ON BOYS Podcast
327 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago - ★★★★ - 117 ratingsReal Talk about Parenting, Teaching, and Reaching Tomorrow’s Men
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Episodes
Advocating for Boys
April 18, 2024 11:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBAdvocating for boys is one way to help boys and men thrive. At present, there are no governmental commissions working on behalf of boys and men in the United States. Not at the federal level & not at the state level. Even though boys lag behind girls in academic achievement and boys & men experience suicide, murder, drug & alcohol addiction, homelessness, incarceration, & early death at disproportionately high rates. And even though there are multiple commissions dedicated to addressing & a...
Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2E) Boys
April 11, 2024 11:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MBGifted & twice-exceptional boys often struggle in school, despite their intelligence & talents. In fact, boys who are gifted or twice-exceptional (which means they are gifted & have a learning disability) are considered “problem kids.” Teachers (and other adults) may make boredom as lack of focus, or assume that poor grades indicate lack of intelligence. For many 2E boys, their learning disabilities overshadow their giftedness; for others, their giftedness hides their learning disabilities,...
Real Talk About Fentanyl, Opioids, & Marijuana
April 04, 2024 11:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBLike it or not, fentanyl, other opioids, and marijuana are part of our boys’ world. “It is very easy to get drugs on social media,” says Michelle Leopold, a mother who’s son, Trevor, died after taking a pill he purchase online. Ignoring these uncomfortable fact isn’t helpful. We have to educate ourselves and educate our boys. Here’s why: Marijuana harms young brains Today’s marijuana and marijuana-based products are far stronger than those of the past. “It’s so important to learn about ...
50/50 Shared Parenting
March 28, 2024 11:00 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MB50/50 shared parenting is good for boys & good for parents. But it’s not yet the norm, despite decades of research demonstrating the value of shared parenting. “It’s one part sexism and one part misunderstanding of the latest social science around what it best for kids,” says Emma Johnson, author of The 50/50 Solution: The Surprising Simple Choice that Makes Moms, Dads, and Kids Happier & Healthier After a Divorce. “”Thankfully, we are barreling toward a better future. No one’s really bee...
Marc Hauser on Building Resilience
March 21, 2024 11:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBBuilding boys’ resilience can help them thrive, says Marc Hauser. Even if they’ve experienced a lot of adversity. “Adversity experienced by children is not a rare event, but a relatively common event,” says Marc, author of Vulnerable Minds: The Harms of Childhood Trauma & the Hope of Resilience. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may include abuse, violence, neglect, poverty, and loss of a caregiver, and these experiences can negatively affect kids’ development. But although research l...
How to Raise a Healthy Gamer
March 14, 2024 11:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBYes, it’s possible to raise a healthy gamer. Even in a world saturated with video games. Fighting about video games, however, isn’t helpful, says Alok Kanojia (aka Dr. K), author of How to Raise a Healthy Gamer: End Power Struggles, Break Bad Screen Habits, and Transform Your Relationship with Your Kids. “Right now, there is an antagonistic relationship between most parents & their kids around video gaming,” Dr. K says. “You think they need to cut back; they don’t think they have a problem...
Listener Q & A: Getting Curious & Motivating Boys
March 07, 2024 12:00 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBHow, exactly, does one “get curious” about their son without badgering him? That’s a big, important question, and that’s exactly what Jennifer wants to know: Lately, as he is resisting my normal questioning…I feel like I am now pushing him to evaluate his feelings, talk to me, or just engage…I have seen this cute, fun challenge of showing a person two pieces of paper. Each one has something different written in it. The recipient who is choosing the paper has no idea what is on the other si...
Debt Free Mom Discusses Family Finances
February 29, 2024 12:00 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MB“Debt Free Mom” (aka Carly Hill) knows that family finances can be a fraught topic. Yet family finances affect every aspect of family life: A family’s stress level, as well as housing, education, and recreational choices. Family finances play into decisions such as rec sports or travel team? Private school or public school? And, of course, our attitude and money habits affects our children as well. Our boys learn a lot about money management — both good and bad! – from us. On Budgeting & M...
