The Parenting Pair Podcast

Is your teen struggling to make friends, maintain friendships, or navigate their social world? Many parents worry when their tween or teen seems lonely, has difficulty connecting with peers, misses social cues, or struggles to maintain friendships. But social communication is a complex set of skills—and many young people need support learning them. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , c...

We're re-releasing this episode because the topic keeps coming up — over and over again — in our work with parents. How we think matters. It shapes how we feel, how we act, and how we show up in our relationships with our teens. Parenting isn't only about our kids — our own well-being, our own thought patterns, and our own mental health matter too. If you caught this one when it first aired as Epi...

Summer break is supposed to be relaxing—but for many parents of tweens and teens, it quickly turns into a battle over screens, video games, YouTube, and endless hours indoors. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast, clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen tackle a question many parents are asking right now: "What do I do if my teen wants to spend the entire summer ga...

Starting college is exciting—but it can also be overwhelming for both young people and parents. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen are joined by clinical psychologists and college transition experts, Dr. Liz Seidler and Dr. Sarah Olivo to discuss what really happens when teens leave home and begin living on their own. Fro...

Sleep problems are incredibly common among women—but they're often misunderstood. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast, clinical psychologists Annalise Caron and Suzanne Allen sit down with renowned sleep expert and board certified behavior sleep medicine specialist Dr. Shelby Harris to explore why women experience unique sleep challenges throughout their lives, from adolescence and paren...

Does your teen constantly run late, underestimate how long tasks will take, or seem completely unaware of how much time has passed? It might be time blindness. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast, clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen explore time blindness — a common but often misunderstood executive functioning challenge that affects tweens, teens, and young a...

Teen breakups can feel overwhelming, heartbreaking, and all-consuming — not only for teens, but for parents watching their child struggle through intense emotions for the first time. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen explore what first heartbreaks are really like for tweens, teens, and young adults, and how parents can respond in ways that bui...

Grief can look very different in children, tweens, and teens — and many parents are left wondering how to best support their child while navigating their own loss at the same time. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen sit down with grief expert Dr. Julie Kaplow to discuss how grief shows up in adolescents and families, what healthy grieving can l...

Why do tweens and teens suddenly want tattoos, second piercings, dramatic hair changes, or other appearance changes? And how should parents respond without overreacting, shutting down communication, or creating conflict? In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen explore why appearance becomes such an important part of identity development during adole...

What if the key to better communication with your teen… isn’t having the right answers, but asking better questions? In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen explore the power of curiosity in parenting —and why becoming genuinely interested in your teen’s inner world can transform your relationship. Many parents find themselves jumping to conclusions...

What should parents do when a teen becomes aggressive — or even physically threatening? In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast, Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen address one of the most difficult and rarely talked-about experiences in parenting: feeling afraid of your own child. They break down why explosive or aggressive behavior can emerge in teens, and how parents can respond in w...

What does it really mean to raise a resilient child in a culture that tells us to protect them from discomfort at all costs? In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen are joined by clinical psychologist and author Dr. Meredith Elkins to unpack the growing pressure of intensive parenting —and why, despite our best intentions, it may be increasing anxie...

What would you do if your teen came to you and said, “My friend is hurting themselves…” ? This is a moment many parents are unprepared for—yet it’s one that requires both sensitivity and clarity. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen walk you through how to respond when your child or teen shares that a friend may be engaging in self-injury. They b...

Emotional validation is everywhere right now—especially online. But what does it actually mean to validate your teen? And are we getting the full picture? In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen take a closer look at how emotional validation is often portrayed on social media—and how that differs from what it truly looks like in real-life parenting....

Are you raising a teen or tween and looking for real, compassionate guidance from people who actually get it? Welcome to The Parenting Pair Podcast — hosted by Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen, two licensed child and adolescent clinical psychologists and moms of teens and tweens themselves. Every week we tackle the topics parents of teens and tweens are actually navigating: teen anxiety, d...

Cannabis use among teens is becoming more common and more normalized — but today's marijuana is very different from what most parents remember. With dramatically higher THC levels, vaping, edibles, and now lacing with fentanyl, the risks for the developing teenage brain are significant and specific. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen are joined...

Do you ever feel like your teen doesn’t notice – or appreciate – anything you do? Do you wonder if your teen is becoming ungrateful? You're not imagining it. And you're not alone. But clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen say what looks like ingratitude in teenagers is often something else entirely — and understanding what's actually happening developmentally can change h...

Your teen just found out they didn't get in. You're watching them fall apart — and you're not sure whether to say something, give them space, or quietly panic yourself. This episode is for exactly that moment. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast, clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen walk you through how to support your teen through college rejection — and more...

What do you do as a parent when there is no solution to offer? In this deeply meaningful episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen are joined by special guest Dr. Taryn Allen , a clinical psychologist with extensive experience working with children and families facing chronic and terminal illness in at the National institute of Health. Together, they explore...

What happens when we are the ones who feel exposed, judged, or embarrassed? In this deeply relatable episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron shares a personal story about being publicly called out on a Facebook share site — and how that moment triggered embarrassment, fear of judgment, and a strong urge to avoid taking action. Instead of immediately “doing the right thing,” she...

Parenting is hard. Being human is hard. And sometimes the most important reminder is this: we are all just doing the best we can. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen step away from theory and lean into humanity. Through personal (and very relatable) stories — from accidentally hitting a grocery truck after a distracted mom...

Sleep problems are one of the most common—and most stressful—concerns parents bring up when raising tweens and teens. From bedtime battles and nighttime anxiety to insomnia, nightmares, and middle-of-the-night visits to a parent’s bedroom, sleep challenges can leave families exhausted, worried, and unsure of what’s normal. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , clinical psychologists Dr....

When kids start saying school feels pointless, parents are often left wondering how to respond without lecturing, minimizing, or making things worse. How we respond in those moments can either shut kids down—or help them re-engage with learning and with us. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne Allen explore what’s really happening when tweens and teens...

Strong emotions can powerfully shape how parents and teens react—but following every emotional urge doesn’t always lead to the outcomes we want. In this episode of The Parenting Pair Podcast , we discuss a practical, evidence-based way to respond differently when emotions are steering us toward behaviors that actually make things worse. Clinical psychologists Dr. Annalise Caron and Dr. Suzanne All...

What should you say when your teen tells you something shocking, upsetting, or hard to hear? For many parents of tweens and teens, these moments trigger fear, anger, or panic—and even well-intended reactions can accidentally shut down communication and damage trust. What you do in the first few moments often determines whether your teen keeps talking… or stops sharing altogether. In this episode o...