What does consent actually mean for a middle schooler — and how do we teach boundaries without making the conversation scary?

In this episode of Middle School Mary Poppins, Suzanne M. Swain EDS LMSW explores consent, personal space, healthy boundaries, peer pressure, and the idea of a “wholehearted yes” — a simple way to help tweens recognize when something truly feels okay to them while learning to respect the boundaries of others.

Using the metaphor of a strong front door, Suzanne explains that healthy boundaries are not about shutting people out. They are about knowing when to open the door, when to keep it closed, and how to recognize the people who make you feel safe enough to be yourself.

We talk about the everyday situations middle schoolers already encounter: hugs, borrowing belongings, personal space, privacy, taking and posting photos, entering someone’s room, difficult conversations, changing your mind, and what it means to genuinely listen when someone says no.
There’s also a little middle school brain science about decision-making, belonging, peer pressure, and why a “wholehearted yes” can act like a small emotional speed bump — giving kids a moment to check in with themselves before simply going along with everyone else.

And, naturally, Lt. Steve provides his own highly dramatic demonstration of personal boundaries involving an itchy ear, unwanted medicine, the possibility of a bath, and one very suspicious formerly-white dog.

This is a gentle, family-centered conversation designed to give tweens and teens practical language for consent and boundaries while building confidence, empathy, critical thinking, self-awareness, and trust.

Your space matters. Their space matters. Your yes matters. Their yes matters.

And when something kind, safe, and good comes knocking?
Fling that front door wide open and let the joy come barging in.

🎧 More from Middle School Mary Poppins:

Our new storytelling series, Bedtime Stories for Middle School Hearts, is now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — original stories created especially for older kids who may have outgrown traditional bedtime stories but definitely haven’t outgrown the comfort of being told one.

🏆 Middle School Mary Poppins is currently #1 in Apple Podcasts Parenting.Thank you!!

Visit msmarypoppins.com for more episodes, resources, downloads, and ways to connect.

Episode: Let the Joy Come Barging In: Consent, Boundaries & the Wholehearted Yes

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

Why can a middle schooler be wide awake late at night and nearly impossible to wake up in the morning?

Why does sleep matter so much for learning, memory, growth, mood, and emotional regulation? And what in the world is your brain doing when you dream?

In this episode of The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast, Suzanne explores what really happens in the adolescent brain and body during sleep.

We talk about circadian rhythms, why puberty can shift sleep timing later, how deep sleep supports growth and physical restoration, what REM sleep does, and why cutting sleep short can affect attention, memory, decision-making, and school performance.

We also get into dreams: why they can feel so real, why they can be completely bizarre, and why there is no scientifically proven dream dictionary where one symbol means the same thing for everyone. Instead, we look at the emotions inside dreams and what they may tell us about how the brain is processing experiences.

There are also practical ideas for families, including a simple “landing strip” before bed, the problem with social jet lag on weekends, and a seven-day Sleep Detective Challenge to help kids notice how sleep affects their own mood, focus, and energy.

And yes, Lieutenant Steve makes an appearance, along with his new best friend and preferred chin rest, Jimothy the raccoon.

Suzanne also introduces a brand-new companion podcast, Bedtime Stories for Middle School Hearts, featuring gentle, imaginative animal stories created especially for middle schoolers who still want comfort, humor, and a softer place to land at the end of the day.

Visit MsMaryPoppins.com for more episodes, resources, and updates.

Short description / summary:
What happens to the middle school brain during sleep? Suzanne explores circadian rhythms, deep sleep, REM, dreams, learning, memory, emotional regulation, and why quality sleep is one of the most underrated middle school superpowers.

