How to Talk to Kids About Anything

We've all heard the labels. Strong-willed, spirited, explosive, and highly sensitive. As parents of kids who have been marked as “difficult” we need an alternative road map to guide us where conventional parenting tools have failed. We need a way to calm the chaos. My next guest explains that there are five steps to calming the chaos, each step bringing us closer to family success even as emotions run high so that we can build a safe haven in our homes that support healthy kids. The post How to Calm the Chaos in Dysregulated Kids So They Can Thrive with Dayna Abraham appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

We live at a time when many parents, out of love, do so much for their kids—so much so that kids are not learning the skills they need in order to thrive. This is one of the reasons why I created one of my free bonuses for the How to Talk to Kids about Anything book launch—118 Skills to Teach Kids by Age 18—a checklist of 118 skills that allows you to ensure your children are ready to thrive on their own by the time they leave your home. You can access that bonus list and several more at DrRobynSilverman.com, under the tab “book.” Now—what about when you are NOT raised in a home where your parents are doing a lot for their kids—maybe because they can't, maybe because they won't, maybe their life situation dictates that the children need to be independent to survive. Yes, what is you are raised in a home where you wonder if you'll have food on the table and anger and shame are the norm? How can we learn to show up for ourselves, strategize ways to succeed, hustle, learn and become? And then, how, as a parent, can we instill these lessons so they can live boldly- no matter where they started in life? I think we can all learn something from my next guest who created the life she wanted by discovering the strength she needed was within her all along. The post How to Talk to Kids about Living Boldly and Creating the Life they Want with Nicole Walters appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

This podcast will focus on how to help struggling kids reach their full potential. Approximately 5% of school aged children have a learning disability and 13% of all public school students receive special education services. Another 15% are struggling due to an unidentified learning or attention issue. Struggles can look different in different children at different times of their childhood. Their struggles may be an issue with listening, concentrating, motivation, focus or other under-developed executive functioning skills. Children with learning disabilities not only cope with the disability itself but often misunderstanding of the disability. People may think that their lack of concentration is due to laziness, for example. They may believe that their impulsivity is linked to rudeness or feelings that their needs and wants are more important than other people's needs and wants. So it's not surprising that sometimes, with misunderstanding comes mislabeling. “That child is rude.” “So and so is a lazy child.” Mislabeling can linked to behavioral problems and can cause a lot of anxiety in children as they struggle to either prove someone wrong—or, prove others right as a self-fulfilling prophesy. Children with learning disabilities also must cope with teachers, administrators and parents jumping to an intervention that may not address the actual problem. How do we talk to kids and help kids who are struggling with learning disabilities so that they can reach tier potential and achieve their goals? For this, we turn to our guest, Dr. Karen Wilson. The post How to Talk to Kids about Learning Disabilities with Karen I. Wilson, PhD- ReRelease appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

I'm so excited today for this special podcast where Dr. Robert Melillo is interviewing me on my new book, How to Talk to Kids about Anything! It's out now wherever books are sold and I hope you have yours—it's currently #1 on Amazon in the School-Age Children Parenting Category—and that's because of all of you. Thank you for your support- and please review it- those 5-Star reviews make a huge difference in the algorithm. So TODAY- I want to introduce Clinician, brain researcher, and Best-selling author, Dr. Melillo is one of the most respected specialists in childhood neurological disorders in American and has been helping children with learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia and more for over 30 years. He's the author of Disconnected Kids- and we interviewed him here on that very book, along with several others including Reconnected kids- and there's even a TV show based on that one. We're flipping the script again so here is my guest interviewer for How to Talk to Kids about Anything, so take it away, Dr. Robert Melillo! The post Flipping the Script! Dr. Robyn Silverman gets interviewed about How to Talk to Kids about Anything by Dr. Robert Melillo appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

We have a lot of TOUGH talks on this podcast. We've talked about sex, porn, suicide, bullying, neurodiversity, failure, death and so much more. It was always my aim to present you with the entire child development pie and invite amazing guests on the show, bestselling authors and top experts, who could dig deep, providing you with the deep slices of that pie so that you can have these conversations with your children and teens—and that they will come to us when they need someone to talk to as well. One thing I know for sure is that if we want our kids to talk to us about anything, we have to be willing to talk to our kids about everything. Today's guest in the hot seat is ME! Ha! Since my book comes out today, October 10th, and I couldn't be more excited to share it with all of you. You've been part of my village and my community since 2017—we have been through a lot—and talked about some very intimate things—I will ask now, as I've never asked before, would you please go to wherever you get your books—Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Target, your local Indy Book store and order How to Talk to Kids about Anything right now. It's been 6 years of work—interviews, researching, this podcast which I have never charged for- writing and editing-- and I know you will find it worth it and love it—and once you order it and receive the book, please give those 5 star reviews because that will get more people to know about it, buy it, use it, and make a difference with their kids. Would you do that now please? Thank you in advance! And now for my amazing moderator for today, none other than, my husband, whose been through it all with me. So I hope the Dads will give a good listen to what he has to say, he's been through it all with me. The good, the bad, the ugly and the utterly hilarious. Jason Silverman and I have been married for almost 25 years- he's a brilliant marketer, the founder, Chief Executive Officer and president of Silverman Consulting and Systems Success Mastermind, he's a business development coach, my partner in Powerful Words Character System, and my partner in life—so welcome to the How to Talk to Kids about Anything podcast, and now, I'll flip to guest mode! The post Flipping the Script! Dr. Robyn Silverman gets interviewed about How to Talk to Kids about Anything by Jason Silverman appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

