Talkaboutable with Dr. Susan Swick

What can parents teach their kids about grief? In this episode, Dr. Swick sits down with Claire Bidwell Smith — a therapist, grief expert and bestselling author — to explore how families can navigate conversations about loss with little ones. From breaking down kids’ developmental understanding of death to building rituals of remembrance, Claire shares practical guidance on how to frame death as a...

How do you talk to your child about death, and help them connect with family members who have passed away? In this episode, we're exploring that question with a mom who wants her daughter to feel close to the grandmother she never knew. This is a conversation about navigating grief, raising emotionally attuned kids, and finding beauty in the impermanence of life. Talkaboutable is produced by Lemon...

What’s the best way to tell your kid about their genetic origins? In this episode, Dr. Swick talks with Lisa Schuman, a reproductive therapist and Founding Director of The Center for Family Building in New York, about the best way to open up the conversation with kids of all ages who were donor conceived. We’ll get into the best children’s books about the topic, how to decide which family members...

When is it ok to tell your children about some of the grownup things in life? In this episode we are talking to a couple who conceived their daughter using a third-party donor. She’s starting to be old enough to understand what this means, and the parents are worried about how much they should tell her. This is a conversation about non-traditional families, and how—when it comes to knowing how muc...

What do kids with ADHD need to truly thrive? In this episode, Dr. Swick explores thoughtful, practical strategies with Dr. Carrie Jackson, a licensed clinical child psychologist specializing in ADHD and the founder of SoCal Child Psychology. Carrie has been diagnosed with ADHD herself, so she also has a personal window into what works. Together, they unpack how parents can help their kids navigate...

What do you do when your kids can go from best friends to fighting, yelling and getting physical? In this episode, we’re talking to a dad with two boys who are navigating ADHD, anxiety, and the frequent transitions of a 50/50 custody arrangement. This is a conversation about breaking the conflict cycle and building rituals that actually stick. Talkaboutable is produced by Lemonada Media, in partne...

In this episode we take a deeper dive into the topic of picky eating with Dr. Nimali Fernando, the founder of the Dr. Yum project, a nonprofit with a mission to help families and communities overcome barriers to eating well. We talk to Dr. Fernando about some of the techniques she uses to help kids practice eating new foods. And we also discuss worries about nutritional deficiencies, whether rewar...

What do you do when your kid will only eat a handful of different foods? In this episode, we're sitting down with a mom who is helping her 8-year-old work through his food anxiety and actually get curious about what's on his plate. This is a conversation about turning mealtime stress into creative exploration, and why a super-sensitive palate could be a superpower in disguise. Talkaboutable is pro...

Join Dr. Susan Swick, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and mom of 4, as she tackles your biggest parenting questions. Dr. Swick believes if you can talk about it with your kids, you can tackle it. Tune in for honest conversations with parents and experts about picky eating, sibling conflict, family building with IVF and so much more. From Lemonada Media in partnership with the Ohana Center for...

Got a parenting problem you can’t stop thinking about? Talkaboutable is coming back for Season 2, and we want to hear from you! We're looking for parents of kids and young adults ages 6-21 who are navigating a parenting challenge, big or small. Whatever you choose to share with Dr. Swick, you can stay completely anonymous. If it's on your mind, it's Talkaboutable. Interested in being a guest? Fill...

For the final episode of season 1, Dr. Swick sits down with a special guest: her sister Lauren, who is a dear friend and a parent of two. They talk about what’s guided and sustained Lauren in raising two children with very different needs and experiences. Plus, how their own upbringing influenced their parenting styles. This episode is all about the ever-evolving journey of parenthood from the eye...

When your kids are in their 20s but still under your roof, how do you know when to step in and when to step back? Today’s guest, a single father of two, is experiencing this problem twofold, since his young adult sons are identical twins! At 21, they’ve fought hard for the skills and independence they’ve achieved, and yet they still sometimes fall short with certain elements of adulthood. This fat...

How can you create boundaries with toxic family members while still encouraging your child to explore the relationships that feel meaningful to them? It’s a tricky task that we’ll be tackling in this episode, with a single mom who doesn’t want to keep recreating patterns of her past. This conversation is about figuring out and enforcing healthy boundaries, especially the ones that don’t seem to wo...

Questions about parenting seem to never end! They can be about what’s happening at home, at school, or inside your child’s head. Today, I’m tackling five different questions in one episode so we can get more guidance and tips in the hands of more parents. We cover screentime, when to have “the talk” about sex, and even tough genealogy questions! But by making it all talkaboutable, you’ll see that...

How can we help our kids let go of their anxieties and surrender to sleep? That’s the question we’re tackling today. This father of two opens up about his 11-year-old daughter’s struggle to fall asleep at night. He can’t seem to figure out why his daughter is so independent during the day but unable to be left alone at night. Together, we discuss tools to help her sleep, plus why big transitions l...

How can you tactfully coach a child toward motivation and routine when they’ve experienced a major loss? Liz, a mother of two, asks herself this every day. After losing her middle daughter in 2020, she has watched her oldest struggle to do chores and make plans. Liz knows her middle child’s death was devastating on the entire family unit, and yet she wants her 18-year-old to move forward with her...

How can you be the best stepparent you can be when half of your stepchild’s life is out of your hands? Jamie is a stepmother trying to find the most helpful and healthy way to show up for her husband and his son, a role she cherishes though sometimes finds hard and confusing, particularly when it comes to the rules and expectations set by the bio mom. This is an episode about unconventional arrang...

How do you reassure your young child that you’re healthy and strong in the aftermath of cancer? How do you tell him that his feelings are okay but his actions are not? This mother says that, together, she and her son have endured a trifecta of trauma: a cancer diagnosis, a divorce, and a death in the family. Today’s episode explores how she can help her son open up about his biggest fears and work...

How do you open up to your kids about your own health when it could potentially hurt them? That’s the question we’re tackling today. Every family has their own secrets, and this mom is ready to open up about her own. In this episode, Dr. Swick talks to a mother who struggled with an eating disorder when she was younger and now, decades later, is worried her kids might be experiencing the same thin...

How do you tell your kids that your new partner is moving in? That’s the question we’re tackling today. Ami is a widow and single mom living in California, and she’s house hunting with her new boyfriend — but her two adolescent boys don’t know about it. This episode is about making space for honest conversations around grief and how to set forth on new beginnings.  Talkaboutable is produced by Lem...

Join Dr. Susan Swick, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and mom of 4, as she tackles your biggest parenting questions. Dr. Swick believes if you can talk about it with your kids, you can tackle it. Tune in for honest conversations and practical tips on how to talk to your kids about divorce, serious illness, bullying, family secrets, managing their emotions and so much more. From Lemonada Media...