Tags:
middle school, tween, teens, parenting, parenting tweens, parenting teens, adolescent development, sleep, sleep deprivation, teen sleep, tween sleep, circadian rhythm, melatonin, REM sleep, deep sleep, dreams, dream science, adolescent brain, brain development, learning, memory, emotional regulation

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

A quiet bedtime prayer and audio hug for the children, families, educator, and community of Bend, Oregon. Tonight, we simply hold them close in our hearts and send love, comfort, and kindness.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

2 Life Truths and a Lie: Busting Cognitive Distortions - Critical Thinking Brain Training Pt. 2What if your brain is telling you a story that feels completely true… but isn’t?In Season 4, Episode 4 of The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast, we continue our Critical Thinking Brain Training series with a game of Two Life Truths and a Lie.

This week, we’re exploring some of the most common thinking traps middle schoolers face, including catastrophizing, mind reading, personalization, all-or-nothing thinking, emotional reasoning, and the spotlight effect.

We’ll also talk about why adolescence can make emotions and social situations feel so intense, how the developing brain processes those experiences, and how to slow down long enough to ask:

What do I actually know? What am I assuming? What evidence do I have? Could there be another explanation?

And of course, Lt. Steve is serving as our official lie detector doggie friend.
This episode is designed for tweens, teens, parents, educators, and caregivers who want practical ways to strengthen critical thinking, emotional regulation, and self-awareness.Next week: consent, boundaries, body autonomy, and respect.

Download This Week’s FREE MSMP Family Pack with a Leveled-Up Group Challenge:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16a_SMceMwZH5OL6pdbcvnz56Gtc1wQaf/view?usp=drivesdk
Visit msmarypoppins.com for more episodes & resources.

Email: [email protected]
#MiddleSchoolMaryPoppins #CriticalThinking #CognitiveDistortions #MiddleSchool #Tweens #Teens #ParentingTweens #ParentingTeens #EmotionalRegulation #MentalHealthForKids #BrainTraining #GrowthMindset #SocialEmotionalLearning #SEL #MiddleSchoolParents #Teachers #Educators #TeenMentalHealth #TweenMentalHealth #PodcastForParents

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

MSMP Family Game Week begins with seven verbal brain games designed for middle schoolers, parents, teachers, and anyone else who wants to play along.

Inspired by our field trip to Creature Features in Athens, Tennessee, these puzzles feature Drift the Arctic fox, Coco the capybara, Willow the wallaby, Maisie the Highland cow, a possibly innocent kangaroo, and Lieutenant Steve—who has somehow gained access to the prize vault.

Along the way, we explore what is happening inside the developing middle-school brain and practice critical-thinking strategies such as examining evidence, questioning assumptions, eliminating possibilities, building mental models, and changing approaches when the first strategy doesn’t work.Josh from Canada also asks which games can help middle schoolers become stronger thinkers.

We discuss mysteries, riddles, chess, logic puzzles, strategy games, escape rooms, brain-supporting foods—and whether blueberries can actually make algebra easier.Play in the car, around the dinner table, in a classroom, or anywhere your family could use a brain workout. No worksheets required.

Critical thinking isn’t something you either have or don’t have. It is a collection of skills that grows through practice.Find episode updates and practical resources at MSMaryPoppins.com.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. And stay clever, little foxes.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

What happens when someone seems to value your talent, creativity, or helpfulness more than they value you?

In “Living in a Material World: Spotlight People, Scapegoats, and Staying Clever,” I explore something I desperately needed an adult to explain when I was young: other people do not necessarily think the way you do.

That does not mean everyone is bad, and it certainly does not mean kids should become frightened or suspicious. It means we can keep our good hearts while learning to notice patterns, set boundaries, and choose carefully who receives access to our time, trust, and ideas.

We talk about “spotlight people,” the surprising strengths often found in the person who becomes the scapegoat, and why being useful to someone is not the same as being valued by them. For neurodivergent kids—and every helper, fixer, creative engine, and brave truth-teller—this episode offers permission to remain kind without measuring self-worth by how much you can do for everyone else.