This episode of How to Talk to Kids about Anything focuses on effective communication tools that parents can use to best reach their children as they enter middle school and the teen years. How do we engage in respectful and effective dialogue, give constructive feedback, problem-solve and provide boundaries and still navigate the complex terrain of teenhood? Dr. Robyn Silverman interviews William Stixrud and Ned Johnson in this lively and fascinating exchange. The post How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance & a Happy Home with Dr. William Stixrud & Ned Johnson – ReRelease appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

What to do when your child throws a tantrum? How to react when your child hits, punches, or bites? How do we help to co-regulate our child's nervous system? And how do we head-off tantrums before they happen? As you know, we've entered a new way of helping our children through big emotions—moving far away from the ways our parents used to parent us and their parents used to parent our parents. Instead of pushing big feelings under the rug, hiding them in the closet or stuffing them down into our bodies like a batch of old brownies, as our understanding of developing brains has increased, today's parents are looking for a new way to help their children understand their feelings and learn to process them. Who is leading the way for us today? Alyssa Blask Campbell is joining us for her second time today. The post How to Help your Kids Process Big Emotions with Alyssa Blask Campbell appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

This podcast will focus on how to talk to kids about anxiety and OCD. Dr. Robyn Silverman interviews Dr. Eli Lebowtiz about the key to helping kids cope with their anxious behavior—acceptance and confidence. This podcast provides many scripts and strategies for parents and educators. The post How to Talk to Kids about Breaking Free of Anxiety and OCD with Eli Lebowitz, PhD – ReRelease appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

Well folks, we are in a digital age where we track our children's every move through apps—access their grades within minutes of the teachers posting them, send photos at a push of a button before we've even considered whether or not we should share or have consent to share—yikes. I was interviewed on Good Morning America about this topic because of how the number of likes affects how a tween and teen feel about their worthiness! This can lead to the creation of an online persona that teens create to attract likes even if the persona doesn't represent who the child is at the core— how can our kids cope with zero privacy and constant judgment? Let's bring in my friend and friend of the show, Devorah Heitner. The post How to Talk to Kids about Growing up in Public with Dr. Devorah Heitner appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

We're probably all felt it—this ever-more competitive race that today's students run each day towards the best possible future—feeling the crushing pressure to do more, more, more, jamming their schedules full of resume-padding activities, AP classes, tutoring and whatever else that can give them an edge over the rest so that they can get into the right colleges, that gets them on the right path towards the right future. At the same time, we have skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm and more—is it possible to help kids strive towards excellence without having the process crush them while on their way? For this, we are speaking with Jennifer Wallace. The post How to Talk to Kids about Toxic Achievement Culture with Jennifer Wallace appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Kara Kinney Cartwright – This podcast will focus on teaching boys to recognize the humanness in everyone—to be kind and to NOT be an assh*le. How can we teach our sons to have positive interactions, make good decisions and recognize when they are being jerkfaces? We talk about all of it on the How to Talk to Kids about Anything podcast with guest and author, Kara Kinney Cartwright. The post How to Talk to Boys about Not Being A$$holes with Kara Kinney Cartwright- ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

