix can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail I recently was in a workgroup in which some colleagues were complaining about how difficult it can be to engage teens in out-of-school time activities. That made me think about Youth Taking Charge (YTC), which is the youth component of Tanner Development Corporation’s HEAAL (Help Enrich African American Lives) program. Over the years, I have worked with YTC on some anti-bullying initiatives and found the teen participants to be completely engaged, so I reached out to the team at the Tanner Community Development Corporation to see if they would be willing to provide some tips. They agreed, but, instead of speaking with me themselves, they sent 14-year-old Ziana James, 14-year-old Arielle Kelley, 13-year-old Melina King, three members of YTC’s youth leadership team. In addition to sharing amazing insights on how to create a vibrant youth program, these impressive young leaders provide an example of what a growth mindset looks like in practice.  More information about YTC and the Tanner Community Development Corporation can be found www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Thanksgiving episode, I discuss the science of gratitude, its benefits, and one technique for fostering it in ourselves and the children in our lives. Links to the research I cite can be found www.TalkingAboutKids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (December 5, 2022).

Send us Fan Mail Growth mindset has come up before in this podcast because some advocates believe that it helps kids succeed. Everyone seems to be talking about growth mindset, but there is a poor understanding of how to define it, how to foster it, or how to determine if it works. This is why I was so excited to speak with Elizabeth Tipton. Beth is an Associate Professor of Statistics at Northwestern University, where she co-directs the Statistics for Evidence-Based Policy and Practice Center and is a Faculty Fellow in the Institute for Policy Research. Just this month, Beth and her colleagues published a commentary on two different meta-analyses of growth mindset.  In our conversation, Beth explains what that means and what she found. She also provides a framework for how to think about growth mindset and any program or initiative we are thinking about for the kids in our lives. More information about Beth can be at TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Veterans Day episode, I discuss two things research indicates you can do right now to support the children of soldiers. Links to the research I cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (November 21, 2022).

