HopePunk Parenting: Recent Episodes
Teen Brain Trust
A short-form podcast for anyone raising a teenager from the team at Teen Brain Trust, a community of mental health experts, educators, and parents. Topics focus on demystifying adolescence, building a better relationship with your teenager, and raising the next generation of changemakers.
"You're being so lazy." How many times have parents said that to their teenagers? Countless! But "lazy" behavior is often a symptom of underlying issues. Host Mya Dunlop gets to the heart of how parents can look beyond the "laziness" myth and make a positive difference in their kids’ behavior.
As Mya says in the episode, here's the download for Teen Brain Trust's free guide, Helping Your Teen (or Young Adult) Leave Home with Confidence. Plus, subscribe to the bi-weekly Teen Prompts newsletter to get parenting support, expert-backed insights, and funny teen culture news delivered right to your inbox. Black Friday BONUS! Now through Nov. 27, all listeners can get the first month FREE, plus get a three-month subscription to gift to a friend! Go here and use code TEENPROMPTSBF22 at check out to get and gift a Teen Prompts subscription this holiday season.
It's nearly Early Decision deadline time, and Samantha and Kyla are back with an update on how they're faring with their college applications, how they're coping with the pressures, and what they really think about the whole process.
Stay tuned, because we're following them on their application journey in upcoming episodes. Sign up for our new free newsletter, Teen Prompts, here: www.teenbraintrust.com It's full of practical, relevant content that you can apply directly to interactions with your teens. Get insight into teen behavior, prompts that inspire connection and conversation, and tools to help your teen take teeny steps forward on a regular basis. Happy parenting!
If you're struggling to get your teen to listen, this episode is for you. Host Mya Dunlop shares 5 ways to foster healthier and more open communication with them. Access a hard copy of these tips (and much more info) in Teen Brain Trust's free guide, 5 Things You Can Start Doing Right Now That Will Encourage Your Teen to Confide in You, which you can download here: https://teenbraintrust.com/trustyourteen/
Yes, there are teens in America who aren't attached to a smartphone. Host Mya Dunlop interviews high school senior and Luddite Club founder Logan, who explains why she's distanced herself from technology, why she’s an advocate for other teens trying a break from smartphones, why she thinks parents are a driving force behind the increase in teen screen time, and what steps she recommends parents and other teens take if they’re interested in trying out a phone break.
Also: parents! Want your teen to confide in you about their college application anxiety, or erm, about anything? Download out free, expert-crafted guide, 5 Things You Can Start Doing Right Now That Will Encourage Your Teen to Confide in You: https://teenbraintrust.com/trustyourteen/
Teens Samantha and Kyla are back to share everything they want parents and younger teens to know about starting the college application process, from the dreaded personal essay to Admissions anxiety. Stay tuned because we'll be following them on their college application journey in upcoming episodes! Listen to their previous episode, Two Teens on Anxiety, Pressure, and What They Want All Parents to Know, here: https://pod.link/1610561919/episode/8d9ea073b91cc1d59d6a627819272466
Also! Parents! Want your teen to confide in you about their college application anxiety, or just, like, about anything? Download our free, expert-crafted guide, 5 Things You Can Start Doing Right Now That Will Encourage Your Teen to Confide in You: https://teenbraintrust.com/trustyourteen
Host Mya Dunlop dives into the concerning research about modern media and teens' mental health, and shares five tangible things parents can do to help their kids cope with media-related anxiety. All podcast listeners get free access to Teen Brain Trust's online parenting science courses plus access to our private community of parents. Visit our site to learn more, then use the code PODCAST at checkout to get the first month free: https://bit.ly/3KnSzOi
Content warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The advice shared in this episode is not a substitute for treatment.
In Teen Brain Trust's 4-part series on teen mental health, expert Dr. Dana Dorfman and CEO/Founder Mya Dunlop unpack the current teen mental health crisis. In the final episode, they discuss practical things parents can do to support their teen's mental health, like how to create a safe emotional space and nurture a supportive culture within the family. Content warning, part 2: Mya drops the F-bomb during the episode.
Resources cited in this series:
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Dr. Dorfman's video on how parents can start the conversation with their teen about suicide
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Dr. Dorfman, Psychology Today, Suicide Attempts in Adolescents Increased During COVID-19
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NY Times, 'It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens
If you or anyone you know need help, please call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273-TALK (8255). For help in Spanish, call here: 1–888–628–9454. You can also text “HOME” to 741–741 to access the 24/7 Crisis Text Line.
Content warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The advice shared in this episode is not a substitute for treatment.
In Teen Brain Trust's 4-part series on teen mental health, therapist Dr. Dana Dorfman and CEO/Founder Mya Dunlop unpack the current teen mental health crisis. In episode three, they discuss the rising rates of anxiety and depression among teens, the warning signs for parents, and what parents can do to help their teen manage both. Make sure to catch our previous episode, Two Teens on Anxiety, Pressure, and What They Want All Parents to Know.
Resources cited in this series:
-
Dr. Dorfman's video on how parents can talk to their teens about suicide
-
Dr. Dorfman, Psychology Today, Suicide Attempts in Adolescents Increased During COVID-19
-
NY Times, 'It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens
If you or anyone you know need help, please call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273-TALK (8255). For help in Spanish, call here: 1–888–628–9454. You can also text “HOME” to 741–741 to access the 24/7 Crisis Text Line.