This week’s kid question takes us to India and gives Lieutenant Steve an opportunity to demonstrate his most important superpower. We also explore why animals can feel especially safe to neurodivergent young people, why support is a verb, and why my granny loved to say, “In Dog We Trust.”

This is a hopeful flashlight conversation—not a warning siren. There is also Madonna, Dolly Parton, a Disney-villain detour, and a dog guarding the bedroom from invaders who never arrive.
Recommended for middle schoolers ages 10–15 and the parents, educators, counselors, and caregivers who love them.

Visit https://msmarypoppins.com for more about the podcast and upcoming downloadable materials that will help families, teachers, and young people carry these ideas into real life.Stay clever, little foxes. 🦊💜☂️🍪

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

TRUE COLORS: 8 Hidden Superpowers for a Brand-New School Year 🌈💎
Season 4 is here! 🎉

And we’re starting with a radical idea: what if some of the things we’re quickest to label as “problems” in middle schoolers are actually unfinished strengths?

In this episode, Suzanne explores potentiality—the difference between what something is right now and what it still has the capacity to become.
Because an argumentative kid might be developing the persistence of an advocate.
A hyper-observant kid may be building extraordinary social intelligence. An overexplainer might someday become a powerful communicator. And the kid who feels everything may not need less empathy—they may need help learning how to use that empathy without carrying everybody else’s emotions.

Through middle school sociology, developmental science, classroom stories, a nearly indestructible Asheville geode, Holes, a few cognitive distortions, and Lieutenant Steve’s absolutely unforgivable excavation of a practically brand-new queen-sized memory foam mattress 🐶😂, we uncover eight hidden superpowers:

• ​🧠 Discernment and knowing which battles matter
• ​👀 Reading the social world
• ​👂 Deep listening
• ​🗣️ Communication, argument & advocacy
• ​🧰 Resourcefulness: being competent, capable & connected
• ​❤️ Empathy with healthy boundaries
• ​⚖️ The justice detector
• ​🌱 Knowing who you are without abandoning yourself to fit in
• ​

This is not about pretending trauma is a gift or telling kids that everything happens for a reason. Trauma is not the superpower.

It’s about asking a much more useful question:Now what?

What can we build with what’s already here? What skill might be hiding underneath a difficult behavior? What happens when adults stop confusing unfinished with incapable?
As a new school year begins, last year’s evidence does not get to write this year’s conclusion. Your middle schooler is still becoming—and there are entire parts of them they haven’t even met yet.

💎 Stop looking for bruised apples. Start looking for geodes.

And next week: Spotlight People—big egos, emotional gravity, manipulation, boundaries, and what happens when everybody else starts organizing themselves around one person’s spotlight.
Stop. Regulate. Listen.And stay clever, little foxes. 🦊

[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/share/1HxRVp9juV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast?si=lHbYdjE5OxnYxV_m

Topics: middle school • tweens • teens • parenting • back to school • adolescent development • emotional regulation • neurodivergence • empathy • anxiety • resilience • social intelligence • self-esteem • boundaries • advocacy • executive functioning • parenting teens • parenting tweens • teachers • educators

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

🏕️ In the final episode of our SEL Summer Camp series, we bring together everything we’ve explored about the middle school years: the developing adolescent brain, screens and environment, emotions, anxiety, anger, resilience, identity, and belonging. 


This episode is about understanding the whole middle schooler.😳 Behavior does not happen in isolation. It happens inside a developing brain, a body, a family, a peer group, a school, a culture, and a community. When we stop asking only, “How do I stop this behavior?” and start asking, “What is happening with this kid?” we begin to see children differently.

Along the way, I take you back to Camp Sycamore Hills and some of the people and stories that shaped the way I think about kids and community: the mysterious one-eared rabbit, Rich and his Great Pyrenees, the Art Barn, Tractor Girl, the legendary kitchen manager who called me “Astor,” and the Shero Award that still reminds me to look out for the underdog.

