The In-Between Years with Dr. Sheryl
The In-Between Years with Dr. Sheryl is a podcast from Good Inside for parents or adults raising, caring for, or loving a tween or teen. Hosted by clinical psychologist and mom of three Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, this show explores what’s really happening during this intense and transformative stage of life — from big emotions and shifting friendships to dating, academic pressure, social media, identity, and body changes. Each episode slows things down and looks beneath the surface so you can respond instead of react — because your kid may be growing up, but that doesn’t mean they need you less. They need you differently.
Episodes
Gloria Steinem's Message to Parents: Raise Your Sons Like Your Daughters
Gloria Steinem died this month at 92. Just a few weeks before she did, she sat down at home with Dr. Becky and repeated something she’s been saying for fifty years: we've raised our daughters to be more like sons, but not our sons to be more like daughters. Dr. Sheryl was also in Gloria’s living room that night, and she introduces this rare conversation about what it means for the boys and girls w
Your Kid Doesn't Need Fixing. They Need Witnessing.
Somewhere around 12 or 13, most kids make a quiet decision about themselves: that they're likable, or too much, that they belong, or that they're better off not needing anyone. It usually happens over something small, like a friend who stopped texting back.Psychologist Dr. Marisa Franco, author of Worth (and Platonic), sits down with Dr. Sheryl to talk about what's actually happening in that decis
Play First, Ask Later: A Play Therapist on Getting Tweens to Actually Cooperate
Somewhere around 11, your kid stops playing “the floor is lava” with you. A lot of parents quietly stop trying to connect that way and never start again.
Dr. Kim Van Dusen isn't buying it. She's spent almost 25 years studying play, she's a licensed marriage and family therapist and registered play therapist, and she just wrote a book called Parenting Through Play. She's also a mom to a 12-year-old
The New Puberty
Puberty is starting earlier—and for many parents, it’s arriving before they or their kids feel ready. In this episode, Dr. Becky sits down with Dr. Sheryl to unpack why puberty today looks so different for our kids than it did for us—and what caregivers can do to support them through it.
Together, they explore the emotional and physical shifts that are arriving sooner than expected, the impact of
Dr. Sheryl's College Drop-off Confessional
Two days before her daughter and oldest child leaves for college, Dr. Sheryl hits record and doesn't clean it up: the grief and the relief showing up in the same moment, the packing-list control spiral, the "boring on purpose" plan for the last 48 hours, and the line she's repeated to a thousand parents that suddenly means something different from the other side of the experience.
If you're in you
When Your Kid Says "I'm Ugly," Here's What to Actually Say
Somewhere around 9 or 10, your kid starts watching their own body: how it looks, how it compares, whether it's keeping up. And most of us freeze, because nobody handed us a script for that moment.
Dr. Sheryl sits down with pediatrician Dr. Whitney Casares, author of My One of a Kind Body and the new Raising Body Confident Kids, for a conversation every parent of a tween needs. They get specific: t
Your Kid Isn't Lazy. Their Brain Is Wired for Momentum. | Dr. Alex Reed on ADHD in the Teen Years
Middle school strips away the training wheels. Elementary school's one teacher becomes six. The hand-holding disappears. For a kid with ADHD, that's when a lot of quiet fear starts, both theirs and their parents'.
Sheryl sits down with Dr. Alex Reed, a clinical psychologist specializing in neurodevelopment, to talk about what ADHD actually looks like as kids move into the teen years, and why so ma
Middle School Isn't a Problem to Solve, It's a Skill Being Built
Phyllis Fagell has spent years inside a middle school as a counselor, and she's here to make the case that the silence, the friend-group churn, and the sudden need for privacy aren't warning signs. They're the work of growing up. Dr. Sheryl and Phyllis talk through why middle schoolers pull away from their parents (and why it's not rejection), the real numbers on how often friendships shift during
AI Can't Do the One Thing Your Teen Needs Most
Your tween or teen is already using AI. For homework, for image generation, for drafting the text they're too nervous to send, and, more and more, for the human stuff: breakups, mental health, how to ask someone out, how to talk to you.
Dr. Sheryl sits down with Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon, professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of Chicago, and the author of "Human Raised,
My Tween is Pulling Away. Is That Normal? - Revisit
A revisit from the Good Inside archives, hosted by Dr. Becky.
As our kids grow up and pull away, it can feel like they’re breaking up with us. This week, Dr. Becky talks to a mom wondering why her son feels so distant as he begins middle school. He seems to have plenty of time to play video games and talk to his friends but she feels like she doesn’t know anything about his life anymore.
Thank you
Muscles, Masculinity, and the Thing We Keep Mistaking for Health
Boys have body image issues too. They're just harder to spot.
Dr. Kyle Ganson is a researcher at the University of Toronto who studies body image, eating disorders, and masculinity in boys and young men. He's also a dad. And yes, his six-year-old already flexes at him every morning.
In this conversation, Dr. Sheryl and Dr. Kyle get into what's actually happening to boys in a culture built around g
The Even-Keel Kid: What to Do When Your Child Can't Name Their Feelings
Your kid seems fine. Easygoing, no meltdowns. But when you ask how they're doing — nothing. "Fine." "I don't know." A shrug. And then one day you notice something's off, and you spend weeks trying to figure out what.
Sarah comes to Dr. Sheryl with exactly this. Her 10-year-old son is kind, resilient, good at everything — and totally unable to name what he's feeling. She's tried asking directly. Sh
When Your Kid Comes Out: What to Say, What to Skip, and What Really Matters
Sarah Kate Ellis has spent more than a decade as President and CEO of GLAAD, the nation's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. She's a TIME 100 honoree. She's testified before Congress. She's had two audiences with Pope Francis.
