The Brain Expert: How To Raise Mentally Resilient Children (According To Science) | Dr. Daniel Amen
Resumen
TLDRThe episode features a discussion on raising mentally strong children by allowing them to make mistakes and learn from consequences, rather than solving all their problems. It emphasizes the importance of raising kids who are mentally resilient through a combination of love and logic. The conversation touches on setting clear goals, fostering bonding, and developing responsibility from a young age. The guest, a child psychiatrist, shares insights on parenting styles and the role of neuroscience in understanding child development. Emphasis is placed on teaching children the value of being independent, competent, and responsible. The discussion warns against excessive screen time and social media's negative impact on mental health. The importance of active listening and spending quality time without distractions is highlighted as key to building a strong parent-child relationship. Strategies like setting boundaries and advocating for children to ask questions are discussed to support children's self-esteem and problem-solving skills.
Para llevar
- β€οΈ Parenting should focus on love and logic, letting children learn from mistakes.
- π§ Neuroscience informs effective parenting through understanding brain development.
- π― Setting clear goals for children is essential.
- πͺ Bonding with children through quality time.
- β° Special time without commands or questions aids connection.
- π Consequences teach responsibility in children.
- π± Limit screen time and social media to protect mental health.
- π Teach children problem-solving and self-reliance.
- π« Avoid solving children's problems for them.
- π Education in life skills builds mentally strong kids.
CronologΓa
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
The speaker emphasizes the importance of not solving all children's problems, allowing them to learn from their mistakes and the consequences of their actions. They mention upcoming interviews aimed at improving happiness and health.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
Mentally strong children live with clearly defined goals often set by parents. The initial step is for parents to define what kind of parent they want to be and for them to model mental strength through authenticity and presence.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
The speaker discusses the significance of parental presence in avoiding mental health issues in children. Bonding and not solving all children's problems are highlighted as key elements in developing a child's sense of responsibility and agency.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
Through the example of Chloe, a child psychiatrist emphasizes the importance of children facing the consequences of their actions. This approach helps them develop independence, problem-solving skills, and a sense of responsibility.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
The Harvard study showed that children's self-esteem is heavily influenced by responsibility and work at a young age. Overprotected or affluent children may miss developing a sense of agency and face struggles later in life.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
Discomfort in children helps them grow, allowing them to become independent and responsible. The video discusses balancing parenting by giving children space while providing a supportive environment to explore and learn from experiences.
- 00:30:00 - 00:35:00
The conversation focuses on active listening where parents don't jump to conclusions but help children express themselves, fostering a nurturing environment. Setting boundaries helps prevent mental health issues, like anxiety, by stabilizing the household.
- 00:35:00 - 00:40:00
Permissive parenting, even if done with love, can lead to mental health problems due to a lack of boundaries. Effective parenting balances firmness and loving attachment, aiding proper childhood development.
- 00:40:00 - 00:45:00
Addressing the notion that children's success reflects parenting, itβs suggested that parents focus on raising capable, independent children rather than over-investing personal aspirations on them.
- 00:45:00 - 00:50:00
Teaching children about agency and behavior consequences builds mental strength. Parents are advised to maintain routines and limits while ensuring their actions don't inadvertently reward disrespectful behavior.
- 00:50:00 - 00:56:24
Technology and social media are highlighted as challenges for modern parenting. Delaying children's exposure and spending meaningful time with them away from screens is encouraged to promote healthy relationships and mental well-being.
Mapa mental
Preguntas frecuentes
What is the main theme of the episode?
The main theme is raising mentally strong children through love, discipline, and self-reliance.
How can parents help children become mentally strong?
By not solving all their problems, allowing them to face consequences, and encouraging independence.
What parenting style is considered most effective according to the episode?
A parenting style that is loving and firm.
What role does neuroscience play in parenting?
Neuroscience helps understand children's brain development and informs effective parenting strategies.
How important is setting goals for children?
Goal setting is crucial as it helps children understand what they want and strive towards achieving it.
What is the significance of bonding with children?
Bonding creates a connection that fosters communication and influence over children's choices.
Why is it not advisable to bring forgotten items like homework or lunch to children?
It teaches them responsibility and the importance of facing consequences for their actions.
At what age should children be taught responsibility?
As early as possible with appropriate safeguards and guidelines.
What impact does technology and social media have on children?
Excessive use can increase vulnerability to mental health issues and promote self-absorption.
What strategies can help in forming a strong parent-child relationship?
Spending quality time, being present, listening actively, and providing them with self-soothing techniques.
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What kind of Asian are you?
- 00:00:00you do not solve all of your children's
- 00:00:02problems that's the heart of love and
- 00:00:06logic it's you want kids to make
- 00:00:09mistakes and you want them to pay the
- 00:00:11consequences so they learn before we
- 00:00:15jump into this episode I'd like to
- 00:00:17invite you to join this community to
- 00:00:19hear more interviews that will help you
- 00:00:21become happier healthier and more healed
- 00:00:24all I want you to do is click on the
- 00:00:26Subscribe button I love your support
- 00:00:28it's incredible to see all your comments
- 00:00:30and we're just getting started I can't
- 00:00:32wait to go on this journey with you
- 00:00:34thank you so much for subscribing it
- 00:00:36means the world to me the number one
- 00:00:38Health and Wellness podcast J shett J
- 00:00:41shett the one the only
- 00:00:45Jett you talk about mentally strong kids
- 00:00:48live by clearly defined goals and I was
- 00:00:53thinking about that I was thinking how
- 00:00:55do you set a goal for a kid and at what
- 00:00:59age does a goal become real well the
- 00:01:02goal starts with parents what kind of
- 00:01:07Dad or Mom do I want to be and what kind
- 00:01:11of children do I want to raise so in
- 00:01:15raising mentally strong kids I mean the
- 00:01:17first principle is you need to be
- 00:01:19mentally strong right you have to model
- 00:01:22the message and Amen Clinics our first
- 00:01:26core value is
- 00:01:28authenticity and and what what does that
- 00:01:32mean to be mentally strong well the
- 00:01:35first principle is Clarity is you want
- 00:01:38to know so when I was growing up my mom
- 00:01:41was great she was present but there were
- 00:01:43way too many of us there were seven I'm
- 00:01:46third means irrelevant uh at least
