Talking To Teens: Expert Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Rachel Rider, author of Who You Are Is How You Lead , talks about getting in touch with how we want to show up for others. We discuss the power of self-regulation and somatic experiencing to help parents break free of ingrained patterns of interacting with their teens. Full Show Notes Parenting teenagers often feels like navigating through a maze without a map. Whether it's constant reminders left...

Nick Gray, author of The Two Hour Cocktail Party, shares his journey from a shy person with social anxiety to building a robust social network. We discuss how to turn your house into a gathering place for your teen and their friends.  Full Show Notes Raising teenagers often means your life becomes a rush of school runs, sports practices, and music recitals, leaving little room for your own social...

Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control , busts myths on perfectionism. Many people wear perfectionism as a badge of honor, but in reality it is a maladaptive behavior that can make parenting more difficult than it already is! Today's show contains a discussion on suicide. If you or a loved one is in crisis, please call the US National Suicide Prevention Li...

Nedra Glover Tawwab, author of Drama Free , chats with us about how to break free from family drama and unhealthy relationship dynamics. We discuss practical tools for a variety of topics such as codependency, control battles, favoritism, and more! Full Show Notes Slammed doors, shouting, and angry tears —sometimes, it feels like every situation with our teens explodes into a dramatic outburst.  T...

Tom Vanderbilt, author of Beginners , discusses with us how parents can inspire their teenagers to be more confident in trying new things by being lifelong learners themselves. Turns out, being an expert beginner has its advantages! Full show notes As parents, it's easy to get into a rut of only doing things we're already good at, or activities we've been doing for years. Yet our teens are essenti...

Meg Zucker, author of Born Extraordinary , busts myths about visible and invisible differences. She offers up language for how to speak to our teens about inclusivity and tips for parenting kids with differences. Full show notes  Many parents want their teens to be compassionate citizens who care about people of all kinds. Others might Yet, it can be difficult to advise our teen on how to interact...

Michelle Mitchell joins us once again for a deep dive into the tween years—the topic of her new book Tweens . We explore cognitive development, body development, and the common skirmishes parents with tweens might face.  It can be jarring to raise a tween. One day they are our cuddly kids, and the next day they seem to want nothing to do with us! They start saying our jokes are lame, our style is...

Jenn Granneman, author of Sensitive , chats with us about recognizing and connecting with our highly sensitive teens. We cover how to help sensitive teens better manage feelings of overwhelm and the right way to nudge them beyond their comfort zone. Full show notes When a teen slams a door after not getting their way, or bursts into tears at a throwaway comment, parents might feel like every inter...

Lisa Damour, author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers , joins us to illuminate what's going on in kids’ heads when they're emotional. We talk about why teens sometimes seem to act irrationally, how we can teach them coping strategies, and what we can say when they’re shutting us out. Full show notes Teens are dealing with a lot–impending adulthood, changing bodies, rigorous schoolwork and a comp...

Holly Geyer, author of Ending the Crisis: Mayo Clinic’s Guide to Opioid Addiction and Safe Opioid Use , joins us to shine light on the ways the opioid crisis might affect our teens. We discuss the effects of opioids on the body, how we can detect if teens are using them, and what we can say to teens who might be at risk for opioid addiction. Full show notes Many of us picture drug addiction as a v...

Rick Hanson, author of Making Great Relationships , shares how we can create more open, positive communication with teens. We discuss why teens are so moody, how parents can become better communicators, and the importance of emotional regulation when teens push our buttons. Full show notes It doesn’t take long for a disagreement with teens to turn into a full-fledged battlefield. One minute, you’r...

Joe Keohane, author of The Power of Strangers , joins us to discuss the many benefits of starting a conversation with a stranger. We talk about why we’re often so afraid to talk to people on the bus or at a coffee shop, and what to say to spark a connection with someone we’ve never met. Full show notes How many strangers do you encounter on a daily basis? Riding public transport, ordering a coffee...

