Episodes

Few parents have heard the term “school refusal,” but many families are experiencing it. In fact, since the pandemic, it is a big problem. Missing a lot of school causes cognitive-academic, social, and behavioral deficits for students. School Avoidance Alliance founder Jayne Demsky joins the podcast to help us understand what is happening, and how parents and schools can help.

Hanh Bui fled her homeland of Vietnam as a child. She remembers the challenges of arriving in a new country with new customs, language, and expectations. Even more – she remembers the adults, and especially the children, who welcomed her, and who gave her the connectedness she needed to make a new home. Today a teacher, children’s author and advocate, Hanh invites us to think about how we can not just look for the helpers, but be the helpers, who make all children belong. Tune in to hear her rem...

Kids love Halloween! Scary stuff can be so fun . . . or it can ruin bedtime. Common Sense Media’s Editorial Director Betsy Bozdech joins the podcast to share her tips for seasonal media that is scary, but not too scary. From Hocus Pocus 2 to Zombies to podcasts, tune in for her spooky picks for kids of all ages. For more recommendations, visit https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/scary-but-not-too-scary-halloween-movies

Parents Trent and Carly Shepherd (Instagram: @shepquest) join the podcast to share more about a major lifestyle change they embarked on with their two sons – traveling the country together, learning, working, and exploring on the road. What can we learn from a family whose family time is 24/7?

Parents Trent and Carly Shepherd (Instagram: @shepquest) join the podcast to share more about a major lifestyle change they embarked on with their two sons – traveling the country together, learning, working, and exploring on the road. What can we learn from a family whose family time is 24/7?

Highlights CEO Kent Johnson joins the podcast to answer questions from our readers, talk about why his great-grandparents founded Highlights with their retirement savings, and share what makes carrying on the mission so meaningful today.

Highlights CEO Kent Johnson joins the podcast to answer questions from our readers, talk about why his great-grandparents founded Highlights with their retirement savings, and share what makes carrying on the mission so meaningful today.

Parenting educator Jennifer Miller joins the podcast again to talk about social aggression, exclusion, and gossiping in elementary school. Being mean at times, and being on the receiving end of meanness, is common in childhood. In a world that isn’t always kind, how can we help children lean into the best versions of themselves? Listen to learn how adults can employ curiosity and compassion to guide kids through mean moments.

Parenting educator Jennifer Miller joins the podcast again to talk about social aggression, exclusion, and gossiping in elementary school. Being mean at times, and being on the receiving end of meanness, is common in childhood. In a world that isn’t always kind, how can we help children lean into the best versions of themselves? Listen to learn how adults can employ curiosity and compassion to guide kids through mean moments.

Economist Dr. Emily Oster joins the podcast to talk about how parents can use data to make better parenting decisions, and how learning to read data like an economist can save us from the whip lash of the news cycle. Listen to find out the handful of things data can tell us really matters to raising happy, healthy kids; and how to ignore the rest.

Economist Dr. Emily Oster joins the podcast to talk about how parents can use data to make better parenting decisions, and how learning to read data like an economist can save us from the whip lash of the news cycle. Listen to find out the handful of things data can tell us really matters to raising happy, healthy kids; and how to ignore the rest.

Homework researcher Dr. Harris Cooper joins the podcast to help us answer a question from Highlights reader: “What is homework for anyway?” Listen to learn how to establish positive habits and attitudes related to homework, and how homework can be fuel for the parent/school relationship.

Homework researcher Dr. Harris Cooper joins the podcast to help us answer a question from Highlights reader: “What is homework for anyway?” Listen to learn how to establish positive habits and attitudes related to homework, and how homework can be fuel for the parent/school relationship.