Impacts of social media on youth, new parenting podcast episodes from Dr. Dan, and survey still open about 2e teens and young adults and relationships.
School is out and summer is here! Congratulations to all the graduates. If you want to make a positive change for your child in the first part of the next school year, give us a call for a consultation and start the process now.
Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan: New Podcasts on Children and Music, Mental Health, True Crime, and the Benefits of Hanging Out
Dr. Dan spoke with four new guests this month, including musician Laurie Berkner, mom Tanya Frank, journalist Lisa Belkin, and author Sheila Liming. One bonus episode was also posted, with answers to listener questions.
Music and Children with Laurie Berkner
Dr. Dan interviews children’s entertainment and music superstar Laurie Berkner on this episode. Laurie’s music is beloved by parents, children, and families worldwide. With more than 1 billion total streams and millions of CDs and DVDs sold, People magazine calls Laurie “the queen of kids’ music” and the Los Angeles Times says, “Laurie Berkner does what Fred Rogers did: respect, validate and reassure young children.” Dr. Dan and Laurie discuss how her classroom experience with young children informs all of her music as well as the choices she has made throughout her career. Laurie’s work is focused on engaging the whole child, inspiring children to sing, move, and express their feelings.
***Listen to the full episode because Laurie treats us to a musical performance!
Zig-Zag Boy: Mental Health and Motherhood with Tanya Frank
Dr. Dan speaks to writer and mother Tanya Frank about her new book Zig-Zag BOY: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood. Tanya and Dr. Dan discuss Tanya’s compassionate, heartrending memoir about her quest to understand her son’s journey through psychosis.
One night in 2009, Tanya Frank finds her nineteen-year-old son, Zach—gentle and full of promise—in the grips of what the psychiatrists would later label a psychotic break. In the years following Zach’s various and changing psychiatric diagnoses, Tanya struggles to find support while navigating broken mental healthcare systems, first in California and then in her native London during lockdown.
Dr. Dan and Tanya discuss this compelling story about mental health and the power of a mother’s love. The discussion will help families dealing with many diverse and difficult parenting experiences and circumstances.
Listener Questions About Summer, Father’s Day, and a New Study About Kids & Smart Phones
The May episode of Sitting Down with Dr. Dan is where host Dr. Dan and Laura (our podcast producer and girl-boy twin Mom) answer your listener questions about summer and parent relaxation, bullying/body shaming/name calling, Father’s Day and more. In addition, Dr. Dan discusses a powerful new study (released May 14, 2023 from Sapien Labs) that’s everywhere on social media and relates to the finding that the earlier kids get smartphones the worse their mental health is as an adult.
Each month Dr. Dan answers questions listeners submit about parenting (and sometimes adulting, too!) on our Sitting Down with Dr. Dan bonus episodes. Please email your parenting questions to us at podcast@drdanpeters.com or DM us on social media.
In a nod to our favorite true-crime-comedy podcast My Favorite Murder (and podcast network), Dr. Dan interviews award-winning journalist Lisa Belkin about her brilliant true crime book Genealogy of a Murder. Lisa’s multigenerational tale of three families whose paths collide one summer night in 1960 with the murder of a police officer is at the core about a true crime in Lisa’s own family.
Dr. Dan and Lisa discuss how these family histories affected her own life as a daughter and as a parent. Lisa also talks to Dr. Dan about careers and parenting, her own early struggles as a new Mom, the role of her Dad during her childhood, and what led to her journalism career focus on life/work. The conversation is riveting, real, enlightening, often surprising, and ultimately about how we become who we are.
Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time with Sheila Liming
Dr. Dan interviews Sheila Liming, the author of Hanging Out, about why unstructured time is essential and why she urges us to say no to calendar invites and yes to “chilling.”
Sheila explains to Dr. Dan how simple acts of casual connection are the glue that binds us together, and how community is the antidote to the disconnection and isolation that dominates contemporary life. With constant digital access and smartphones around 24/7, our lives still aren’t connected in a meaningful way. Loneliness is an epidemic and Sheila Liming offers the cure: we need to hang out more.
Dr. Dan and Sheila discuss what it means to “hang out”; why modeling “chilling” is important for our kids to see; and how we can help future generations embrace “killing time.”
Government Health Advisory About Social Media Impact on Youth
The U.S. Surgeon General took the unprecedented step last month of issuing an official health advisory about the potential dangers of social media for children and adolescents.
"There is increasing evidence that social media use during adolescence — a critical stage of brain development — is associated with harm to mental health and well-being," wrote Dr. Vivek Murthy in an op-ed in the Washington Post.
Still Accepting Input: Survey on 2e Dating, Relationships, Sex
Do you or does your teen/young adult identify as twice-exceptional (2e)?
Dr. Lisa White and Amy Feldman want to learn more about how being 2e impacts dating, relationships, and sex among teens and young adults.
For example: What is it like to try and find a romantic partner when you are intellectually gifted and quirky? What should conversations about consent look like when you are deeply sensitive and have trouble reading nonverbal cues? How can parents help their 2e teens learn to have healthy romantic and sexual relationships?
By completing this anonymous survey for adults - or consenting to have your teen participate - you will be helping us to gather information from a variety of voices for a planned book project. (Note: while Lisa and Amy are Summit Center clinicians, this project is unaffiliated).
If you are an ADULT, the link for the questionnaire is here.
If you are a TEEN/ YOUNG ADULT, the link for the questionnaire is here.
Thank you for your support, and please share with other 2e folks! You may also reach out to 2erelationships@gmail.com with any questions.
"It’s not like we can be reading all of our childrens’ social media, but we just have to be aware that this is a real thing – that used a lot, used young, used without any controls – is not good. It has long term effects. My message is not to scare people, because all of our kids have been on this stuff. The message is to take this very very seriously and not just put it aside."