- 00:01:49that's what I thought uh you know Prince
- 00:01:52Harry's book spare well in a Lebanese
- 00:01:56family the oldest son is golden and the
- 00:02:00second son's irrelevant now there's huge
- 00:02:04upside to irrelevance which means I
- 00:02:07could do anything I want but my mom was
- 00:02:11present and fun and playful and strict
- 00:02:15uh all good qualities my dad was gone
- 00:02:18and so when I'm thinking about what kind
- 00:02:21of parent do I want to be is I want to
- 00:02:23be
- 00:02:24present uh because that caused a lot of
- 00:02:27bitterness in my life and if you read
- 00:02:30sort of the latest Neuroscience on
- 00:02:33childbearing attachment is so important
- 00:02:37to
- 00:02:38prevent mental illness or mental health
- 00:02:42problems and so if I want to be present
- 00:02:47then that leads to the second principle
- 00:02:51which is bonding which is connection and
- 00:02:54how do you connect and too many parents
- 00:02:57get that wrong and like oh well let me
- 00:03:00solve all of my child's problems which
- 00:03:03creates entitlement and disaster but the
- 00:03:06first one is what do you want and I
- 00:03:09think it's a great question for kids
- 00:03:12when they're six or seven what do you
- 00:03:14want in our relationship like I treat a
- 00:03:19lot of difficult kids and one of my
- 00:03:23favorite questions to parents how many
- 00:03:27times out of 10 when you ask this child
- 00:03:30to do something will they do it the
- 00:03:32first time without arguing or fighting
- 00:03:36and seven is the average for healthy
- 00:03:40kids so very few kids do something every
- 00:03:43time right but for the kids who see me
- 00:03:47it's zero or less than
- 00:03:51three and when I ask the children about
- 00:03:55this 78 n I'm like is that your goal to
- 00:04:00make your mother cry I'm like no I'm
- 00:04:03like why do you do it I don't know and
- 00:04:07the fact is they don't know because it's
- 00:04:08not will driven it's braind driven and
- 00:04:13that one concept all by itself on top of
- 00:04:18which if a child doesn't do what you ask
- 00:04:21them to do and you ignore it or you just
- 00:04:24repeat it what you're doing is teaching
- 00:04:27them to do that and the brain is is lazy
- 00:04:30so um this is going to be a fun
- 00:04:33conversation how about the people that
- 00:04:35would say that that may make children
- 00:04:37obedient but it doesn't make them free
- 00:04:40thinkers or it doesn't make them
- 00:04:42independently thoughtful I think we
- 00:04:45sometimes feel like these two things
- 00:04:47work against each other right like if we
- 00:04:49feel we're like they listen to
- 00:04:51everything we say and they do what we
- 00:04:53say then how do they build up their own
- 00:04:55sense of identity how how does that work
- 00:04:57well that's totally in the book on how
- 00:04:59to do that and that is you do not solve
- 00:05:02all of your children's problems that's
- 00:05:06the heart of love and logic it's you
- 00:05:09want kids to make mistakes and you want
- 00:05:13them to pay the consequences so they
- 00:05:16learn agency it's such an important word
- 00:05:20in lives um so I have six children three
- 00:05:24of them are adopted and Chloe um who's
- 00:05:29now 20 she's a bit of a Helen and uh
- 00:05:34argumentative
- 00:05:36oppositional and I'm a child
- 00:05:38psychiatrist and Chloe was two when tan
- 00:05:42and I met and I'm like Tana you've done
- 00:05:46second grade but they would like go at
- 00:05:49it in a bad way for homework for like a
- 00:05:52couple of hours and I'm like and then
- 00:05:55Tana got a program uh I co-wrote the
- 00:05:58book with Charles Fay who's president of
- 00:06:01the love and logic Institute so she got
- 00:06:03parenting with love and logic and then
- 00:06:05took everything they ever created one
- 00:06:08night when it finally clicked that I've
- 00:06:12done second
- 00:06:13grade she told Chloe she'd never again
- 00:06:16ask her to do her homework she said hey
- 00:06:19I've done second grade this is on you
- 00:06:22and if you're okay with the
- 00:06:26consequences of not doing your homework
- 00:06:30Mrs M her teacher will be mad at you you
- 00:06:33won't go out to recess and if you really
- 00:06:34decide you're not going to do it you'll
- 00:06:37make new friends when you repeat second
- 00:06:39grade that was that Epiphany moment
- 00:06:44Chloe got upset and said I never said I
- 00:06:46wasn't going to do my homework I'm just
- 00:06:47not going to do it now she stormed off
- 00:06:5020 minutes later she came back no one
- 00:06:52ever asked her to do her homework again
- 00:06:55she's going to graduate with a business
- 00:06:58degree from Chapman University
- 00:07:00she's bright she's independent she has
- 00:07:03agency she's a hard worker and a free
- 00:07:06thinker because she couldn't push
- 00:07:10against her mother to solve her
- 00:07:12problems she had to figure it out with
- 00:07:16of course appropriate support and oh by
- 00:07:19the way to really push on this idea if
- 00:07:22Khloe forgot her homework there's no way
- 00:07:24her mother would bring it to school cuz
- 00:07:27then she'd only forget it once right if
- 00:07:29she forgot her homework and we brought
- 00:07:30it to school we'd always be bringing her
- 00:07:33homework to school if it was cold out
- 00:07:35and she forgot to bring a sweater
- 00:07:37nobody's bringing a sweater she forgot
- 00:07:39her lunch nobody's bringing her lunch
- 00:07:41we're teaching her probably the most
- 00:07:44important skill of mentally strong
- 00:07:48people I'm responsible for my life and
- 00:07:52if there are consequences I'm going to
- 00:07:54pay it and you so you want them to make
- 00:07:57mistakes when the consequence are
- 00:08:00affordable and what age is that at is
- 00:08:01that at a particular age or is there a
- 00:08:03time when like four five six you know
- 00:08:08earlier the better and of course you're
- 00:08:11always putting you know think of bowling
- 00:08:13alley you're putting bumper guards up uh
- 00:08:16to protect them but when I was a young
- 00:08:22parent I think my self-esteem wasn't
- 00:08:25great and I would get self-esteem by
- 00:08:28solving my children's problems and what
- 00:08:32I realized is I was robbing them of
- 00:08:35their self-esteem because where do we
- 00:08:38get self-esteem there's this great study
- 00:08:40out of Harvard where they followed
- 00:08:44454 inner city Boston school kids for 70
- 00:08:50years I mean think about that I one of
- 00:08:53the longest longevity studies ever done
- 00:08:56and they looked at what was going you
- 00:08:59know with mental illness with addiction
- 00:09:01with self-esteem and the only thing that
- 00:09:04correlated with self-esteem was whether
- 00:09:06or not you worked as a child whether or
- 00:09:10not you had responsibility at home you
- 00:09:12had a paper route you had an outside job
- 00:09:15when I was 10 years old I went to work
- 00:09:17because my dad owned grocery stores and
- 00:09:20work is good but for people who are
- 00:09:24affluent who have help at home and
- 00:09:28everything is done for the child you're
- 00:09:30really setting the child up for
- 00:09:32struggles in their life because they
- 00:09:34won't develop a sense of agency that's
- 00:09:36so interesting hearing that I've always
- 00:09:37felt that I started doing I was a paper
- 00:09:39boy when I was 14 years old and I
- 00:09:41remember going around the local streets
- 00:09:43and delivering the papers and it was
- 00:09:45raining and it was you know at some time
- 00:09:48of the year in England it would snow
- 00:09:50during the Christmas period and it was
- 00:09:52hardest because I'm pulling this like
- 00:09:54you know this uh trolley we call it I
- 00:09:56don't know what you'd call it here but
- 00:09:57pulling this cart that has all the
- 00:09:59newspaper stacked in it and then I
- 00:10:01worked in re and then I worked in a
- 00:10:03grocery store and then I worked in
