Parenting with a Story Podcast

Glenda Cecil was born in 1908 in Parker City, Indiana. When she was still a young girl, around the age of twelve, she was invited to attend one of the biggest Christmas parties in the county. Everyone was excited to attend because word had leaked out that the hosts planned something special for the evening [read more]

If you have anyone in your life stressing over choosing the right college major or first career, this week’s story is for you. With all the pressure on kids to go to college, and the ridiculously high cost of doing so, there’s more and more anxiety over choosing the “right” field of study. In the [read more]

If you were to meet Fadia Perez today, you’d describe her as nothing short of stunning. She’s tall and lean, with high cheekbones, a figure that most women would envy, shiny jet-black hair, and a magazine-quality smile. Not surprisingly, she’s been encouraged many times in the past decade to pursue a modeling career, and she [read more]

While being courageous can clearly get you places in life, it can be comforting to know that it’s not an absolute requirement. In fact, one of the most successful people I know is a self-described coward. According to Jim Bangel, “the stories of my cowardice are legion” among his family and friends. And it all [read more]

You don’t have to be an artist or inventor to help your children develop creativity. It turns out all you really have to do is remove less creative ways for them to spend their time. That’s a lesson Emma Sartini didn’t even know she was learning as a child. But she’s glad she did. Emma [read more]

Imagine you’re walking down the hallway at the office where you work, and at one point you notice a new sign hanging overhead with the words, “Don’t look up!” What would you do? You’d look up, of course. You’d want to know what all the fuss was about. Now imagine it turned out that there [read more]

If a group you’re a part of does something you don’t like, do you leave the group, or do you stay and fight to change it? That’s today’s question. Chrissy (not her real name), a native New Yorker, always thought courage was about not going along with the crowd, especially when the crowd was doing [read more]

“Take pride in your work” is a worthy and often-quoted piece of advice given to young people. But like many pithy sayings like that, it’s hard to really know what that means until you’ve seen someone in action who truly embodies it. One person who’s seen that firsthand is Vikram Sarma. Vikram grew up in [read more]

As many parents find out, we often learn just as much from our kids as they learn from us. This week’s life lesson is an example of that, so I’ve asked my 11-year-old son, Ben, to join me on the podcast. You can listen to that conversation by clicking the play button above, or you [read more]

We’re all so enamored of our own opinion, it’s sometimes hard to imagine why anyone would do something we see no sense in. So it’s easy to dismiss a decision we don’t understand as being foolish, which means we think the person who made that decision is foolish. And it’s certainly possible they are. But [read more]

One of the most common fears young people face early in their lives is trying something new. The uncertainty and apprehension of failure can be crippling. And if it’s not overcome as a child, it can haunt someone throughout life. One person who’s earned some valuable wisdom struggling to find courage is Kerri Whitfield. Moving [read more]

When Richard Pascoe was seven years old, he recalls doing something most honest people will admit doing at least once or twice in their childhood. He was trying to find his presents before Christmas. He recalls stealthily walking around the house looking in every hiding place he could think of. Then, opening up one particular cupboard, [read more]

If you’re a parent of a teenager, you know this unfortunate truth: You love your child. But sometimes you don’t like them very much. And you know all too well that they don’t always like you very much either. My guest this week has some great insights into why that is, as well as some [read more]

To understand humility, it’s often easiest to start with its opposite: pride. In his book The Seven Deadly Sins, Reverend James Stalker defines pride as “the inordinate assertion of self.” In other words, pride is an inflated sense of our own importance or status or accomplishments. When we’re prideful, we hold ourselves in such high [read more]

I think the most memorable lesson I ever learned about becoming an adult occurred at the most unexpected place and time: in a crowded restaurant on Secretary’s Day, April 1986. Still a teenager and a freshman in college, I had a part-time job at a local furniture manufacturing company. My dad was an executive there, [read more]