David Mura, author of The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself , illuminates the realities of modern-day racism. We talk about the danger of avoiding race discussion, changing school curriculums to accurately address racism, and talking to our teens about race. Full show notes Racism is one of the world’s oldest and most complicated topics. With centuries of genocides, segregation, and colonization lead...

Denis Murphy, author of The Blame Game , joins us to discuss the ways we often blame ourselves or our kids for things we can’t control. We also discuss the importance of staying in touch with our emotions and practicing self-honesty. Full show notes Blame is one of humanity’s oldest coping mechanisms. When things go wrong, we’re quick to point a finger at someone and declare that it’s their fault–...

Terry Real, author of Us , comes on the show to discuss the importance of healthy conflict in family relationships. We also talk about why parents should encourage boys to be in touch with their emotions and debate the dangers of protecting kids’ feelings. Full show notes For many of us, a perfectly harmonious home sounds like a dream. We’d love it if teens came home by curfew, our advice was alwa...

Ron Fournier, author of Love That Boy joins us to discuss the impact of parents' expectations. We also break down why parents can become concerned with kids' popularity, and discuss what Ron learned about fatherhood from American Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Full show notes We love our kids and want to see them grow into the best version of themselves–but this can sometimes lead us to put...

Decision-making expert Eric J Johnson, author of The Elements of Choice , joins us to discuss how our choices are often influenced by external forces without our knowledge. He also describes different kinds of decision-making and explains how memory affects our choices. Full show notes We make thousands of choices every day–what to eat, what to wear, which email to send first, even how much creame...

We’re sitting down with Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun , to talk about the overlooked benefits of having fun! Catherine defines the true meaning of fun, explains why we tend to undervalue it, and gives practical tips for how to bring more fun to ourselves and our families. Full show notes Do you remember the last time you had fun? Maybe you were exploring a new place, playing a video...

Justin Blaney, author of Relationshift , joins us to discuss the power that peer influence has over teens. Plus, how teens can find great mentors and how the right friends always encourage teens to expand their worldview. Full show notes Teens are undeniably influenced by their peers. They adopt their friends’ fashion, hobbies, attitudes and even opinions….for better or for worse!  Whomever your t...

Yael Shornbrun, author of Work, Parent, Thrive , joins us to talk about how working parents can make the most of their busy lives. We discuss the surprising benefits of working and parenting simultaneously, and explain how we can model a healthy work/life balance for their teens. Full show notes Raising teens can sometimes feel like a full time job…on top of the one we already have!  Handling the...

Benjamin Dunks, author of Intimacy , comes on the show to demystify common concerns and misconceptions teens have about sex. We discuss how parents can rethink the sex talk, why teens might be insecure about intimacy, and cover tricky topics like orgasms and even penis size. Full show notes Most teens have a million questions about sex: When should I have it for the first time? How do I find the r...

Happy Holidays from the Talking to Teens Team! To wrap up the year, we’re recapping some of our best moments from 2022. We talked about everything from vaping to body issues to mental health to career planning–and we wanted to compile the best advice for you to catch up on before the new year. Whether you’re a seasoned subscriber or a brand new listener, thanks for choosing Talking to Teens!

Marisa Franco, author of Platonic , discusses how society devalues friendship in favor of romantic relationships—and the power of re-prioritizing friendship. Plus, how to turn a stranger into a friend, and harness emotional management for healthier, more meaningful companionship. Full show notes We often place our romantic relationships above all else–just look how many new dating apps are invente...

Tiffany Jewell, author of This Book is Anti-Racist , joins us to explain how we can raise teens who actively fight against discrimination of all kinds. We discuss the difference between race and ethnicity, explain how teens can explore their own identity, and break down the harmful effects of microaggressions. Full show notes Instead, Tiffany says we should encourage teens toMicroaggressions, inte...

Darby Fox, author of Rethinking Your Teenager , joins us to discuss how we can implement discipline without falling into negative cycles with our kids. We also talk about how why we should rethink the sex talk and the importance of teaching kids kindness. Full show notes We all know what it’s like to get caught in a negative cycle with our kids. They break the rules, we crack down, they retaliate,...