Talking About Kids

Send us Fan Mail

I am devoting the mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this third mini episode, I will read “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo. It is a poem about the table around which a family gathers. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

I am devoting these mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this second mini episode, I will read “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In it, Longfellow struggles to reconcile the feelings of peace and goodwill associated with the Holiday season with the American Civil War, which was waging at that time. That struggle seems relevant today. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

In her 1985 essay, "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," Audre Lorde argues that poetry gives form to ideas that are "formless" but none-the-less "felt," ideas that precede "understanding." I have always believed that Lorde is describing, among other things, historic and childhood trauma. In honor of this, I am devoting these mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this first episode, I will read Edgar Guest's poem, "A Friend's Greeting," which, as the name implies, is about a friendship. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Matt Sandoval is in the business of transforming kids’ trauma. To accomplish this, he and Free Arts, the organization he leads, employ a simple formula: art + mentors = resilience. Matt and I discuss how this equation works, as well as his tips for using art to build resilience in your home, in your classroom, or in your program. More information about Matt and Free Arts is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Aditya Nagrath believes that math anxiety is real and that one of its chief instigators is memorization. This is why his book, Treating Mathematics Anxiety, and the system he created at Elephant Learning focus on fostering an understanding of math concepts. He believes in it so much that he guarantees that students learn one year of mathematics in three months using his system. Aditya and I discuss his approach and steps you can take to help the kids in your life overcome math anxiety. More information about Aditya, Elephant Learning, and Aditya’s book is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Leah Ellis says that she created The Society of Child Entrepreneurs to help kids develop capacities like resilience and problem solving. The society currently offers workshops and coaching and is piloting a full curriculum with lessons on topics such as turning a passion into a plan. From what I have seen, Leah is doing great things, and the curriculum aligns with evidence-based practices and encourages individual reflection and positive peer-to-peer and child-adult interactions. I do not know enough about encouraging entrepreneurship to comment on that aspect. The little time that I have spent in the entrepreneurship literature suggests a field of wildly diverging theories. However, as you listen to Leah, you may get the sense, as I did, that the experiential learning that The Society of Child Entrepreneurs provides makes learning come alive in ways that benefit participants even if they never start their own businesses. More information about Leah and The Society of Child Entrepreneurs is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

In this mini Thanksgiving episode, I investigate what James Baldwin and the other James Baldwin have to say about the holiday. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return next week (December 1, 2025).

Send us Fan Mail

Maria Gallucci is a CODA, which stands for a Child of Deaf Adults. As she chronicles in her new book, Raised in Silence: Lessons on Listening, Love, and Loud Family Dinners from a Child of Deaf Adults, being raised by two deaf parents, learning American Sign Language (ASL) as her primary language, and, while still a child, helping her parents navigate the hearing world was often challenging for Maria. However, as she and I discuss, being a CODA also increased Maria’s capacity to empathize and to communicate and truly connect with others, skills she uses as a parent and as a professional and skills she hopes to foster in others through her work and this book. More information about Maria and Raised in Silence: Lessons on Listening, Love, and Loud Family Dinners from a Child of Deaf Adults is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Harvey Araton is an award-winning reporter and best-selling author whose journalism and fiction expertly explore both the best and worst of sports. Harvey’s forthcoming work, The Goal of the Game, is his first written for middle readers, and the title is both a declaration and a question. As you will hear in our discussion, Harvey’s career has afforded him unique insights into what youth sports does well, where it is being led astray, and what should be done to ensure positive sports experiences for all kids. More information about Harvey and The Goal of the Game is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Is it possible to foster in kids the skills and knowledge needed to avoid trafficking and exploitation without needlessly exposing them, even in small way, to the devasting ugliness of those worlds? My guest today, Erin Williamson, believes that it is possible. Erin is the Chief Programs & Strategy Officer at Love146, an organization that has been fighting to end child trafficking and exploitation for over two decades. As you will hear, the approach Love146 takes is evidence-based, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate. In short, it is everything we advocate for on Talking About Kids. More information about Erin and Love146 is at talkingaboutkids.com.