My guest today is Cathy Adams. We’re talking about engaging in those hard, honest conversations with our teen girls. Cathy and I dig into the messiness of the teen years. We discuss the importance of focusing on resiliency, not happiness, what is happening to Gen Z girls today, and why we need to appreciate the girls we have.
Guest Description
Cathy Cassani Adams, LCSW, co-hosts the long-running Zen Parenting Radio podcast and founded the Zen Parenting Conference in Chicago. She is the author of Zen Parenting and Living What You Want Your Kids to Learn (both Nautilus Award and International Book Award winners) and her upcoming 2025 release, Restoring Our Girls. Cathy is a clinical social worker, certified parent coach, former elementary school educator, and yoga teacher. She was a blogger for The Huffington Post and a former columnist for Chicago Parent Magazine. She previously worked as a Child and Family Therapist and Clinical Educator at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and now teaches in the Sociology and Criminology Department at Dominican University. She lives outside Chicago with her husband, Todd, and their three daughters.
Takeaways from the show
Cathy’s new book “Restoring Our Girls”
Adolescent girls’ mental health
Expectations & contradictions young women face
The messiness of the teen years doesn’t make them bad years
Your teenage experience is NOT the experience that teens today are having
Engaging in conversations instead of lecturing
The importance of teaching critical thinking
Why we need adolescent girls to take risks
The meaning and joy of mother & daughter relationships
Adolescents developing their unique inner dialogue
For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.
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