How can we remain mindful when we are rushing around and doing so much as parents? Dr. Robyn Silverman interviews best-selling author, Hunter Clarke Fields, on the How to Talk to Kids about Anything podcast. Hunter's new book, Raising Good Humans Everyday, is featured. The post How to Talk to Kids about Being Good Humans Everyday with Hunter Clarke Fields appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast is about how to parent without perfection. While we may have pictured smiling, complaint-free kids frolicking in meadows, taking out the trash without prompting, and feeling carefree ease as we baked cookies in a clean and organized home before we had kids-this is not reality. Kids are not perfect and neither are we. Far from it. The quicker we accept that life is messy, with spills, frustration, disorganization, and yes, some quarreling too, the better. Families and life moments can be both beautiful and contentious at times. Dr. Robyn Silverman interviews Kristen Howerton on the How to Talk to Kids about Anything podcast. The post How to Parent without Perfection with Kristen Howerton – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Katie Hurley According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, approximately one out of five teens has a mental health disorder, diagnosable by clinical methods, and nearly one-third show symptoms of depression. Now you might be thinking- well, many teens seem depressed to me, their moods and their emotions are all over the place! Stress is overwhelming! Yes, that can be true- symptoms of depression in adolescents aren't always easy to identify because they often appear as normal adolescent behavior. But if we keep an eye open for consistent depressed behavior and indicators like, fatigue, changes in sleep patterns, changes in eating patterns, social withdrawal, and/or anger- these can serve as early warning signs that can allow us to get help for our teens as depression is absolutely treatable but NOT fixable on its own. Teens who have depression need therapy, support at home and yes, some also need medication. There's no quick fix and thankfully, we have Katie Hurley here to explain how we know if our child needs help, what we and our teens can do at home to assist and what exercises and tools we can use to improve mood, self-esteem and motivation. Katie Hurley, LCSW, is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting expert, and writer. She is the founder of “Girls Can!” empowerment groups for girls between ages 5-11. Hurley is the author of The Happy Kid Handbook” “No More Mean Girls,” (both subjects we have interviewed Katie on previously on How to Talk to Kids about Anything) and her new workbook, The Depression Workbook for Teens, which is the #1 new release on Amazon for Teen and Young Adult Self Esteem and Self Reliance Issues. Her work can be found in The Washington Post, PBS Parents, and US News and World Report, among other places. She practices psychotherapy in the South Bay area of Los Angeles and earned her BA in psychology and women's studies from Boston College and her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. She splits her time between California and Connecticut with her husband and two children. The post How to Talk to Kids about Depression, Conflict & Coping with Katie Hurley – Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Childhood is supposed to be filled with good times and laughs—but of course, some children may experience a significant loss during their childhood or adolescence. It's actually more common than you might think. According to the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model, as of 2021, one in 14 American children will experience the death of a parent or sibling before the age of 18. Still, it's not easy to talk about grief with adults, let alone kids—but as the key adults in our children's lives, we need to be able to step in and navigate ethe thoughts and feelings that they are experiencing as they cope with their loss. They likely will have many questions when a grandparents, parent, sibling or other close family member or friend dies. They might wonder if they are at fault, if they are safe and who will make their grilled cheese sandwich and take them to soccer if the person who passed away was the one who did those things for them. When we shut down, don't talk about grief and death with kids or make the mistake of assuming if they aren't talking about it, they must be fine, kids can wind up filling in their questions with their own answers based on misunderstandings and incorrect information. We need to help them get the conversation going through a variety of techniques that allows them (and also us!) to manage grief in productive ways. We've discussed talking about death and grief with Joe Primo, in the past, and we've talked about suicide with Dr. Dan Reidenberg and Dr. Jonathan Singer—and now we will discuss grief through a new lens with Katie Lear who uses child-friendly activities to comfort kids and help them to overcome sadness, fear and loss. The post How to Talk to Kids about Managing Childhood Grief with Katie Lear, LCMHC, RDT, RPT appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Imagine getting a knock on your door from someone who could derail your whole life and take away your child. That knock came for my next guest—not because she was abusing or neglecting her child, actually, quite the opposite- it was because she was listening and responding to her child in the most loving way possible. She was allowing her child to live life as the gender she felt she was—a girl. The topic of transgender youth has been contentious, to say the least. From the outside, when the person looking in is cis gender—meaning you were say, born and labeled a girl at birth and, you feel like a girl, it can be hard to imagine that some people don't feel that alignment. The only way that I feel like we can really explain that is to switch it-- for you to imagine that other people are referring to you, if you are a girl or a woman, as a boy or a man—with pronouns that reflect that, names that reflect that and you keep saying, but that's not who I am! Some kids know from a very young age that they are not the gender they were assigned at birth. And it's important to listen to this—because transgender people can have a very high suicide rate- a very high rate of being bullied, attacked, even murdered. Trans women, because they must contend with a profound amount of discrimination, also are at high risk of alcoholism, poverty, homelessness and lack of good healthcare. The solution is not fixing the transgender person but rather, acceptance. Let's talk about it with my next guest who has personal experience with her own transgender child. The post How to Talk to Kids about Transgender People with Carolyn Hays appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast will focus on how parents, teachers, and coaches of children K-12 can start talking more openly about sexual harassment and sexual violence. In order for this kind of behavior to stop, everyone much address the norms and stereotypes that fuel it, so all young people can grow up safe, respected, and valued. The post How to Talk to Kids about Sexual Harassment with Lara Kaufmann & Dr. Christia Spears Brown – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

When I asked my next guest to come back on the show and I wanted to know what she'd like to discuss this time because she has such interesting perspective and a way with words—and she said, she'd like to talk about how “kids don't thrive when they're raised like dogs on a leash who have to go a certain way to please their owner (parent).” You see my next guest did this amazing, extremely popular Ted Talk in 2016 entitled “How to Raise Successful Kids- without Over-Parenting” which has just about 7, 500, 000 views now. And in it she talks about how mapping out our children's every move, check-listing their childhood so that they get into the right colleges and get the right jobs doesn't actually make a successful, fulfilled person unless success is only moving up a preconceived and narrow ladder that may not actually feel like success for your child. How can we, as parents, drop the rope—or the leash—that is keeping our children from their passions, from their individuality, from their destiny—and how can we talk to our children about embracing who they are, learning who they want to be and willingly taking the steps to forge their own path? For that, we are turning to Julie Lythcott-Haims. The post How to Talk to Kids About Becoming Individuals Without Interference with Julie Lythcott-Haims appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast focuses on answering some of kids' toughest questions about sex and changing bodies. From puberty to erections, masturbation and what sex is, we're going in! Dr. Robyn Silverman interviews sexuality educator and author, Dr. Logan Levkoff on the latest episode of How to Talk to Kids about Anything. The post How to Answer Kids' Toughest Questions about Sex with Logan Levkoff, PhD ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

