Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Today's Teens

By Kenneth Wilgus, Jessica Pfeiffer

Education Religion & Spirituality Kids & Family Christianity

What's Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Today's Teens about?

A weekly podcast on parenting teens and launching them into the world. Hosted by Jessica Pfeiffer with Dr. Ken Wilgus, author of the book "Feeding The Mouth That Bites You."

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Episode 156: Grounding Teen...

12.05.2023

Today we talk about grounding your teenager. When should you ground them? What exactly does grounding include? Can they still use their phone while grounded? What about work or church activities. We even talk about what the maximum time limit ...

Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Today's Teens episodes:

12.05.2023 Episode 156: Grounding Teenagers Today we talk about grounding your teenager. When should you ground them? What exactly does grounding include? Can they still use their phone while grounded? What about work or church activities. We even talk about what the maximum time limit ...
11.14.2023 Episode 155: Holidays, Grief and Teenagers Each year we focus on some aspect of the holidays with teens. This year we want to focus in on those who are dealing with grief, loss and even depression around this time of year. What's different about how a ...
11.07.2023 Episode 154: Health Issues and Teenagers Why can it be so hard just to help a teenager stay healthy? Today we answer listener questions about exercise, diet as well as medical issues that impact adolescent lives. How can parents deal with teenagers that seemingly ignore allergies ...
10.31.2023 Episode 153: Helping Teenagers' Problems with Friendships and Social Groups How can parents help their adolescents when they are having problems with their social group? What if my teen isn't really in a social group at all? Today we take on the increasingly difficult area of social relationships. In an ...
10.24.2023 Episode 152: "Why Is My Teenager Angry All The Time?" Why do teenagers sometimes go through phases of being constantly angry and surly? Dr. Ken reviews the most common causes of teenager's anger and talks about some best ways to respond. We also take on the question of just how ...
10.17.2023 Episode 151: When Teenagers Isolate In Their Rooms Today we answer a common question from listeners, "How should I handle it when my teenager spends all their time in their room"? As you can guess, Dr. Ken starts with advice on avoiding a control battle but what to ...
10.10.2023 Episode 150: The Parenting "Finish Line" Part 2 This week we finish up our discussion from last week about dealing with adolescents after they finish high school. Many young adults live at home at least for some period of time after they have reached adulthood. What are the ...
10.03.2023 Episode 149: The Parenting "Finish Line" Part 1 Is there a time when parents are really done parenting? We get so many questions from parents who have invested so much in parenting their teens that they're not sure what to do after high school. While you'll always be ...
09.26.2023 Episode 148: Teens Who Resist Sports and Activities We've gotten email questions about adolescents who resist involvement in any sport or activity. How can parents continue to implement planned emancipation if they have to sit a watch their teenager sit around and avoid getting involved with anything? What ...
09.19.2023 Episode 147: The Barbie Movie Did you see the Barbie movie? Should you take a 12 year old girl to see it? You're not still limiting your 13 and older kids on what PG-13 movies they can see are you? Today Jessica and Dr. Ken ...
09.12.2023 Episode 146: The Burden of Parenting - Part Two This week we conclude our discussion of "parenting" as the term has come to imply some "inside track" of parental knowledge that can, supposedly, guarantee a happy and successful kid. Dr. Ken shares the truth that not only is this ...
09.05.2023 Episode 145: The Burden of Parenting - Part One Where did we get this idea that there's some "inside track" of techniques parents should be implementing to raise amazing children? Is there any evidence that parental influence can guarantee some level of success in their children? Why do so ...
06.06.2023 Episode 144: "You're Only Human" part 2 - Dr. Ken Interviews Dr. Kelly Kapic Today we finish our great interview with Dr. Kelly Kapic, professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. His book, "You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News" is a breath ...
05.30.2023 Episode 143: "You're Only Human" Dr. Ken Interviews Dr. Kelly Kapic Most all parents constantly feel guilty that they're not doing enough for their kids. For Christian parents, does our faith make any difference when we suffer like this? Theology professor Kelly Kapic's most recent book, "You're Only Human" takes on ...
05.23.2023 Episode 142: Another "Dr. Ken's Essentials" - Entitlement in Teenagers We continue paring down some of the vast amount of information and focus on the critical elements that are sometimes lost. Today Dr. Ken revives a discussion about entitlement and the damage this does to children of all ages. How ...
