How to have hard conversations with your middle schooler
Sex. Drugs. Family finances…There are so many uncomfortable conversations we need to have with our kids! Many parents are waiting “until they get a little older,” but is that the right approach? In this episode of Raising Middle School Girls, educator and parenting coach Dana Kaplan talks to us about why we need to talk to our kids early and often about the hard stuff. Dana shares practical strategies for approaching tough topics. Learn how creating open communication can strengthen your relationship and empower your child during these pivotal years.Useful LinksThis episode includes a sponsored ad, and the links below may be affiliate links. I might earn a small commission if you buy—thanks for supporting the show! Get the Brain on Board Executive Function course for parents and teachers - On sale NOW through 4/27/25!! About the Guest: Dana KaplanConnect with Dana on Instagram. Connect with Dana on LinkedIn.Learn more about Dana's work at https://www.danakaplanteach.com.Dana Kaplan is a renowned, award-winning Educational Coach for Neurodiverse and Out-of-the-Box Learners, specializing in rich self-investigation as a direct pathway to disrupt and dismantle stigmas, conscious and unconscious biases, and shifting one’s thoughts in order to build a Compassionate Community for ALL.Connect with Raising Middle School Girls:Thank you for listening to the Raising Middle School Girls podcast. Want to hear more from experts who can help you support your middle school girl? Please subscribe to the podcast or sign up for the Raising Middle School Girls newsletter. Do you have a burning question about raising your middle school girl? Send a DM to @RaisingMiddleSchoolGirls on Instagram to have your question considered for a future episode. We're in this together, parents! Useful LinksThis episode includes a sponsored ad, and the links below may be affiliate links. I might earn a small commission if you buy—thanks for supporting the show! Get the Brain on Board Executive Function course for parents and teachers - On sale NOW through 4/27/25!!
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33:52
Marriage Reset: Reconnect with your spouse in the tween & teen parenting years
Feeling more like roommates than romantic partners lately? Maybe you wish you could talk more openly with your significant other about what you want out of your marriage, or maybe you're not sure what the future holds for your relationship once it's just you and your significant other left at home. In this episode, licensed therapist Andrea Burkly offers up expert tips on navigating marital disconnect during the tween and teen parenting years. Andrea provides actionable steps to rebuild intimacy and connection with your spouse before the kids leave the nest. Referenced in this episode:The New Rules of Marriage: What you need to know to make love work, Terrence RealThe Challenges of mother-daughter relationships, episode released 10/17/24About the GuestConnect with Andrea on IG. Listen to the Sounds Like Therapy podcast.Learn more about Andrea's work. Get Andrea's FREE 7-step weekly partnership guide.Check out Sounds Like Therapy episode on good partnering.Andrea Burkly is a therapist, speaker, and host of Sounds Like Therapy, where she helps couples stay connected through the parenting years—when marriage often takes a back seat to the demands of raising kids. Coming up on her 20th anniversary and raising four kids of her own, she’s learned as much from personal experience as she has from thousands of hours of work and training. With a relatable, no-nonsense approach, Andrea gives couples the insight and tools they need to build a strong, lasting partnership—even in the busiest seasons of life.Connect with Raising Middle School Girls:Thank you for listening to the Raising Middle School Girls podcast. Want to hear more from experts who can help you support your middle school girl? Please subscribe to the podcast or sign up for the Raising Middle School Girls newsletter. Do you have a burning question about raising your middle school girl? Send a DM to @RaisingMiddleSchoolGirls on Instagram to have your question considered for a future episode. We're in this together, parents! Useful LinksThis episode includes a sponsored ad, and the links below may be affiliate links. I might earn a small commission if you buy—thanks for supporting the show! Get the Brain on Board Executive Function course for parents and teachers - On sale NOW through 4/27/25!!
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Which parenting advice should you listen to?