- 00:10:05retail and so I've been working ever
- 00:10:06since I was 14 years old and I couldn't
- 00:10:09agree with you more I learned so many
- 00:10:11interesting skills I developed so many
- 00:10:13amazing habits because you had to in
- 00:10:16order to do it and that resonates so
- 00:10:18strongly with me how do you get
- 00:10:20comfortable watching your child be
- 00:10:22uncomfortable because I can imagine
- 00:10:24that's the biggest challenge right as a
- 00:10:26parent who loves adors cares for the
- 00:10:29this child doesn't want it to be cold
- 00:10:31doesn't want the child to be late for
- 00:10:32school doesn't want the child to perform
- 00:10:35poorly your ego is somewhat attached to
- 00:10:39the child's ego and success level how do
- 00:10:41you get comfortable watching your child
- 00:10:43be uncomfortable in a
- 00:10:45non unemotional way and not in a
- 00:10:48insensitive way it's hard you have to
- 00:10:52have the big picture in mind and the
- 00:10:55long game in mind what do I want what
- 00:10:58kind of parent do I want to be effective
- 00:11:01present what kind of child do I want to
- 00:11:04raise independent competent strong um if
- 00:11:09I do too much I'm robbing them of their
- 00:11:13self-esteem of their sense of
- 00:11:16responsibility and agency and that's a
- 00:11:19disaster you just don't want and you
- 00:11:21need to see it ahead of time and that's
- 00:11:25why you know the first principes is know
- 00:11:26what you want and all always ask your
- 00:11:30kids so what's the goal for this year
- 00:11:33what do you want right it's not you're
- 00:11:35not telling them they goal I mean an
- 00:11:38example when I turned 18 it's the first
- 00:11:41time I could vote and my dad told me if
- 00:11:45I voted for Senator McGovern the country
- 00:11:48would go to hell so 1972 Richard Nixon
- 00:11:52is running for re-election he's a very
- 00:11:54popular president even though it'll turn
- 00:11:56out to be a disaster against senator my
- 00:11:59govern and I'm 18 and I don't have a
- 00:12:04relationship with my dad I mean we're
- 00:12:07sort of mostly mad at each other he's
- 00:12:10trying to have influence on me but
- 00:12:12because we don't have a
- 00:12:14relationship I'd just as soon piss him
- 00:12:16off right now it wasn't my conscious
- 00:12:19thought but I'd just as soon piss him
- 00:12:21off and I voted for mover and the
- 00:12:23country went to hell but it had nothing
- 00:12:25to do with McGovern it was all Nixon and
- 00:12:26Watergate and so on but it was that lack
- 00:12:30of
- 00:12:31relationship and if people do what I
- 00:12:35talk about in the book you have more
- 00:12:40influence with them and that leads to so
- 00:12:43the first principle is goal setting the
- 00:12:46second one is bonding it's attachment if
- 00:12:50you want to have influence with your
- 00:12:53children if you want them to seriously
- 00:12:56consider your values you have to be
- 00:12:59connected with them and what does that
- 00:13:01take time like actual physical time
- 00:13:05where you're not on your phone but you
- 00:13:08put the phone away and you spend 20
- 00:13:11minutes a day with a child so there's an
- 00:13:13exercise I talk about in the book that I
- 00:13:15love so much
- 00:13:18that you know all the things I've
- 00:13:21recommended to my patients over the last
- 00:13:2345 years when I decided to be a
- 00:13:25psychiatrist 45 years ago special time
- 00:13:28it's mad magic
- 00:13:30and 20 minutes a day do something with
- 00:13:33your child child wants to do that's
- 00:13:36reasonable you can do in 20 minutes so
- 00:13:38it's like not take me to Nordstroms and
- 00:13:41during that time no commands no
- 00:13:45questions no directions it's just time
- 00:13:49to be together and it's money in the
- 00:13:52relational bank and I remember when I
- 00:13:55first figured this out my literary agent
- 00:14:00uh had a child later in life we were
- 00:14:04talking on the phone and he's like my
- 00:14:06daughter Laura doesn't want to have
- 00:14:07anything to do with me and she's to and
- 00:14:10he said that's like a girl thing right a
- 00:14:13mother daughter thing they don't want
- 00:14:14anything I'm like no Carl you're
- 00:14:16ignoring her what what do you mean I'm
- 00:14:18ignor I'm like you're ignoring her do
- 00:14:21this and he said that won't work I'm
- 00:14:24like oh great you represent an idiot my
- 00:14:27own literary age won't do what I say do
- 00:14:31it in fact I'm going to put you in my
- 00:14:33schedule for 3 weeks I'm going to call
- 00:14:35you get the party
- 00:14:37started and so three weeks go by I call
- 00:14:40him up
- 00:14:42Carl Daniel she won't leave me alone as
- 00:14:46soon as I walk in the door she grabs my
- 00:14:48leg and wants her time all she wants to
- 00:14:51do is be with
- 00:14:54me I'm like that's the problem that's
- 00:14:56what we won right that's what we're at
- 00:14:59after so actual physical time and now
- 00:15:02parents are so busy they're not spending
- 00:15:07this oneon-one alone time listening so
- 00:15:11that's the second part of it so time
- 00:15:13actual physical time and shut up I it's
- 00:15:17so important so you you love them so
- 00:15:21much you want to pour all of your
- 00:15:23knowledge all of your wisdom that you
- 00:15:26worked your whole life on and down
- 00:15:29loaded into their head don't do that
- 00:15:31listen to them and therapists learned
- 00:15:34this technique called active listening
- 00:15:37that whenever someone says something you
- 00:15:40don't interrupt and tell them how to
- 00:15:42think you repeat it back and you listen
- 00:15:46for the feelings behind the words so if
- 00:15:50my son came home and said Dad I want to
- 00:15:52have blue hair I don't know what your
- 00:15:54father would have said but I know what
- 00:15:57mine would have said no when as long as
- 00:15:59you live in this house you can have blue
- 00:16:01air but what does that do it just stops
- 00:16:05the conversation or it starts a fight
- 00:16:08active listening teaches you repeat back
- 00:16:11what you hear oh you want to have blue
- 00:16:13hair and then be quiet long enough for
- 00:16:17them to like explain what's really going
- 00:16:20on and he might say all the kids are
- 00:16:23wearing their hair
- 00:16:25blue now I've been to a school I know
- 00:16:27not everybody's blue-headed
- 00:16:30and if I would have said that to my dad
- 00:16:32I don't know what your dad would have
- 00:16:33said I don't care what anybody else is
- 00:16:35doing as long as you live in this house
- 00:16:37you're not going to have blue hair if
- 00:16:39they're going to jump off a bridge are
- 00:16:40you going with them that one for sure
- 00:16:42I've heard that plenty of times and what
- 00:16:46does it do stops the conversation or it
- 00:16:49starts a fight sounds like you want to
- 00:16:52be like the other kids completely
- 00:16:55different conversation but that's and he
- 00:16:58might say dad you know sometimes I feel
- 00:17:00like I don't fit in now my mother would
- 00:17:03have said what do you mean you don't fit
- 00:17:04in of course you fit in you're a good
- 00:17:05boy you're a good-looking boy you're
- 00:17:07nice
- 00:17:08boy and that's not helpful either what's
- 00:17:11just helpful is so sometimes you feel
- 00:17:14like you don't fit him and then give it
- 00:17:16a breath so they're the ones solving
- 00:17:21their problem now at the end of a half
- 00:17:22an hour he says I still want to have
- 00:17:24blue hair I'm going to tell him no way
- 00:17:26in hell as long as you live in my house
- 00:17:29because it's not cool to look weird I
- 00:17:32mean if you look weird you're going to
- 00:17:33hang out with weird people right it's
- 00:17:36okay to have
- 00:17:38boundaries around Behavior some parents
- 00:17:40they have like no boundaries and I think
- 00:17:44some boundaries are appropriate what
- 00:17:46does No Boundaries lead to like from a
- 00:17:49neuroscience and from a study
- 00:17:51perspective of what is what happens if