Maggie Dent: Build Up Dads to Benefit Boys
February 22, 2024 12:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBMany Dads want to “step up with their hearts” and “actively parent,” says Maggie Dent, Australian parenting author and host of The Good Enough Dad and Parental As Anything podcasts. “They want to know how to do it well,” she says, noting that most dads have little experience caring for (or interacting with!) children prior to becoming a parent. Moms, though, often unconsciously interfere with dads’ parenting efforts by criticizing fathers or insisting that dads follow their parenting direc...
Jaclyn Greenberg on Parenting a Disabled Son
February 15, 2024 12:00 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBJaclyn Greenberg often feels like she’s living a divided life. When her daughter was born, there was music and laughter in the birthing room. When her disabled son was born, there was no music. No laughter. In fact, everyone swept out of the room soon after the baby’s birth, taking him with them. Jacyln hadn’t even had a chance to say hello. Raising a disabled son alongside two typically-developing children (her daughter and youngest son) presents unique challenges and opportunities. “I’v...
Middle School: Misunderstood or Magic?
February 09, 2024 12:00 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBIs middle school misunderstood — or magic? For most of us — and many of our kids — middle school is a pretty miserable time. But that’s largely because most educators and parents misunderstand middle schoolers & these critical years. “This is a very pervasive story, that middle school is terrible. But it doesn’t have to be. We make it terrible by working directly against the developmental needs of middle schoolers and designing these buildings and classes in way that make their lives reall...
Needed: Boy-Friendly Schools
February 01, 2024 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBMost schools today aren’t boy-friendly. That’s one (big!) reason why boys lag behind girls academically. And why so many boys hate going to school. Tyler, a 16-year-old Texas boy, started struggling in middle school. Recess was no more. Classes were 90 minutes long. So, “he found it really hard to sit still in class,” says Julie Jargon, the Wall Street Journal Family & Tech columnist who interviewed Tyler for her series on boys and education. Now a high school student, Tyler suggests tha...
Modern Male Puberty is Awkward
January 25, 2024 12:00 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MBModern male puberty starts earlier than you think. It may start as early as age 9 in boys – which means that the mood swings you’re seeing in your 10-year-old son could well be puberty-related. After all, as Cara Natterson & Vanessa Kroll Bennett write in their book This is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained, “The very first sign of puberty in most kids is a slamming door.” Most parents of boys aren’t prepared for male puberty. (And may be in denial when the first signs start appearing....
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) & Muscle Dysmorphia
January 18, 2024 12:00 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBThere’s a connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) & muscle dysmorphia, which is a strong desire to bulk up your body. According to new research by Kyle Ganson, an assistant professor in Canada & a licensed clinical social worker who’s worked with teenagers & young adults, boys who experience abuse, neglect, incarceration or divorce of a parent, poverty, or parental mental illness or substance use, are more likely to develop muscle dysmorphia. That’s important because it a) s...
Set Boys Up for School Success
January 11, 2024 12:00 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBHow can boys experience school success? Parents and educators frequently ask, “How do we help boys thrive in school?” A question we rarely ask is, What can boys do to set themselves up for school success? What can we do to help boys successfully navigate school? “It’s really essential that we, as parents & educators of boys, are preparing them to navigate the struggles within school,” says Dr. Todd (Jason) Feltman, author of Transforming into a Powerful Third, Fourth, or 5th Grade Navigat...
Color Blindness in Boys
January 04, 2024 12:00 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBColor blindness affects a lot of boys. In fact, 1 in 12 males are color blind. They perceive color differently than most humans. Some see shades of tan instead of vivid reds and greens. Some see life in black, white, and grey. Many don’t realize that they see things differently than their peers, teachers, and parents. And many parents and teachers don’t realize that their boys are colorblind – which can lead to unnecessary learning complications and affect boys’ learning. Signs of Color Bl...
Best of 2023
December 28, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBWhich ON BOYS episodes were the Best of 2023? Photo by Photo by Engin Akyurt via Pexels Your favorites include: 5. Simplicity Parenting with Kim John Payne Simplicity parenting prioritizes a balanced schedule, predictable rhythm, and decluttered, information-filtered family environment… The antidote to constant overwhelm is simple, Payne says. It’s simplicity. He advises parents to “dial back”… 4. Parental Accommodation & ADHD (featuring ADHD Dude Ryan Wexelblatt) “Parental accommoda...
