Talking About Kids

Send us Fan Mail Protecting kids from the cyberbullying can be, to say the least, frustrating. Parental controls and gatekeeper apps can be easily bypassed, other restrictions might be incompatible with assigned schoolwork, and all oversight seems, at least, a step behind how young people are engaging in the digital world. But there is hope! My guests for this episode, Yasin Silva, Director of the...

Send us Fan Mail If you are a parent or you work with parents, then you know that the topic of paying for college can be unpleasant, which I why I am so glad that I was introduced to this episode’s guest, Ann Garcia.  Her book, How to Pay for College , is easy-to-read and implement.  More importantly, Ann is committed to the belief there is a college that fits your budget, your values, and your ki...

Send us Fan Mail With all of the headlines about the pending death of writing at the hands of artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, I thought it would be useful to talk about the value of reading and writing and how we inspire kids to do both. My guest to help explore these issues is Sharon Lynn. Sharon teaches writing at UAT, a technology university where the students and faculty are very familia...

Send us Fan Mail As communities struggle to address the impact of the pandemic on student learning and well-being, there seems to be renewed interest in year-round schools.  In this episode of the Talking About Kids podcast, I wanted to address what year-round schooling is and what we know about it. To answer these questions, I enlisted the help of Cara Jackson, a Senior Associate at Abt Associate...

Send us Fan Mail The science is clear:  Kids need to be able to regulate their emotions and overcome adversity and frustration to be successful in a classroom, in relationships, and in life.  Social and emotional skills do not detract from learning other subjects. Rather, these skills allow all learning to occur. My guest this episode, Kate Lund, knows this.  As she bravely describes in her book,...

Send us Fan Mail In this final mini Holiday Break episode, I asked Dan Uttech and Anthony Smith, two Response to Intervention Behavior Specialists from Cartwright Unified School District in Phoenix, to share insights on their approach to their roles and to address misconceptions that might exist between parents and school faculty and staff. More information about Cartwright Unified School District...

Send us Fan Mail In this fourth mini Holiday Break episode, I address Teens and Pornography , the new report from Common Sense Media; I discuss what is and what is not included in the report; and I offer my own interpretation of some of the findings. Links to the research I cite are at www. TalkingAboutKids.com .  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this third mini Holiday Break episode, I look at the research on Pediatric Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I present its definition, describe its prevalence, explore why we should care, and describe treatment options. Links to the research I cite are at www. TalkingAboutKids.com .  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this second mini Holiday Break episode, I look at the science of why New Year's resolutions fail or succeed, connecting it to the research on students' success in the classroom. Links to the research I cite can be found at www. TalkingAboutKids.com . Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.

Send us Fan Mail In this first mini Holiday Break episode, I explore the research on the ways being exposed to foreign cultures impacts children and adolescents. Links to the research I cite can be found at www. TalkingAboutKids.com .  Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in the new year.

Send us Fan Mail In the United States, 6.6% of public-school students are enrolled in gifted and talented programs, but enrollment is not evenly distributed. For example, 12.6% of Asian students are enrolled, but only 4.5% of Hispanic students and 3.6% of Black students are. Scott Peters, my guest for this episode, has been studying and writing about these and other discrepancies for some time. Sc...

Send us Fan Mail The Holiday Season is a great time to take the kids to a children’s museum, but museums can be intimidating, especially if you have not been before. To help you make the most of your next visit, I sought guidance from Kate Wells. Kate is the co-founder and CEO of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, a top destination in Arizona and one of the highest ranked children’s museums in the...

Send us Fan Mail I recently was in a workgroup in which some colleagues were complaining about how difficult it can be to engage teens in out-of-school time activities. That made me think about Youth Taking Charge (YTC), which is the youth component of Tanner Development Corporation’s HEAAL (Help Enrich African American Lives) program. Over the years, I have worked with YTC on some anti-bullying i...

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Thanksgiving episode, I discuss the science of gratitude, its benefits, and one technique for fostering it in ourselves and the children in our lives. Links to the research I cite can be found www. TalkingAboutKids.com . Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (December 5, 2022).

Send us Fan Mail Growth mindset has come up before in this podcast because some advocates believe that it helps kids succeed. Everyone seems to be talking about growth mindset, but there is a poor understanding of how to define it, how to foster it, or how to determine if it works. This is why I was so excited to speak with Elizabeth Tipton. Beth is an Associate Professor of Statistics at Northwes...

Send us Fan Mail In this mini Veterans Day episode, I discuss two things research indicates you can do right now to support the children of soldiers. Links to the research I cite can be found at www. TalkingAboutKids.com . Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (November 21, 2022).

Send us Fan Mail Over the course of my career, several private sector and public sector companies have asked me to consult or conduct research to help them develop animation on topics ranging from banking to relationship skills. Each time, the justification these companies gave for wanting animation was, “kids like cartoons.” I also have conducted research with parents and found that many of them...

Send us Fan Mail Career days at schools tend to be generic. Students hear from doctors and lawyers, but they rarely hear from professionals who work for governments or nonprofits. This is despite the tremendous impact these sectors have. That is the impetus behind this episode, and Terry Babcock-Lumish is the perfect guest for it. Terry has worked at every level of government; she has trained youn...

Send us Fan Mail The topic of this episode was suggested to me by the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence, which is that state’s professional association for out-of-school time programs (OST). Its member organizations were reporting some troubling incidents that involved, what they perceived to be, increasingly dysregulated students, staff, and parents. Their observations are anecdotal, but,...

Send us Fan Mail This is part three in Talking About Kids' three-part series on traumatic brain injury (TBI).  In part one, Keith Owen Yeates explained what TBI is and why we care.  In part two, Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa shared strategies for preventing TBI.  In this final installment, Stacy Suskauer presents the latest research on responding to concussions, TBIs, and other head injuries to ensu...

Send us Fan Mail This is part two in Talking About Kids’ three-part series on traumatic brain injury (TBI). In part one, Keith Owen Yeates explained what TBI is and why, as people who care about kids, we need to be so very concerned about it. This episode is about prevention, and there is no better person to speak to this topic than my guest, Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa, Senior Health Scientist on the...

Send us Fan Mail Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are injuries that affect how the brain works, and they are a major cause of death and disability in the United States. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable, both in terms of sustaining a TBI and experiencing debilitating, potentially lifelong effects.  The topic of traumatic brain injuries is so important to kids that I have decid...

Send us Fan Mail Sex Education has been in the news a lot recently, and it has me thinking about my favorite sex education series:  The Midwest Teen Sex Show .  It aired new episodes on YouTube from 2007 to 2009. Nikol Hasler, my guest for this podcast, was one of the creators of the show, as well as its host and writer. After the show, Nikol wrote two sex education books. Sex:  A Book for Teens c...

Send us Fan Mail In the U.S., we have started to make real progress towards decreasing juvenile suicides by promoting mental health and reducing the stigma around suicidal ideation. However, practical concerns remain.  What should a kid do when they are feeling suicidal?  What should a parent, teacher, caring adult, or even a friend do when a kid they know is in crisis?  I know it takes substantia...

Send us Fan Mail Over the years, many teachers, administrators, and parents have asked me about restorative justice in schools. It is an important topic, but one that I am a little confused about myself, which is why I am so glad to be joined by Akiva Liberman. Akiva is a friend and colleague with whom I have discussed restorative justice many times. More importantly, Akiva has studied responses t...