- 00:17:53it leads to mental health problems so
- 00:17:56there's um this great study out of the
- 00:17:58University of Oregon we looked at 10,000
- 00:18:01families and they looked at parenting
- 00:18:05along two Dimensions parents who were um
- 00:18:11firm versus
- 00:18:14permissive and then hostile versus
- 00:18:18loving and if you take those two
- 00:18:20Dimensions you end up with four types of
- 00:18:23parents uh permissive and hostile
- 00:18:27permissive and firm
- 00:18:29loving and permissive loving and firm
- 00:18:33and they looked at what were the
- 00:18:36consequences or the outcome of each
- 00:18:38parenting style do you have a sense what
- 00:18:41would be worse what would be the worst
- 00:18:43one that creates the most trouble you
- 00:18:46would think that it's hostile and
- 00:18:48permissive hostile and permissive the
- 00:18:50worst what do you think is the second
- 00:18:53worst loving and permissive loving and
- 00:18:56permissive shocking wow because children
- 00:19:00need boundaries and the loving and
- 00:19:04permissive ones had more mental health
- 00:19:07challenges than the Hostile and firm now
- 00:19:12that's not helpful right that creates
- 00:19:15anxiety but children need boundaries I
- 00:19:19often say God gave us parents until our
- 00:19:21frontal loes develop right the front
- 00:19:24third of the brain the most human part
- 00:19:27of the brain Focus For Thought judgment
- 00:19:29impulse control and that's why you need
- 00:19:33parents to help guide you and the one of
- 00:19:38the big mistakes we make as a society is
- 00:19:43we abdicate parenting before their
- 00:19:46frontal loes are developed so I'm like
- 00:19:48not a big fan of sending children away
- 00:19:50to college because you're going to take
- 00:19:53their undeveloped prefrontal cortex and
- 00:19:57put them in a dorm with a whole bunch of
- 00:20:00other undeveloped prefrontal courtesies
- 00:20:03bad idea and you know I'd learned this
- 00:20:06as a child psychiatrist send kids away
- 00:20:09to school the incident anxiety goes up
- 00:20:12depression goes up suicide goes up
- 00:20:15addiction goes up and uh it's not a good
- 00:20:19thing how were you able to go get around
- 00:20:21that with your kids going to college as
- 00:20:23well well I mean one of my daughters
- 00:20:25wanted to go to the University of
- 00:20:26Virginia always across the other I'm
- 00:20:28like no you have to go to somewhere I
- 00:20:31can drive to see you in three hours wow
- 00:20:34wow so yeah that's it's really
- 00:20:36interesting this limits and rules
- 00:20:39building mental fortitude that you talk
- 00:20:41about
- 00:20:42because it's it's hard to know I think
- 00:20:45as a parent and it comes back to the
- 00:20:47earlier point that you were saying that
- 00:20:49we're just dealing with so much
- 00:20:51ourselves like people are busy they're
- 00:20:54stressed they are on their phone just
- 00:20:56trying to decompress after a long day
- 00:20:59and what I liked about what you said was
- 00:21:0120 minutes of no questions no commands
- 00:21:05and no
- 00:21:06directions that I think is really
- 00:21:08powerful and a special takeaway for
- 00:21:11people because it may be really hard to
- 00:21:13give quality time but I love the
- 00:21:15definition of quality time becoming no
- 00:21:17directions no commands and no questions
- 00:21:21because it seems like that's what our
- 00:21:23relationship becomes about with children
- 00:21:25and what do all of those do if your
- 00:21:27relationship is just giving the kids
- 00:21:28commands directions questions what ends
- 00:21:31up happening to the relationship they
- 00:21:32shut
- 00:21:33down and if you're just in their space
- 00:21:37and and you know as a child
- 00:21:40psychiatrist you know I've seen
- 00:21:41thousands of children over the years and
- 00:21:43often parents go he won't talk to you he
- 00:21:46doesn't want to be here he won't talk to
- 00:21:48you I go yeah it's really hard to be me
- 00:21:51and I just sit there and I'll play games
- 00:21:54with them but while I'm playing a game
- 00:21:57with them in a game they choose they
- 00:21:59chat you know they talk about what's
- 00:22:01going on in their dreams what goes on at
- 00:22:04home what goes on what game would you
- 00:22:06play with them I mean we'll play cards
- 00:22:08we'll play Shoots and Ladders we'll play
- 00:22:09Monopoly we'll play all sorts of
- 00:22:11different games um and one of my
- 00:22:15favorite games is the storytelling game
- 00:22:18where I'll they'll start a story and
- 00:22:21I'll they'll have a sentence all of a
- 00:22:23sentence all of a sentence and you
- 00:22:24really get to see how their minds work
- 00:22:28why does that work why is that a great
- 00:22:30interaction point that allows them to
- 00:22:32open up because kids if you just say
- 00:22:35tell me your problem they'll have no
- 00:22:37idea and they'll freeze if you play a
- 00:22:40game with them or you go for a walk with
- 00:22:42them then they begin to open up if they
- 00:22:45know you'll listen and we just we're in
- 00:22:49a society that's talking over each other
- 00:22:53parents are anxious and they want to
- 00:22:54solve things and they talk too much so
- 00:22:57if I can get people to use less words
- 00:23:01and be more present it's gold for them
- 00:23:07how do you know if a child is becoming
- 00:23:08more mentally strong or more mentally
- 00:23:10weak as you're practicing some of these
- 00:23:12methods what do you notice what are the
- 00:23:14habits or the core traits of a mentally
- 00:23:16strong child and a mentally weak child
- 00:23:19so mentally strong kids don't believe
- 00:23:22everything they think this is so
- 00:23:26important before in other episodes we've
- 00:23:28talked about killing the ants the
- 00:23:29automatic negative thoughts actually I
- 00:23:31have a child's book called Captain snout
- 00:23:34and the superpower questions where I
- 00:23:36wrote specifically to teach kids to
- 00:23:40question their automatic thoughts and so
- 00:23:44a vulnerable child so maybe wouldn't say
- 00:23:47mentally weak we just say vulnerable is
- 00:23:50you notice they have stinking thinking
- 00:23:54that they mind read they fortune tell
- 00:23:57they focus on what's wrong rather than
- 00:24:01on what's right a strong child still
- 00:24:04have those thoughts but they'll question
- 00:24:07them they just won't attach
- 00:24:11to um what I call the different kinds of
- 00:24:14ants and blame is like the worst ant you
- 00:24:17know it's you blame other people for
- 00:24:20your life you become a victim and you
- 00:24:22become powerless what is it I can do
- 00:24:25today to solve this problem and that's
- 00:24:28the essence of the book along with love
- 00:24:31and logic what is it I can do today to
- 00:24:34solve this problem yeah obviously none
- 00:24:36of us are perfect and I think every
- 00:24:38parent is already judging themselves in
- 00:24:42how they are a parent I think a lot of
- 00:24:44people carry that weight around and they
- 00:24:46carry that stress around of I'm not a
- 00:24:48good parent I wish I could have handled
- 00:24:50that better I shouldn't have said that I
- 00:24:52should have said that what's a healthy
- 00:24:55way to repair a mistake you've made
- 00:24:58maybe you've said something you wish you
- 00:25:00didn't say you did something you
- 00:25:01shouldn't have done and you've done it a
- 00:25:03few times what's a healthy way to repair
- 00:25:06that Bond well there's a guilt cycle
- 00:25:09that people get into they
- 00:25:13overreact and then they feel bad about
- 00:25:15it so they don't react and they let bad
- 00:25:18behavior go and they let it go and they
- 00:25:20let it go and then they can't stand it
- 00:25:21and then they explode and then they feel
- 00:25:24guilty and so they don't react and they
- 00:25:26don't react and then they don't react
- 00:25:28and then they overreact and so the trick
- 00:25:31is when their's Behavior you don't like
