The "With That In Mind" Podcast · Red Bird Mental Health Services

Episode 47: With That In Mind | Navigating Parenting During the Difficult Years: Expert Tips and Strategies

·37 min·2 clips

Sue says criticism can damage the child even when the parent wants to help with hair, grades, or family rules.

1. The With That In Mind Podcast episode on parenting during the difficult years features Dr. Megan Velozorzi and Sue George discussing children from ages 6 through 18. 2. Dr. Megan Velozorzi is a clinical psychologist and owner of Redbird Mental Health, and Sue George is the intake coordinator for Loftus-Frigari and Associates, a private foster care and adoption agency in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 3. The episode asks how parents can stay effective as children move from dependence to independence, especially when peers, hormones, and school pressures start to take over. 4. Sue says ages 6 to 8 bring more friendships, more independence, and more questions about where children fit in the world. 5. Megan gives a concrete example of her daughter texting a friend 15 times and using a messaging app that she can monitor in real time. 6. Sue frames positive parenting as support, questions, recognition of accomplishments, and shared routines like meals, games, walks, and bike rides. 7. Sue defines negative parenting with examples such as criticizing hair, pushing an A instead of a B, and punishing a child by taking things away. 8. Megan says she sometimes needs 10 to 15 minutes to process conflict before talking, and Sue treats that as a model for boundaries. 9. Sue says children are still afraid parents might leave them or not come back, so reassurance matters even when children want more freedom. 10. Sue uses the playground example of letting a child climb while standing nearby so the child feels trusted and protected. 11. Megan describes her daughter roller skating and playing soccer at the same time, while Sue distinguishes that kind of safe risk from genuinely dangerous behavior. 12. Sue says gentle parenting can work for some children, but other children need structure and consequences from the beginning. 13. Sue compares children to workers, noting that some adults thrive without much structure while others need a clear nine-to-five framework. 14. For ages 9 to 11, Sue says school gets harder because children are expected to read to learn after about third grade. 15. She names dyslexia, ADHD, and trauma as reasons reading can be delayed, and she recommends school programs, pediatricians, mental health providers, and IEPs. 16. Sue says missing school because of asthma, hospital time, or the pandemic can leave children behind in specific grade-level skills. 17. Puberty enters the discussion with body odor, deodorant, showers, breast buds, menstrual cycles, acne, tears, and yelling. 18. Sue says girls can start hormonal changes about two years before their first menstrual cycle, and she notes peer pressure around early or late development for both girls and boys. 19. The tone stays practical and conversational, with Megan drawing from her own family and Sue answering in plain language. 20. Parents, grandparents, and caregivers looking for age-by-age guidance will get the most from this episode, while listeners wanting a highly technical child-development lecture may skip it.

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