Talking About Kids is a weekly podcast for parents, educators, and direct service providers that explores the latest information on issues impacting children and adolescents, from preventing bullying to unlocking creativity. Hosted by R. Bradley Snyder, author of The 5 Simple Truths of Raising Kids, each episode presents a new topic and introduces listeners to authors, academics, and visionaries from around the globe.
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Stanley Krippner has received multiple lifetime achievement awards from the American Psychological Association, including the Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology and the Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to Humanistic Psychology. He is the subject of the edited volume, Stanley Krippner: …
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Zetta Elliott writes the kinds of books that she wanted to read when she was younger. They are sweeping, fantastic, and crackling with energy. Zetta and I discuss the latest addition to her Dragons in a Bag series, entitled The Oracle’s Door, and what it means to kids to read about aspirational protagonists with whom they share experiences, gender,…
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There is a simple equation when it comes to raising a healthy and happy kid: the more competent and caring adults there are in the life of a kid, the better off that kid will be. Unfortunately, policies and prejudices often prevent fathers from being present to their own children. My guest today to discuss these problems and what is being done to a…
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By several measures, 2024 is on course to be one of the worst ever in terms of gun violence on school campuses. My guest this episode to discuss these tragic incidents is David Riedman. David is the founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, arguably the most complete accounting of school shootings in the United States. As you will hear, David's…
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The U.S. is in the middle of what many experts are a calling a “mental health crisis.” As a result, there is increased interest in initiatives that place mental health clinicians on campuses. Despite research suggesting that this model should help students, there was, until recently, little evidence that school-based mental health services have the…
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I doubt that anyone listening to the Talking About Kids podcast needs science to tell them that kids form deep attachments to their pets. However, it is worth noting the research on kids’ emotional reactions to a pet’s death. Studies show that a pet’s death may be traumatic for children and associated with subsequent mental health difficulties. A m…
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My guest this episode is Timothy McKnight, a respected pediatrician, a second-generation Black physician, and an innovative leader. Tim believes that more can be done to address the healthcare disparities that too many families face, and he believes that pediatricians are in a unique position to help bring about the necessary changes. It is why he …
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What you need to know about bullying perpetration and the implications of working with adolescent bullies with Kevin Runions
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Bullying comes up a lot on Talking About Kids. When it does, we typically are discussing statistics and system-wide initiatives. My guest this episode to discuss bullying in adolescence is globally-recognized expert, Kevin Runions. In his roles as Area Lead Consultant for Research, Evaluation & Monitoring with School Mental Health Ontario, Kevin is…
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Talking About Kids is kicking off our fourth season with a very special guest, Kitty Felde. Kitty is a veteran public radio journalist who has won multiple awards for her coverage of Capital Hill. Kitty’s desire to expose kids to the genuine Capital Hill and the real workings of government lead her down an unconventional path, that of writing myste…
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This is the final mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some statistics about kids that are related to the Positive Indicators Project's measures of kids "Helping Others to Flourish" that I described in the previous episode. To help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season, I share some encouraging stati…
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In this fifth mini summer episode of Talking About Kids, I introduce the Positive Indicators Project, which is a movement to measure and track positive behaviors and attitudes in kids. I also present concepts, like gratitude and thrift, that the project has defined, categorized, and analyzed. A link to the project is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-l…
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This is the fourth mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some favorable statistics about kids and delinquency. I hope these encouraging facts about kids will help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids epi…
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This is the third mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some encouraging statistics about kids and substance use. I hope these encouraging facts about kids will help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids …
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This is the second mini summer episode of Talking About Kids. In it, I share some encouraging statistics about kids and sex. I hope these encouraging facts about kids will help us through the stress and fear-mongering of this political season. Links to some of the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes …
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This is the first mini episode of Talking About Kids for summer 2024. In it, I share some little-known facts about kids in the U.S., and I present the theme for the remaining summer episodes: namely positive facts about kids to help us through the stress and fear-mongering that are all too present today. Links to some of the research I cite are are…
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How the legal choices you make during a divorce impact family well-being with Charles Jamieson
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Divorce is hard on kids. My guest this episode is the attorney Charles Jamieson. Charles has spent over 40 years using his skills and considerable experience to help families around the country mitigate the damage divorce proceedings can cause. His insights are as practical as they are valuable, and I am grateful that he found the time to share the…
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Nationwide, school libraries – often refuges for students who are being othered by their classmates – are being weaponized. In this final Pride Month installment of 2024, I asked several of the Grand Marshals of the 2024 NYC Pride March to react to the growing movement to deny students access to books with queer and trans voices. In this episode yo…
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For the second year in a row, Talking About Kids was granted media access to all of NYC Pride’s events, including the 2024 NYC Pride March. At the press conference for the march, each of the Grand Marshals described their platforms and the changes they hoped their profiles would affect. I found it interesting that most of them used their time to ad…
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It goes without saying that would-be parents who are supported have healthier babies. For this fourth Pride Month installment of Talking About Kids, I want to address the perinatal care that queer individuals receive because it can be stressful and dehumanizing in ways that have negative short-term and long-term consequences for them and their chil…
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During Pride Month, Talking About Kids is devoted to LGBTQ+ issues. This third installment is about the rights of LGBTQ+ youth. My guest is Gaelle Esposito, a Partner with the lobbying, government relations, communications, and legislative advocacy firm Creosote Partners. Gaelle and I discuss the current state of the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and what…
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During Pride Month, Talking About Kids is devoted to LGBTQ+ issues. This second installment is about supporting Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ youth. My guest is Jerico Cummings. Jerico is a 2SLGBTQ+ Training & Community Engagement Specialist for the Paths (Re)Membered Project at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. The mission of the Paths (Re)…
