How can parents encourage creativity, imagination, and meaningful learning in a world filled with screens and structured activities?

In this episode, Dr. Tim Jordan speaks with Angela Santomero, the creator behind Blue’s Clues and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, about helping children become curious, creative, and confident storytellers.

Angela shares insights from her experience developing educational television and writing children’s books.

The conversation explores:

• How children learn through stories and imaginative play
• What makes educational content meaningful and engaging
• Ways parents can encourage creativity at home
• Why children need opportunities to create instead of only consume
• Angela’s writing and creative development process
• The ideas behind the Princess Penelope book series
• Resources for young storytellers and creators

Listen for practical insights from one of children’s television’s most influential creators.

Follow Raising Daughters for expert conversations and parenting guidance that helps children grow with confidence, curiosity, and purpose.


Previous interview with Angela Santomero:
Blue’s Clues Creator Angela Santomero Discusses How To Follow Life's Clues To Find Happiness

Links to Angela Santomero’s work:
Book 1: Princess Penelope’s Purse of Preposterous Things
Book 2: Dragon’s Marshmallow Mess YouTube Kids: https://www.youtube.com/@PrincessPenelopeOfficial

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

Children have less free time, outdoor play, independence, and unstructured exploration than previous generations. What might they be losing as a result?

In this episode, Dr. Tim Jordan explains why self-directed play is essential for children’s emotional, social, and physical development.

You will learn:

• How free play strengthens creativity and problem-solving
• Why children need opportunities to manage their own conflicts
• How age-appropriate physical risks build confidence
• Why constantly structured activities can limit independence
• How outdoor play can support emotional regulation
• What parents can do to create more freedom without ignoring safety

Children do not need every activity to produce a trophy, grade, or measurable achievement. Sometimes the most meaningful growth happens when they are free to explore, make decisions, solve problems, and play for the enjoyment of playing.

Follow Raising Daughters for weekly guidance on resilience, confidence, independence, and healthy child development.


Previous related podcasts of Dr. Jordan:
Girls Need To Experience More Risk & Adventures

The Most Important Factor In Girls Gaining Confidence And Resilience  

For more information about all of the resources Dr. Jordan offers, including his published books and articles and retreats and summer camps, visit his website at www.drtimjordan.com

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

Online predators do not always appear threatening. They may build trust gradually, study a child’s interests, offer attention, and create secrecy before parents realize something is wrong.

In this episode, Dr. Tim Jordan speaks with child-trafficking prevention expert Nic McKinley about how predators approach children online and what families can do to reduce the risk.

You will learn:

• How online grooming can begin
• Why girls may respond to attention from strangers
• Warning signs parents should take seriously
• How secrecy and isolation increase vulnerability
• Ways to discuss online safety without creating panic
• How parents can remain informed about apps and online communities
• Practical steps families can take to protect children

The goal is not to frighten children or remove every form of technology. It is to create awareness, communication, boundaries, and a family environment where children feel safe reporting uncomfortable interactions.

Follow Raising Daughters for conversations about social media, online safety, communication, and protecting girls in the digital world.


Related resources: 
www.nicmckinley.com 
Nic McKinley’s website with info about the first donor-funded organization that equips law enforcement with tech to fight trafficking www.DeliverFund.org
Online home traffic class: find this class at DeliverFund

Dr. Jordan’s previous related podcasts:
Social readiness signs girls need to live out before they are ready for social media  
How To Tell When Your Daughter Is Responsible Enough To Try Social Media

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

Your daughter may ask for more independence during adolescence, but that does not necessarily mean she no longer needs your guidance, attention, or emotional support.

In this episode, Dr. Tim Jordan explains how parents can remain connected and influential throughout the teen years and into adulthood.

You will learn:

• Why teenage mood changes should not always be taken personally
• How to become a nonjudgmental listener
• Why listening does not require agreeing with everything
• How sharing appropriate stories from your own adolescence can build connection
• Why parents should create time together without an agenda
• How honest communication strengthens long-term trust
• What can cause daughters to emotionally distance themselves

Your role may change as your daughter grows, but your relationship can remain close, respectful, and meaningful.

Follow Raising Daughters for practical guidance on communication, trust, emotional connection, and parenting girls through every stage of life.

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

Is your daughter avoiding homework, losing interest in school, or doing only enough to satisfy teachers and parents?

External pressure may produce temporary results, but lasting motivation usually develops when children experience autonomy, purpose, competence, and ownership.

In this episode, Dr. Tim Jordan explains how parents can support their daughter in discovering her own reasons to engage with school.

You will learn:

• Common reasons girls lose motivation academically
• Why pressure and repeated reminders may create resistance
• How autonomy increases engagement and persistence
• Questions that help girls identify their personal goals
• How interests can connect schoolwork with future possibilities
• Why exposure to interesting careers and adult role models matters
• How parents can support without controlling every outcome

Instead of asking, “How can I make my daughter work harder?” consider asking, “How can I help her discover what matters to her?”

Follow Raising Daughters for practical parenting advice about school, confidence, independence, communication, and emotional development.

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

In this new podcast, Dr. Jordan describes the emotional roller coaster experienced by today’s middle school girls. Learn about girl’s emotional overload symptoms, the cost of having so little alone, quiet, down time, and how to provide safe spaces for girls to openly share, reflect, and become more inwardly focused.

Previous related podcasts by Dr. Jordan:
Middle School Girls Share About Friend Drama, Social Media, Pressures, And Parents
Girls In Middle School Are Like Popcorn

For more information about Dr. Jordan’s weekend retreats and summer camps for girls, visit his website at www.drtimjordan.com

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

In this new podcast, Dr. Jordan implores us to change what we pay attention to, i.e. wars, conflicts, competition, and power and to instead focus on values like cooperation and connection. Humans are wired to connect and collaborate, so we just need to change what we value and emphasize.

For more information on all of the resources offered by Dr. Jordan, go to his website at www.drtimjordan.com

Previous Dr. Jordan podcasts on related topics:
Do We No Longer Value Sportsmanship podcast:
Teaching Girls Prosocial Skills Can Start Early

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

In this new podcast, Dr. Jordan describes social skills most girls are lacking today due to excessive time spent digitally and how to teach these skills at home and at school.

Previous Dr. Jordan related podcasts:
Why have our teenagers become so socially awkward?

Covid’s lingering social and academic effects on teenagers  

Good books on this topic: Turkle, Sherry. Reclaiming Conversation Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together Boyd, Danah. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

In this new podcast, Dr. Jordan, using stories about eminent people like Jane Goodall, Paul Coehlo, Abraham Lincoln, and John Green as well as giant sequoia trees and butterflies, describes why kids need to be allowed to face and overcome adversities.

For more info on Dr. Jordan’s 7 published books, weekend retreats & summer camps, and his previous podcasts, visit his website at www.drtimjordan.com

To offer suggestions for future podcasts or to ask questions, email Dr. Jordan at [email protected]  

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!

In this new podcast, Dr. Jordan shares some of his favorite stories of real courage in action; some from historical figures, some from everyday people, and others about children.

Visit Dr. Jordan’s website at www.drtimjordan.com for information about upcoming retreats and summer camps as well as all of his previously published podcasts and his books and products for parents.

Thank you for listening to my podcast.  Please join our community on our social media platforms and share with yours to help us grow!