Talking About Kids

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This is the fourth in a series of discussions with the eminent developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb offers instructions for educators on applying her developmental-relational approach in the classroom. It builds on concepts explained in greater detail in the first two episodes of the series. The next and final episode will explore applying the developmental relational approach in public spaces and policies. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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This is the third in a series of discussions with the developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb offers insights for parents on how to apply her developmental-relational approach in the home. It builds on concepts that were explored in the previous episodes. The next episodes will explore applying the developmental-relational approach in the classroom, and in public spaces and policies. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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This is the second in a series of discussions with the famed developmental psychologist Debra Pepler in which she reflects on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids. In this episode, Deb explains her developmental-relational approach and the concepts that are important to it. Subsequent episodes will explore how to apply this approach in the home, in the classroom, and in public spaces and policies. More information about Deb is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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The impact of Debra Pepler’s scholarship and work on the positive development of kids is global. You do not have to take my word for it.  You can ask the Canadian Psychological Association, who bestowed on her the Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology; or the nation of Canada who made her an Officer of the Order of Canada; or Oprah, who sought out Deb to help the audience of Oprah Winfrey Show understand and prevent childhood bullying. Recently, Deb has been reflecting on her research, experiences, and her approach to fostering positive outcomes for kids, which she calls a “developmental-relational” approach. I have had the good fortune of helping Deb organize these reflections in a series of conversations that will premiere on Talking About Kids over five weeks. This episode is a brief primer on her developmental-relational approach and some other concepts that are important to her work. It was recorded in a live webinar that Talking About Kids convenes monthly with the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health (AAAH), so you also will hear from Celeste Krell-Colum and Vinny Chulani of AAAH. More information about Deb and AAAH is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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For the final Black History Month episode of Talking About Kids, I want to explore steps that we all can take to help protect Black students from the harm caused by gendered and racial stereotypes in the classroom.  As you will hear from my guest, the celebrated scholar Sheretta Butler-Barnes, the things that benefit Black students actually benefit all students. Sheretta is the Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, where she also is the Principal Investigator for the Black Families, Racism, & Resilience Lab. More information about Sheretta is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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Racial socialization competency refers to a parent’s or caregiver’s ability to communicate with their kids about race and to impart strategies for coping with racial discrimination, and the research shows that higher levels of competency are associated with better outcomes for Black children and youth. For this third Black History Month episode of Talking About Kids, I asked Dr. Riana Elyse Anderson to explain racial socialization competency, its components, and how it can be developed. Riana is an Associate Professor at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and the developer of the EMBRace (Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race) program, racial socialization skills training for parent and caregivers. More information about Riana and the EMBRace program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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As adolescents transition into adulthood and independence, their needs change. For Black History Month, Talking About Kids is looking at the specific needs of Black youth and young adults. My guest to help me do that is Mavis Sanders. Mavis is a senior research scholar at Child Trends who recently released a wonderfully insightful brief entitled, “Black Emerging Adults Identify Protective Community Resources That Promote Their Well-Being.” More information about Mavis and her research brief and a link to sign up for Child Trends’ quarterly newsletter on Black children and families are at talkingaboutkids.com.

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Talking About Kids is designed to support the positive development of all kids with the recognition that the factors that influence that development will be unique for each child based on their individual characteristics as well as those of their family and community. For Black History Month, Talking About Kids is examining the factors that influence the positive development of Black children and youth, and we kick off the month with insights from Seanna Leath. Seanna is an Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where she directs the Fostering Healthy Identities and Resilience (FHIRe) Collaborative, a research lab devoted to studying the development of Black girls. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Tracy Pedrotti 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 Seanna and her work and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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My guest today is Sasha Saidman. Sasha is the author of multiple children’s books, including First Day, All Out of Ducks, and, my personal favorite, Melonade. As you will hear, one of the things that makes Sasha special is her willingness to unabashedly explore the adversity she has experienced in order to write authentic books that resonate with young children and their caregivers alike. More information about Sasha and her books and a link to the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline are at talkingaboutkids.com.

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A lot has changed since the days when baby monitors were little more than pastel-colored intercoms. Today, baby monitors transmit video as well as sound, they play lullabies and have night vision, and some even proport to be able to alert parents to changes in their baby’s breathing. While these advancements should result to healthier and happier children, the temptation to replace actual physical contact between a parent and a child with monitoring is great and doing so would be incredibly damaging. The people at LittleOne.Care think that their baby monitor, Elora, not only avoids this temptation but actually strengthens the connection between a parent and a child and even among members of their community. My guest to explain how Elora accomplishes this is LittleOne.Care’s CMO and a driving force behind Elora, Ami Meoded. More information about Ami and a link to LittleOne.Care are at talkingaboutkids.com.