What is to come for a child who is told he is garbage? Worthless? Beaten to the ground? I have often said that children who have the love, kindness and acceptance of an adult—or several adults—can be the difference. As you might remember me saying, Search Institute found that many young people don't feel that they have at least 3 key adults to turn to in a time of need and challenge. Our next guest had a very hard start to his life—abused by his father and watching his mother and siblings meet that same fate. He survived the streets of Kampala Uganda and, due to the potential that someone saw in him- wound up going to school and altering his life for the better in every possible way. My next guest will help us to understand how to talk to kids about acceptance and true self-worth. He has a remarkable story. The post How to Talk to Kids about Beating the Odds, Acceptance & True Self Worth with Peter Mutabazi appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Dr. William Stixrud. Are we raising an anxious generation? Many would agree that we are. The causes of the uptick in anxiety among children has started to be discussed—even within our podcast- we have talked with Jessica Lahey and our obsession with grades and our focus on avoiding failure at all costs. We have talked with Julie Lythcott Haims about the bubble-wrapping of our children that leaves them unprepared for a life that we deliver them to at the age of 18—a life in which they don't have the skills, yes, but also where they don't have the resilience or the confidence to take it on. In The Self-Driven Child, authors William Stixrud and Ned Johnson continue this conversation—focusing specifically on the ways that children today are being denied a sense of controlling their own lives—doing what they find meaningful, and succeeding or failing on their own, and on their own terms. While screen time and technology certainly are part of the problem, the real issues lie with us—the parents and the teachers—who have their hearts in the right place but are nevertheless, taking the opportunities away from children that would allow them to grow stronger, more confident, more autonomous, more competent-- and more themselves.  William R. Stixrud, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist, frequent lecturer, presenter, author and founder of The Stixrud Group. He is a member of the teaching faculty at Children's National Medical Center and an assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Stixrud is the author, with Ned Johnson, of the nationally bestselling book, The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives. You will also see him featured for his expertise in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, Scientific American, Business Week, Barron's, and, New York Magazine. And—fun fact- Dr. Stixrud also happens to be a musician who plays in a band! The post How to Talk to Kids about Being Self-Driven, Self-Motivated & Self-Controlled with Dr. William Stixrud – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Dr. Kelly Fradin: Many of us have been there. We walk out of an appointment with our child's doctor or teacher and we feel concerned—and a whole host of other feelings from fear to anger to sadness, confusion and of course, love. We all hope that our children are healthy and cruise through life fairly unscathed- so when reality hits and we hear that our child has common challenges like ADHD or learning disabilities or more severe challenges like feeding issues, asthma, food allergies, anxiety or depression, we can become alarmed. As we may flip into roles beyond the typical parenting caregiver to medical scheduler, diagnosis researcher, health advocate and more- we may find that money, time, access and a feeling of calm is in short supply. What can we do to cope with and talk with our kids about challenging medical diagnoses and how to proceed through life with one? For this, we turn to Dr. Kelly Fradin. The post How do we talk to kids about Health Challenges & Medical Diagnoses with Kelly Fradin appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Jason B. Allen: It is no secret that many of our black and brown boys are marginalized, mistreated and made to feel inferior in today's world. You've heard leaders call for systemic change- but that only happens when the people within our systems, help them to change. We need advocates, educators and activists to help do this important work—to teach and guide us, as parents and coaches and prominent people in the lives of youth on how to help all our young people reach their potential. There are some uncomfortable conversations that must occur- about racism, about inequity, about social justice—with those young people who are on the receiving end of inequities as well as with those who are peers, friends, teachers and parents of those who must cope with these inequities every day. How do we talk to our kids about equity and social justice? How do we empower our young people to speak out and make change? And How do we present ourselves as mentors—or provide the mentors our children need- so that they have people to look towards who look like them so they can see where they can go with hard work and hopefully, a fair shot. For all of this, I turn to special educator, Jason B. Allen. The post How to Talk to Kids about Equity, Racism and Social Justice with Jason B. Allen – Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

