Talking About Kids

R. Bradley Snyder

Talking About Kids is a weekly podcast for parents, educators, and direct service providers that explores the latest information on issues impacting children and adolescents, from preventing bullying to unlocking creativity. Hosted by R. Bradley Snyder, author of The 5 Simple Truths of Raising Kids, each episode presents a new topic and introduces listeners to authors, academics, and visionaries from around the globe.

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232 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes232

Newest first

Monday · 3 min
Summer Episode 4: What to watch or listen to this summer
Send us Fan Mail This is the fourth and final summer vacation episode of Talking About Kids for 2026. For the second year in a row, I am devoting these mini episodes to movies, TV shows, or songs that inspire us as people who care about kids. Last year, I asked some previous guests for recommendations, but this year I asked listeners. This recommendation comes from Jeff Kirchler. A link to information about Jeff's recommendation is at talkingaboutkids.com.
July 20 · 4 min
Summer Episode 3: What to watch or listen to this summer
Send us Fan Mail This is the third summer vacation episode of Talking About Kids. For the second year in a row, I am devoting these mini episodes to movies, TV shows, or songs that inspire us as people who care about kids. Last year, I asked some previous guests for recommendations, but this year I asked listeners. This recommendation comes from Jessica Flowers. Links to information about Jessica and her recommendation are at talkingaboutkids.com.
July 13 · 3 min
Summer Episode 2: What to watch or listen to this summer
Send us Fan Mail This is the second summer vacation episode of Talking About Kids. For the second year in a row, I am devoting these mini episodes to movies, TV shows, or songs that inspire us as people who care about kids. Last year, I asked some previous guests for recommendations, but this year I asked listeners. This recommendation comes from Tom Reardon. Links to information about Tom and his recommendation are at talkingaboutkids.com.
July 6 · 2 min
Summer Episode 1: What to watch or listen to this summer
Send us Fan Mail This is the first summer vacation episode of Talking About Kids, and, for the second year in a row, I am devoting these mini episodes to movies, TV shows, or songs that inspire us as people who care about kids. Last year, I asked some previous guests for recommendations, but this year I asked listeners. The first recommendation comes from Mary Arredondo. A link to it is at talkingaboutkids.com.
June 29 · 38 min
How to organize your photos to bring your family closer together with Megan O’Hare
Send us Fan Mail Family photos can help build resilience in kids by connecting them with their heritages or reminding them of times when they felt competent, safe, and loved. In the digital age, we create more family photos than ever, but, ironically, we seem to be appreciating them less. My guest this episode, Megan O’Hare, teaches adults how to organize and keep their photos safe and how to convert them into formats that kids enjoy accessing and sharing. Megan and I discuss her tips for starting – what might seem to be – the herculean task of sorting digital photos and her professional insights on common mistakes and misconceptions about creating and storing photo archives. More information about Megan and her service, The Photo Project, is at talkingaboutkids.com.
June 22 · 33 min
How 12 years of mentoring benefits kids with Jorie Das
Send us Fan Mail Research shows that mentoring improves health, mental health, and other outcomes for mentees. But these outcomes can be compromised and even worsened when mentor relationships are brief, inconsistent, or inadequately supported. Jorie Das, my guest this episode, is the Executive Director of Friends LA. Like all Friends of the Children chapters, the mission of Friends LA is to provide every child involved in the child welfare system with a single, trained mentor for the entirety of their primary, middle, and high school years. How does Friends LA get mentors to make such a commitment? It pays them. Jorie and I discuss this model, its benefits, and the effect it is having in her region. More information about Jorie and Friends LA is at talkingaboutkids.com.
June 15 · 38 min
How to bring the benefits of camp experiences to more kids with Shawna Rosenzweig
Send us Fan Mail It is Shawna Rosenzweig’s vision to bring the benefits of structured outdoor experiences to all kids. If she is seeing farther than some, it is because she stands on the shoulders of the benevolent 100-year-old giant that is Camp Fire. Shawna and I discuss how outdoor experiences boost self-efficacy and equality, Camp Fire’s pioneering legacy, the hallmarks of great outdoor programs, and how to bring those programs, or elements of them, to the kids in your life. More information about Shawna and Camp Fire is at talkingaboutkids.com.
June 8 · 37 min
How correcting clubfoot improves the lives of kids with Daphne Sorensen
Send us Fan Mail I have spent decades trying to help kids thrive. Unfortunately, the adversities children and youth face are varied and persistent, and the victories over them are few and far between. Consequently, when I encounter an intervention that dramatically improves the lives of kids efficiently and universally, I get excited because we all need a win sometimes. MiracleFeet provides technical and financial support to a network of local partners in 38 countries to provide best-in-class treatment of clubfoot. As you will hear from MiracleFeet’s CEO, Daphne Sorensen, the organization’s cost-effective approach has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids by removing the barrier to success that this painful and debilitating condition otherwise creates. More information about Daphne and MiracleFeet is at talkingaboutkids.com.