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In honor of Pride Month, Talking About Kids is devoting its June episodes to LGBT+ issues. This first installment is about how understanding history can help LGBT+ youth, and my guest is the “Hip Historian,” Marshall Shore. Marshall is known throughout the southwestern United States and beyond for excavating videos, news stories, and other lost art…
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George Walker is an artist, educator, and historian, who is best known for his books about public figures ranging from Leonard Cohen to Tom Thomson. George tells these stories without words, using only images printed from wood he engraves. These wordless novels, as they are known, are in the tradition of works by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, and Otto…
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As a writer, social media figure, and, now, children’s book author, Gina Prosch has focused on hope and joy. The second book in her Holly’s Choice series was just released. It is called, Hope! More Than Wishful Thinking. True to its title, it addresses hope, but, as you will hear, Gina’s conception of hope is not a Pollyanna one, but a practical an…
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Mentors have come up before on Talking About Kids, but the work of my guest today, Noelle Hurd, challenges more traditional notions of how mentors are identified and recruited and their role in the life of a kid, especially a racially or ethnically marginalized one. Noelle is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where she also r…
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Vot-ER is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that believes that a healthy and inclusive democracy makes for healthy communities. To that end, Vot-ER works to integrate civic engagement into healthcare. My guest this episode to discuss Vot-ER’s rationale, how it goes about promoting an inclusive democracy, and what you can to do to achieve simila…
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The website for the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University lists the factors that “predispose children to positive outcomes in the face of significant adversity.” Among them is “sources of faith.” My guest this episode to help me understand how faith traditions build resilience is David Myles. David is an award-winning speaker, radio…
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What you need to know about mandated reporting and child maltreatment with Rachel Rosenberg and Sarah Catherine Williams
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Child maltreatment is a major public health concern in the United States, but are the mandated reporting laws that were intended to reduce child maltreatment working? My guests this episode, Rachel Rosenberg and Sarah Catherine Williams, are two of the authors of a new report from ChildTrends. As you will hear, their research suggests that mandated…
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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 gu…
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Why youth, caregiver, and professional perspectives are important to the planning and implementation of trauma-informed care with Yehudis Stokes and Marjorie Robb
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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 stakeholde…
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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 i…
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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 m…
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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…
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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 tak…
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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 …
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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. Propo…
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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 direc…
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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 …
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Speak Up Stand Up Save a Life is an annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, that aims to empower middle school students to organize and be changemakers at their home campuses. This year, the conference focused on identifying and overcoming the barriers that prevent kids from accessing mental health or suicide prevention services for themselves or th…
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Tim Cavell approached me at the World Anti-Bullying Forum and claimed that his book on parenting and my book on parenting have some things in common. He was being generous. Tim is the co-author of Good Enough Parenting: A Six-Point Plan for a Stronger Relationship with Your Child published by the American Psychological Association. It is a great bo…
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How to stop bedwetting, overactive bladders, incontinence, and constipation in kids with Steve Hodges
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Toilet issues are not uncommon in kids. Despite this, there is a growing body of evidence that these conditions are often misunderstood and mistreated. My guest today, Dr. Steve Hodges, is a Professor of Pediatric Urology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. A leading authority childhood toileting, Steve’s work is debunking many of the myt…
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Suicides and suicide attempts peak in spring and early summer, but research shows that the ideation and mental health issues that precede the acts are at their worst now, in the winter. My guest to discuss what you can do help kids who may be having suicidal thoughts is Carla Allan. Carla is the Chief of the Division of Psychology at Phoenix Childr…
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In this third mini Holiday Break episode, I share David Reidman's (K-12 School Shooting Database) analysis of one of the first school shootings of 2024. Links to the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new year.توسط R. Bradley Snyder
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In this second mini Holiday Break episode, I revisit the science of why New Year's resolutions fail or succeed, and why, if your resolution is to improve your mental health, you should keep it for the sake of your kid. Links to the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return later in this new yea…
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In this first mini Holiday Break episode, I explore A Christmas Carol's central idea, which I argue is empathy. Links to the research I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in the new year.توسط R. Bradley Snyder
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The research is conclusive: how and with what our kids’ clothes are manufactured affects the environment and kids’ health and well-being. As you are about to hear, my guest for this episode, Samantha Gentry, is very passionate about this topic, so much so that she started her own store in the U.S. just to ensure that her own child would have access…
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As we navigate the gift giving season and the accompanying onslaught of sales and advertisements, I think it is important to understand the impact that the media and commercials have on the behaviors and, ultimately, the health and well-being of our kids. My guest to discuss this is Susan Linn. Susan is a world-renowned psychologist; the author of …
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Kids need sleep. Adequate sleep helps prevent Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, mental health problems, and even injury. My guest today, Blaine Leeds, and his colleagues believe that apnea is to blame for many kids’ sleep issues. Blaine is a dentist, an innovator, the author of What Happens When Your Child Doesn’t Sleep, and a passionate advocate. More inf…
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In this mini Thanksgiving episode, I look at the "Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving" from the National Museum of the American Indian and read from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. Links to the article and the full address are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return …
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This is the second installment in a new segment in which a colleague and I examine classic and obscure books about kids from the past. We will be looking at what has changed and what has stayed the same to try to uncover universal truths and inspiration that you can use as you care for your own kids. This episode focuses on the introductory chapter…
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