Human bodies aren’t designed to live with chronic stress, and yet these days, so many do. Including kids. This episode explains the physiology of the stress response, what happens in tween and teen bodies in particular, and steps to manage it.

Show Notes:

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Produced by Peoples Media

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Disordered eating and eating disorders – two separate issues along a single continuum – are widespread among tweens and teens. While these struggles aren’t new, rates are up and people are talking about them more openly. This episode starts by defining terminology like anorexia, bulimia, bingeing, purging, bigorexia, and orthorexia. Then we get into all of the reasons why kids (and adults) might experience one or more.

Show Notes:

Center for Emotional Wellness

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A listener asks: Is it ok to snoop through your kid’s phone? And if you do, and then you find something surprising or worrying, what next? We cover the complexities of talking to kids when information was gathered while spying on them. 

Show Notes:

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This sounds negative, but it’s not: helping kids to avoid failure is a major parenting goal. They need to learn to handle setbacks in order to navigate life. Educator and author of 8 Setbacks that Can Make a Child a Success Michelle Icard goes beyond managing kids’ failure to making space for healthy risk taking.

Show Notes:

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Produced by Peoples Media

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Ah, the first pancake: it’s either overcooked, undercooked, or somehow both simultaneously. Every parent (and grandparent, too!) lives a steep learning curve the first time through, racking up a long list of what and how they could have done better. But there’s also a silver lining as we all get better at the job over time. This episode is about letting go of the guilt we feel when we make mistakes, instead leaning into a parenting growth mindset.

Show Notes:

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Produced by Peoples Media

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Trailblazing integrative pediatrician and author of Healthy Kids, Happy Kids Elisa Song has long been a deep believer in the brain-gut connection. Her two decades in functional medicine have made her a leading voice… you’ll understand why when you hear how she explains the gut microbiome to the youngest kids and connects it to issues like teen anxiety for the older ones. 

Show Notes:

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Produced by Peoples Media

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A listener wrote in asking: if I give my kid a hard “no” answer to something I know they really want to do, am I just setting them up to go behind my back and do it anyway? Limit setting would be so much easier if it were black and white. This episode explores the gray area of boundary-setting so that adults can remain in conversation with the kids they’re desperately trying to keep safe.

Show Notes:

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Author and economist Emily Oster covers all the ways to apply data to thoughtful decisions, from wellness to managing illness. There’s science all around us, but sometimes so many numbers that we feel overwhelmed. Emily to the rescue.

Show Notes:

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Odors make a grand entrance as bodies grow and change. This episode covers everything from how we smell (olfaction) to how we smell (stinky or delicious). There are lots of specific ways to prevent potent odors on increasingly sweaty, oily, hairy bodies — we dig into many of them. 

Show Notes:

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Menopause maven Dr. Mary Claire Haver, author of The New Menopause, joins us to debunk myths and educate listeners about some of the big topics like: hormone therapy treatment, the data on estrogen, and new ways to approach this complex stage of life that so often intersects with puberty.

Show Notes:

The New Menopause by Mary Claire Haver

North American Menopause Society

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