DeepSummary
In this episode, Dr. Becky talks with two dads of twin toddlers about their concerns regarding providing their kids with meaningful relationships with women and helping them understand their family structure without a mother. She advises them to have proactive, bite-sized conversations about their family, rather than waiting for their kids to ask. Dr. Becky also emphasizes that parents don't need to be everything for their kids and that it's okay for kids to seek guidance from other sources.
The dads express concerns about depriving their children of a maternal figure and worry about how to address questions about not having a mother. Dr. Becky reassures them that exposing their kids to diverse families and allowing them to ask difficult questions will help them feel comfortable and understood. She suggests responding to their kids' questions with openness and acknowledging the importance of the question.
Dr. Becky encourages the dads to normalize their family structure and let their kids know that it's okay to seek out other people for guidance. She emphasizes that parents can never be everything for their kids and that it's healthy for kids to have diverse sources of support and mentorship. The key is creating an environment where kids feel comfortable expressing their needs and asking difficult questions.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Parents don't need to be everything for their kids; it's healthy for kids to seek guidance and mentorship from diverse sources.
- Have proactive, bite-sized conversations with kids about family structure rather than waiting for them to ask.
- Normalize diverse family structures and let kids know it's okay to ask difficult questions.
- When kids ask difficult questions, validate their curiosity and let them know it's a welcome opportunity to discuss.
- Exposing kids to diverse representations of families can help them understand their own family better.
- The way parents respond to kids' early difficult questions shapes whether kids will feel comfortable bringing up tricky topics later.
- Don't feel pressure to cover every aspect of a complex topic in one conversation with a young child.
- Trust the process of having open conversations over time as kids show they're ready for more information.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I don't want my kids, when they're, like, 25, to be, like, who out there is everything to me, who can fulfill all of my needs?“ by Dr. Becky Kennedy
- “We often pause, in fact, in books, when traditional family structure comes up and we say, you don't have a mommy. You have a daddy and a papa who love each other. And some families have a mommy and a daddy. Some families have two mothers. Some families have two fathers. Some families have a single parent.“ by Pierre
- “Wow, that was really on your mind, and you knew it was okay to come to me and ask that, wow, this is really important, and I'm really glad we get the opportunity to talk about this.“ by Dr. Becky Kennedy
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Episode Information
Good Inside with Dr. Becky
Dr. Becky Kennedy
1/31/23