ON BOYS Most Popular Episode of 2023
December 21, 2023 12:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBOur January 5 conversation with Mary Van Geffen, Parenting “Spicy” Boys, is ON BOYS’ Most Popular Episode of 2023. (And Jen’s sons’ least favorite! Gen Z defines “spicy” quite differently than we’re using it here.) Sure, this episode, released early in the year, had the benefit of time. But Mary’s message also resonates with frustrated and overwhelmed parents of boys. As she told us, “Spicy” boys are those who express themselves in big and loud ways, feel things intensely, and have energy ...
YouTube, Misogyny, & Racism
December 14, 2023 12:00 - 48 minutes - 44 MBYouTube isn’t all entertainment and education. Misogyny, racism, and porn lurk there too. It can be really difficult to keep up with what our boys are watching online, though. Creators come & go, interests change, one click can lead to, well, anywhere. Boys love YouTube YouTube is ubiquitous these days. Gaming and challenge videos (think Mr. Beast) are certainly popular with boys, but many also engage in educational content on the site. “It’s Google and YouTube,” says Cindy Marie Jenkins...
America’s Marriage Coach Shares Relationship Advice
December 07, 2023 12:00 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MBAmerica’s marriage coach, Dr. Jacquie Del Rosario, says nature and nurture affect our relationships. Moms are concerned with a lot of things at once; Dads tend to focus on one thing at a time. Many moms derive a sense of security from planning ahead for all possible contingencies. Dads tend to react to life as it happens. Females generally process information more quickly than males as well because women have more language centers in the brain than men do. These differences can lead to conf...
Sex Ed for Neurodiverse Kids
November 30, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBNeurodiverse kids need comprehensive sex education too. “It’s a fundamental human right to have this information – & so important to their health & safety,” says Amy Lang, creator of Birds + Bees + Kids, a fantastic resource for parents, childcare providers and educators. Myths About Neurodiversity & Sexuality Many people (including well-meaning parents) believe one (or more) myths about neurodiversity & sexuality, Amy says. Common myths include: Neurodiverse people are either asexual or...
Christopher Pepper Discusses Health Education and Boys
November 23, 2023 12:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBHealth education varies greatly from place to place. Some boys receive great, age-appropriate, inclusive health education at school. Others do not. “It’s pretty inconsistent,” says Christopher Pepper, a health educator who currently teaches in the San Francisco Unified School District & is working on a book called TALK TO YOUR BOYS: 27 Crucial Conversations Parents Need to Have with Boys Today – and How to Start Having Them. “What’s covered is pretty different and how the subject is approac...
Listener Q & A: Punishment, Teenage Boys, & Letting Go
November 16, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBHow do you make space for a teenage boy to make his own mistakes? Photo by olia danilevich via Pexels Especially when said teenager is frustrating, annoying, and contributing to family chaos? Sandra said: Teenager years are frustrating — wanting to tell him what do, yet I know he needs to make his own mistakes. Throw in toddler boy hitting/screaming at his brother…. She is definitely not the only parent wondering how to deal with a teen boys & balance the needs of siblings! That’s we ta...
Autonomy-Supportive Parenting
November 10, 2023 22:26 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBHave you heard of autonomy-supportive parenting? Essentially, it’s the opposite of helicopter parenting. It’s a parenting style that allows, supports, and encourages kids to make decisions and take action. And unlike helicopter parenting, which demands near-constant parental activity, autonomy-supportive parenting also supports parental rest (and can reduce burnout). “Intensive parenting is not good for our kids. They need the freedom to explore and experiment, and this is where stepping ...
AnneMoss Rogers on Suicide Prevention & Struggling Teens
November 02, 2023 11:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBIf you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for help in the United States. Call 988 or 800-273-TALK (8255). The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is open 24 hours a day, every day. Services are also available en espanol. AnneMoss Rogers’ son Charles was “the life of the party.” He loved dogs, people, & games. And he died of suicide at age 20. Statistically, Charles’ story is all too common. Suicide is the second leading cause of de...