June 1 · 36 min
How executive functioning coaches help neurodivergent kids with Norrine Russell
Send us Fan Mail Interest in executive functioning coaches for neurodivergent kids has grown considerably over the last five years, which is both exciting and worrisome. It is exciting because coaches promise to help students plan, organize, focus, and manage their emotions and tasks. It is worrisome because there are no degree, training, or licensing requirements to be an executive functioning coach. To help me parse this and to gain a better understanding of executive functioning coaches, how they work, and what to look for in a coach, I asked Norrine Russell to come on the podcast. Norrine has decades of experience in youth development, and her firm, Russell Coaching, has been working with neurodivergent students since well before the recent boom. More information about Norrine and Russell Coaching is at talkingaboutkids.com.
May 25 · 4 min
Memorial Day Episode: Poppies for remembrance
Send us Fan Mail In this mini Memorial Day episode, I look at poppies as a symbol of remembrance that you can share with the kids in your life. A link to “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return next week (June 1, 2026).
May 18 · 51 min
How homeopathy can help families with Marcus Fernandez
Send us Fan Mail The science is clear: A one-size-fits-all approach to education or mental health does not work. But what about physical health? I am hearing more and more parents complain about the healthcare their children receive. At the same time, I am being overwhelmed with ads for potions, diets and supplements that promise to cure everything instantly. This is why I was eager to speak with Marcus Fernandez. Marcus has spent three decades advocating for preventative, homeostatic approaches to physical health. He is the Principal of The Centre for Homeopathic Education and the author of several works, including Homeopathy at Home: Everyday Treatments for Common Complaints. I asked Marcus to define what homeopathic medicine is, when and for whom it is appropriate, and how to distinguish between, what he refers to as, “evidence-based” approaches and the exploitive, false promises that crowd our inboxes and social network feeds. More information about Marcus, including links to the The Centre for Homeopathic Education and his book, is talkingaboutkids.com.
May 11 · 35 min
How storytelling builds resilience in kids with Candace Lee and Eric Newman
Send us Fan Mail The children’s middle grade action and adventure novel, George Goodwin, Dragon Slayer: A Scouting Legend, was written by long-term collaborators Candace Lee and Eric Newman. Bringing it to fruition was an act of resilience, so it is not surprising that resilience is theme in the book and a skill the authors hope the book fosters in its readers. Candace, Eric, and I discuss this, the importance of scouting and exploration, and the depth of the world they created. More information about Candace and Eric, including a link to their book, is at talkingaboutkids.com.
May 4 · 37 min
What quality out-of-school-time programming does for kids with Kevin Cripe
Send us Fan Mail Kevin Cripe changed the culture of his under-resourced school in Modesto, California, with an afterschool program devoted to…chess. Kevin and I discuss his motivation for starting the program, how he did it, and, importantly, why he chose chess. I believe the lessons Kevin learned in the process can benefit all out-of-school time (OST) programs. More information about Kevin – including information on his books, how to engage him as speaker, and a picture of one his many chess champions with an enormous trophy – is at talkingaboutkids.com.
April 27 · 32 min
Why we need to rethink how we teach grammar with Patty McGee
Send us Fan Mail Grammar. If the thought of it makes you anxious, you are not alone. My guest this episode, Patty McGee, wants to change that by changing how we teach the subject. The pedagogy that she prescribes in her excellent book, Not Your Granny’s Grammar, is not necessarily new (Patty bases her recommendations on evidence-informed practices). However, solid pedagogy, like Patty’s, is rarely applied to subject of grammar. Patty and I discuss this, her book, and tips for reducing grammar anxiety. More information about Patty and her book is at talkingaboutkids.com.
April 20 · 30 min
What you need to know about trends in childcare affordability with Meghan Salas Atwell
Send us Fan Mail If we want to improve the economy, if we want to make the population healthier, or even if we want to reduce the deficit, leading economists tell us that we should invest in early childhood development. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening, and, as new research from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) reveals, childcare providers are feeling pinched. My guest to discuss NAEYC’s most recent Early Childhood Education (ECE) Workforce Survey is NAEYC’s Senior Director of Applied Research, Meghan Salas Atwell. As you will hear Meghan explain, childcare providers are caught between rising costs and decreasing revenue. If this persists, the evidence suggests that we all will suffer. More information about Meghan and ECE Workforce Survey is at talkingaboutkids.com.
April 13 · 38 min
How to redefine childcare practices with Antoinette Elliott
