Raising Boys & Girls

As part of the Strengths, Skills, and Strategies podcast season, NBC's Vicky Nguyen shares her family's escape from Vietnam by boat and how growing up as the perpetual "new kid" built her grit. Now she and her husband "manufacture hardship" for their three daughters, like having their middle daughter tell her Taekwondo master herself that she was quitting, because "I can't pedal the bike for you a...

In this episode, Sissy and David explore how kids build perseverance by sticking with hard things, and how parents can stay close without stepping in to rescue them. David tells the story of a freshman cross-country runner who finished her first meet long after everyone else, cheered in by teammates who ran back onto the course for her. They share practical ideas: let kids be beginners, look for s...

Amy Julia Becker explains why measuring kids against developmental milestones makes children with disabilities look incapable, and why asking "what's the next small step toward growth?" shows how capable they really are. She describes letting love "wrap around" fear and helping kids feel wanted, valued, and needed. She also shares how person-centered goal-setting turned 12-year-old Penny's dream o...

Sissy and David open with a "How Flexible Are You Really?" quiz and explain that flexibility is what happens after disappointment. They say they've never seen kids, or parents, struggle with it this much, and they connect rigidity to anxiety's need for certainty and to the "control monster." They share four ways to build flexibility: name it, make it fun with low-stakes practice like a flexibility...

Dr. Shefali Tsabary, author of Raising Conscious Daughters and Raising Conscious Sons, explains how technology targets boys through their drive for achievement and girls through their need for approval. She describes girls struggling with perfectionism beneath polished exteriors, and boys caught between a culture that treats masculinity as a bad word and a manosphere that turns it into a cartoon....

Kicking off a new stretch of their Capable series, Sissy Goff and David Thomas explore the strength of competence, distinguishing it from confidence: confidence says "I think I can," competence says "I've done hard things before," and it's built by practicing through real, manageable struggles rather than being rescued from them. They introduce "the capable pause" — asking whether a situation is t...

Blake Brewer joins Sissy and David to tell the story of watching his father drown in Hawaii when he was 19, and how a letter his dad had written him, discovered in his briefcase hours later,  anchored him through grief and inspired the Legacy Letter Challenge. He shares what helped him grieve well, from adults who gave him space rather than pressure to still letting himself cry decades later,...

Closing out their series on grief, Sissy Goff and David Thomas focus on remembering, living, and hoping. They encourage parents to follow a child's lead on keepsakes and conversations, try tangible practices like memory boxes and collecting stories from relatives, and mark anniversaries without a script for doing it "correctly." They also address the guilt that can come with living fully again, ho...

Pastor and author Tyler Staton joins David Thomas for an honest conversation about prayer, parenting, and his journey through advanced-stage cancer. Tyler shares creative ways families can help children engage with prayer, including prayer jars and prayer trees, while reminding parents that prayer is not only about the words spoken between “Dear God” and “Amen,” but about who we become afterward....

Sissy Goff and David Thomas share four things grieving children need most: conversation, community, consistency, and coping. They explain how honest, age-appropriate conversations can help children feel grounded, why safe adults and peers are essential, and how familiar routines and boundaries create security during seasons of change. They also offer practical coping strategies for navigating big...

Sissy and David are joined by author and speaker Toni Collier for an honest and hope-filled conversation about the power of community in helping kids and families navigate grief and hardship. Drawing from her family’s experience with divorce, Toni shares how accepting support from safe people strengthened both her and her children. Together, they discuss why resilience is built over time, how to h...

Grief looks different at every age, and understanding a child’s developmental stage can help parents recognize what they need most. Sissy Goff and David Thomas explore how grief may appear in babies and toddlers, preschoolers, elementary-age children, middle schoolers, and teenagers—from regression and separation anxiety to withdrawal, risk-taking, and unexpected emotional reactions. They offer pr...