Supporting LGBTQ+ Kids
October 26, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.2 MBSupporting LGBTQ+ kids helps them become healthy adults. Jo Langford is a father, therapist, and author of The Pride Guide: A Guide to Social and Sexual health for LGBTQ Youth and Spare Me “The Talk!” (for both boy-identified and girl-identified youth). He helps kids and parents navigate sexuality, gender, media, and technology. Supporting LGBTQ+ Kids Rule of thumb: Never out someone. The decision to disclose (or not disclose) one’s sexual orientation is an individual one. You should not ...
Parenting for Gender Equity
October 19, 2023 11:00 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBGender equity begins at home. Policies matter, of course, but not as much as parenting. Think about that for a moment. Parents need to think & talk about gender stereotypes and expectations because those stereotypes and expectations affect our parenting, says Shelly Vaziri Flais, a pediatrician, mom of four, and author of Nurturing Boys to Be Better Men: Gender Equality Starts at Home. Gender also affects our boys’ experiences in the world, so if we don’t consciously consider gender in o...
Dr. Friendtastic on Boys & Friendship
October 12, 2023 11:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBBoys are twice as likely as girls to be friendless in middle school. And by adulthood, 1 in 5 men say they don’t have any close friends. Friendship matters for guys too – but clearly, boys face some unique challenges. “Boys & men have special challenges because of the image of how they’re ‘supposed to be,'” says Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a psychologist and author who may be better known as Dr. Friendtastic. Some boys, for instance, love rough & tumble play. But 40% of boys don’t like it & m...
Parenting Beyond Power with Jen Lumanlan
October 05, 2023 11:00 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBJen Lumanlan, author of Parenting Beyond Power: How to Use Connection & Collaboration to Transform Your Family, believes there’s a direct link between parenting and social justice. “The way that we raise our children — the daily interactions that we have with them that seem like they’re about discipline — actually support our children in learning about how power works in families and in our culture,” she says. “That shapes how they go out into the world and treat other people. If we want t...
Devorah Heitner on Growing Up in Public
September 28, 2023 11:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBOur boys are growing up in public. Between social media, online monitoring, and geo-tracking, our kids’ lives are public in a way ours never were when we were young. Helping kids manage this digital landscape can be a challenge for parents and adults who often worry and frequently ignore the upsides of digital life. “24/7 access to one another is a huge source of stress.” Feeling like you have to be accessible at all times is stressful for our kids. (And us!) But kids also enjoy positive ...
Calm the Chaos: Parenting Challenging Kids
September 21, 2023 11:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBHow do you calm the chaos in your household? Big emotions, power struggles, and challenging behaviors can create (& feed!) chaos, affecting the entire family. And it’s next to impossible for anyone to operate at their best in a constant state of chaos. “I felt like an absolute failure for the first seven years” of parenting, says Dayna Abraham, author of Calm the Chaos: A Fail-Proof Roadmap for Parenting Even the Most Challenging Kids. “The calls from school were coming daily. My son was k...
Lisa Damour on The Emotional Lives of Teens
September 14, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBDr. Lisa Damour is our go-to expert regarding the emotional lives of teens. She is a psychologist & author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents, and although her previous two books were a deep dive into the world of girls, she gets boys. Consider this sentence: If a boy “doesn’t feel that he has permission to let people know he’s hurting, it’s a good bet that he will discharge his unwanted emotions by acting out.” That one sentenc...
Parenting During Crisis & Catastrophe
September 07, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBCrisis and catastrophe no longer seem so rare. There were 51 school shootings that resulted in injury or death in 2022. Wildfires are destroying communities and affecting air quality. Hurricanes, heat, infectious disease (malaria is back in the U.S & COVID-19 infections are rising), increasing rates of depression and suicide…it’s a lot. And that’s on top of the now-typical anxiety many parents and kids feel about school and sports performance. “We, as parents and caregivers of kids, are co...