We also talk about the power of music and memory, including why hearing Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be” still takes me straight back to that campfire and reminds me of the kind of person I want to be.If you are raising, teaching, counseling, coaching, or simply trying to understand a tween or young teen, this episode is a reminder that middle schoolers are not finished products.

They are growing people who need room to practice, make mistakes, recover, and know they still belong.Because healthy communities do more than manage behavior.They help build people.🍪A huge thank-you to Jessica Ragnio & founder Dr. Jason Kahn for spending so much of SEL Summer Camp with us! 

💰Use code MARYPOPPINS for 15% off Mightier. Learn emotional regulation through video games. Suzanne does not make any profit from Mightier. Just collabbing! 😁

And remember:
🏕️There is always room for the underdog around our fire.We’ve been saving you a seat.Next episode: We’re exploring the surprising strengths and “secret superpowers” that can sometimes develop from growing up in a difficult or emotionally complex childhood—and how those survival adaptations can become powerful tools with insight and healing. After that, “Spotlight People” & Ego!

🍿#MiddleSchoolMaryPoppins #MiddleSchoolParenting #ParentingTweens #SocialEmotionalLearning #EmotionalRegulation #MiddleSchool #AdolescentBrain #TweenParenting #Resilience #Belonging #ChildDevelopment #BehaviorIsCommunication #ConnectionBeforeCorrection #MentalHealth #ParentEducation

This is the website at www.msmarypoppins.com or email Suzanne:Suzanne [email protected] for inquiries, listener questions, and just to say hello!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

🍎Apple Listeners: The show’s ratings were hacked & dropped to  3.1 rating from 4.9. It is under investigation currently. If you could help out & provide a positive star rating, it would mean everything! So grateful! Best, Suz & Steve🐶
—————————————————-

In this special Deep Dive episode, Suzanne is joined once again by therapist Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, for one of the most important conversations of the Summer Camp series. Together, they explore what is really happening beneath explosive behavior—and why anger is so often protecting something much more vulnerable.

💜Using Hawaiian volcanoes 🌋, ocean currents 🌊, and stories from Suzanne’s years in the middle school classroom, this episode unpacks the science and psychology behind emotional regulation in a way that is practical, compassionate, and surprisingly hopeful.

🧠 In this episode, you’ll discover:
• Why anger is often a secondary emotion
 • What happens inside the brain during emotional reactivity
 • How the amygdala can hijack logical thinking
 • The power of co-regulation—and why connection comes before correction
 • How to recognize the body’s warning signs before an emotional eruption
 • Why regulation is not about suppressing feelings
 • How to help tweens build awareness instead of shame
 • Practical strategies parents, educators, and caregivers can use today

FREE ACTIVITY FROM MIGHTIER:⛑️Anger Volcanoes: Strategies to help   Effectively Deal with Teen/Tween Anger: https://www.mightier.com/resources/7-effective-anger-management-activities-for-kids/Along the way, Suzanne shares personal stories, educational insights, and a few adventures with Lieutenant Steve and the Coconut Kingdom 🐾🥥—because learning does not have to be boring.Whether you are raising a tween, teaching one, counseling one, or trying to better understand your own emotional responses, this episode offers science, encouragement, practical tools, and plenty of hope.

🌈Because, as always…💜 People grow best when they know they belong.🏕️ Special thanks to our Summer Camp sponsor, Mightier! Visit Mightier.com and use code MARYPOPPINS to save 15%. Suzanne does not receive payment for Mightier, as she loves the system!🎙️

Hosted by Suzanne M. Swain, EdS LMSW 🌂 The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast ✨ Stop. Regulate. Listen.🎧 A heartfelt thank-you to my incredible producer, Janine Stella of StellaMix. Your creativity, talent, and countless hours behind the scenes help transform these conversations into something truly special each week. Thank you for believing in this mission and helping bring The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast to families around the world. 💜