She's also a mom of two teenagers.
In this conversation, Dr. Sheryl and Sarah Kate get into what parents actually need to know — not the policy, not the politics, bu
Losing My Teen to the Screen - Revisit
What do you do when you give your teen a phone and everything you were worried about comes true? They stopped reading books like they used to. They never leave their room without their phone. Their grades slip. They’re getting into trouble socially. Can you take the phone away? Should you? And if you do, how should you go about it? This week, we're resurfacing a fan favorite from the flagship Good
How to Stay Friends When One of You Has Kids
What happens to friendship when one person has kids—and the other doesn’t?
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with two of her longtime friends, Lisa and Nancy, to talk about a friendship that has lasted through marriage, parenthood, illness, career shifts, busy seasons, and very different life choices. One of them became a mom. One of them chose not to have children. And somehow, instead of dri
Can't Tap Out: One Mom on Single Parenting, Perimenopause, and Repair
What happens when your teenager is deep in puberty, your tween is just starting to feel the first shifts — and meanwhile, you're navigating perimenopause on your own?
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl talks with Camille, a single mom of two outside Nashville, who's living that exact season right now. They talk about what it really means to parent alone — not just the logistics, but the emotional weight
What Today’s Girls Are Up Against
Tweens and teens today are growing up without something many of us took for granted: an off switch.
No break from comparison. No break from group chats, social pressure, performance, opinions, or the feeling of always being “on.”
This week, Dr. Sheryl talks with producer, writer, and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls co-founder Meredith Walker about what years of listening to girls has taught her about co
The Trait That Drives You Crazy Might Be Their Superpower
You ask your kid to do something simple — put their shoes away, come downstairs, stop snapping at their sibling — and suddenly you’re in a full blown argument about your tone, your words, or whether you’re being “mean.”
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with Emily, a mom of five navigating life with her 12-year-old son, Cooper, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD. But what starts as a convers
I Care About You Right Now: The Period Doctor Talks Puberty
When should you start talking to your child about puberty and periods? What’s actually normal when it comes to cramps, mood changes, and cycle symptoms — and what’s not?
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with pediatric and adolescent gynecologist Dr. Charis Chambers, also known as “The Period Doctor,” for a conversation that every parent of a tween or teen needs to hear.
Together, they talk ab
Sibling Drama Isn’t A Problem. It’s Practice.
One minute they're playing, the next they're snapping or shutting down. When your kids are fighting, it’s easy to wonder: What am I doing wrong? Should I step in… or stay out of it?
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with therapist and mom of seven Bridget KerMorris to unpack what’s really happening between siblings — especially when one child is entering the tween years and everything starts t
The Parenting Guilt Trap
You know the feeling.
You replay something you said.
You second-guess a decision.
You wonder, “Did I mess that up?”
That’s parental guilt—and for most of us, it shows up a lot more than we talk about.
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl is joined by psychologist Dr. Juli Fraga, who has spent years studying the emotional lives of parents. Together, they unpack why guilt shows up so quickly in parenting—and
When Food Starts to Feel Scary
Eating disorders affect an estimated 30 million Americans in their lifetime. They are common. They are serious. And they are not caused by “bad parenting.”
Dr. Sheryl revisits a recent conversation between Dr. Becky and Dr. Erin Parks, Chief Clinical Officer at Equip Health, to talk about eating disorders and disordered eating in kids and teens—what the early signs look like, what’s happening emo
My Kid Wants to Be Famous
The majority of kids today say they want to be influencers. What happens when that shows up in your own home?
When your child isn’t just playing or performing… but actively trying to be seen, followed, and validated online?
In this episode, a mom of a 10-year-old shares a tension so many parents feel but don’t always say out loud:
I’m proud of her confidence… and I’m scared of what she’s chasing.
My Sweet Kid Has an Attitude Now
Eye rolls. Talking back. That tone that seems to come out of nowhere.
A lot of parents hit this moment around age 9 or 10 — when their once easygoing kid suddenly feels harder to reach, harder to guide, and harder to understand.
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl talks with a mom named Anna who’s navigating this exact shift with her daughter. Alongside the attitude and pushback, her daughter is also deal
Who Is This Kid? (When Your Tween Suddenly Changes)
You finally feel like you’ve figured out your kid.
You know what works! You feel connected! Things make sense!
And then… something shifts.
Suddenly your child is making choices that don’t add up. They’re lying, cutting corners, or acting in ways that feel completely unlike them. And you’re left wondering:Am I losing influence? Should I step in more? Or am I about to become too controlling?
In
When Your Kid Gets Stuck in the Middle of Friend Drama
Friendships get more complicated around age 10 — and sometimes kids find themselves caught in the middle of dynamics they don’t know how to handle.
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with a mom named Erin, whose daughter is trying to stay close with two friends who don’t get along… and keeps getting pulled into the conflict.
Together, they unpack a question so many parents face:How do I help my
Your Kid Will Use AI. Here’s What Matters More.
AI is moving fast. Faster than most parents can keep up with.And that’s exactly what scares Carolyn — a mom of two kids who knows technology is coming into her daughter’s life soon, but has no idea how to prepare for something that keeps changing.In this episode, Dr. Sheryl helps reframe the entire problem. Together they explore:
Why AI fears are really fears about kids growing up
The biggest m
The Parenting Shift Nobody Prepares You For (Introducing The In-Between Years)
This episode marks the launch of Good Inside’s new podcast, The In-Between Years with Dr. Sheryl — a show about raising tweens and teens.
To kick things off, Dr. Becky sits down with the show’s host, clinical psychologist Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, to talk about the parenting shift that catches so many families off guard when kids enter the tween years.
One day your child wants you for everything. The ne
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