Masculinity, Fatherhood, & Man Up
August 31, 2023 11:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBWhat do college students think about masculinity? About fatherhood? About the trauma & violence faced by men in society? Kevin Roy, a family science professor at the University of Maryland (& father of 3 sons), encourages his students to discuss these topics (& more) in his popular class, “Man Up.” “Young women come in saying, ‘what is going on with guys?'” Kevin says. “The young men who take the course are really interested in exploring different ways of thinking about, ‘what is it to be ...
Melinda Wenner Moyer: Raising Boys Who Aren’t Assholes
August 17, 2023 11:00 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBYou don’t want to raise an asshole. None of us do! Melinda Wenner Moyer, a science journalist, author, and mom of two, says that science can show us the way. In 2021, she published How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting – from Tots to Teens. Melinda is up front about the fact that raising a non-asshole is a long term project. Kids, she notes, are supposed to be assholes sometimes. “We feel like — and I think that sometimes society tells us —...
Boys, Babies, & Breastfeeding
August 17, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBWhat do boys need to know about birth, babies, and breastfeeding? A lot more than we’re currently teaching them. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), 83.2% infants born in 2019 (the last year for which data is available) started out receiving some breast milk, and 78.6% were receiving any breast milk at 1 month. At 6 months, 55.8% of infants received any breast milk and 24.9% received breast milk exclusively. Breastfeeding rates tend to decline over time du...
Raising Empowered Athletes w Kirsten Jones
August 10, 2023 11:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBRaising Empowered Athletes, by former D1 athlete Kirsten Jones, is the book parents need to navigate today’s youth sports culture. Kids do not need to begin formal sports instruction in preschool, and they don’t need to specialize in a single sport in order to succeed or excel, Kirsten says. In fact, she recommends that kids “try everything” — all kinds of active, physical pursuits, including dance and solo sports – up until age 14 or so. Before that, sports participation should focus on th...
Phyllis Fagell Discusses Middle School Superpowers
August 03, 2023 11:00 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBMiddle school students are “superheroes in the making,” says Phyllis Fagell, a school counselor, mom, and author of Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times. If that sounds crazy to you, consider this: middle schoolers and superheroes “both get catapulted out of a world they know and sent on a jarring (& occasionally scarring) journey. At the start…they’re strangers to themselves and can feel as if their own bodies have betrayed them,” Phyllis says. Middle Sch...
Body Image, Eating Disorders, & Boys
July 27, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBBody image concerns and eating disorders affect boys too. As many as 75% of adolescent boys are dissatisfied with their bodies. 3% are now using steroids in an attempt to alter their bodies, 7% use supplements, and a 2019 study found that 1 in 5 guys aged 18-24 had an eating disorder due to a desire to enhance muscles. Boys, like girls, need help developing a healthy body image and healthy habits. Eating Disorders May Be Missed in Boys To date, the “vast majority of body image and eatin...
How to Be an Unflustered Mom
July 20, 2023 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBYes, you can be an unflustered mom. Identifying your anxiety style is the first step, says Amber Trueblood, a mom of four boys (currently ages 10, 12, 14, & 15) and author of The Unflustered Mom: How Understanding the Five Anxiety Styles Transforms the Way We Parent, Partner, Live, and Love. “Anxiety is not one-size-fits-all. It doesn’t look the same for everybody,” Amber says. “What you’re trigged by is going to be different for what triggers someone else emotionally.” Five Anxiety Style...
Managing Medical Expenses
July 13, 2023 11:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBMedical expenses are a part of life. (Particularly if you live in the United States!) Figuring out how to budget and pay for well-child checks, sports physicals, ER and urgent care visits, and recommended screenings is confusing and overwhelming. Health insurance is expensive and difficult to decipher. Independent contractors and entrepreneurs typically don’t have access to group plans, and many available plans simply don’t meet the needs of today’s families. Cost-sharing plans are an alt...
Why Now is the Best Time to Raise Boys (w Michael Reichert)
July 06, 2023 11:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBNow is the best time to raise boys, says psychologist Michael Reichert, founding director of the Center for the Study of Boys’ & Girls’ Lives, author of How to Raise a Boy, and co-author of Equimundo’s recent State of American Men report. It doesn’t feel that way to many parents (or boys), though. Recently, for the first time in recorded history, a majority of expectant American parents expressed a preference for a female child because boys’ lives are “too uncertain.” “There’s such a clou...
