Talking About Kids

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There are many things I could say about the importance homelife. Chiefly among them is the fact that the behaviors and relationships that are modeled for children in the home are paramount to their healthy development. A close second is the fact that the work required to maintain a home and care for a family is undervalued in the marketplace. My guest today is Lori Sugarman-Li. Lori’s brand-new children’s book, Our Home: The Love, Work, and Heart of Family, takes on both of these issues, illuminating unpaid labor and encouraging families to take on the work of the home as a way to bond and promote individual growth. More information about Lori and Our Home: The Love, Work, and Heart of Family is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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In previous episodes, Talking About Kids has addressed the need for trauma-informed care and the importance of involving youth in the design and oversight of programs for them. This episode combines the two. Recently, Yehudis Stokes, Marjorie Robb, and their colleagues published a paper on the perspectives of youth, caregivers, and other stakeholders on implementing trauma-informed care in an inpatient mental health program. Yehudis Stokes is a Registered Nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and a Clinical Nurse Specialist with the Psychosocial Oncology team at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Marjorie Robb is the Acting Chief of Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Division Chief of Community-Based Psychiatry. The episode was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from Alliance members and other listeners. If you would like to participate in the webinars, you can join the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health’s mailing list at healthyazyouth.org. More information about Yehudis, Marjorie, their research, and the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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The insidious ways in which technology may be harming our kids that we discussed in the previous episode are not new to this episode’s guest, Forest Bronzan. Forest is a veteran tech entrepreneur who, as co-founder and CEO of Digital Detox, is advancing initiatives to promote “digital wellness” in schools and homes. Forest shares his insights and information on these initiatives now. More information about Forest and Digital Detox is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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What you need to know about kids and surveillance capitalism with David DonnellyTalking About Kids has addressed the potential dangers of screens, social media, and our increasingly digitized economy before, but a new documentary, The Cost of Convenience, examines the harm surveillance capitalism is doing to kids in a way that is both subtler and more disturbing. My guest to discuss the film is its Director, documentarian David Donnelly. More information about David and The Cost of Convenience is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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My guest this episode, Jenna Edwards, is an actor, activist, and author. Jenna and I discuss her newly-released book, Aggressive Optimism, which is a fictional account of a young woman coping with mental health challenges following a traumatic event. Jenna openly acknowledges that the work parallels her own story, which might be why the protagonist’s thoughts, insecurities, struggles, and successes seem so real, and why I recommend the book for young readers who are facing their own challenges. More information about Jenna and Aggressive Optimism is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

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Healthy relationships are a building block of resilience and, according to the science, a major predictor of happier and healthier lives. My guest today, Kimberly Louvin, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a therapist who has as adopted a “relationship-first” approach. Kim “enjoys helping young people and their families contemplate how to take a closer look at their relationships with one another.” I believe that her insights can help you do the same. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Kim and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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More and more attention is being paid to the potential dangers kids face when they spend too much time in front of screens. Setting aside the veracity of those claims, it does seem that there are more people suggesting problems than there are suggesting solutions. My guest for this episode, Michael Jacobus, is an exception. Michael has applied his considerable experience as a child development specialist and seasoned youth camp leader to the creation of Reset Summer Camp, a summer residential program in which participants, “detox from their screen addiction and learn how to self-regulate, as they participate in individual and group therapy.” Even if the kids in your life are unable to attend Reset Summer Camp, you will learn a lot from Michael’s insights on helping young people develop healthier habits and, ultimately, lead healthier lives. More information about Michael and Reset Summer Camp is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

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This is part two of my conversation with Joe Lockavitch in which Joe shares his insights on helping students read and his general passion for education. If you have not heard part one, I recommend navigating to the previous episode. Like most everything in the education sector, Joe’s Failure Free Reading Program has proponents and detractors. Proponents say that they have seen students progress rapidly using the Failure Free Reading Program. Detractors point to a lack of empirical evidence for its effectiveness (according to the What Works Clearinghouse, the single rigorous evaluation of Failure Free Reading found moderate positive effects on comprehension), and they say that it is not easy to integrate into existing curricula. Regarding the latter, I imagine Joe thinks that is part of the point because he is fond of stating that, the “real enemy” of students with chronic reading challenges is the existing instructional approach. More information about Joe and his Failure Free Reading Program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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Joe Lockavitch is enthusiastic about helping students read. That enthusiasm is contagious, so much so that our conversation on learning spans two episodes. This is part one. Joe has been in the field of education for over 30 years, and, during that time, he has held multiple roles, including teacher, school psychologist, and special education director. Most recently, he has turned his attention towards reading because, in his words, “we are underestimating the reading potential of chronically failing students.” As you will hear, however, Joe’s insights on students extend well beyond reading. More information about Joe and his Failure Free Reading Program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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There is a nationwide movement to ban discussions of race or ethnicity from classrooms. Proponents of a ban argue that such discusses compromise learning, undermine white students, and actually promote racism in an environment that should be focused solely on “individuals and merit.” My guest today is Anne Williford. Anne is an Associate Professor and PhD Program Director in the School of Social Work and the Director of the Healthy Schools Initiatives Division at the Prevention Research Center at Colorado State University. Anne and her colleagues have studied what actually happens when such bans are implemented. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Anne and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.