- 00:25:35deal with it as opposed to let it go
- 00:25:39it's like deal with it in the moment and
- 00:25:41you're going to make mistakes Lord knows
- 00:25:42I've made lots of mistakes but every day
- 00:25:46I win or I learn right I'm working with
- 00:25:49an Olympic athlete that I just love so
- 00:25:52much Alicia Newman she's a Canadian uh
- 00:25:56record holder for pole vating
- 00:25:58and um she's such a mess when I saw her
- 00:26:01she did my show scam my brain and now
- 00:26:05she's so mentally strong because every
- 00:26:08tournament she wins or she learns and as
- 00:26:13a parent that's the mindset is you know
- 00:26:16we had a really great day and when you
- 00:26:18don't have a great day why didn't we
- 00:26:21have a great day and you think about it
- 00:26:24in the book there's all sorts of brain
- 00:26:26reasons why you didn't have a great day
- 00:26:27you didn't sleep you went too long
- 00:26:31without food um there's the time change
- 00:26:36you know that has more bad days just
- 00:26:38because you know as a society we become
- 00:26:41jetlagged all at once so if you can just
- 00:26:45be
- 00:26:47curious rather than being Furious it
- 00:26:51helps you so much so if we have a really
- 00:26:54great day it's like okay why' that
- 00:26:56happen and just be thought
- 00:26:59and the default is always firm and kind
- 00:27:04and the softer your voice the more they
- 00:27:06pay attention to it if you're screaming
- 00:27:09they tune you out and they get
- 00:27:12mad it's so interesting as I'm listening
- 00:27:14to you I'm thinking as you gave in the
- 00:27:16example of the Olympic
- 00:27:18Athlete we need this for oursel right
- 00:27:20now at this age because our child self
- 00:27:24didn't probably get this kind of
- 00:27:26parenting or wasn't exposed to this and
- 00:27:28so even that statement you just said
- 00:27:30that I either win or I learn I think
- 00:27:33that's a habit that any of us listening
- 00:27:34to this right now need to develop
- 00:27:36because I think just as we're harsher on
- 00:27:38children or harsher on someone else it's
- 00:27:41comes from a fact that we're harsh on
- 00:27:42ourselves like there's this inner critic
- 00:27:45and this inner voice that breathes
- 00:27:46negativity and as you said the guilt
- 00:27:48cycle that continues it seems that that
- 00:27:53then becomes the externalized version is
- 00:27:55how we treat the kids and then again we
- 00:27:57feel guilty for doing that because we
- 00:27:58know it's wrong when you're trying to
- 00:28:01become mentally strong yourself but you
- 00:28:02feel like you don't have time your kids
- 00:28:04need dinner cooked you need to do their
- 00:28:07homework with them like I feel like
- 00:28:09there's a massive loss of time balance
- 00:28:13the ability to cater to this what do
- 00:28:16people do when they're like Jay I'm just
- 00:28:18surviving like I'm just putting food on
- 00:28:20the table we just about even surviving
- 00:28:22for myself to be able to switch on the
- 00:28:24TV in the evening after the kids were
- 00:28:25asleep like I get no time for myself how
- 00:28:28do we balance that time that's why
- 00:28:30special time is not two hours with the
- 00:28:33child it's doable you're playing the
- 00:28:35long game and too often parents love
- 00:28:40their children so much it's we're going
- 00:28:42to do soccer and we're going to do dance
- 00:28:44and we're going to do music and we're
- 00:28:46gonna and it's like stop that you need
- 00:28:49time to spend with each other and you're
- 00:28:52like well but I have to do my homework
- 00:28:54with the children it's like please don't
- 00:28:57that's not what this want you to do they
- 00:28:59want the children to do the homework and
- 00:29:03if they don't do it let the kids pay the
- 00:29:06consequences but then what parents do is
- 00:29:09they get into this fortune telling thing
- 00:29:11it's like well then they won't get into
- 00:29:13the best preschool and they won't get
- 00:29:15into the best school and they won't go
- 00:29:16to Harvard and their life will be
- 00:29:18terrible and like I went to a junior
- 00:29:20college a community college I'm actually
- 00:29:23in the Hall of Fame at Orange Co college
- 00:29:26and I actually think many people Mark
- 00:29:29cubin actually said that it's like most
- 00:29:31people should go to a community college
- 00:29:33because it's such a low cost and it's
- 00:29:36the same education right but people have
- 00:29:39this idea of prestige is attached to
- 00:29:43myself esteem and it's and Prestige is a
- 00:29:47French word comes from a French word for
- 00:29:50deceit right that I mean I went to a
- 00:29:53community college my life is
- 00:29:55awesome because I work hard right and
- 00:29:59ultimately another point you never want
- 00:30:01to tell a child they're smart I mean
- 00:30:03parents get so proud you're so smart
- 00:30:04don't ever do that go you work hard
- 00:30:08because if you tell them they're smart
- 00:30:10and they can't learn something their
- 00:30:13self-esteem drops if you go I really
- 00:30:16like how hard you're working and they
- 00:30:18come up with something hard they work
- 00:30:20harder and you also teach kids cuz
- 00:30:23mentally strong people ask questions and
- 00:30:26too often it's like no I want to ask
- 00:30:27questions I don't want to appear dumb
- 00:30:29it's like mentally strong people to ask
- 00:30:32questions and so when I was in
- 00:30:34elementary school I'd never ask a
- 00:30:36question and then I realized because I
- 00:30:38was in the Army and I took three years
- 00:30:40between high school and college and I
- 00:30:42was able to grow up and I'm like oh you
- 00:30:45have to ask questions right I learned
- 00:30:47that in the Army if you ask a question
- 00:30:49and somebody says no ask somebody else
- 00:30:51because they're more likely to say yes
- 00:30:53right so I learned that I don't just
- 00:30:55accept no but in school it's like oh let
- 00:30:59me ask questions if I don't understand
- 00:31:01something odds are people don't
- 00:31:02understand those well what are some of
- 00:31:04those other statements that parents say
- 00:31:06to kids that they think they're saying
- 00:31:07the right thing but they end up
- 00:31:10backfiring because they make it harder
- 00:31:12for the child to live up to that what
- 00:31:14are some of those other statements it'll
- 00:31:15be okay like or I'll take care of it for
- 00:31:19you if they're having problems with
- 00:31:21another child at school they immediately
- 00:31:23in the principal's office they're not
- 00:31:26listening to the child and going so how
- 00:31:29do you think you can handle that or what
- 00:31:31did they go and they fix it and that's
- 00:31:35death to their self-esteem now of course
- 00:31:38if it's dangerous or bullying or abuse
- 00:31:40you have to step in and take care of it
- 00:31:43but for the day-to-day stuff how do you
- 00:31:46think you can solve this as opposed to
- 00:31:51well I had that problem when you were
- 00:31:53when I was your age and this is what I
- 00:31:55did and this is what you should do don't
- 00:31:57do that
- 00:31:59because it steals their self-esteem it
- 00:32:02steals their agency what is it you can
- 00:32:05do I'm rooting for you rather than boy
- 00:32:09that's a dumb decision yeah yeah wow no
- 00:32:13I'm rooting for I mean that's so huge in
- 00:32:15our friendships it's so huge in marriage
- 00:32:17it's it's huge with kids I think it's so
- 00:32:20easy to just say this is what I did this
- 00:32:23is what you should do this is the right
- 00:32:24way to do it this is easy and we think
- 00:32:27we're basically doing a shortcut because
- 00:32:29we're not listening we're not actually
- 00:32:31bonding we're not connecting and we're
- 00:32:33trying to jump to a conclusion that
- 00:32:35hopefully we think solves the issue and
- 00:32:37a lot of this comes back to what we've
- 00:32:38both mentioned in this conversation is
- 00:32:40that there's this
- 00:32:42subconscious ego attachment to the child