Some days it feels like everyone is a parenting expert, but they don't always agree on the "right" way to parent. How do we, as everyday parents know which parenting advice to listen to? In this episode, Emily Edlynn, PhD, talks to us about the role of parenting experts and how we parents can develop the internal compass to raise our children according to our values and kids' needs.About the GuestConnect with Emily on IG. Connect with Emily on FB.Purchase Autonomy-Supportive Parenting.Learn more about Parent Smarter, Not Harder program.Dr. Emily Edlynn is a clinical psychologist specializing in children and adolescents who writes about parenting on her blog, Parent Smarter, Not Harder. Emily is co-host of the podcast, Psychologists Off the Clock, and has written a parenting advice column for Parents.com since 2019 as well as articles for the Washington Post, Scary Mommy, and Motherly. Emily is currently the director of pediatric behavioral medicine at a private practice in Oak Park, IL, where she lives with her husband, three children, and two rescue dogs. Connect with Raising Middle School Girls:Thank you for listening to the Raising Middle School Girls podcast. Want to hear more from experts who can help you support your middle school girl? Please subscribe to the podcast or sign up for the Raising Middle School Girls newsletter. Do you have a burning question about raising your middle school girl? Send a DM to @RaisingMiddleSchoolGirls on Instagram to have your question considered for a future episode. We're in this together, parents! Useful LinksThis episode includes a sponsored ad, and the links below may be affiliate links. I might earn a small commission if you buy—thanks for supporting the show! Get the Brain on Board Executive Function course for parents and teachers - On sale NOW through 4/27/25!!
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How to get things done when life gets hectic
Family life tends to get even busier in the middle school years. Parents often wonder how they're supposed to get everything done without somehow creating more time in the day to do it all. In this episode, Lisa Zawrotny, productivity coach, parent, and podcast host, offers up the realities of navigating this busy life season and her best techniques for staying on top of the important stuff when life gets extra busy. Check out this episode if you're ready to be productive without feeling constantly overwhelmed.About the GuestConnect with Lisa on Instagram.Learn more about Positively Productive.Listen to the Positively Living podcast. Check out these episodes referenced in the interview:Episode 228: How to avoid forgetting things when life gets hecticLisa Zawrotny is a Personalized Productivity Coach, founder of Positively Productive Systems, and host of the Positively Living® Podcast. She helps creatives and caregivers reduce overwhelm and achieve more with less so they can make space for what matters. When she’s not sharing how to simplify and stress less, you’ll find her hanging out with her husband and kiddos exploring the world through traveling, chilling out with movies, and sometimes acting like a rock star. Lisa has current certifications in time + stress management, life coaching, and positive psychology. She’s helped hundreds of clients do less, live more, and breathe easier.Connect with Raising Middle School Girls:Thank you for listening to the Raising Middle School Girls podcast. Want to hear more from experts who can help you support your middle school girl? Please subscribe to the podcast or sign up for the Raising Middle School Girls newsletter. Do you have a burning question about raising your middle school girl? Send a DM to @RaisingMiddleSchoolGirls on Instagram to have your question considered for a future episode. We're in this together, parents! Useful LinksThis episode includes a sponsored ad, and the links below may be affiliate links. I might earn a small commission if you buy—thanks for supporting the show! Get the Brain on Board Executive Function course for parents and teachers - On sale NOW through 4/27/25!!
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Skincare & TikTok: Why moms need to be their tween's top influencer
Is your middle school girl more into her skincare regime than you are? Do you wonder if the chemicals in her products are safe? In this episode, Janice talks with Kimberly Grustas, founder of Good for You Girls, the first clean line of skincare dedicated to girls in the US. Kim explains how the chemicals found in skincare can be harmful to our girls and offers simple but powerful steps for moms to stay relevant and remain their daughter’s biggest influencer.About the GuestVisit goodforyougirls.com to learn more or purchase Good for You Girls products. Use discount code RMSG20 for 20% off your order! Download Good for You Girls Ingredients to Avoid in Skincare for Girls, Tweens and Teens. Kimberly Grustas founded Good For You Girls to protect girls from toxic chemicals during puberty. With over 15 years in natural products and nutrition, Kim recognized the risks of estrogenic chemicals and was concerned by the harmful ingredients in products marketed to young girls. The lack of safe, effective and age-appropriate products combined with her knowledge about the lowering age of puberty was all she needed to launch this transformative brand to help other moms keep their daughters safe. Connect with Raising Middle School Girls:Thank you for listening to the Raising Middle School Girls podcast. Want to hear more from experts who can help you support your middle school girl? Please subscribe to the podcast or sign up for the Raising Middle School Girls newsletter. Do you have a burning question about raising your middle school girl? Send a DM to @RaisingMiddleSchoolGirls on Instagram to have your question considered for a future episode. We're in this together, parents! Useful LinksThis episode includes a sponsored ad, and the links below may be affiliate links. I might earn a small commission if you buy—thanks for supporting the show! Get the Brain on Board Executive Function course for parents and teachers - On sale NOW through 4/27/25!!
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