Do your teens feel supported?

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Hello, friends! Honestly, we’re sweating just typing that. At this point in a never ending summer heat wave, we’re going to need an extra large Gatorade before we dive into Prime Day. Stay hydrated—these sales aren’t going to catch themselves. 🤑

Tackle Bedtime with Netflix Jr.’s Popular Podcast

Winning the bedtime battle with your kids can feel like an impossible task, but what if you had a little extra help?

Enter Bedtime Stories with Netflix Jr., the Signal Award-winning and chart-topping Kids & Family podcast made to help kids drift off to sleep alongside characters from their favorite streaming series (like StoryBots and Super Monsters).

Created with a childhood development expert, the show helps children successfully transition to sleep and build skills to navigate the world.

Listen to Bedtime Stories.

Too Many Teens Don’t Feel Supported

First thing’s first: We’re all doing our best. But even the parents who are going out of their way to support their kids (um, hello! ✋) miss the mark sometimes. What we think our teens need from us doesn’t always align with what they actually need.

And the data prove it: Only 25% of teens said they always got the emotional support they needed in a recent survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. As for parents? They were almost 3X more likely to think their kids got the support they needed.

We’re not doctors (thank goodness for that), but we wouldn’t be surprised if some of this came down to parents misinterpreting what kids need. A lot of us have a natural instinct to ask question after question after question when we sense something is up…but maybe our kids don’t want the third degree? It could make them even more stressed!

So what are parents to do to support their kids? We’ve got some ideas in our latest episodes of Parenting Teens Unfiltered, especially re: building mental toughness and setting boundaries. These are great listens to help you start the conversation with your teen so you can learn how best to show up for them.

Boredom Isn’t Bad

Remember when kids used to be bored? Before iPads and Twitch and whatever the heck skibidi toilet means? Not to be all “back in our day” about it…but back in our day? Boredom built character!

And it still does, according to psychologist Suzanne Barchers. Apparently, there is an upside to boredom. 

• Being bored allows kids to rest their minds, reflect, take in nature, and be creative. 

• Boredom allows kids to get to know themselves and not just morph their personalities around whoever the algorithm tells them they should be.

We’re well aware that our kids aren’t going to love the idea of boredom (especially during summer break), and we know sometimes bored kids make bad choices. But what if we, as parents, flipped the script on boredom? We could…set screen time limits, encourage more time spent outside, and talk to our children about the world outside their iPhones. Honestly, we could use a little of that ourselves.

Teaching Your Kids Financial Literacy

Money doesn’t grow on trees—you guys know the drill. But teaching our kids about financial literacy is a totally different ballgame from what our parents went through, as this mom put so well.

With social media, it seems that almost everything our kids consume is a thinly veiled advertisement for the latest gadget or beauty product. It’s painted a completely unrealistic portrayal of what is financially attainable.

So, how do we ensure our kids don’t grow up to blow all of their money on DJ equipment? Here a few ways to teach them a value of a dollar:

• Use the tools at your disposal. Apps like Greenlight allow kids (and parents) to manage their money. It empowers kids to be savvy spenders, set savings goals, and form healthy financial habits. 

• Be firm about budgets.If you’re out shopping and the vitamin C serum your child desperately wants costs $25 but they only have $20…they’ll have to come back when they have enough money.

• Answer their money questions!Finances might be a taboo topic at a dinner party, but it’s important that you make it clear to your kids that with you, everything is fair game! 

Did you know: In 2020, 62% of Canadian girls were not participating in any kind of sports. 1 in 3 girls between 9–12 drop out of sports…versus 1 in 10 boys. How can we change the attitude towards exercise and sports for young girls? Today, the perfect recs to get started.

• This episode we recorded with Jenn Sherman, the OG Peloton instructor, covers it all: body image, confidence, young women’s fitness—it’s a must listen.

• Here’s a strategy for keeping teen girls in sports.

• For our Common Parent crew: 5 ways to support a healthy body image. And sign up for a free trial here if you’re not part of the Common Parent yet!

• Caitlin Clark’s impact on girls basketball in her home state is something else!

• How to talk positively to your kids about exercise.