The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast

🌱 Garden of Weedy Thoughts: Helping Middle Schoolers Bust Cognitive Distortions & Calm Anxiety Why does your middle schooler suddenly believe everyone is judging them ? Why can one awkward interaction at school turn into “Nobody likes me!” ? And why do worries seem to grow so quickly during adolescence? Welcome to the strange garden of the middle school brain. In this week’s episode of Middle...

Why does your middle schooler seem happy, anxious, excited, embarrassed, frustrated, and overwhelmed—all before dinner? In Week 3 of our whole family Socioemotional Learning (SEL) Summer Camp series, Suzanne M. Swain, EdS, LMSW, is joined by Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, Clinical Director at Mightier, to explore the fascinating world of adolescent emotions. Always a good hang with Jessica!  Together...

💜☂️ Are Screens Evil or Not? Chocolate Cake, Dopamine & the Middle School Brain | SEL Summer Camp Week 2 Why do kids seem glued to their phones? Why do texts, group chats, likes, and social media feel so important during middle school? And are screens really harming kids—or is the answer more complicated than that? In Week 2 of our SEL Summer Camp collaboration with Mightier , Suzanne Swain,...

☀️ SEL Summer Camp is Here! Pack your curiosity, grab your emotional toolkit, and join us for a one-of-a-kind summer adventure! Middle School Mary Poppins is teaming up with Mightier for a special six-week SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Summer Camp designed specifically for middle school families. Together, we’ll explore the fascinating world of emotions, friendships, technology, anxiety, anger,...

Middle school can feel like a daily showdown… until you realize the kid isn’t always the problem. Sometimes the kid is the signal. In this episode of The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast , Suzanne Swain, EDS LMSW explores the moments that make adults throw their hands in the air and ask, “Seriously?!” — and why that reaction is understandable, but often aimed at the wrong target. When behavior g...

Internet Culture & Emotional Health: The Safety Dance feat. Adam Brooks , Program Coordinator from BARK Technologies adamb@bark.us Special MSMP listener offer: Use code POPPINS25 for $25 off any Bark phone model or watch (limit 2).  Learn more at: www.bark.us Part 3 of our “Reimagining Screen Time” technology series focuses on one of the biggest modern parenting challenges of all: keeping kids...

Plain Talk: Dogs, Cats, & the Neurodivergent Brain (Unscripted & Unedited) 🐶💕🐱🥹 This episode is a different one, y’all! No outline. No “cheat sheet.” No editing out the pauses or the “you knows.” 🤓🤫 Just a real “plain” conversation. I thought it would be fun to see what happens without my safe bullet points.  💜 Give me about two minutes on this one—it settles in and gets really good...

Screen time is not going anywhere, so instead of arguing about whether it is “good” or “bad,” let’s get specific about what it doing positively for our kids. My EDS is in Education Technology, bring it!  This is episode two in our exploring screen time series, where we discuss how digital tools can be used in more intentional, supportive ways for kids and families. I found Mightier!  I think Might...

Screens: the ultimate villain… or your kid’s emotional support sidekick? In this playful (and eye-opening) episode, Suzanne dives into the nightly showdown every parent knows too well—the “put the phone down” battle—and flips the script in a way you probably didn’t see coming. What looks like defiance might actually be overwhelm. What feels like obsession might be regulation. From dopamine hits an...

You can be smart, creative, and deeply caring and still walk through life feeling like you’re getting “thrown to the curb.” That ache hits a lot of neurodivergent adults, especially when old childhood labels keep playing on loop: too sensitive, too emotional, too intense, too distracted, so much potential if you could just… I’m busting those cognitive distortions and telling a truer story about ne...

What I thought was a routine appointment turned into an 11-hour stretch in the ER—and then the words no one is ever ready to hear: stage four metastatic cervical cancer. I’m sharing this with a shaky voice but a steady purpose, because my best friend Tanya is fighting for her life, and right now, I’m one of her primary caregivers. This has made me really think about what chosen family actually mea...

What if the behaviors we rush to fix are actually signals from a beautifully organized, differently wired brain? In this episode, we explore new neuroscience showing why attention differences, sensory intensity, and big emotions often appear together—and why that combination makes biological sense. Recent research suggests that thousands of small genetic variations shape overlapping pathways linke...

