Practical hope for raising sturdy kids.
Raising Boys & Girls treats parenting as daily formation, not quick behavior management. Recent episodes focus on capability, boundaries, anxiety, technology, faith, and the slow work of helping children handle real life.
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Raising Boys & Girls sits in the space between encouragement and correction. It is gentle. It is also clear. Recent episodes are organized around the question of what helps children become capable, not merely successful or compliant. That makes the show especially useful for parents who are tired of advice that stops at naming feelings. Feelings matter here, but the conversation keeps moving toward practice, boundaries, and real-life resilience. A toddler saying "I do it myself" becomes a doorway into autonomy. A boy avoiding a test, an application, or the first text to a friend becomes a conversation about risk. A girl’s anxiety is treated with tenderness, but also with the belief that she can become sturdy. The show returns often to the balance of support and challenge. It also returns to empathy and consequences as partners, not enemies. Episodes about boys place special attention on friendship, device use, fragmented attention, and the need for real-world connection. Episodes about girls draw from time spent sitting with girls and parents in counseling, especially around anxiety. Faith appears as a grounding force, particularly in conversations about family happiness, purpose, and the habits that make a household flourish. The pacing is measured enough for emotionally loaded topics. Nothing feels rushed. Guest conversations broaden the vocabulary without pulling the show away from daily family life. Sherman Bucher brings experience counseling boys and leading parent support groups. Keri Kompakis brings a girl-mom and author’s lens to comparison and teen girls. Dr. Arthur Brooks frames happiness around enjoyment, satisfaction, meaning, and the mission of a family. Dr. Aliza Pressman connects parenting across fields through warmth, limits, relationship, and rules. Through it all, the show keeps offering parents something usable for the next hard moment at home.
Made for: For parents, grandparents, caregivers, and family-minded adults who want calm, faith-informed guidance on children’s emotional growth. It especially suits listeners looking for practical language around boundaries, anxiety, technology, and resilience.
What sets it apart: The show pairs a sense of hope with counseling-shaped specificity. It does not stop at empathy; it keeps asking what children need next to become more capable.
Welcome to the Raising Boys and Girls Podcast with Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan. In each episode of this podcast, we’ll share some of what we’re learning in the work we do with kids and families on a daily basis at Daystar Counseling Ministries. Our goal is to help you care for the kids in your life with a little more understanding, a little more practical help, and a whole lot of hope. So pull up a chair and join us on this journey of raising boys and girls. Connect with us at raisingboysandgirls.com.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Practical conversations connect child development, faith, trauma, technology, and family purpose to moments parents can recognize at home.
Raising Boys & Girls turns big parenting concerns into questions that can survive contact with family life. Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan move between conversations with guests and discussions drawn from their work with children, keeping the focus on what…
One boy panics when another child picks up his toy; you get a reason to rethink rescue.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A toddler power struggle becomes a practical conversation about autonomy, boundaries, and security.
Raising Boys & Girls turns a familiar get-out-the-door toddler standoff into a clear, useful look at early autonomy. Shoes on the wrong feet, a backward shirt, and the fierce need to do it alone become more than daily friction here.
A grounded conversation about attention, connection, and helping boys grow with more intention.
Sherman Bucher comes through as a steady, credible guide, and the conversation stays focused on the pressures shaping boys' lives: devices, scattered attention, friendship, and the need for real-world connection.
A faith-rooted conversation about family happiness, meaning, and practical parenting habits.
Dr. Arthur Brooks frames family happiness around enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning inside the home, and the conversation ties that outlook to faith as a base for flourishing family life.
A steady take on parenting that connects warmth, limits, and connection.
The episode keeps its focus on a plain but useful idea: warmth and limits work better together than either one on its own. From there, it moves into child development, leadership, competence, and the habit of having other people's backs.
A steady, practical starting point for trauma-informed care.
This episode pairs Amy Jacobs with Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan in a calm, readable conversation about trauma and a few therapy paths.
A Scripture-centered conversation about reading faith with children and teens.
Raising Boys and Girls centers Kelly Mentor's love for God's Word and the push to connect Scripture with everyday life. It keeps the focus on reading alongside children, pairing adult and teen versions, and urging parents with teenage or almost-teenage girls to try the studies.
Parenthood and bodies, told one honest story at a time.
Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan interview Bible teacher Kelly Minter about the importance of scripture for children and teens.
David Thomas and Sissy Goff discuss the disconnect between extroverted parents and introverted children, focusing on boys and girls.
David and Sissy offer 10 tips for managing stress and expectations during the holiday season.
The Raising Boys & Girls podcast hosts Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan interview therapist Amy Jacobs about kids and trauma.
Raising Boys & Girls episode 367, 'Capable the Toddler Years with David and Sissy,' argues that a toddler saying 'I do it myself' is the start of capability, not simple defiance.
["Sherman Bucher says boys are less embarrassed about counseling than they were 15, 20, or 30 years ago, but many still do not know how to move the needle once they admit something is wrong.", "He ties capability to \"taking the next step,\" using a basketball challenge to show why trying something slightly harder can build confidence.", "David Thomas and Sissy Goff press him on the \"manosphere,\" where boys on YouTube and social media are absorbing extreme ideas about strength, leadership, and value.", "The conversation turns to screens, friendships, male mentors, and faith, with Sherman arguing that boys need older men, youth pastors, coaches, grandfathers, and other trusted adults in their corner."]
Sissy Goff and David Thomas use Raising Boys & Girls Episode 365 to frame boys' capability through the Marshmallow Experiment, a 1960s Stanford study of hundreds of four- and five-year-olds.
Sissy Goff and David Thomas interview author Kari Kampakis about helping girls feel ready and capable in today's world.
Sissy Goff and David Thomas discuss challenges to girls' capability and how to raise sturdy kids who believe they can handle life.
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David and Sissy discuss the Enneagram Type 8 personality, highlighting their strengths, protective nature, and deep loyalty.
Sissy Goff and David Thomas interview Kris Plunkett and Lauren Rupley about the Enneagram Type 5 personality, exploring what they love most and least about their number.
Sissy Goff and David Thomas interview Kelli Haywood and Brandon Verner about letting go of pressure and performance as Enneagram 3 parents.