- 00:32:45succeeding is being a reflection of our
- 00:32:48self-esteem our self-worth our
- 00:32:50selfesteem gets wrapped up in our
- 00:32:53child's self-worth and self-esteem and
- 00:32:55now you know subconsciously we're living
- 00:32:58our dreams through them that's not as
- 00:32:59basic as saying I want my kid to be a
- 00:33:02doctor because I am but there there's
- 00:33:04other more subtle versions of that how
- 00:33:07do people disconnect from that ego
- 00:33:09because it seems to be so subtle and so
- 00:33:13hidden but it's there and I think
- 00:33:15everyone notices it with their parents
- 00:33:16when their parents are acting in that
- 00:33:19way but almost when we become parents we
- 00:33:21we're completely oblivious to that
- 00:33:23ego and it's so important it's often so
- 00:33:28toxic if someone is living an unrealized
- 00:33:32life that they pour a lot of it into
- 00:33:36their child and it makes these kids
- 00:33:40miserable and it doesn't give them a
- 00:33:42sense of agency it
- 00:33:44constrains them um and they often rebel
- 00:33:48against it as opposed to what do you
- 00:33:52want to do it'll make you a good living
- 00:33:54so I don't have to support
- 00:33:56you
- 00:33:58and I love my six children but I never
- 00:34:03want to have to live with them right so
- 00:34:06I want to
- 00:34:07create competent people who can care for
- 00:34:12themselves it's like oh go Live Your
- 00:34:14Dream whether or not you can take care
- 00:34:16of yourself and that's going to set them
- 00:34:18up to be miserable if you're dependent
- 00:34:21on someone else uh you're miserable
- 00:34:26entitled people are never happy um
- 00:34:30another thing is and uh I posted this on
- 00:34:34Tik Tok and it got like 7 million views
- 00:34:37um Hallmark of mental strength um I
- 00:34:42don't do things for people who do not
- 00:34:44treat me with
- 00:34:46respect whoa so you know your child
- 00:34:50misbehaves you love them so much it
- 00:34:53doesn't matter you you know give them
- 00:34:56everything they want anyways
- 00:34:58death I don't do nice things for people
- 00:35:01who I feel don't treat me with
- 00:35:03respect it doesn't mean you don't feed
- 00:35:05them of course you feed them but you're
- 00:35:08not taking them to the store and you're
- 00:35:10not doing nice things for them I mean
- 00:35:13you need to teach them their
- 00:35:15consequences so the third part so it's
- 00:35:19goal setting
- 00:35:21bonding so much there and so many mental
- 00:35:26illnesses are a attached to attachments
- 00:35:30that become broken could you walk us
- 00:35:33through those so uh John bul is sort of
- 00:35:36the famous attachment uh psychologist
- 00:35:41and he said that if we're not connected
- 00:35:46to our moms or dads um it puts us at
- 00:35:49Great risk for mental health problems
- 00:35:52and he's absolutely right and often the
- 00:35:56break in the bond between your mother or
- 00:35:59your father or it can be any primary
- 00:36:02caretaker caretaker creates this rage
- 00:36:07inside of you and then you feel guilt
- 00:36:11about the
- 00:36:13rage and so you attack yourself and you
- 00:36:17know many people who live with this
- 00:36:19negative chatter in their head and it's
- 00:36:22often that specific
- 00:36:25Dynamic that they furious at their
- 00:36:29mother their father you know perhaps a
- 00:36:32divorce happened when they were four or
- 00:36:34five or they had a sibling die when they
- 00:36:36were for something happen they get
- 00:36:39really angry but that's not appropriate
- 00:36:42because these are the people that feed
- 00:36:43me so rage guilt about the rage and then
- 00:36:48self attack and they live with that
- 00:36:51their whole lives I can't tell you the
- 00:36:52number of people um and when you're four
- 00:36:56or five or six
- 00:36:58you think of yourself at the center of
- 00:37:00the world and so if something good
- 00:37:03happens you sort of think it's because
- 00:37:04of you if something bad happens you
- 00:37:08think it's because of you and you end up
- 00:37:11with this chronic sense of being
- 00:37:14bad and uh there's a specific type of
- 00:37:18therapy I like it's called intensive
- 00:37:20short-term Dynamic
- 00:37:22Psychotherapy and it's often getting
- 00:37:26to the feelings underneath and rage and
- 00:37:31attachment and guilt about the rage are
- 00:37:34often the significant piece of it
- 00:37:37sometimes it's hard because I feel like
- 00:37:38a lot of
- 00:37:40people may be feeling like you
- 00:37:42know I don't understand my child like
- 00:37:45they're angry they're upset they you
- 00:37:49know they they kind of want to
- 00:37:51disconnect what do you do in that
- 00:37:53situation where do you start well I
- 00:37:56think you first start with the simple
- 00:37:58things
- 00:38:00time and look at what they're eating cuz
- 00:38:04that matters um I have one patient who
- 00:38:07would go in a rage whenever he got red
- 00:38:12dye
- 00:38:14and people go red dye yeah red dye
- 00:38:17number 40 um and so like every sweet in
- 00:38:21candy think of Red Vines yeah and it's
- 00:38:25even in cough syrup for children or hard
- 00:38:28candies red dye number 40 and he would
- 00:38:32go in a rage and when they would take
- 00:38:34away red die he'd be fine but sometimes
- 00:38:37he' get it accidentally and he'd rage
- 00:38:39and so I actually scanned him you know
- 00:38:41that's what I do I look at people's
- 00:38:43brains and so we scanned him no red dye
- 00:38:47for a month and his brain was healthy we
- 00:38:51gave him Red Vines that have red D
- 00:38:55number 40 in it and his brain went
- 00:38:58like it
- 00:38:59exploded that dramatic hyperactivity in
- 00:39:03his brain and
- 00:39:05so if you're really struggling with your
- 00:39:08child and you use the principles Dr Fay
- 00:39:11and I talk about in this book and you're
- 00:39:14still struggling is probably a good idea
- 00:39:16to get him assessed and on average it's
- 00:39:22years between the time a child first has
- 00:39:25a symptom anxiety depression OCD
- 00:39:30add between they have a symptom and they
- 00:39:33get assessed and so many bright people
- 00:39:36go I never give my kids drugs and it's
- 00:39:39like if he's diabetic you give them
- 00:39:42drugs if if he had heart disease you
- 00:39:44give them drugs it's like and I'm not
- 00:39:46advocating drugs right I mean I own a
- 00:39:49supplement company um but I'm not
- 00:39:53opposed if I do the all the things I
- 00:39:56know how to do then I use medicine to do
- 00:39:59it people like don't really see the
- 00:40:02brain as an organ right they have to get
- 00:40:06the progression your brain physical
- 00:40:09function of your brain creates your mind
- 00:40:13and if your brain's not right your
- 00:40:15mind's not right and so what are all the
- 00:40:20ways
- 00:40:22that a mind can be trouble right so if
- 00:40:26you have a child that's not sleeping
- 00:40:28that has nightmares that has Tantrums
- 00:40:31that won't go away they don't socially
- 00:40:33connect they're obsessive it's like at
- 00:40:36some point you have to go what's going
- 00:40:38on in their brain and there's a whole
- 00:40:40section in the book on brain health for
- 00:40:45kids of course you got to model it as as
- 00:40:47a parent but what you feed them matters
- 00:40:51how much sleep they get matters I have
- 00:40:54another really fun book called time for
- 00:40:57bed sleepy head which is a hypnotic
- 00:40:59bedtime story for children I actually
- 00:41:02used to do it with my daughter Brienne
- 00:41:04when she was three I did it from three
- 00:41:06until eight she loved the story so much
- 00:41:10um and think of your kids in four big
- 00:41:13circles they have a biology so we talked
- 00:41:16about their brain they have a psychology
- 00:41:18how they think they have a Social Circle
- 00:41:22what their environment like and there's
- 00:41:26a spirit ual Circle which most child
- 00:41:29Christ wouldn't touch but it's sort of