SEO TopicsMiddle school anxiety • Cognitive distortions • Parenting tweens • Tween mental health • Emotional regulation • School anxiety • Adolescent brain • Friendship drama • Self-esteem • Parenting middle schoolers • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • Executive functioning • Neurodivergent children • Autism • ADHD • Anxiety in girls • Anxiety in boys • Parenting podcast • Teacher resources • Family mental health • Brain-based parenting • Cognitive behavioral strategies • Middle school behavior

Send Suzanne a Question or Comment:Support the show

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

🍎Apple Listeners: The show’s ratings were hacked & dropped to  3.1 rating from 4.9. It is under investigation currently. If you could help out & provide a positive star rating, it would mean everything! So grateful! Best, Suz & Steve🐶

———————————-🌱 Garden of Weedy Thoughts: Helping Middle Schoolers Bust Cognitive Distortions & Calm AnxietyWhy does your middle schooler suddenly believe everyone is judging them?

Why can one awkward interaction at school turn into “Nobody likes me!”? And why do worries seem to grow so quickly during adolescence?Welcome to the strange garden of the middle school brain.

In this week’s episode of Middle School Mary Poppins, Suzanne M. Swain, EdS, LMSW, is joined by Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, Clinical Director at Mightier, to explore one of the most important mental health concepts parents can teach their children: cognitive distortions—the thinking traps that make anxiety feel real, even when our thoughts aren’t telling us the whole story.Using a whimsical garden metaphor, Suzanne explains why middle school isn’t just a grade level—it’s a culture.

Together, Suzanne and Jessica discuss how anxiety quietly plants “sticky weeds” in our minds, why belonging becomes so important during adolescence, and how parents can help children recognize these unhelpful thought patterns before they take over the entire garden.

🌸 In This Episode You’ll Lear
🌷 What cognitive distortions are—and why they feel so believable.
🌼 Why anxiety often shows up as stomach aches, headaches, perfectionism, school avoidance, or irritability.
🌺 How girls and boys may experience anxiety differently during adolescence.
🌻 Why friendships, cliques, and social belonging feel so overwhelming in middle school.🪻 How thoughts, emotions, and behaviors work together to shape our experiences.
🌹 Practical ways to help children challenge anxious thinking with curiosity instead of fear.🌿

Why Stop. Regulate. Listen. is a brain-based strategy that helps kids regulate emotions before solving problems.

🌱 Free Family ActivityContinue today’s conversation with the Garden of Weedy Thoughts family activity from Mightier:https://www.mightier.com/resources/weeds-badge-activities/💜

Special Offer from Mightier:
Suzanne is NOT being paid by them. She simply loves what they do for  for and the research behind it. An evidence- based way to help your child build emotional regulation skills? They created a video game tablet where the game uses heart rate information to include that in the gameplay where regulation is taught by the video game itself! Self-sufficiency is good! My neighbor kiddo used it and his mother is thrilled! Affordable too!
The best part about the company are the people!Middle School Mary Poppins listeners receive 15% OFF Mightier with promo code:MARYPOPPINS🎥 Watch on YouTube

 Watch full podcast episodes, parenting shorts, bonus clips, and exclusive content on our YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE_8pZC17nLY&si=kiKjRO_sx9Uu-3l8If

If you enjoy the show, I’d love for you to subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode, short, or parenting tip. Every subscription helps us reach more families looking for practical, brain-based strategies for navigating the middle school years.

⭐ Thank YouA heartfelt thank you to our incredible community for your encouragement, thoughtful messages, and recent reviews. Because of your support, Middle School Mary Poppins is now approaching a million downloads worldwide and has earned more than 8K five-star reviews on Spotify

Every download, review, subscription, and recommendation helps another parent, educator, counselor, or caregiver discover tools that can truly make a difference in a child’s life.If today’s episode encouraged you, one of the greatest ways you can support the podcast is by:💜

Following the show on your favorite podcast platform

.⭐ Leaving a rating or written review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
🎥 Subscribing to our YouTube channel and sharing your favorite episodes.
📣 Sharing this episode with another parent, teacher, or caregiver who could use a little extra support.Your kindness helps this community continue to grow, and I truly appreciate every single one of you.