05.12.2023 Episode 141: Dr. Ken's "Feeding The Mouth" Essentials Summer's coming, Jessica and Ashley are swamped so Dr. Ken shares some of the essentials of "Feeding The Mouth" parenting. Today we revisit questions about phone limits, when your kid has been drinking, "dab" pens, driving and more. There's a ...
04.25.2023 Episode 140: "Why Are You Telling Me This?" Complications In Communicating With Teens Having a relationship where your teenager shares everything with their parents is a good thing... right? Today we talk about complications in the idealistic expectation that parents want teenagers who tell them everything that is going on in their lives. ...
04.18.2023 Episode 139: Trash Talk, Verbal Sparring and Teenagers Jessica and Ashley revive an axiom they learned in a Bible study, "our words should build, bless and benefit." How could any Christian parent disagree with these goals for our children? Well... Dr. Ken has some concerns! Today we consider ...
04.11.2023 Episode 138: A Spring Checklist For Feeding The Mouth Parents This week we review a checklist of the stuff parents need to be doing this spring to move planned emancipation along. Especially for parents of high school seniors, now is the time to be mostly finished with giving over freedoms ...
04.04.2023 Episode 137: How To Talk To Teens About School Shootings School shootings only add to parents' fears for their child's safety and well-being. These fears make it hard for parents to know how to or even if they should talk to their kids about these events. As you might guess, ...
03.28.2023 Episode 136: Parents Who Can't Stop Checking, Nagging Or Reminding Their Teens Once a parent has given over an area of freedom to their teenager, they must NOT continue to check and remind their kid about it. Letting the natural consequences of your teen's choices fall on them is necessary to teens ...
03.22.2023 Episode 135: Teens, Femininity And Feminism In a world that insists that there are no real differences between men and women, how can parents help their daughters navigate this confusion? Today we talk about the successes and failures of feminism for our girls. We also talk ...
03.14.2023 Episode 134: Teens And Toxic Masculinity What is "toxic masculinity?" How can parents encourage healthy masculinity? Today we take on a somewhat provocative topic for today. What is a healthy way to encourage real "male-ness" in a culture that is denying any "real" masculine and feminine ...
03.07.2023 Episode 133: Teens And Life Purpose Adolescents who feel a sense of purpose in life report overall higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction. What are parents to do with such information? Particularly, how does this relate to Christian parents? We cover this and other implications ...
02.28.2023 Episode 132: Teenagers and psychiatric hospitals Is there ever a time when parents should send their teenager to a psychiatric facility? (Please don't call them "mental hospitals") Today we discuss the situations that require parents to consider having their adolescent evaluated for psychiatric hospitalization. We also ...
02.21.2023 Episode 131: Dads Speak: Dr. Ken Interviews Jessica And Ashley's Husbands This week Dr. Ken gets honest with Jessica and Ashley's husbands, Charlie and Brett. Dad's have a different take on parenting and we dive into that as well as what it's like to have wives who already "know all this ...
02.17.2023 Episode 130: Teenagers and siblings We've already talked about sibling rivalry (see episode 24) but today we talk about teenagers' relationships with siblings in general. How can parents cultivate good relationships between their children? What are ways that parents inadvertently discourage mature relationships between siblings? ...
02.07.2023 Episode 129: Help! It's Not Working! What do you do when you implement Planned Emancipation but things don't seem to be getting any better? It's not uncommon that we hear from parents who feel that Feeding The Mouth parenting isn't making the kind of difference they ...
01.31.2023 Episode 128: "Good Enough" Parenting In the 1950s, British pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott introduced the concept of "good enough" parenting and Dr. Ken thinks it's time we brought it back! Parents worry so much about doing parenting "right" and put a lot of pressure ...
01.24.2023 Episode 127: Teenagers And Sleepovers Today we take on the sometimes scary topic of sleepovers with teenagers. Strangely, many parents are less concerned about sleepovers when their kids are younger only to "shut it down" when they become teenagers. What kind of boundaries are reasonable ...
01.17.2023 Episode 126: Culture And Feeding The Mouth That Bites You How Does Feeding The Mouth parenting work in different cultures? Today we talk about the expectations that immigrant parents bring with them to a new culture and how that impacts parenting. Also, we discuss taking Feeding The Mouth parenting with ...
01.10.2023 Episode 125: Teens And Therapy: Don't They Just Lie? Parents often have questions about the effectiveness of therapy for teenagers. Many will ask, "How can a therapist tell when a teenager is just lying to them?" Turns out, that's not as common a problem as you might think. Today ...
12.20.2022 Episode 124: Teens And The Holidays - A Refresher Just in time for the holidays. Let's review some of the main things to remember when your adolescents are out for the holidays or even when your graduates come home from college or wherever. How can parents involve their teens ...
12.13.2022 Episode 123: Preparing For An Empty Nest The goal of Feeding The Mouth parenting is for your kids to leave your home and start their own. But what about getting your life ready for life without kids around? Today we talk about preparing for empty nesting. When ...
12.06.2022 Episode 122: Teens Sending And Receiving Nudes What do you do when you find out your teenager has sent or received nude photos of themselves or others? Is the issue of nude photos the same problem if you have a daughter or a son? Nude photos shared ...
11.29.2022 Episode 121: Parenting In Reverse Today we focus on the best way to parent when your kids are young so they will be most prepared for planned emancipation when they reach adolescence. Dr. Ken is concerned about a kind of parenting that reverses the healthy ...
11.22.2022 Episode 120: It's Time For More... FAQs! (part 2 of 2) Today we keep plowing through our listener questions. We take on issues surrounding giving school freedoms when your teen is home-schooled. How should a parent handle when your kid is dating someone who's parent isn't following planned emancipation and is ...
11.15.2022 Episode 119: It's Time For More... FAQs! (part 1 of 2) It's been awhile since we've answered listener questions so we dive in for two episodes! Today we discuss important issues like, should teenagers EVER be given the freedom to skip school? How should parents handle boundaries such as sleep-overs if ...
11.08.2022 Episode 118: How To Talk So Your Teenager Will Listen Today we focus on the advanced communication skill of advice- giving. Dr Ken refers to this often but many parents aren't sure all the implications of this method of giving information to their teen in ways that actually have impact ...
11.01.2022 Episode 117: Teenagers And Basic Life Skills What basic skills do you require of your teenager? Do they make their own doctor's appointments? Can they change a tire? This week we discuss the sometimes alarming lack of basic life skills that parents require of their teenagers and ...
10.25.2022 Episode 116: Trauma And Teenagers Trauma is another term we hear very often these days. How does trauma effect teenagers? How do we know when our teens have been traumatized? What are the effects of overusing terms like "trauma?" This week we talk about trauma ...
10.20.2022 Episode 115: When Dr. Ken Talks To Teenagers About "Feeding The Mouth" What is the teenagers role in Feeding The Mouth That Bites You? This week Dr. Ken talks about the message he (and other therapists) give teens about their responsibility to manage themselves while their parents are seeking to let go ...
10.11.2022 Episode 114: Help! I'm Starting Feeding The Mouth Late! Listeners often worry that they've come across Feeding The Mouth late in their teenager's development. Is it ever too late to start Planned Emancipation? What's the best way to implement these principles if my teenager is already in middle or ...
10.04.2022 Episode 113: The Ideal Way To Start Feeding The Mouth That Bites You With so many new listeners we thought we'd clearly outline the ideal way to start planned emancipation. What's the right age? Should you do some sort of ceremony? Does it matter if both parents aren't on board with this? This ...
09.27.2022 Episode 112: Is It Ever OK To Kick Your Teenager Out Of The House? Ever get so mad at your teenager that you threaten to kick them out? Most of the time you don't really mean it or your kid is too young to even legally do that. But are there circumstances when parents ...
09.20.2022 Episode 111: Adult Children Living At Home What about circumstances when your kid is still living at home after high school? Is this always a "failure to launch?" How should parents handle conflicts that may emerge with adult children at home? Today we discuss this and other ...
09.13.2022 Episode 110: That Music Can't Be Good For Them! Music And Teen's Moods What should parents do when their teenagers are listening to music that promotes depressing themes or even violence? Does music cause depression in teenagers? Today we take on the often distressing issue of watching our teenagers consume music that really ...
09.06.2022 Episode 109: When Feeding The Mouth Really Begins When should parents start doing planned emancipation? It's hard when you feel like you're the only parent doing it. What about kids that aren't yet thirteen but seem to be very responsible? Should you start emancipation early with that kid? ...
08.30.2022 Episode 108: Gaslighting, Narcissism And Teenagers When did “gaslighting” become such a big thing? Why does everyone’s ex seem to qualify as “narcissistic?” What does a parent do when you’re pretty sure your teen is being controlled by a boyfriend, girlfriend or just a friend in ...
05.24.2022 Episode 107: It's Summer Break Time For FTM! Well, it's time once again for Feeding The Mouth... summer break. While we regroup and prepare for another season this fall, feel free to contact us with feedback and questions. Thanks to all our listeners. Your support means a lot! ...

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