- 00:41:31like why do you care you know why do you
- 00:41:33think you're on the planet what's your
- 00:41:35sense of meaning and purpose because
- 00:41:39purposeful people are happier purposeful
- 00:41:42people I mean what am I on on purpose
- 00:41:45right they they live longer and so
- 00:41:48nurturing those four circles so
- 00:41:52important for the kids what does what
- 00:41:54does loving discipline look like because
- 00:41:56I think it's it sounds good like we're
- 00:41:59all like yeah I would I would love to be
- 00:42:00disciplined but I'd love to be loving
- 00:42:01and often we don't even figure out what
- 00:42:03that means in the workplace let alone
- 00:42:05with kids we're either loving or
- 00:42:07disciplined but we're not I think it
- 00:42:09should be both what does it look like
- 00:42:12well you know we haven't gotten to rules
- 00:42:15I I think families should have them
- 00:42:16Society has
- 00:42:18rules like tell the truth uh do what Mom
- 00:42:22and Dad say the first time I love that
- 00:42:24rule uh because do you know your chance
- 00:42:27of abusing the child if you tell a child
- 00:42:29to do something five times your chance
- 00:42:31of abusing that child just went up
- 00:42:34significantly and so if you have the
- 00:42:37expectation they'll do things the first
- 00:42:40time it's like Caitlyn take you know I
- 00:42:43want you to take out the trash like in
- 00:42:45the next half hour and if she doesn't
- 00:42:48it's like sweetheart you have a choice
- 00:42:52you can take it out now or you can have
- 00:42:55this consequence and then you can take
- 00:42:56it out I don't care it's up to you and I
- 00:42:58love that part of not being attached to
- 00:43:01it I love her I'm really clear and she's
- 00:43:05getting that consequence if she doesn't
- 00:43:06move like um stop threatening them and
- 00:43:12then not following through uh because
- 00:43:15you teach
- 00:43:16them that you have to tell them and get
- 00:43:19angry and be a bit crazy in order for
- 00:43:22them to do what you ask them to do and I
- 00:43:26I I like the rules and rhythms and
- 00:43:27routines I remember in my home after
- 00:43:29dinner me and my sister would clean up
- 00:43:31and we had a little rotor of who washed
- 00:43:34up that day and who clean the table that
- 00:43:35day and it was just something that went
- 00:43:37around every day we take it in turns and
- 00:43:40my sister was four years younger than me
- 00:43:42and we' just do it together and it
- 00:43:43became this thing that we just did and
- 00:43:45it became natural became a habit and it
- 00:43:47made us accountable and responsible to
- 00:43:49each other as well as well as our
- 00:43:51parents and it was a really neat way of
- 00:43:53kind of giving us that rules and you
- 00:43:55know I think sometimes we think of rules
- 00:43:56as like like strict rules and guidelines
- 00:43:59but actually it can be just a rhythm and
- 00:44:00a routine in and it's building
- 00:44:03confidence and skill and you're part of
- 00:44:07the family rather than you're
- 00:44:10entitled to live in that family yeah
- 00:44:13yeah and the earlier you start the the
- 00:44:16better it is um for kids I mean it's
- 00:44:19it's hard if you not spend any time with
- 00:44:22children by the time they're 14 their
- 00:44:24friends are more important than you are
- 00:44:27and that's the heartbreaking thing I've
- 00:44:30learned is if you're not spending time
- 00:44:35with them their friends will take your
- 00:44:37place and they may not have the advice
- 00:44:41they may not have the right ear for you
- 00:44:45and it makes them more vulnerable to all
- 00:44:48the scary stuff that's on social media
- 00:44:51well I was going to ask you about that I
- 00:44:52think a lot of challenges that parents
- 00:44:54have today are my child is addicted Ed
- 00:44:57to social media they're addicted to
- 00:44:59their phone forget spending time with
- 00:45:01them I can't even get them to look up
- 00:45:04and make I contact what have you seen
- 00:45:07what have you experienced there's a
- 00:45:08whole section on technology yes is you
- 00:45:11can have technology and I recommend you
- 00:45:14delay it as long as humanly possible
- 00:45:17because it's not in their best interest
- 00:45:20but you can have technology as long as
- 00:45:22it's not creating a problem in the
- 00:45:23family and if we're not connecting
- 00:45:26that's a problem in the family if you're
- 00:45:29at dinner um now you can't be on your
- 00:45:32phone all dinner and tell your child
- 00:45:35they can't be on theirs right so
- 00:45:37probably everybody should put their
- 00:45:39phones away so you can connect right
- 00:45:43modeling mentally strong parents
- 00:45:46ultimately raise mentally strong kids
- 00:45:49but the problem with social media and
- 00:45:53you're on social media I'm on social
- 00:45:55media
- 00:45:57it creates this toxic level of
- 00:46:00self-absorption
- 00:46:01you know who's looking at me who am I
- 00:46:04looking at who's following me um and
- 00:46:08self-absorbed people are
- 00:46:10never never happy but that's become such
- 00:46:14a challenge now right that it's it's the
- 00:46:18thing everyone's addicted to it's the
- 00:46:19thing everyone wants it's like you said
- 00:46:22parents are on their phones they're not
- 00:46:24going to stop straight away what do you
- 00:46:25see being the Silver Lining or the light
- 00:46:28at the end of a tunnel that's going to
- 00:46:29have that breakthrough with a child like
- 00:46:32what what do you think that would
- 00:46:34be well you know I'd go back to delay it
- 00:46:37as long as you can even you know if the
- 00:46:41child's like everybody's doing it CU
- 00:46:43everybody's not doing it but it's it's
- 00:46:46like I love you so much I'm going to
- 00:46:49protect you all the studies all of them
- 00:46:52say that it makes kids more vulnerable
- 00:46:55to bad things um
- 00:46:58and then what's it doing to our brain
- 00:46:59what's social media doing to our brain
- 00:47:02well addicting
- 00:47:04that um there's a a book I love called
- 00:47:07thrilled to death uh it's continually
- 00:47:12pressing on your nucleus accumbens that
- 00:47:15produces dopamine continually pressing
- 00:47:19on the pleasure centers in your brain
- 00:47:22but the problem with that is the more
- 00:47:24you press on them they begin to become
- 00:47:27numb and you need more and more
- 00:47:30excitement more and more stimulation in
- 00:47:33order to feel anything at all and you
- 00:47:37know I see it with the wonderful famous
- 00:47:40people I've been blessed to see I see it
- 00:47:44in kids who are addict I mean they're
- 00:47:47actually
- 00:47:48programs sent and I've sent a number of
- 00:47:51kids away to video game internet
- 00:47:55addiction program M and when they get
- 00:47:58away from it they become sweet again I
- 00:48:02had one kid who parents took away video
- 00:48:05games he broke up all the furniture in
- 00:48:08his room and I'm like needs program well
- 00:48:12we decided to do take away all the
- 00:48:14gadgets good and I scanned him a month
- 00:48:18later and then I scanned him while he
- 00:48:20was playing one of the violin video
- 00:48:22games he was addicted to and it
- 00:48:25deactivated his frontal loes and his
- 00:48:28left temporal lobe which is an area
- 00:48:30that's often involved in violence like
- 00:48:33it's not a good
- 00:48:34thing what what about parents that are
- 00:48:38you know parents that are going through
- 00:48:39a divorce going through a difficult
- 00:48:42time what's the healthiest way to
- 00:48:44communicate that to to a child I know I
- 00:48:46know couples that are staying together
- 00:48:49for the children they don't want to get
- 00:48:50divorced even though they don't have a
- 00:48:52healthy relationship I know others who
- 00:48:53are had the divorce but they're so
- 00:48:55scared about how that imp imps the child
- 00:48:58what have you seen through the
- 00:48:59neuroscience and research around when