How do we raise good humans? Do some parents just get lucky with easy children or perhaps they have some kind of special superpower to know what to do? Are there steps to follow or specific things to avoid? We probably all know by now from listening to this podcast and reading all the books that have come with it that we can't yell, hit or ignore a child into being “good” so what's the secret sauce? For this, we have invited Dr. Aliza Pressman on the show today. The post How to Raise Good Humans with Dr. Aliza Pressman appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special Guest: Chelsea Brennan Many parents believe that money is another taboo topic that we just don't discuss. After all, there is a lot of emotion, status, privilege and judgment tied up with money that make it a topic that can be triggering to many. But when you think about it- where are kids learning about money these days? Many only see the swipe of a credit card & the magic of online shopping- where we press some buttons and we walk out with stuff—or better yet, it appears at our door or in our mailbox! We know this isn't how it works- and it's important to teach our kids about money- what we value, what we might be saving for, what we choose to spend money on, which charities we may give money to and what seems frivolous, unnecessary or even counter-productive. But how do we talk to our kids about our family money values, goals and choices- and how can we help set them up with the knowledge, skills and understanding so that they know how to handle money when they need to make important financial decisions later in life? Today we'll talk to Chelsea Brennan for some answers. The post How to Talk to Kids about Money Values, Spending & Giving with Chelsea Brennan – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Dawn Heubner, Ph.D We all want our children to feel safe, secure and engaged in their lives. But when big, bad things happen in the world- from mass shootings to natural disasters to other tragedies detailed on the news and filtered through the adults at the restaurant, the neighbors on the street, the kids on the bus and friends at school- the world can feel a little less safe and secure for many of our children. How can we reserve our kids feelings of optimism, safety, security, strength and that inexplicable feeling that comes with a carefree childhood when scary things happen across the world, across the state or across the street? For this important topic, we turn a second time to past podcast guest, Dr. Dawn Huebner who you'll remember from our discussion about worry and anxiety and how to help our kids when they worry too much—a great and helpful podcast episode that I urge you to listen to after this one. Dr. Dawn Huebner is a Clinical Psychologist and Parent Coach specializing in the treatment of anxiety. She is the author of 9 books for children including the perennial best seller, What to Do When You Worry Too Much, and more recent, Outsmarting Worry. Dr. Huebner's newest book, coming out THIS WEEK called Something Bad Happened, provides support for children learning about big bad things happening the world. Dr. Huebner has been featured on news and information outlets including the TODAY Show, CNN, Parent's Magazine and more. She maintains a private practice in Exeter, NH. The post How to Talk to Kids When Something Bad Happens in the World with Dawn Huebner, PhD – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast focuses on talking to kids about outsmarting worry. The post How to Talk to Kids About Outsmarting Worry with Dawn Huebner, PhD – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

