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20 episodes

Ask Lisa: Untangling Family Life

by Dr. Lisa Damour · English

Parenting a tween or teen? Buckle up. Ask Lisa: Untangling Family Life tackles the questions that keep parents up at night — academics, friendships, mental health, screens, meltdowns, and more. Every week, psychologist Lisa Damour teams up with a different expert to answer a real parent's real question — no fluff, no judgment, just practical, evidence-based advice you can actually use. Dr. Damour and her colleagues also turn their attention to the emotional rollercoaster of raising kids — the moments that leave you feeling uneasy, overwhelmed, or just plain alone. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to hit play. Keywords: ask lisa podcast, dr. lisa damour, psychology, parenting, podcast, teens, tweens, parenting teens, parenting tweens, teen parenting, tween parenting, parenting tips, parenting advice, positive parenting, parenting podcast, teen behavior, tween challenges, raising tweens, raising teens, parenting hacks, parenting help, family dynamics, kids podcast, mental health, teen mental health, attachment styles, emotional intelligence

Latest episodes

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297: Why Teens Lie—and How to Respond Without Escalating

Office Hours episode on why teens lie and how parents should respond without escalating conflict. Dr.

10 Nov 2026 · 29m · 11 chapters

296: Avoidance Feeds Anxiety: When to Make Teens Do Hard Things | Dr. Meredith Elkins

How to tell when teen anxiety has become a clinical problem and why avoidance/accommodation (e.g., picking a teen up early, letting them escape school) fuels anxiety; the antidote is exposure to…

3 Nov 2026 · 43m · 13 chapters

295: Situated: How Your Choices Today Shape Your Child's Tomorrow | Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth argues that parenting and behavior change should focus less on willpower and more on “box one” context—objective situations (physical setup, social environment, norms) that shape…

27 Oct 2026 · 43m · 16 chapters

How to Handle Halloween Group Costume Drama | Dr. Tori Cordiano

Middle-school Halloween group costume conflict as a proxy for friendship power struggles, inclusion/exclusion, and group chat dynamics; how parents can support without “fixing.”

20 Oct 2026 · 38m · 14 chapters

293: Olympic Mom on How to Keep Club Sports in Check | Lauren Regula

Youth sports and club-sport decision-making for families—how to balance cost/time with family life, manage kids’ wins/losses and parent self-worth, and avoid “danger zone” where identity becomes only…

13 Oct 2026 · 50m · 20 chapters

292: How Pornographic Content Harms Sexual Development | Dr. Tori Cordiano

How pornography and other graphic online content can harm sexual development, especially for teens, and how to respond when a teen can’t stop watching. Guest: Dr.

6 Oct 2026 · 29m · 14 chapters

291: How Your Kid’s Exclusion Hurts You Too | Michelle Icard

Middle-school social exclusion and how parents should respond when a 13-year-old is left out by a group of 8–9 girls, including mixed messages and Snapchat evidence; managing adult anger, supporting…

29 Sep 2026 · 30m · 10 chapters

290: How to Prevent Failure to Launch | Dr. Mark McConville

How to prevent “failure to launch” by connecting with teenagers respectfully, upgrading parenting from child-control to housemate/roommate structure, and addressing issues like ADHD, executive…

22 Sep 2026 · 44m · 16 chapters

289: Signs Your Teen is Heading Towards an Eating Disorder | Dr. Kelly Bhatnagar

How parents should notice and respond when a teen may be developing disordered eating or an eating disorder, and how to start the conversation without worsening anxiety.

15 Sep 2026 · 34m · 19 chapters

288: Getting Your Disorganized Teen on Track | Dr. Tori Cordiano

Executive functioning for disorganized teens at the start of high school; how parents can reduce overwhelm by using scaffolding, division of labor, and simple phone-based supports; when to consider…

8 Sep 2026 · 37m · 17 chapters

287: ENCORE: Best of Ask Lisa: Confidence, Self-Esteem & Self-Compassion

Encore compilation of Ask Lisa (episodes 71, 84, 98, 156, 166, 185, 194) focused on confidence, self-esteem, self-compassion, and how to handle tween/teen friendship conflict (trash-talking, bullying…

1 Sep 2026 · 24m · 12 chapters

286: ENCORE: Getting into College with Rick Clark

College admissions guidance for families—what matters (and what doesn’t), when to start planning, how to write standout essays, how to reduce pressure, and how to think about tests, financial aid,…

25 Aug 2026 · 48m · 18 chapters

285: ENCORE: How Do I Help My Kid Develop a Work Ethic?

How tweens/teens develop a work ethic without nagging or power struggles; includes motivation, routines, privileges/responsibilities, and letting kids face school consequences.

18 Aug 2026 · 33m · 11 chapters

284: ENCORE: Screens, Toxic Stress & Staying Connected with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

Encore episode 284 about how screens, social media, and AI can contribute to toxic stress and psychological harm in kids, and how caregivers can stay connected and buffer those effects through…

11 Aug 2026 · 47m · 15 chapters

283: ENCORE: Best of Ask Lisa: Friendship Breakups & Conflict

Best-of compilation on tween/teen friendship breakups and social conflict, including how to respond to bullying vs conflict, relational aggression (rumors/exclusion), and how to handle being dropped…

4 Aug 2026 · 24m · 12 chapters

282: ENCORE: How to Help Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Food

Encore episode on building a healthy, low-pressure relationship with food for tweens and teens, reducing dinner-table tension, and improving habits around vegetables, new foods, sugar, protein, and…

28 Jul 2026 · 37m · 16 chapters

281: ENCORE: Talk to Your Boys: Raising Confident, Caring Young Men

Encore episode of Ask Lisa about raising tweens/teens boys to be confident, caring young men.

21 Jul 2026 · 42m · 20 chapters

280: ENCORE: Dream School: How Do You Find the Right College for Your Teen?

Encore episode about choosing the right college for a teen, reframing “dream school” as fit and approach rather than brand/prestige or rankings.

14 Jul 2026 · 38m · 16 chapters

279: ENCORE: The Summer of Building Independence

An encore episode of Ask Lisa about using summer to build tween/teen independence by handing off real responsibilities (laundry, meals, dishwasher loading, trash/recycling, pet care, transportation,…

7 Jul 2026 · 31m · 13 chapters

278: ENCORE: How to Stay Connected When Teens Pull Away

Encore episode 278 of Ask Lisa about staying emotionally connected with teens who “pull away,” arguing that peer orientation and digital life can shift teens’ primary attachment away from…

30 Jun 2026 · 42m · 11 chapters