TPP 384: Ellen Galinsky Takes Us Inside The Breakthrough Years & Raising Thriving Teens
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
36 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 14 hours ago
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What inspired Ellen Galinsky to study teenagers and write *The Breakthrough Years*?
Whenever I interviewed a teenager, I was really interested. I mean, really wanted to understand how how they think, how they feel, what their experiences were. They would say thank you for listening. They would always say that. And it was it started to strike me that maybe they don't get listened to very often in terms of what they're really thinking, what's really on their minds. And that people don't necessarily want to know that. Sometimes I feel we don't. We just want to tell them what to do. And but if we know that, if we know what they think and feel, it's just so much easier a time for them. I mean, I I ended up with very simple things that we can do. to help young people grow up in in a different way and really thrive.
I'm Debbie Reber, and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. As I'm sure I've said on this show before, there is no amount of money that could convince me to go back and relive my teenage years. But I do genuinely love and have so much empathy for kids in this phase of life and all that it entails, which is why I'm so happy to share. Today's conversation on the show. I had a chance to sit down with renowned parenting and childhood expert Ellen Galinsky, who's just published a phenomenal book called The Breakthrough Years: a New Scientific Framework for Raising Thriving Teens.
Ellen spent nearly 10 years talking with teenagers about what they think about, what they would like to know, how they feel, and perhaps most interestingly, what they would like adults to Understand about them. She shares her discoveries in the breakthrough years and through it offers a paradigm shifting, comprehensive understanding of adolescents. So in this conversation, we explore some of what Ellen shares in the book, including why this phase of life is clouded by so many negative stereotypes and misconceptions, the pivotal brain development and skill acquisition happening during the teen years, the power of shared solutions. Problem solving and fostering life and executive function skills, and what Ellen learned about teens' need for belonging and how we can support this essential aspect of their development.
A little background on my guest, Ellen Galinski's life's work revolves around identifying important societal questions, conducting research to seek answers, and turning the findings into action. Her research is focused on work life, children's development, Development, youth voice, child care, and parental development. Currently the president of Families and Work Institute and the Work and Family Researchers Network, she used to be the Chief Scientific Officer at the Bezos Family Foundation and on the faculty at Bank Street College. In addition to the book we're talking about today, Ellen is also the author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. And with that, Get ready to reframe your perspective on adolescence and unlock the potential of these crucial years.
Hey Ellen, welcome to the podcast. Thank you,
it's such a pleasure to be with you.
I've been looking forward to this interview for quite a while. I would love if you could just take a few minutes and tell us how you came to be doing the work that you're doing today and what you've created in the breakthrough years. I've known about your work since Mind in the Making, your book that came out in 2010, The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. And now you've just come out with this incredible new book, The Breakthrough Years. So tell us a little bit about your why for the work. work that you do.
The breakthrough years is mine in the making grows up. Essentially, I felt I couldn't stop with the questions that I had if I just stopped with The early childhood years, which I I define as birth through eight. there were a number of reasons. I mean I've followed questions all my life Questions that I want to know, questions that I think other people wanna know, questions that I think will matter, questions that we can take to action.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Ellen Galinsky to study teenagers and write *The Breakthrough Years*?
0:00–5:59
2
How does the book explain why teen years are clouded by negative stereotypes?
5:59–10:11
3
What is “civic science” and why does Ellen call herself a civic scientist?
10:11–14:19
4
Why does Ellen say adolescence is a sensitive period for brain development and skill acquisition?
14:19–18:43
5
What are the five core lessons Ellen shares for raising thriving teens?
18:43–23:45
6
How does the “shared solutions” problem‑solving model work in practice?
23:45–28:16
7
Why is belonging a psychological need for teens and how can parents support it?
28:16–36:07
8
What final message does Ellen give about the importance of truly understanding teens?
36:07–36:27
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
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TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids