Chat with Dr. Kat

Parenting Teens: The Mistakes That Push Them Further Away


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Your teenager barely leaves their room, answers every question with one word, and seems to be drifting further away no matter what you try. You're not imagining it — and you might be accidentally making it worse. Dr. Kat sits down with clinical psychologist Christopher Fulton, Ph.D., who has spent 30 years working with teens and families at his collaborative practice in Calabasas, to talk about what he's actually seeing right now: post-COVID isolation at an all-time high, comfort zones that have shrunk to a screen and a bedroom, and teenagers turning to AI chatbots for the emotional support they used to get from real people.

Chris breaks down why punishment backfires and what to do instead, how to use small exposure steps to pull an anxious teen back into the world, and why the hardest move a parent can make — letting your kid fail — is often the one that builds the most resilience. He also shares why food allergies can mimic ADHD symptoms and what every parent should check before jumping to a diagnosis. This one is packed with tools you can use tonight.

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Chat with Dr. KatBy Dr. Kat Derrig-Palumbo