Dr. Becky Kennedy — Parenting Strategies for Raising Resilient Kids

Dr. Becky Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Good Inside, a parenting movement that overturns a lot of conventional, modern parenting practices to empower parents to become sturdy, confident leaders and raise sturdy, confident kids. She is the author of the bestselling book Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, a chart-topping podcast, a TED talk with nearly 4 million views on the power of repair, and an upcoming children’s book, That’s My Truck! A Good Inside Story About Hitting. Sponsors: GiveWell.org charity research and effective giving: https://givewell.org (If you’ve never used GiveWell to donate, you can have your donation matched up to one hundred dollars before the end of the year or as long as matching funds last. To claim your match, go to https://givewell.org and pick PODCAST and enter The Tim Ferriss Show at checkout.) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim (Start earning 4.25% APY on your short-term cash until you’re ready to invest. And when new clients open an account today, you can get an extra fifty-dollar bonus with a deposit of five hundred dollars or more.) Terms apply. Tim Ferriss receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage, LLC for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of Wealthfront Brokerage. See full disclosures here. * Links to everything discussed: https://tim.blog/2024/12/27/dr-becky-kennedy-good-inside/ * Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Start [00:41] The power of repair. [03:50] “It’s never your fault when I yell at you.” [08:00] What does it mean to be a “good” parent? [09:38] Activating curiosity over judgment. [12:40] Alternatives to saying “Good job” as a confidence builder. [17:41] Making kids happy vs. building capability. [21:12] A pilot metaphor for sturdy leadership. [26:29] Role confusion. [29:04] Defining boundaries. [32:08] How parenting becomes a two-way mirror for growth. [37:20] The MGI (Most Generous Interpretation) approach. [40:04] Biggest challenges in parenting. [44:08] Recommended reading for someone with kids in their life. [50:06] Advisable prerequisites for singles who aim to build a family. [53:59] Setting boundaries with grandparents and dealing with different parenting styles. [59:33] Handling frustration when a child is pushing your buttons. [01:07:53] Lessons learned from working with eating disorders. [01:11:33] Managing troublemaker behavior. [01:15:47] Bad influence intervention. [01:21:05] Cultivating resilience in “deeply feeling” kids (DFKs). [01:27:39] The trials and errors that birthed Good Inside. [01:31:23] “Our words are not our wishes. Our words are our fears.” [01:38:41] Billboard messages and mantras. [01:46:47] Fan-favorite scripts on saying no, boundaries, and repair. [01:50:09] The tennis court metaphor for boundaries. [01:54:44] Resources and parting thoughts.