Ground Control Parenting with Carol Sutton Lewis

Latest Episodes:

Navigating The New Frontier of Drug Use with Dr. Yasmin Hurd Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Carol talks with Dr. Yasmin Hurd, Director of the Mount Sinai Addiction Institute, about the complex landscape of drug use today. With marijuana available recreationally or medically in most states and new synthetic drugs regularly hitting the market, parents need to know when and how to discuss drugs and drug use with their children. Dr. Hurd shares her insights on two drugs currently making headlines: cannabis and fentanyl. She walks Carol through the benefits and potential risks of cannabis and talks about why fentanyl use is rising and the toll it is taking on its users. Carol and Dr. Hurd answer listener questions and offer advice on how to create an open and supportive environment where kids can honestly discuss their thoughts and questions about drugs.
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Cultivating Faith and Morality with Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr. Apr 12, 2023

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How can we help our children develop a moral compass to guide them through life? In this insightful episode from the archives, minister, professor, and former President of Morehouse College Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr. explains the importance of helping children think about faith and morality and offers a framework for starting these discussions at an early age. Dr. Franklin shares his own personal stories and memories of witnessing the courage and leadership his grandmother so naturally embodied. He guides Carol through the stages of faith development which parents can follow to help children find meaning and purpose in their lives. Robert also candidly speaks about the challenges and opportunities he faced while helping young men at Morehouse College center their moral compasses in a changing world. Follow us: @GroundControlParenting and groundcontrolparenting.com
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Parenting with Pride, Part 2: Angelique and Sage Francis Apr 05, 2023

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Carol continues the conversation with mother-son duo Angelique and Sage about parenting Black LGBTQ youth with love and support. They discuss the difference between gender and sexuality, and why this distinction is so important to make and understand. They also talk about the use of non-gendered pronouns, the need for grace when it comes to unlearning gender-specific language, and the need to work towards an inclusive, nonjudgmental, and respectful society. This concluding conversation brings even more valuable advice for parents, neighbors, and community members to better understand, support and advocate for the LGBTQ community. Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on groundcontrolparenting.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parenting with Pride with Angelique and Sage Francis Mar 29, 2023

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Carol dives into parenting LGBTQ children with producer and radio show host Angelique Francis and her son Sage. Angelique talks with Carol about her journey to support her LGBTQ children, including Sage, who came out in his teens. Angelique explains how she focused on her love for her children and released her original expectations of them. Her son Sage recalls his coming out story and reveals the challenges he and his peers face in this process of doing so. Angelique and Sage highlight the need to create safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ children and the unique challenges Black LGBTQ children face. This insightful and inspiring conversation offers valuable advice for parents to better understand, support and advocate for their children. Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on groundcontrolparenting.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Challenging Tradition: Redefining Work-Life Balance with Ursula Burns Mar 22, 2023

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How did the first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company manage to balance her skyrocketing career and her growing family? In this refreshingly candid and thought-provoking episode from the archives, Ursula Burns, former CEO of Xerox Corporation, tells Carol why this is the wrong question for young parents to ask, and explains how and why work-life balance issues should be reframed and analyzed. She shares the lessons and perspectives that helped her stay true to herself and her parenting goals during her rise to the top and takes us on a deep dive into how parents should redefine their parenting goals and practices. Ursula begins by sharing a loving recounting of her single mother’s masterful parenting, explaining how her wise counsel and great instincts guided Ursula’s own parenting journey. Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on groundcontrolparenting.com
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Belonging with Michelle Miller Mar 15, 2023

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For years Michelle Miller has been keeping you in the know as a national correspondent for CBS News and as a co-host of CBS Saturday Morning, and now you’ll get to hear from her about her own fascinating life story. Michelle returns to the podcast to talk with Carol about what she learned from the village that helped raise her after she was abandoned by her mother at birth, and how she came to write her memoir “Belonging: A Daughter's Search for Identity Through Loss and Love”. Michelle shares how she coped with growing up as “her mother’s secret”, and how her feelings about her mother shifted in unexpected ways over the years. She talks to Carol about how she valued the parenting lessons of her childhood enough to create a village of her own to help care for her children. Michelle candidly reflects on her decades-long search for belonging in this compelling episode that you won’t want to miss. Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on groundcontrolparenting.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being Black and Autistic with Kala Omeiza Mar 08, 2023

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Author Kala Allen Omeiza joins Carol to talk about neurodiversity advocacy and her journey to being diagnosed with autism at 24. Kala shares with Carol how race and disability intersect in her life as a Black autistic woman, and how she poured her life experiences into her young adult novel, "Afrotistic". Kala felt out of place and socially uncomfortable as a young Black girl growing up in predominantly white communities. She talks with Carol about how feeling so different for so many reasons impacted her childhood and may even have complicated the discovery of her neurological issues. She describes the journey to her autism diagnosis and how her family supported her along the way. In this captivating episode, Kala offers valuable advice about how parents and caretakers in the Black community can be more patient, perceptive and proactive when caring for their neurodiverse children. Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on www.groundcontrolparenting.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Modernizing Tradition with Harriette Cole Mar 01, 2023

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Harriette Cole joins Carol to talk about the positive and affirming ways that Black parents can share their morals and values with their children. Harriette, the former lifestyle editor and fashion director at Essence Magazine, is also an author, a nationally syndicated advice columnist, a multimedia producer, and host of the radio show DreamLeapers and podcast DreamLeapers Inspiration. Harriette was raised by loving parents who believed “excellence was the only option”. She tells Carol that when it comes to her own parenting style, excellence is not a demand but remains an expectation, and describes how she passes on the best of her parent's beliefs to her daughter as well as to the audiences who follow her trusted advice. Carol and Harriette also connect over the realities of becoming a mom after having a career in full bloom, and the challenges of navigating motherhood with a demanding professional life. Follow us on IG @groundcontrolparenting and at groundcontrolparenting.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Power and Limits of Tough Love with Kenneth C. Frazier Feb 22, 2023

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In celebration of Black History Month, Carol brings back her captivating conversation with the former CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Merck, Kenneth Frazier, in which he shares his powerful story of being raised by his fiercely determined single dad. Ken’s dad Otis Frazier, a widower raising three children on his own, firmly believed in the power of tough love. He looked beyond the limits of being a janitor raising a family in an impoverished neighborhood to see his children as capable of achieving anything. He consistently set the bar high and expected his children to clear it. Ken tells Carol how tough love worked to shape him and his siblings, and Carol and Ken explore the limits of and alternatives to this approach. Ken shares plenty of his father's words of wisdom, along with some gems of his own, in this compelling and inspiring episode. Follow us on IG @groundcontrolparenting and at groundcontrolparenting.com
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Dancing into Motherhood with Misty Copeland Feb 15, 2023

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She’s a world famous prima ballerina and the first African American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. Misty Copeland has a long history of overcoming obstacles, breaking barriers, and inspiring her many fans. Now, in her first full-length public conversation about parenting since the birth of her son Jackson, Misty joins Carol to talk about her life as a new mom: how it’s been, how it’s going, and what she hopes lies ahead for herself and her family. They discuss how mentors can play a vital parenting role and Misty shares the influential and supportive impact mentors have had on her life, which she details in her latest book, The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor Raven Wilkinson. You’ll hear from Misty Copeland as you’ve never heard before in this candid, informative, and heart-warming episode. Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on www.groundcontrolparenting.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.