Send us Fan Mail Over the course of my career, several private sector and public sector companies have asked me to consult or conduct research to help them develop animation on topics ranging from banking to relationship skills. Each time, the justification these companies gave for wanting animation was, “kids like cartoons.” I also have conducted research with parents and found that many of them would prefer that their children not watch animation because they felt that, as a medium, it was somehow less healthy than live action. As a result of these divergent experiences, I crafted this episode to explore what animation is and who and what it is good for.  My guest is Mark Collington.  Mark is a Senior Lecturer in Animation Production at the Arts University Bournemouth and the author of Animation in Context: A Practical Guide to Theory and Making, which is, in my opinion, the definitive book on this topic. More information about Mark can be found www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Career days at schools tend to be generic. Students hear from doctors and lawyers, but they rarely hear from professionals who work for governments or nonprofits. This is despite the tremendous impact these sectors have. That is the impetus behind this episode, and Terry Babcock-Lumish is the perfect guest for it. Terry has worked at every level of government; she has trained young would-be public servants for some of the world’s more egalitarian and most exclusive universities; and she currently is the Executive Secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership that awards live-changing scholarships to 50 plus students each year. Terry is dedicated, smart, funny, and busy.  I am grateful that she found the time to share her insights. More information about Terry and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail The topic of this episode was suggested to me by the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence, which is that state’s professional association for out-of-school time programs (OST). Its member organizations were reporting some troubling incidents that involved, what they perceived to be, increasingly dysregulated students, staff, and parents. Their observations are anecdotal, but, as you will hear from my guest, Angel Jannasch-Pennell, they are indicative of some very real trends. Angel has a lifetime of experience working on educational issues as a teacher, a researcher, an administrator, and, for the last decade, as the co-founder and CEO of KOI Education, a firm that has trained thousands of educators and direct service providers on subjects like Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and behavior management. This interview was recorded in front of a live audience on October 22nd, 2022, at the Arizona Center of Afterschool Excellence’s annual conference. More information about Angel and KOI Education can be found www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is part three in Talking About Kids' three-part series on traumatic brain injury (TBI).  In part one, Keith Owen Yeates explained what TBI is and why we care.  In part two, Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa shared strategies for preventing TBI.  In this final installment, Stacy Suskauer presents the latest research on responding to concussions, TBIs, and other head injuries to ensure the best possible outcomes children and adolescents. Stacy is the Vice President of Pediatric Rehabilitation at Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Director of the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. More information about Stacy and links to some TBI resources hand-picked by her can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This is part two in Talking About Kids’ three-part series on traumatic brain injury (TBI). In part one, Keith Owen Yeates explained what TBI is and why, as people who care about kids, we need to be so very concerned about it. This episode is about prevention, and there is no better person to speak to this topic than my guest, Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa, Senior Health Scientist on the Traumatic Brain Injury Team in the Division of Injury Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Juliet brings to the position over 30 years of experience and over 100 publications and presentations on TBI. More information about Juliet and links to her hand-picked TBI resources can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are injuries that affect how the brain works, and they are a major cause of death and disability in the United States. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable, both in terms of sustaining a TBI and experiencing debilitating, potentially lifelong effects.  The topic of traumatic brain injuries is so important to kids that I have decided to dedicate three episodes to it, each with a different, preeminent guest expert. The first episode is an overview of TBI (i.e., what it is, why we care, etc.), the second episode is on prevention, and the third episode is on responding to and treating TBI.  For this episode - the first in the series - my guest is Keith Owen Yeates.  Keith holds the Ronald and Irene Ward Chair in Pediatric Brain Injury at the University of Calgary, where he also is a Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology and an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Neurosciences. More importantly to our topic, Keith is the one of the most, if not the single most, cited pediatric TBI researcher. More information about Keith and links to TBI resources can be www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Sex Education has been in the news a lot recently, and it has me thinking about my favorite sex education series:  The Midwest Teen Sex Show.  It aired new episodes on YouTube from 2007 to 2009. Nikol Hasler, my guest for this podcast, was one of the creators of the show, as well as its host and writer. After the show, Nikol wrote two sex education books. Sex:  A Book for Teens came out in 2010, and a revised and expanded version of the book, called Sex: An Uncensored Introduction, came out in 2015. The series and the books are honest, respectful, informative, and engaging. They are among the best sex education materials I have ever seen. Professionally, Nikol now focuses on different issues, which is why I am honored that she agreed to share her insights on this topic. More information about Nikol and links to her videos can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In the U.S., we have started to make real progress towards decreasing juvenile suicides by promoting mental health and reducing the stigma around suicidal ideation. However, practical concerns remain.  What should a kid do when they are feeling suicidal?  What should a parent, teacher, caring adult, or even a friend do when a kid they know is in crisis?  I know it takes substantial resources and a concerted effort to put the correct services in place and then to make the public aware of those services.  My guest to scratch the surface of the work state and federal agencies are doing to decrease juvenile suicides is Arizona’s Suicide Prevention Program Manager, Joshua Stegemeyer.  The passion, experience, and innovation that Joshua brings to the position is inspiring, and I am honored to have him on to bravely share his story and to provide practical information on how you can plug in for assistance or to become a part of the larger movement. More information about Joshua and a link to Arizona’s suicide prevention hub can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Over the years, many teachers, administrators, and parents have asked me about restorative justice in schools. It is an important topic, but one that I am a little confused about myself, which is why I am so glad to be joined by Akiva Liberman. Akiva is a friend and colleague with whom I have discussed restorative justice many times. More importantly, Akiva has studied responses to youth misbehaviors for over two decades – much of it as a Senior Research Fellow at the Urban Institute – and he has published evaluations of restorative justice programs in schools.  More information about Akiva and links to some of the research we cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Labor Day episode, I discuss labor and new evidence of the power of being a caring adult in the life of child. Links to the research I cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (September 12, 2022).