How do we talk to kids about children who have differences like spina bifida, fragile X syndrome, autism, or who are deaf or blind? Many times when children ask, out of curiosity, about a child's difference that they see on the playground, at school or in a store, some adults are quick to shush that child out of fear of embarrassing the other child, the other parent, or themselves. It can catch us off-guard and we may not know what to say. In chapter 5 of my book, which is on talking to kids about diversity and inclusion, I highlight one of my very best friend's children, Nate, who has Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus, and is now a teen who is happy to tell you about his differences—but it's not always that way—so how do we talk to our children, when they DO have a difference, about that difference so that they aren't ashamed and they know that it's simply part of what makes them who they are-- but not all that they are. For this, we are talking to Beth Leipholtz. The post How to Talk to Kids About Differences and Inclusion with Beth Leipholtz appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Dr. Harold Koplewicz: This podcast focuses on how to raise resilient, self-reliant and secure kids in an age of anxiety. The most common health disorders among children are mental health disorders. That's 17 million children! We must help children cope with stress and learn from their mistakes—and we can do this through scaffold parenting. Scaffold parenting is a framework based on structure, support and encouragement. Dr. Robyn Silverman speaks to Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, founding president and medical director at the Child Mind Institute and author of the new book, The Scaffold Effect, on the How to Talk to Kids about Anything podcast. The post How to Raise Resilient, Self-Reliant, and Secure Kids in an Age of Anxiety with Dr. Harold Koplewicz – Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Do you have a sensitive child? Or, perhaps you are the sensitive one having been told your whole life, “you're too sensitive!,” “shake it off!” or “you've got to toughen up!” Well, no more. Did you know that nearly 1 in 3 people are highly sensitive individuals? And while sensitivity has its challenges at times—it also provides some beautiful gifts. How do we talk to and support our sensitive kids? And if we are the ones who are sensitive, how do we raise a child in a loud, often over-stimulating world? For this, we turn to our next guest, Jenn Granneman. The post How to Talk to Kids about Being Sensitive in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World with Jenn Granneman appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Judith Warner - This podcast is about how to help ourselves and our children navigate middle school successfully. Dr. Robyn Silverman interviews Judith Warner, author of “And Then They Stopped Talking to Me,” about middle school friendship, relationships, emotions, frustrations, screen-time and more. The post How to Talk to Kids about Middle School with Judith Warner Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Many would agree that most teenagers are emotional. Sometimes those emotions are worn on the sleeve while other times they are more covert but often ever-present. How do we understand our teenagers' intense and often fraught emotional lives—and how do we support them through this critical developmental stage? For that, we have the pleasure of having the fabulous Lisa Damour back on our show today. Recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association, Lisa Damour, Ph.D., co-hosts the Ask Lisa podcast, writes about adolescents for the The New York Times, appears as a regular contributor to CBS News, works in collaboration with UNICEF, and maintains a clinical practice. She is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls (we had Lisa on the show to discuss it!). She has a NEW book out! Wooohoo! It's called The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents which is the #1 New Release in Popular Adolescent Psychology on Amazon! She and her husband have two daughters and live in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The post How to Talk about the Emotional Lives of Teenagers with Dr. Lisa Damour appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Life gets crazy and parenting can be stressful. Many parents anticipate the stress and experience stress throughout the day—whether it's morning time and getting the kids off to school, or after-school time when homework must be completed—shuttling multiple children to practices and activities, getting a healthy dinner on the table while dealing with sibling arguments—or dealing with bedtime shenanigans. And let's not forget friendship issues, electronics battles, getting your kids to clean up after themselves—or life issues like divorce, illness, bullying, work stress and whatever else is your personal bugaboo. Yes- life can be stressful, parenting can stressful—and we focus so much on how we can help our kids, talk to our kids, be there for our kids—but what about us? What about the parents? How do we cope with our stress and what might help us to take a collective breath, allow some of the frustration to fall away and become more mindful so that we can better help ourselves as well as those we love? Dr. Laura Markham trained as a Clinical Psychologist, earning her PhD from Columbia University. She is the mother of two, now ages 21 and 25. Dr. Laura is the author of the book Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting and Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How to Stop the Fighting and Raise Friends for Life. We interviewed her on both of these books as well as on her wonderful workbook called the Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook—a great resource for parents. You can find her online at http://www.ahaparenting.com The post How Mindfulness Can Positively Impact the Way We Parent Our Children with Dr. Laura Markham Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Many people have the wrong idea about adoption and kids. Adoption is nuanced and those involved in adoption are human! Experts in adoption have found that children, adoptive parents and birth parents may grapple with seven different core issues in adoption and permanency. Let's discuss them today and find out how to talk about them with our children and teens. The post How to Talk to Kids about Adoption, Foster Care and Attachment with Allison Davis Maxon, LMFT appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Talking about race and racism isn't easy. There are a lot of questions that we may not know how to answer while in the moment and many situations that we may not know how to handle when we are in them. We also may be confused about how to raise children who are true allies and who are willing to step up, have tough conversations themselves and not just do what's right in the moment but also what could be helpful in the long run as we strive for lifelong relationships and lifechanging opportunities for growth. How do we ensure we do better and embrace a willingness to engage in courageous discomfort as we dive into our questions about race and racism? For this, we have 2 amazing women on today, Shanterra McBride and Rosalind Wiseman. The post How to Talk to Kids about Race and Racism with Shanterra McBride and Rosalind Wiseman appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special Guest: Peggy Orenstein The pervasiveness of hook-up culture, ubiquity of locker room banter, accessibility of internet porn, media steeped with distorted images and wide acceptance of the “man box” or “bro culture” participation is having complex and negative effects on our boys. And as pornography has become a new kind of sex education that most boys are privy to by the tender age of 11 and sexual assault showing itself as a more commonplace occurrence, it is time for a change. As squeamish as it may make us, we've got to get talking to boys are sex. About consent. About empathy, porn, intimacy, media, misogyny, arousal, LGBTQ, connection. This, as you all know by now, is not just one talk but a series of little