Dear Highlights

Highlights talks with Dr. JoAnne Pedro-Carroll, author of Putting Children First, about how to help children not just survive, but thrive during the big family change of divorce. Listen in as we discuss: What to say when you tell your kids your family is changing Naming the “forever” kind of love you have for your children Reimagining your former spouse as an important colleague in the business of...

Juliana Urtubey, 2021 Teacher of the Year, joins us this week for a candid conversation about her experiences in the classroom. Listen in as we discuss: Why we shouldn’t fixate on “learning loss” during the pandemic The magic questions that can get your child to tell you more about their day How we can help every kid love school

Highlights talks with Common Sense Media’s Erin Wilkey Oh about a modern-day rite of passage for children: their first cell phone. When are kids ready? Listen in as we discuss: ● Signs your child is ready to handle a cell phone ● Why telling kids what you are doing on your phone is good modeling ● Teaching our kids to recognize “red flag” feelings

Author and Freakonomics Radio host, Stephen Dubner joins us on this week’s episode of Dear Highlights to discuss why public policy doesn’t always put kids at the center of the conversation. Listen in to learn: ● How an amazing 4th grade teacher introduced Stephen to Highlights ● What car seat policy can teach us about how we consider what’s best for kids ● How long-term thinking could help us make...

Celebrate Grandparents’ Day by joining our conversation with Stanford Children’s Health’s Nancy Sanchez and Marilyn Swarts, who share tips from their class on grandparenting. Listen in to learn: When they realized a class on grandparenting was needed Why social media is often the first conflict between grandparents and parents What grandparents can do to be welcomed into their grandchildren’s live...

Highlights talks with Free-Range Kids author Lenore Skenazy about how long, boring afternoons are fertile ground for growing and nurturing creativity during childhood. Listen in as we discuss: ● Why Lenore was once dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” ● How remembering our own childhood pastimes can help give us confidence ● If there is still room for boredom in a world filled with digital entertainment

This episode contains sensitive content about the sexual abuse of children and may be upsetting to some listeners. Tune in for an open, honest discussion about: ● How children tell us something is wrong without words ● What we should ask of children’s schools, camps, and sports teams ● What adults can do to help children who have experienced abuse   For local resources, support, and information ab...

Author and Freakonomics Radio host, Stephen Dubner joins us on this week’s episode of Dear Highlights to discuss why public policy doesn’t always put kids at the center of the conversation. Listen in to learn: ● How an amazing 4th grade teacher introduced Stephen to Highlights ● What car seat policy can teach us about how we consider what’s best for kids ● How long-term thinking could help us make...

With the new Delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, this school year is kicking off with much more uncertainty than anyone expected. The Ohio State University’s Dr. Barbara Boone joins us this week to share insights from her research on family-school relationships, and offer tips on how adults can support the kids in their lives and help them work through big feelings about the new school year. Li...

Highlights talks with Nelba Marquez-Greene, founder of the Ana Grace Project, about how we can help communities, children, and their caregivers to heal from trauma. Nelba shares with us: •            How we can help kids be rich in relational wealth, even during a pandemic •            Why music is central to her work, and its power to help kids •            Her hard-won wisdom on how we empower o...

Two million American kids don’t eat meat. Does yours want to join team vegetarian? When faced with a kid who, inspired by love of animals, care for the environment, or committed pickiness, wants to cut out meat, what is a caregiver to do? Who should decide what kids eat? And can harmony be found at the dinner table without a grownup becoming a short order cook? Our guest Jennifer Anderson, a regis...

The majority of kids will at some point grieve a loved one. It’s a normal part of childhood we often don’t talk about enough. How does a child’s evolving understanding of death impact their grieving? How can we help kids express and process their grief? Developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and...

Helping your school-age child adjust to becoming a big brother or sister can be hard. After all, your child has grown used to your current relationship, whether they have all your attention or share it with an another sibling. And now their world will turn upside down. Are there ways to better prepare your child(ren) for the birth of a sibling? Welcoming a new baby is the subject of this week’s De...

In honor of Father’s Day, we’re talking about dads in this episode of our Dear Highlights podcast. We know that kids look to their fathers to provide a feeling of security, both physical and emotional. Children want to make their fathers proud, and an involved father helps promote a child’s inner growth and strength. Yet many children write to us about their dads, longing for a different relations...

This week’s Dear Highlights podcast focuses on kids who want to save the planet. Host Christine French Cully talks with Highlights Science Editor Andy Boyles, who provides tips for parents on supporting kids’ interest in caring for the planet and how to talk to kids about the environment. For years, kids have written to Highlights about animal rights, conservation, climate change, littering, pollu...

I have so much homework, when will I have time to play? This kid lament is one many parents hear daily and to help, this episode of the Dear Highlights podcast tackles the importance of play in a kid’s life. Host Christine French Cully talks with play expert, Temple professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD, about how children really learn and why they need to play more and memorize less. Yet many parents,...

It may be hard to fathom, but children as young as age 8 can have suicidal thoughts, and many parents don’t know when their children are in crisis. In this week’s Dear Highlights podcast and in honor of Mental Health Awareness month, our host Christine French Cully, talks with Dr. John Ackerman, a child clinical psychologist and the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the  Center for Suicide Preven...

For many parents, a child talking back or being rude is met with immediate anger or sternness—perhaps an instinctual response from their own upbringing or beliefs about respecting our elders. In this week’s Dear Highlights podcast, we tackle dealing with disrespect in terms of back talk and how a rude exchange can become a teachable moment. Mom and educator Dr. Chawanna B. Chambers talks with our...

This Dear Highlights podcast focuses on mental health for kids. Host Christine French Cully interviews pediatric psychologist Parker Huston, PhD, Clinical Director of On Our Sleeves , a national movement to break stigmas around children's mental health, from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. They discuss concrete strategies for parents about tweens and mental health, such as when t...

We created a special Dear Highlights podcast as a Mother’s Day tribute. Host Christine French Cully shares how kids feel about their moms with a few letters, poems, and stories they’ve written to Highlights over the years. We’ve all experienced or at least heard about the additional roles moms have had to take on in this pandemic--teacher, social director, creative muse, and more! To honor them an...

Today’s Dear Highlights episode discusses navigating friendships, both the fun and the challenge. Highlights receives more mail about friendship, a vital part of a kid’s social-emotional development, than any other subject. By making and keeping friends, kids learn important life skills, such as getting along with others and resolving conflicts. Positive interactions with friends help build self-e...

In this Dear Highlights episode about sibling rivalry, host Christine French Cully talks with clinical psychologist Dr. Laura Markham, author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How to Stop the Fighting and Raise Friends for Life and founding editor of AhaParenting.com, about sibling rivalry, the role siblings play in family life, why siblings fight, and how parents can best keep a peaceful, happy...

This Dear Highlights episode discusses how the pandemic affected children as their worlds turned upside down, and how parents can nurture optimism in their kids as we move to a new normal. This past year, kids have had to tackle distance learning, face-mask wearing, social distancing, and more. With that, many children were worried about parents who were front-line workers or about the health of t...

For 75 years, Highlights’ magazine has received thousands of letters and email from kids every year, and we answer every single one. ‘Dear Highlights’ has always served as a way to help ease children’s concerns and help encourage them to become their best selves. In so doing, we’ve sustained an ongoing, authentic dialogue with kids that has deepened our understanding of their worries and fears, as...