Send us Fan Mail As parents, teachers, and direct service providers, we are bombarded with products and services that claim to help kids. Many of them are quite expensive. We want the best for the children and adolescents in our lives, but resources are scarce. My guest to help all of us understand how we can discern whether an app, a curriculum, a program, etc., might actually work is Eric Hedberg. Eric is an Accredited Professional Statistician and a Senior Associate at Abt Associates, a global public policy research firm and think tank. Eric has published extensively on statistical methods and on evaluations of educational programs. My first exposure to Eric was watching a video of him explaining statistics to group of non-researchers. I remember appreciating the clarity and humor of his explanation, which is why I approached him for this episode. More information about Eric and a link to the What Works Clearinghouse, which Eric and I discuss in the episode, can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail Dominique Roe-Sepowitz joins us for this episode. Dominique is the Founder and Director of Arizona State University’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research and the Clinical Director of Phoenix Starfish Place, a Federally funded supportive housing program for sex trafficked women and their children. Dominique has devoted her professional life to the  heartbreaking topics of human trafficking and sex trafficking, and there is nobody I trust more to educate you about them. More information about Dominique and links to some of the resources she mentions can be found www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest for this episode is Chandra Ghosh Ippen. Chandra is the Associate Director and Dissemination Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at the University of California, San Francisco. She also is the author of a series of storybooks for young children that are written to support emotion regulation and healing after stressful or traumatic experiences. Titles from the series include Holdin Pott, You Weren’t With Me, and Once I Was Very Scared. Chandra is somebody who, when it comes to kids, just gets it, and the advice shares and the resources she has created are invaluable.  More information about Chandra and her books can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest this episode is Melinda Gulick.  Melinda is the CEO of First Things First, which is an organization created by Arizona voters to help young children be ready for success in kindergarten and beyond. Melinda took over the helm of First Things First in March of 2022. As an award-winning public administrator with a breadth and depth of experience, Melinda is uniquely poised to advance First Things First’s mission, and I am excited for you to hear her perspective on why early childhood education is important and what you can do to promote it. More information about Melinda and First Things First can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My guest this episode is Steve King. Steve is the Superintendent of the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District in Arizona. For over 28 years, Steve has been experimenting, exploring new ideas, and reforming schools to support those students with the most significant needs, because he believes that supporting them affords the best opportunities for all students to succeed. I happen to think that Steve is an innovator. This interview was recorded on July 25, 2022, in front of live audience at the Our Future in Mind - Youth Mental Health Awareness Conference. More information about Steve and the about the conference can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail This episode was recorded in front of a live audience on July 19th, 2022, at the Child Abuse Prevention Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.  My guest is the keynote speaker, Corey B. Best.  Corey is the founder of Mining for Gold, a project that curates community members’ experiences with systems of oppression and utilizes that information to rebuild child- and family-serving systems. Corey is thoughtful, challenging, and generous, and I am so pleased to have him on this podcast. More information about Corey, Corey’s work, and Prevent Child Abuse Arizona can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail My very special guest for this first episode of Season 2 is the venerable Dorothy Espelage. Dorothy is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education; she is the author of numerous books on bullying, including Bullying Prevention and Intervention: Realistic Strategies for Schools; and she is the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the American Psychological Association for her work on bullying. In other words, Dorothy is the expert on bullying. She and I discuss bullying and its consequences, and we attempt to answer a listener's question about workplace bullying. More information about Dorothy can be found www.TalkingAboutKids.com.

Send us Fan Mail In this final mini summer episode, I discuss some new research about the effectiveness of fostering in kids a "synergistic mindset approach" to stress. Links to the research I cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (July 18, 2002) with a very special guest.

Send us Fan Mail In this third mini summer episode, I use the occasion of Independence Day (and my friend's birthday) to talk about kids and the dangers of fireworks. A link to the research I cite can be found at TalkingAboutKids.com.  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in late July with very special guests to help you prepare for the new school year.

Send us Fan Mail In this second mini summer episode, I use the occasion of Pride week to address how LGBTQIA+ kids are treated in school and what can be done to support them and all students. Links to the research I cite can be found at www.TalkingAboutKids.com.  Once again, full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in late July with very special guests to help you prepare for the new school year.