In this episode of Raising Boys and Girls, it features Sissy Goff and David Thomas in an in-person conversation with author and Duke professor Kate Bowler about her newest book, Joyful Anyway. Kate unpacks the difference between happiness (built from luck and circumstance) and joy (a surprising, embodied experience that can coexist with grief and hardship), drawing on her own journey through stage...

Grief can look very different in children than it does in adults. In this episode, Sissy Goff and David Thomas share five important ways kids process loss: in small doses, in the middle of everyday life, through emotions connected to secondary losses, through play, and in new ways as they grow and develop. They encourage parents to follow their child’s lead, offer language when grief unexpectedly...

Ginny Yurich, founder of 1000 Hours Outside, joins Sissy and David to explore how outdoor play, movement, and hands-on experiences prepare children to learn and grow. She shares how homeschooling has shaped her understanding of education, emphasizing that children learn constantly through their interests, relationships, everyday responsibilities, and time in nature. Ginny also explains how outdoor...

Parent-teacher conferences can feel stressful for parents, but Sissy Goff and David Thomas encourage families to approach them as opportunities to build a supportive team around their child. They share practical ways to create a spirit of partnership with teachers, receive honest feedback without becoming defensive, and look beyond grades to understand how a child is growing academically, emotiona...

In this episode, Sissy and David sit down with Michael and Melissa Kruger to talk about helping families build meaningful spiritual rhythms together. The Krugers share the heart behind their new book, The Good News Family Devotional: Fifty-Two Weeks Through the Gospel of Mark, and encourage parents that family discipleship doesn’t have to be perfect or complicated to make a lasting impact. They di...

As kids head back to school, Sissy Goff and David Thomas share five practical ways parents can help them navigate the big emotions that often come with transition. They encourage parents to expect heightened feelings, lend kids their confidence, let feelings “ride but not drive,” protect margin for rest, and help kids collect evidence of their own capability. With simple scripts and questions pare...

Sissy Goff and David Thomas sit down with Lysa TerKeurst for a meaningful conversation about making peace with what we can’t control—especially as parents. Lysa shares what she’s learned through raising five children, walking through divorce, and now becoming a grandmother, including the importance of keeping kids talking, releasing the need to control outcomes, and allowing children to experience...

As kids head back to school, friendships can bring just as much anxiety as academics. In this episode, Sissy Goff and David Thomas share five practical ways parents can help kids build social confidence: practice the first few minutes of the day, teach kids to notice others, give them simple conversation starters, allow friendships time to grow, and celebrate courage instead of popularity. They re...

Melanie Shankle and Sophie Hudson join David and Sissy for a funny, honest conversation about raising capable kids without giving in to pressure, perfectionism, or the urge to rescue them from every hard moment. Drawing from their friendship and experiences parenting young adults, they discuss the importance of allowing kids to fail, advocate for themselves, handle responsibilities, and develop co...

As the new school year approaches, Sissy Goff and David Thomas help parents understand why transitions can bring big feelings, physical symptoms, and anxious thoughts for both kids and adults. They share an easy-to-remember “A+ Anxiety Plan”: anticipate anxiety, create an action plan, avoid avoidance, act it out through practice, and affirm courage. With practical scripts and strategies for naviga...

Dr. Dale Atkins joins David and Sissy to explore how speed, chronic stress, digital distraction, and intensive parenting are reshaping family relationships and contributing to a crisis of capability in kids. She shares practical wisdom for building stronger connections across generations, including listening without becoming defensive, respecting adult children as independent people, offering guid...

Friendships are where kids practice being human, but social anxiety, screens, group dynamics, and “rollercoaster” relationships are making connection harder than ever. Sissy and David offer practical ways parents can help kids recognize healthy friendships, develop realistic expectations, practice conversation and initiation, understand reciprocity, set kind boundaries, and navigate awkward moment...

Katty and Hunter Connelly join Sissy and David to share what they have learned while raising four very different children. They discuss building capability through honesty, responsibility, hard work, and allowing kids to experience the consequences of their choices rather than constantly stepping in to fix things. They also offer encouragement for navigating sibling conflict, treating children fai...