Anger feels fast. Powerful. Loud. But what’s really underneath it? In this special, kid-requested episode, Suzanne M. Swain, EDS, LMSW — child therapist, educational specialist, and veteran middle school teacher — talks directly to tweens and teens about anger in a world that feels a little… charged. Why does anger rise so quickly? What’s actually happening in your brain when you react? And how ca...

Heroes aren’t always loud—and they don’t always wear capes. In this episode of Middle School Mary Poppins, Suzanne M. Swain explores what heroism really looks like in the real world: persistence, joy, empathy, and showing up as yourself—even when it’s hard. Inspired by the Winter Olympics, beloved pop-culture heroes, a surprising animal rescue, and the power of team culture, Suzanne reframes heroi...

Bullying in middle school isn’t always loud or obvious—and that’s what makes it so confusing and harmful. In this episode of Middle School Mary Poppins, child therapist and educational specialist Suzanne M. Swain, EDS, LMSW explores the subtle, strategic, and emotionally manipulative forms of bullying that often get overlooked by adults but deeply affect kids’ confidence and sense of safety. You’l...

Ever wonder why your child completely melts down the second they walk through the door after school? In this episode, veteran middle school teacher and child therapist Suzanne M. Swain, EdS LMSW breaks down what’s really going on in neurodivergent brains—and why it’s not defiance, manipulation, or “bad behavior.” It’s exhaustion. Suzanne connects the dots between ADHD, autism, sensory overload, fo...

In Part II of the Food for Mood series, Suzanne explores how the Inside Out socially-based emotions like anxiety, embarrassment, envy, boredom, & ultimately motivation quietly influence behavior, mood, and emotional regulation.  Kids, teens, and neurodivergent individuals all can benefit from knowing triggers in the body and ways to re-regulate through nutrition.  Building on the foundation fr...

It’s a new year, so let’s talk about food and feelings—because they’re way more connected than we realize. In this episode, we break down how what you eat can either calm you down or completely throw you off, without diet rules or restriction. This episode dives into the four core emotions—joy, sadness, anger, and fear —and how each one shows up in your body. From why joy just wants to be savored,...

Happy holidays from Middle School Mary Poppins ! In this heart-centered episode, Suzanne M. Swain, EdS, LMSW—your friendly neighborhood kid therapist—dives into a powerful holiday homophone: presents vs. presence . One is wrapped. The other is felt. Suzanne explores why time, attention, and shared experiences often mean more to kids than expensive gifts—and how families can use the holiday season...

Sharing a little bit of holiday cheer with you by creating a poem about life in middle school during the holiday season. Hope you enjoy it and happy holidays andMerry Christmas to you all. Send Suzanne a Question or Comment: Support the show

Middle school can feel weird, overwhelming, awkward, emotional, and completely ridiculous sometimes… so maybe the answer is learning how to hold onto a little “Ridiculous Joy” to help us cope with the difficulty. In this episode of The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast , Suzanne M. Swain, EdS, LMSW introduces the heart behind the show and the mission driving these conversations: helping kids, fam...

Hey y’all & happy Thanksgiving, everyone! As we all know, this can be a stressful time of year for some individuals who may be struggling. I wanted to take a moment today to give you a list of some conversation, starters and questions that you could bring up at the dinner table that would help to encourage conversations to get to know the kids and each a lot better. Hope you enjoy the episode...

In this thoughtful and essential episode of Middle School Mary Poppins , Suzanne M. Swain, EDS, LMSW—Education Master & Specialist as well as working school-based Child Therapist introduces a new concept she believes every family, teacher, and community needs right now: Elementary Empathy-Based Learning (EEBL) . Suzanne dives into why today’s youngest learners—especially those who experienced...

 In this episode, child therapist and master teacher  Suzanne M. Swain, EDS LMSW , dives into a topic that makes many of us squirm—money management for neurodivergent kids. Whether your child has ADHD, autism, or another form of neurodiversity, Suzanne shares practical ways to help them build a healthy relationship with money, understand value, and learn how effort connects to reward. From creatin...

In this heartfelt and necessary episode, Suzanne dives into the topic of masculinity and emotional safety , exploring how adolescent boys communicate, why they struggle to open up, and how we can help them feel seen and supported. With warmth and humor, she shares classroom stories, insights on nonverbal communication, and practical ways to nurture emotional intelligence in young men. If you’ve ev...