Content warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The advice shared in this episode is not a substitute for treatment. In Teen Brain Trust's 4-part series on teen mental health, therapist Dr. Dana Dorfman and mom of three Mya Dunlop unpack the current teen mental health crisis. In episode two, they discuss the difference between self-harm and suicide, plus how parents can talk about and support a teen who's self-harming.
Resources cited in this series:
-
Dr. Dorfman's video on how parents can talk to their teens about suicide
-
Dr. Dorfman, Psychology Today, Suicide Attempts in Adolescents Increased During COVID-19
-
NY Times, 'It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens
If you or anyone you know need help, please call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273-TALK (8255). For help in Spanish, call here: 1–888–628–9454. You can also text “HOME” to 741–741 to access the 24/7 Crisis Text Line.
Content warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The advice shared in this episode is not a substitute for treatment. In Teen Brain Trust's 4-part series on teen mental health, therapist Dr. Dana Dorfman and mom of three Mya Dunlop unpack the current teen mental health crisis. In this episode, they discuss why it's important to talk to teens about suicide and how parents can manage the very normal fear and anxiety that comes up around these issues. Resources cited in this series:
-
Dr. Dorfman's video on how parents can talk to their teens about suicide
-
Dr. Dorfman, Psychology Today, Suicide Attempts in Adolescents Increased During COVID-19
-
NY Times, 'It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens
If you or anyone you know need help, please call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273-TALK (8255). For help in Spanish, call here: 1–888–628–9454. You can also text “HOME” to 741–741 to access the 24/7 Crisis Text Line.
Last fall, Teen Brain Trust published our "What's Your Parenting Style?" quiz. And over 15,000 Americans have taken it so far! Co-founder Robin Friend and digital strategist Annie dive into where Americans fall among the four main parenting styles: Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Uninvolved. Plus, Annie defends her choice to use Al Bundy and The Crown's Queen Elizabeth as the faces of Uninvolved parenting—and she welcomes you to debate her on this. (Check out all the faces on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUGUKJhLDSB/)
BONUS! All podcast listeners get free access to Teen Brain Trust's convenient online parenting science courses plus access to our private community of parents. Use the code PODCAST at checkout to get your first month for free: https://bit.ly/3KnSzOi
Host and mom of three adolescent boys Mya Dunlop has a message for all parents: we have to rethink failure, for our kids and ourselves.
BONUS! Right now, all podcast listeners get free access to Teen Brain Trust's convenient online parenting science courses plus access to our private community of parents. Visit our site to learn more, then use the code PODCAST at checkout to get your first month for free: https://bit.ly/3KnSzOi
In this longer-than-usual episode, host Mya Dunlop has a no-holds barred conversation with two incredible teenagers, Samantha and Kyla, about the modern teen experience, anxiety, social isolation as punishment, academic pressure, and more. Don't miss the two announcements below...
- Follow Kyla's Instagram @takefliight about handling anxiety (she mentions it in the convo).
- All podcast listeners get a free month-long membership to Teen Brain Trust's learn-as-you-go online courses, events, and access to our private community of parents. Visit the Courses page on the website and use the code “PODCAST” at checkout to get the first month free: https://bit.ly/3KnSzOi (NBD, one mom called our course on motivating teenagers a "game changer.")
Studies show parenting with traditional methods of punishment just doesn't work. So what are parents to do when their teen displays unacceptable behavior, like lying? Episode host Robin Friend, Teen Brain Trust Co-Creator and Lead Course Designer, dives into what parents can do instead that really works.
Host Mya Dunlop, the CEO and Founder of Teen Brain Trust, shares the story of how a conversation with her oldest son who was struggling during his first year in college went totally off the rails. But thanks to a friend's insight into microinvalidation, she course-corrected and learned a parenting lesson in the process.
Teens are obsessed with thriving socially—so how are they so clumsy and awkward in social situations? Episode host Robin Friend, Teen Brain Trust Co-Creator and Lead Course Designer, dives into the four main factors that neuroscience can explain. He breaks down the frequently cringey process of development that the writer Quentin Crisp—not a neuroscientist—aptly described as rebelling and conforming at the same time.
Research incontrovertibly shows that across the globe, teens are gonna party... And probably drink alcohol, too. In this episode, host Mya Dunlop, Teen Brain Trust CEO/Founder and mom of three adolescent boys, explores why teens' developing brains seek out partying in particular. Plus, she dives into a few ways parents can actually help their kid healthy manage partying without looking like hypocrites or provoking their teen to lie about it.
When you tell someone you have a teen, they never say, "Oh, that's a fun age." We're here to change the pervasively cynical attitude about adolescence for parents, educators, and anyone else who spends time with a teen.
"We" is the team behind Teen Brain Trust, made up of parenting-science experts (including parents!) dedicated to the empowerment of teens and preteens. HopePunk Parenting podcast hosts include Mya Dunlop, Founder/CEO and mom of three adolescent boys, Robin Friend, Co-Creator and Lead Course Designer, and more super-interesting guests yet to come!
FYI: The podcast's episodes are mostly short-form (under 10 minutes), and packed with the maximum information because we know your time is at a minimum. We hope you join our growing a community of people passionate about empowering the next generation of change makers, and we hope you subscribe and leave us a review if you enjoy the mini-episodes.