Send us Fan Mail When it comes to programs and services for children and families, researchers and practitioners should work hand-in-hand: research should guide practice and, in turn, study what is working to inform the rest of the field. By all accounts, All Our Children Elite Childcare Academy, the beloved program founded by Antoinette Elliott, exemplifies this relationship. Antoinette incorporated best practices and input from expert consultants in the design of the academy, but, as you will hear, I believe that the elements that she created from experience and trial-and-error are benefiting children and families in ways that need to be studied and replicated. More information about Antoinette and All Our Children Elite Childcare Academy - including a link to a complimentary Parent Peace Pack: 10 Powerful Tools to Help You Navigate Tantrums, Picky Eating, Bedtime Battles, and More - is at talkingaboutkids.com.
April 6 · 40 min
Why independent tutoring and assessment might benefit your neurodivergent kid with Kait Feriante
Send us Fan Mail The research is conclusive: strong public education systems benefit individuals, communities, and, ultimately, society in myriad ways. Unfortunately, public education systems across the U.S.A. are facing pressures that, some believe, impede them from providing all the services that kids, and neurodivergent kids in particular, need. My guest this episode, Kait Feriante, supports public education, but she has seen too many kids with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia fall through the cracks. Kait founded Redwood Literacy to provide independent assessment and intervention services for them. She and I discuss those services and how to tell if a kid in your life needs them. More information about Kait and Redwood Literacy is at talkingaboutkids.com.
March 30 · 47 min
Why early reading interventions are important with Faye Bankler Casell
Send us Fan Mail Faye Bankler Casell wants your child to read, and she is doing all she can to make that happen. Faye is a Special Educator, Certified Academic Language Therapist, and Dyslexia Therapist; she has a master’s degree from the Teachers College at Columbia University; she hosts the “Teach My Child to Read” YouTube Channel; and she is the founder of HomeReadingCoach.com. As you will hear, Faye is concerned that not everyone in our kids’ lives is as committed to helping them read as she is. Faye and I discuss this and what you can to do to support early reading interventions. More information about Faye, including links to her website and YouTube channel, is at talkingaboutkids.com.
March 23 · 34 min
How to bring dignity and hope to youth in foster care with Rob Scheer
Send us Fan Mail The black garbage bag. You may or may not know its significance in the foster care system. Either way, my guest this episode will inspire you. Among other things, Rob Scheer is the author of A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time and the founder of Comfort Cases, a nonprofit with the #BAGBUSTERS rallying cry and the mission to “inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth in foster care.” My hope is that you will never look at a black garbage bag the same way again. More information about Rob, his nonprofit Comfort Cases, and his book, A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time, is at talkingaboutkids.com.
March 16 · 38 min
How to know when you need an attorney to advocate for your kid with Paula Yost
Send us Fan Mail As we have discussed in previous episodes, trained advocates can help protect the rights of kids in IEP meetings and other legal proceedings. Unfortunately, there are times when additional help is required, times when a lawyer is needed. My guest this episode is Paula Yost. Paula is an attorney who is committed to, what she calls, “legal social work,” which is advocating for kids at the intersection of law and education or social service. Paula and I discuss her role, what you can do to avoid needing an attorney, and how you can tell when you do. More information about Paula, her law firm, and her book, Tumbleweeds: How to be an Advocate for Your Children and Yourself in a Failing System, is talkingaboutkids.com.

Talking About Kids

Summer Episode 4: What to watch or listen to this summer

Summer Episode 3: What to watch or listen to this summer

Summer Episode 2: What to watch or listen to this summer

Summer Episode 1: What to watch or listen to this summer

How to organize your photos to bring your family closer together with Megan O’Hare

How 12 years of mentoring benefits kids with Jorie Das

How to bring the benefits of camp experiences to more kids with Shawna Rosenzweig

How correcting clubfoot improves the lives of kids with Daphne Sorensen

How executive functioning coaches help neurodivergent kids with Norrine Russell

Memorial Day Episode: Poppies for remembrance

How homeopathy can help families with Marcus Fernandez

How storytelling builds resilience in kids with Candace Lee and Eric Newman

What quality out-of-school-time programming does for kids with Kevin Cripe

Why we need to rethink how we teach grammar with Patty McGee

What you need to know about trends in childcare affordability with Meghan Salas Atwell

How to redefine childcare practices with Antoinette Elliott

Why independent tutoring and assessment might benefit your neurodivergent kid with Kait Feriante

Why early reading interventions are important with Faye Bankler Casell

How to bring dignity and hope to youth in foster care with Rob Scheer

How to know when you need an attorney to advocate for your kid with Paula Yost