My 8-year-old daughter, who likes to ask big questions like “Who was the first person ever?” and “How did people talk before there was language?” asked probably the toughest one of all the other day.
“What’s it like being a parent?”
I fumbled around with the answer, trying my best to incorporate all the greatest highs and biggest challenges, but the part that really resonated was when I told her something like this: “It’s the most important job you will ever do, and you have absolutely no idea what you are doing at the beginning and a lot of points along the way.”
A lot of parents I talk to would certainly nod their heads in agreement and add that the challenges only seem to be greater as our kids’ lives get bigger and the world around all of us gets more complex.
Fortunately, while there is no one-size-fits-all manual to parenting, there is the wisdom of shared experiences and data to help guide us all.
That brings me to the subject of the latest The Friscalating Dusklight podcast episode, which features an interview with Minneapolis-based author Erin Walsh on her new book (out Tuesday!) “It’s Their World: Teens, Screens and the Science of Adolescence.”
In the book, Walsh leans on both research and practical intuition to help re-frame how we think of our kids’ relationships with screens.
In our conversation, I try to highlight my favorite parts of the book while giving Walsh the space to expand on the heart of adolescent development.
I hope you enjoy it! (Spotify version here and Apple version here).
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