- 00:49:02you're staying together or breaking so
- 00:49:04it's not good divorce is not good for
- 00:49:08the child but staying in a chronically
- 00:49:12unhappy
- 00:49:14conflicted negative relationship is
- 00:49:17worse so neither is good I often say to
- 00:49:22the people I see the best thing you can
- 00:49:24do for your child is love your spouse
- 00:49:27the best thing you can do model a
- 00:49:29healthy relationship but you know
- 00:49:32there's no education in school on how to
- 00:49:34have a healthy relationship right so
- 00:49:38there should be that would be
- 00:49:40helpful um when you go through a divorce
- 00:49:46be really careful not to talk bad about
- 00:49:48the other person because that child is
- 00:49:51half you and half them if you're talking
- 00:49:54bad about their mother they feel bad
- 00:49:56about themselves plus it increases
- 00:50:00cortisol in their body and makes them
- 00:50:03much more likely to be sick so bad thing
- 00:50:08often if you're going to get divorced go
- 00:50:11to counseling together and figure out
- 00:50:14how we are going to parent together
- 00:50:17raising mentally strong kids is great
- 00:50:19it's like we're going to parent this way
- 00:50:22you know we have goals we have time
- 00:50:24together we have rules one thing we
- 00:50:27didn't talk about yet is notice what you
- 00:50:29like more than what you don't right
- 00:50:32there's all my whole penguin story is in
- 00:50:34there which I think I probably told here
- 00:50:36before but I'd love that notice what you
- 00:50:40like every day you're shaping your child
- 00:50:43by what you notice you're shaping your
- 00:50:46partner you're shaping your employees
- 00:50:48you're shaping Everybody by what you pay
- 00:50:51attention to and so notice what you like
- 00:50:54more than what you don't and that really
- 00:50:57solidifies The Kind part of effective
- 00:51:00parenting I've also been thinking a lot
- 00:51:03about I was sharing with some families
- 00:51:06over last week when I was doing some
- 00:51:08events this idea around how mindfulness
- 00:51:11and meditation can look very different
- 00:51:14for children and so I don't think all
- 00:51:16kids need to be forced to sit in one
- 00:51:18place and close their eyes I also think
- 00:51:20that mindfulness can be an activity of
- 00:51:23hey when you're outside today see if you
- 00:51:25can find as many red things as possible
- 00:51:28like when you go out door today come
- 00:51:29back and give me a list of things that
- 00:51:30you found that were red or can you find
- 00:51:33as many leaves that look like stars or
- 00:51:35any stones that look like stars today
- 00:51:37when you're out and about and I think
- 00:51:38mindfulness can actually become alive
- 00:51:41when we're actually living it and
- 00:51:42breathing it when they're out and about
- 00:51:45as opposed to this feeling of kids need
- 00:51:46to learn it in a certain way what have
- 00:51:49you seen with well and they don't sit
- 00:51:51well yes yes exactly that's my it
- 00:51:53doesn't mean they have ADHD May mean
- 00:51:57their nervous system isn't fully
- 00:51:58melinated right it's not fully
- 00:52:00myelinated for people that don't know
- 00:52:02what that means when you're born you
- 00:52:05actually don't have much myin in your
- 00:52:07brain um as we develop our neurons get
- 00:52:12wrapped with a white fatty substance
- 00:52:15called myelin and a myelinated neuron
- 00:52:19Works 10 to 100 times faster than an
- 00:52:24unmated one and our when we're 2 months
- 00:52:27old our occipital opes in the back
- 00:52:29Vision become melinated and so when you
- 00:52:32look at a baby and smile they smile back
- 00:52:34they don't do it as newborns because
- 00:52:36their visual cortex isn't working fast
- 00:52:39and then slowly myelination goes from
- 00:52:42the back and comes to the front when
- 00:52:44finishes about when we're 25 and so
- 00:52:48expecting the child to act like an adult
- 00:52:52bad bad bad but you can teach them self
- 00:52:57soothing techniques from the age of four
- 00:53:01I think take a big
- 00:53:02breath really slow slow as you can
- 00:53:06breathe it out as slow as you can and
- 00:53:08that'll Cal when they get anxious so you
- 00:53:12know yeah what I'm hearing from you
- 00:53:14today is that it's really helping them
- 00:53:18develop the tools that they're going to
- 00:53:20need long term the challenge is we need
- 00:53:22to know what those tools are ourselves
- 00:53:24do them for our do them for ourselves
- 00:53:26believe in them because otherwise we
- 00:53:29like you said we rush to solve their
- 00:53:31problems we try and make up for their
- 00:53:34losses they never get to become
- 00:53:36independent resilient
- 00:53:38individuals and talk to us about where
- 00:53:40love fits into all of this like what
- 00:53:43does love look like with your child
- 00:53:45Beyond Time and Beyond certain things
- 00:53:47you've said today what does love really
- 00:53:49look like what does love mean because I
- 00:53:51think when you think about what parents
- 00:53:53ultimately want they want to be loving
- 00:53:55parents that's what everyone wants to
- 00:53:56they want to love their child but love
- 00:53:58overcomes as overcompensating love often
- 00:54:01translates as overs solving over fixing
- 00:54:04overdoing and overwhelming and forcing
- 00:54:07them to be overachievers and so even
- 00:54:10though we love them we end up doing all
- 00:54:11these things that cause them pain so
- 00:54:14love is when you want to bring their
- 00:54:17homework to school it's not because you
- 00:54:21love them and you want the best for them
- 00:54:25which is becoming mentally strong that's
- 00:54:29love love is putting away your phone and
- 00:54:33spending time with them love is when
- 00:54:36they go and when they're 10 and go all
- 00:54:38my friends have a phone what if a school
- 00:54:41shooter comes and I can't get a hold of
- 00:54:43you children are manipulative quite
- 00:54:45frankly all of us are manipulative and
- 00:54:48it's like you know they're just too many
- 00:54:50risks with that that's love
- 00:54:54it's setting bound boundaries in a kind
- 00:54:59consistent way and ultimately Love Is
- 00:55:03You developing these tools so you can be
- 00:55:07firm and kind at the same time beautiful
- 00:55:12Dr Daniel aan everyone the book is
- 00:55:14called raising mentally strong kids how
- 00:55:17to combine the power of Neuroscience
- 00:55:19with love and logic to grow confident
- 00:55:21kind responsible and resilient children
- 00:55:23and young adults if you don't have a
- 00:55:25copy already go and grab yours right now
- 00:55:27Dr D what a gift to talk to you again
- 00:55:30about this subject uh like we've said
- 00:55:32you've had come on many many times first
- 00:55:34time that we've really Doven into kids
- 00:55:36and raising them uh and I'm so grateful
- 00:55:39that you put this book together for
- 00:55:40everyone else to read and share and I
- 00:55:42hope that parents will develop book
- 00:55:44clubs around it communities around it
- 00:55:46because I think this
- 00:55:48conversation of
- 00:55:50raising mentally strong kids needs to be
- 00:55:52at the center of our schools our homes
- 00:55:54our families because it's going to set
- 00:55:56them up and set our society and World up
- 00:56:00for so much success so thank you so much
- 00:56:01for doing this honestly thank you my
- 00:56:03friend thank you if you love this
- 00:56:06episode you'll love my interview with Dr
- 00:56:08gabo mate on understanding your trauma
- 00:56:12and how to heal emotional wounds to
- 00:56:14start moving on from the past everything
- 00:56:17in nature grows only where it's
- 00:56:18vulnerable so a tree doesn't grow where
- 00:56:20it's hard and thick does it it goes
- 00:56:22where it's soft and green and vulnerable
- Parenting
- Mental strength
- Neuroscience
- Love and logic
- Child development
- Responsibility
- Independence
- Goal setting
- Bonding
- Active listening