Always stay clever, little foxes. 🦊💜

SEO TopicsMiddle school anxiety • Cognitive distortions • Parenting tweens • Tween mental health • Emotional regulation • School anxiety • Adolescent brain • Friendship drama • Self-esteem • Parenting middle schoolers • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • Executive functioning • Neurodivergent children • Autism • ADHD • Anxiety in girls • Anxiety in boys • Parenting podcast • Teacher resources • Family mental health • Brain-based parenting • Cognitive behavioral strategies • Middle school behavior


Send Suzanne a Question or Comment:Support the show

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-middle-school-mary-poppins-podcast--7467210/support.

☂️ CONNECT WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MARY POPPINS PODCAST™
Website • Episodes • Resources • More
https://msmarypoppins.com

🎧 Listen and follow The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ wherever you get your podcasts.

📺 YouTube
https://youtube.com/@middleschoolmarypoppinspodcast

💌 CONTACT
Media • Speaking • Sponsorships • Advertising • Brand Partnerships
[email protected]

Listener correspondence & messages for Lieutenant Steve 🐾
[email protected]

The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is independently produced. Partnerships are considered based on mission alignment, relevance, and appropriateness for young people, families, educators, and schools.

Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™

Why does your middle schooler seem happy, anxious, excited, embarrassed, frustrated, and overwhelmed—all before dinner?

In Week 3 of our whole family Socioemotional Learning (SEL) Summer Camp series, Suzanne M. Swain, EdS, LMSW, is joined by Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, Clinical Director at Mightier, to explore the fascinating world of adolescent emotions. Always a good hang with Jessica! Together, the duo discuss why emotions become more intense during the middle school years, how identity development, independence, social awareness, and puberty shape emotional experiences, and what neuroscience can teach us about the adolescent brain.

In this episode, you’ll discover:
🌊 Why middle school emotions can feel like an emotional hurricane
🧠 How the adolescent brain develops differently than the adult brain
💜 Why kids often experience multiple emotions at the same time⚡
How emotional energy and emotional valence help us better understand feelings🌡️
Why emotions show up in the body before children always have words for them🎣
How families can build emotional awareness through conversation and play.

You'll also learn why social rejection can genuinely hurt, what cortisol has to do with emotional regulation, and how helping kids recognize body signals can strengthen lifelong emotional intelligence.🎣

 FREE FAMILY ACTIVITY: FISHING FOR FEELINGSDownload this week’s activity here:https://www.mightier.com/resources/emotional-awareness-activities/

Fishing for Feelings helps families build emotional vocabulary, identify body signals, and create meaningful conversations about emotions in a fun and engaging way.

SPECIAL OFFER: Our friends at Mightier help children build emotional regulation skills through gameplay and biofeedback.Use coupon code: MARYPOPPINS for 15% off.

Guest:
Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW
Clinical Director, MightierRemember:We don’t stop the waves. We learn how to ride them.Stop. Regulate. Listen.Stay clever, little foxes. 💜🦊A very special thanks to StellaMix productions and Janine Stella for her incredible production work. Please go to stellamix.com for all of your podcasting needs.
SEO TopicsMiddle school anxiety • Cognitive distortions • Parenting tweens • Tween mental health • Emotional regulation • School anxiety • Adolescent brain • Friendship drama • Self-esteem • Parenting middle schoolers • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • Executive functioning • Neurodivergent children • Autism • ADHD • Anxiety in girls • Anxiety in boys • Parenting podcast • Teacher resources • Family mental health • Brain-based parenting • Cognitive behavioral strategies • Middle school behavior
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Stop. Regulate. Listen. ☂️

Helping adults understand the kids in the middle.
© The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™