and bog discussions along the way. It is not just for Moms or just for Dads- this is for all of us. When we unravel the hidden truths and put high beams on the realities of young male sexuality and culture in today's world, we create a provocative paradigm-shift that can help us move forward to raising more-informed boys and better men. Peggy Orenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of Girls and sex, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Waiting for Daisy, Flux and Schoolgirls. A contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, she has been published in USA Today, Parenting, Salon, the New Yorker and other publications, and has contributed commentary to NPR's "All Things Considered." Her new book has come out to glowing reviews and is called Boys and Sex, Young Men on Hook Ups, Love, Porn, consent and navigating the new masculinity. She lives in Northern California with her husband and daughter. The post How to Talk to Boys about Sex with Peggy Orenstein Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Hunter Clarke-Fields, MSAE, RYT, is a mindful mama mentor. Hunter is the creator of the Mindful Parenting course, host of the Mindful Mama podcast and widely-followed author of Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids. She helps parents bring more calm and peace into their daily lives. Hunter has over twenty years of experience in meditation practices and has taught mindfulness to thousands worldwide. The post How to Break the Cycle of Reactive Parenting with Hunter Clarke-Fields, MSAE appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Ron L. Deal, MMFT - Every person in a family wants to feel loved and wants to be able to show love to others who they care about and appreciate. And while that concept may be simple- the execution can be surprisingly complicated as not everyone gives and receives love in the same way. Some may desire reassuring physical touch while another person enjoys compliments, encouragement and other words of affirmation. Still others may feel most loved when they receive gifts or their family members do acts of service for them—cooking, cleaning, picking up the dry cleaning, or fixing something that might help the other person. Some prefer quality time. Perhaps you recognize your love language in all of these—and the love languages of others in your family. Things get convoluted-- and well-intentioned people miss the mark when they, for instance, value acts of service but their partner or children show love through quality time or words of affirmation. Not to mention, this can be hard enough in a family that hasn't gone through the life altering changes like divorce, remarriage or death of a parent—but what about the blended family who has to navigate step parents, step siblings, step grandparents with all of their nuances, needs, rules, emotions, concerns and ways that all of these different people want to feel valued and important? Blended families must deal with the pain of the past, the complexities of new relationships and the unique challenges that come with creating one family. As parents and stepparents, how can we have these important conversations about fear, loss, inclusion, empathy and connection—tying the binds between the biological family members and the new family members? How do we find love, strengthen it and keep it in a step family? For these answers, I have the honor of having a wonderful conversation with our guest today, Ron L. Deal. The post How to Talk to Kids about StepFamilies and Blended Families with Ron L. Deal, MMFT ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special Guest: Katherine Ozment Katherine Ozment is the author of Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age. She is an award-winning journalist who has worked in publishing for more than twenty-five years, including as a senior editor at National Geographic, for which she once rode a donkey through the desert of Israel and Jordan for several weeks. Her essays and articles have been widely published in such venues as National Geographic, The New York Times, and Salon. Grace Without God was named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly and Spirituality & Health. I'm not surprised because it is beautifully written and thought provoking. You can learn more about Katherine and her book in the show notes of this podcast as well as on her website  www.katherineozment.com The post How to Talk to Kids about Meaning & Purpose in a Secular Age with Katherine Ozment Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Katherine Reynolds Lewis. There is a new and surprising problem that has quietly but perhaps not unnotably come to fruition during more recent years—our children are out of control in comparison to previous generations. It's not your imagination. A recent study of first-graders found that they could sit still for no more than three minutes—which is actually only a quarter of the time that their peers could in 1948. Government statistics show that half of all children will develop a mood or behavioral disorder or a substance addiction by age 18. What the heck is going on? I receive questions through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and email all asking about what parents, teachers and coaches can do to get children to behave better. The old methods of rewards and punishments—star charts and time outs are not working. Are your ears perking up? We've all seen it and you are not alone. My next guest has some good news about bad behavior—and some great tips and scripts to help us better understand our children and how to help our children learn to self-regulate. Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning journalist and author of The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever – And What to Do About It. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, Fortune, Money, Mother Jones, The New York Times, Parade, Slate, USA Today's magazine group, the Washington Post Magazine and Working Mother. She's an EWA Education Reporting Fellow and Logan Nonfiction Fellow at the Carey Institute for Global Good. Residencies include the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Ragdale. Previously, Katherine was a national correspondent for Newhouse and Bloomberg News, covering everything from financial and media policy to the White House. She holds a BA in physics from Harvard University and is a certified parent educator with the Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) in Kensington, Md. She and her husband Brian are the proud parents of three children, 25, 14 and 12 years old. The post The Good News about Bad Behavior with Katherine Reynolds Lewis – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Imagine being stuck in a world that doesn't really “get” who you are. You're different and in many cases, people see these differences as bad and something that needs to be fixed. My next guest, Deborah Reber, has spoke to us before about neurodiversity- and is back to talk more specifically about what she refers to as “differently wired” kids. We are talking about the one in five children with ADHD, dyslexia, Asperger's, giftedness, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, and other neurodifferences. One in five—20% of children are neurodiverse and they have many challenges they must face. And along with these kids, come the parents who love them but arean't quite sure how to best help their kids but will try just about anything. They try to find the right school, teachers, therapists, medications, as well as the right parenting group and friends who will support them. It's hard to know how to handle it all- but Debbie Reber is here to help. The post How to Talk to Kids about the Gifts & Challenges of Neurodiversity with Debbie Reber ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast is about the gifts and challenges of raising neuro-diverse children and how we, as adults, educators and typically-developing children can support, encourage and help atypically-developing children thrive. What do we need to know about ADHD, autism, giftedness and more? How can we reframe, understand and pro-actively plan to help neurodiverse