Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Teens Into Adulthood

This was a tough episode. When parents are struggling with serious illness or other types of suffering, how should they handle their adolescent kids? Jessica talks about her own, recent diagnosis of multiple myeloma cancer and how it has impacted her adolescent and adult children. Dr. Ken talks about his wife's cancer battle 20 years ago when their children were young. There's a significan...

Today we talk about Pixar's big summer movie "Inside Out 2" in which the star, Riley, becomes a teenager. Although a really funny movie, Dr. Ken had a fair amount to complain about how we think about the inner life of teenagers. Jessica enjoyed it and so did her 13 year old daughter. Maybe Dr. Ken is just being a curmudgeon. You decide! You can preorder Dr. Ken's book "Feeding...

Today we talk about Jonathan Haidt's new book, "The Anxious Generation." He is a social psychologist and co-author of the book "The Coddling Of The American Mind." This new book reviews massive amounts of research and delivers what Dr. Ken thinks is a "slam dunk" answer to the debate about whether smartphones are damaging to the lives of children and adolescents. We dis...

The second edition of the "Feeding The Mouth That Bites You" book will drop on November 5th! Dr. Ken finally finished the work of updating and expanding the Planned Emancipation message. Listeners of this podcast will recognize the new material covered in the book since they are many of the topics we talked about on this podcast over that past four seasons including: - anxiety and depressi...

We're taking the summer off after our fourth season! Plus... Dr. Ken has a big announcement that will interest all "Feeding The Mouth" parents when we get back. See you in the fall! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today we finish up our discussion of Abigail Shrier's book, "Bad Therapy." We take on her more wide-ranging critiques of psychotherapy's influence on schools and parenting. Are schools overstepping when they start monitoring the mental health of their students? When did parenting become a specialized technique for the psychologically trained few. When did parents lose confidence in...

If you haven't read Abigail Shrier's book, "Bad Therapy" you probably should take a look. Ms. Shrier's critique of an over-psychologized culture and the negative effects of poorly applied therapeutic methods is a timely warning for parents. Dr. Ken doesn't agree with all her conclusions but, as you'll see, there's plenty of very important cautions for parents consid...

Stepparents can play a powerful role in the lives of children. But dealing with teenagers is a very different matter. Even if you've been in your stepkids' lives for years, the onset of adolescence can change how they see their relationship to you. Dr. Ken talks about the importance of stepparents taking an honest inventory of how the teenager sees them and the ineffectiveness of stepparen...

By far the number one question parents ask about is managing cell phones. Just when you think you've set some guidelines they go right out the door. What's the best age to allow cell phones? Does Dr. Ken still recommend allowing complete freedom with these things at some point? We cover these and other important things to review with these stupid devices including some thoughts on parents&...

How should parents deal with teenagers when they're having marriage problems? What are the real effects of divorce on teenagers? When and how much should parents talk to their teens about marriage problems or when considering divorce? Today Jessica and Dr. Ken take on these questions and more. Got questions or feedback? We want to hear from you! podcast@feedingthemouth.com Get the book here: h...

Today we revisit the issue of passing on your own religious priorities to your teenagers. Since the pandemic, attendance at religious services is down significantly among Americans of all faiths. Among Christians, a significant percentage believe that watching church online is equal to church attendance. This drop in regular church or synagogue participation brings a unique challenge to parents wh...

It's been awhile since we talked about pornography and issues surrounding it. Jessica is also worried about anime. Are these two related? Should parents be worried about animated porn images as well as live action videos and images? What is hentai anyway? What is the impact of trying to "lock down" a teenager's access to porn vs. the impact of open communication? We take on these a...

Today we talk to Cynthia Yanof, host of the "MESSmerized" podcast, former host of the "Pardon the Mess" podcast and author of her new book, "Life is Messy, God is Good: Sanity for the Chaos of Everyday Life." Always relatable, Cynthia's book shares stories and lessons learned from the vantage point of a wife, mom, former lawyer, foster parent and Christian woman just tr...

This week we finish our discussion on teens and sociosexuality - an individual's interest in sexual behavior without commitment. Dr. Ken reviews the need to help our daughter's understand the normal differences between male and female sociosexuality. We review the importance of talking to your teens about these differences even though you're sure to get "eye rolls" from a gener...

Are men and women different in their sexual drives and needs? Popular culture seems insistent on portraying men and women's sexual interests as the same. In psychology research, an individual's desire and interest in casual, sexual interaction is known as sociosexuality. This has been studied worldwide and surprise surprise, there are consistent differences between males and females in the...

What is neurodiversity and what does it mean to be neurodivergent? Today we talk about this broad category that covers autism-spectrum conditions as well as deficits in attention and other cognitive, learning issues. Why is neurodiversity becoming a popular term? Is this a useful category for our kids? Jessica and Dr. Ken talk about the possible drawbacks to this category. Got questions or feedbac...

Today we share the second half of our interview with Dr. Miriam Grossman. Grossman is a board certified psychiatrist who has been educating parents about the misinformation that has all but hijacked the fields of psychiatry, psychology and virtually all other human sciences. Dr. Grossman’s practice currently focuses on gender-distressed young people and their parents. She believes that every child...

We are so excited to have one of our heroes join us for an in-depth look at the ideology of gender diversity that is sweeping our country. Dr. Miriam Grossman is a board certified psychiatrist who has been educating parents about the misinformation that has all but hijacked the fields of psychiatry, psychology and virtually all other human sciences. Dr. Grossman’s practice currently focuses on gen...

It's hard to believe how long it's been since we covered alcohol, drugs and vaping. Today we review the important differences between things that are bad for your teen and things that get them intoxicated. That difference is important! Also, Dr. Ken reviews the kind of craziness that can surround even normal sounding teens when they spend a lot of time around drunk kids. We also cover a br...

Today we review yet another news article about increased anxiety in teenagers. What is causing so much anxiety among our teens today? How should parents respond to teenagers who are anxious about the world they face today? When parents worry unnecessarily about every teenage struggle they run the risk of implying their adolescents are powerless to face today's struggles. Dr. Ken focuses instea...

Does your teenager misread others? Are they able to read the motives and feelings of their peers? This is known as "mentalization." Since the COVID pandemic more and more adolescents are struggling to read others and this effects their peer relationships and all other social interactions. Today we talk about how parents can influence mentalization in their teens and encourage their relatio...

We've had some listeners ask about starting Feeding The Mouth parenting early. You know, like what about that extra responsible, mature 11-year-old? Wouldn't it be better to encourage that kind of behavior with early Planned Emancipation? Dr. Ken's answer may surprise you. Got questions or feedback? We want to hear from you! podcast@feedingthemouth.com Get the book here: https://www.am...

What can parents do when their teenager seems to attract the wrong kind of friends? How is it that some adolescents seem to get in with the "good" kids in their school while others apparently struggle? Today we talk about the somewhat complex issue of teens who hang with the "wrong" sort of friend group. What causes some teens to gravitate to the wrong crowd? What can parents do ab...

NOTE: Today's episode isn't suitable for young children (obviously). We know it's hard to talk about masturbation with your kids but it's so important that you do. How did we go from a culture that lied about near fatal consequences of masturbation to a culture that celebrates it as some sort of "self-care"? Today we take on the topic of how to address masturbation with you...

When should parents allow their kids to wear make-up? What if your daughter tells you that all her friends are wearing make-up? What about some "radical" hairstyle? How should you respond if you son wants to wear make-up? Today we use the "Feeding The Mouth" philosophy with issues related to make-up, hair and even super long fingernails! Got questions or feedback? We want to hear f...