Lisa: When the pandemic hit, I was writing a monthly column in The New York Times. I was working to try to keep up with what families needed to help get their kids and teenagers through the pandemic. Through that monthly column, it quickly became clear to me that a monthly column was not nearly enough support for families and so I realized the best way to get quick and nimble and helpful support to families would be a weekly podcast. So I called Reena.

I was working to try to keep up with what families needed to help get their kids and teenagers through the pandemic

‍Reena: And that's how the podcast kicked off, she said. I know that you can help me launch a podcast that can get to families who can't get in to see a psychologist that need help immediately. Can you help me do it?

Lisa: And then as the pandemic waned, we were ready and very glad to change our focus away from pandemic related questions of parenting to just questions of parenting.

Reena: And that's how we got started. It was a friend asking a friend for help, and the friend who is usually the one helping all the friends.

Lisa: And we cover such a wide range of topics that are important to families with teens and tweens, from things like why is my kid into luxury skincare? To how do I talk with my kid about fentanyl? I love this about our podcast that we can really address the full range of what it is the families who have young people are dealing with. One of the things that comes up again and again is the importance of just communicating with your kid. So often there's not an easy fix. There's not a simple solution, but keeping lines of communication open, knowing how to approach kids around delicate topics in a way that they're going to want to talk with you. That is a theme we return to over and over again.

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Reena: It's grounded in science. It's grounded in fact. It's grounded in research and it's grounded by two women who are at the heart of it. Just girlfriends trying to get by with busy lives and get parenting right.

Lisa: Every week we are answering questions from our listeners, and Reena and I get to sift through the inbox, and every week we are blown away by the depth and care in these questions. And it's actually really hard on a week to week basis to even know where to start. But we love engaging with our audience, and we love that they keep letting us know what they need help with next.

Reena: Ultimately, what we're trying to do is make the world a better place, and if we can do that for our next generation of kids and the parents who are struggling with so much feels good, it feels like we're on the right path doing something right.

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