Sue Atkins Tackles Common Parenting Questions
June 29, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBSue Atkins encourages parents to slow down, relax, & learn from their children. “We are rushing through life,” says the UK parenting guru.. “We rush everything — we rush our children to eat their breakfast, to do their shoes up, to brush their teeth. And I think children have got something to teach us, because they just don’t worry about those things. They take their time.” Atkins also encourages parents to “exude confidence” — even if they’re not feeling 100% confident — via their voice &...
“Whole Child, Whole Life” w Stephanie Malia Krauss
June 22, 2023 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBThe Whole Child, Whole Life approach can help kids thrive. Stephanie Malia Krauss, a mom of two boys and an author with a background in education and social work, wrote Whole Child, Whole life: 10 Ways to Help Kids Live, Learn, & Thrive because she realized that parents, educators, coaches, community leaders (and so many others!) all need to know how to nurture the whole child. Focusing on certain aspects of a child’s development — say, their academic or athletic development — while neglect...
Nonverbal Communication with Boys
June 15, 2023 11:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBWant to connect with boys? Pay attention to your nonverbal communication. Tone of voice, body language, facial expressions, and even our breathing influence the perception of our words and messages, says Michael Grinder, who’s known as the “father of nonverbal communication. “If you look at someone and make eye contact, it increases the emotions,” he says. “So if you like the emotions, keep the eye contact. If you do not like the emotions, stop making eye contact.” Females tend to enjoy t...
Gemma Gaudette Talks About Raising Boys
June 08, 2023 11:00 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBGemma Gaudette says “we don’t give boys enough credit.” Gemma, host of Idaho Matters & a mom of two sons (currently ages 11 & 15), knows (from personal experience!) that boys can be dramatic & sensitive, even though society has coded those traits as “feminine.” Yet many adults continue to insist on & impose so-called “masculine” expectations on boys, without recognizing the breadth of normal variation. Many adults also react to boys’ behavior based on their experiences with harmful adult m...
Advanced Parenting with Dr. Kelly Fradin
June 01, 2023 11:00 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBAdvanced parenting may involve guiding a child through a mental health crisis. Or parenting a child with a chronic medical condition. Or both. It’s what parents must do when a child’s needs go beyond basic feeding, sheltering, loving, and nurturing. As a childhood cancer survivor and complex care pediatrician, Dr. Kelly Fradin knows that it’s difficult for parents to balance kids’ physical and mental challenges with the routine logistics of parenting and family life. Healthcare providers an...
Puberty, Perimenopause, & Midlife Parenting
May 25, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBMidlife parenting often means navigating puberty and perimenopause at the same time. The average age of first parenthood has increased in recent years, so many moms now find themselves going thru perimenopause around the same time their kids hit puberty, according to a 2021 New York Times Parenting Newsletter article titled, When Your Home is a Hormonal Hellscape. And while thinking of your home as a “hormonal hellscape” may not be soothing, it’s refreshing to hear honest talk about midlif...
What Middle School Boys Need
May 18, 2023 11:00 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBMiddle school — and ages 11 to 14 — is “a time like no other!” It’s a time when significant biological, neurological and emotional changes are happening simultaneously. Middle school boys can be a confusing mix. They want to be treated like adults AND still do incredibly silly things. Jerome Hunter, co-founder of the Seattle School for Boys, recalls his middle school experience as a rollercoaster. In 6th grade, he was an enthusiastic learner who was interested in art, sports, math, & mus...
Celebrating Moms on Mother’s Day
May 11, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBMother’s Day is a day to honor the sacrifices mothers make for their children. At least, that was the intent of Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day in the United States This year, we’re also celebrating the many ways in which mothering has enhanced our lives. (“You can’t stay stagnant as a human being while you’re a parent,” Jen says.) Parenting is a lot more challenging than most of us expected. And yet, raising kids is an awesome, enriching experience. Mothering & Learning to Let G...