kids show their gifts rather than ask them to conform? Debbie Reber, author of Differently Wired, will shine high beams on solutions. The post How to Talk to Kids about the Gifts & Challenges of Neurodiversity with Debbie Reber ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Think you are doing a crappy job as a parent? You are not alone. It's pretty much a byproduct of our society, with its incessant demands coupled with the in-your-face competitiveness parents see on social media. We mess up constantly—but my next guest reminds us that great parenting is not the same thing as perfect parenting. Great parenting starts with true self-compassion, the kind that means you don't judge yourself. With her relatable voice and her hands-on strategies, I would like to introduce you to my friend and colleague, Carla Naumburg.Carla's writing has appeared in a variety of online and print publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post &. The Huffington Post—and has PhD in clinical social work from Simmons College in Boston. Carla currently lives outside of Boston with her husband and two daughters. The post How to Show Self-Compassion When You Mess Up as a Parent with Carla Naumburg appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast will focus on self-compassion, especially in moments when we mess up as parents. We need to remember, being a great parent is not the same thing as being a perfect parent. When we show ourselves self-compassion, we don't judge ourselves and we show our kids that it's okay to make mistakes and move forward. The post How to Show Self-Compassion When You Mess Up as a Parent with Carla Naumburg appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast will focus on common stressors that military families—and, in particular, military kids, must cope with because they are in military families. From frequent moving to deployment, injuries and even death of a loved one, military kids must endure a great deal of anxiety and change. How can we talk to military kids about their fears, concerns and feelings? Dr. Julie Kinn, who works with the Department of Defense and the Defense Health Agency, discusses what our military kids need in terms of support as well as how technology can help them feel like they are part of a community that can provide what they need through the uncertain times. The post How to Talk to Military Kids about Common Stressors and Concerns with Dr. Julie Kinn Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Dr. Julie Kinn.Military families face many unique challenges- from long family separations and shifted responsibilities in the household to frequent moving, injuries and sadly, sometimes, grief and loss. That means that being a child in a military family means a great deal of adjustment to frequent change as well as a host of undulating emotions that come from deployment, reunions, the unknowns and the new normal. How do we talk to military kids about the unique challenges that they face? And how do we answer the questions from kids who are not military families about how to support and understand their military friends who may not always be on sure footing. Dr. Julie Kinn is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience researching and implementing health technology. At the Department of Defense and the Defense Health Agency, Kinn oversees the development and implementation of health technology for the military and veteran communities. She also initiated the Military Health Podcast program and produces/hosts three Department of defense OD podcasts: "A Better Night's Sleep", "The Military Meditation Coach", and "Next Generation Behavioral Health". Dr. Kinn, through the Department Of Defense, is responsible for two mobile apps with Sesame Street-- Sesame Street's Big Moving Adventure and Breathe, Think, Do.  Big Moving Adventure was made to help kids cope with moving in the general sense, but was made specifically to help the children of military families who have to move constantly. Dr. Kinn's overall mission is to promote behavioral health for veterans and their families which includes promoting behavioral health in their communities as well.  The post How to Talk to Military Kids about Common Stressors and Concerns with Dr. Julie Kinn Rerelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast focuses on the “truths” teen girls should know as they go through the adolescent years. What do they need to know about friendships? Romantic relationships? Reputation? Their strengths? We will discuss some important topics that apply to teen girls and how to best connect as they flourish and become the best versions of themselves. The post How to Raise Teen Girls and Grow a Relationship with Your Teen Daughters with Kari Kampakis – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special guest: Kari Kampakis It's not easy to be a teenage girl. Dealing with cliques, bullying, rejection, and social media fiascos can be overwhelming and disheartening. So yes, being a parent or a key adult in the lives of teen girls can also be a challenge- how do we best advise the teen girls for whom we only want the best when we don't always know which way is up! Our teen girls are going through so many important changes—physical, emotional, social, cognitive—they are learning what they like, who they like, who they are and who they want to be. This is big stuff. So if you had the opportunity, what would you truly want the teen girls in your life to know? What would you want them to take in about popularity, friendship, relationships, reputation and belief in themselves? As it turns out, we do have the opportunity to talk to our girls about all of these important areas of development and experience—and if we haven't yet embarked on these discussions, we can start now. Kari Kampakis is a blogger, author, speaker, and columnist from Birmingham. Her two books for teen and tween girls, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know and Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For, have been used widely across the country by small groups to empower girls through faith. She is also in the process of writing another book on mothers and daughters. Kari's work has been featured on The Huffington Post, The TODAY Show along with other national outlets. She and her husband, Harry, have four daughters and a dog named Lola. Learn more by visiting kampakis.com or finding Kari on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. The post How to Raise Teen Girls and Grow a Relationship with Your Teen Daughters with Kari Kampakis – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Special Guest: Destini Ann Davis isn't a parenting expert, she's a working mom and a certified parenting coach who has learned it all simply by doing and listening, and reading every book along the way. She advocates for peaceful parenting and positive discipline techniques that encourage both the parent and child to connect and communicate. Her positive energy and upbeat approach to parenting has resulted in her TikTok channel growing to over 900K followers in just a few short months- (last time I checked it was at a million and a half). Her approach to parenting isn't clinical; it's real life and focused on helping her followers become more peaceful and positive people so they can raise more peaceful and positive kids. The post How to Parent with Intention with Destini Ann Davis appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast focuses on talking to kids about ignoring it when siblings are driving them nuts. We will be discussing how to deal with siblings who annoy, pester, bully, or fight using the “Ignore It!” system developed by Catherine Pearlman. The post How to Parent with Intention with Destini Ann Davis appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This podcast focuses on talking to kids about ignoring it when siblings are driving them nuts. We will be discussing how to deal with siblings who annoy, pester, bully or fight using the “Ignore It!” system developed by Catherine Pearlman. The post How to Cope with Siblings who Annoy, Bully or Fight with Catherine Pearlman – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.