Talking To Teens

Susan Toler Carr, elite college admissions and career counselor and founder of the organization Justin Carr Wants World Peace. In this episode, Susan reveals the strategies she uses for helping teenagers find things they are passionate about. She also opens up about the loss of her son and discusses candidly how we can be better at talking with teenagers -- or anyone -- who is going through a loss.

Mitch Prinstein, author of the book "Popular". Many parents have had the experience of seeing a kid change seemingly overnight from a child who doesn't worry about things like status and popularity to a teenager who is obsessed with this stuff. It can be baffling when teens start to suddenly care deeply about things like clothes, hairstyles, and social media. Thankfully there is a scientific explanation for why this change occurs and there are some simple things parents can do to help teens keep this popularity craze in check.

Karen Young, founder of the immensely popular psychology blog "Hey Sigmund". We all experience some level of anxiety but for 1 out of every 8 kids it is a serious struggle. What can parents do to help teens cope with anxiety? Karen said that we need to start by listening to our teens and not trying to convince them that they will be OK or that their feelings are “no big deal”. Then we should teach them about why they are feeling anxious and help them learn strategies for coping with the anxiety.

Joani Geltman, author of the bestselling book "A Survival Guide to Parenting Teens". Teenagers today are addicted to their electronic devices. They text during class, post on SnapChat while they do their homework, and browse Instagram until 2 or 3 AM when they are supposed to be sleeping. How should parents handle smartphones and social media?

Jake Teeny, persuasion researcher and author of the immensely popular course "The Psychology of Persuasion". Does it ever seem like your teen purposely does the exact opposite of what you ask? This is a perfectly normal part of adolescence and the experts say not to worry about it. But, let’s face it, sometimes as a parent you really do need to be able to persuade your teen to do what you are asking. How can parents be more influential?