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Kids & Family

The In-Between Years with Dr. Sheryl

The In-Between Years with Dr. Sheryl is a podcast from Good Inside for parents or adults raising, caring for, or loving a tween or teen. Hosted by clinical psychologist and mom of three Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, this show explores what’s really happening during this intense and transformative stage of life — from big emotions and shifting friendships to dating, academic pressure, social media, identity, and body changes. Each episode slows things down and looks beneath the surface so you can respond instead of react — because your kid may be growing up, but that doesn’t mean they need you less. They need you differently.

**About Good Inside**
Good Inside helps parents raise confident, resilient kids. Founded by clinical psychologist and mom of three Dr. Becky, our unique approach helps families solve current challenges, and get ahead of future ones, by focusing on the child behind the behavior and the parent behind the parenting.

With an app, workshops, podcast, books, and GiGi — a proprietary chatbot trained in the Good Inside approach — members have 24/7 access to personalized, practical support for every age and stage of parenting. No question is too specific, no scenario too tricky to untangle. It’s real, sturdy guidance parents can lean on in the moment, helping them feel capable, grounded, and never alone.

goodinside.com

Latest Episodes:

AI Can't Do the One Thing Your Teen Needs Most Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Your tween or teen is already using AI. For homework, for image generation, for drafting the text they're too nervous to send, and, more and more, for the human stuff: breakups, mental health, how to ask someone out, how to talk to you.

Dr. Sheryl sits down with Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon, professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of Chicago, and the author of "Human Raised," to make sense of what kids actually need from us as AI moves into the middle of their lives.

Dana's take is refreshingly un-panicked: she's not anti-AI, and not pro-AI. She's pro-human. She implants technology for a living, she builds AI tools herself, and she's clear that the real risk is what we quietly stop practicing when everything gets easy. AI is frictionless. It never pushes back. But that messy, imperfect back-and-forth between a parent and a kid? As Dana puts it, that's not a bug in the system. It's the curriculum.

Sheryl and Dana get into the questions parents are actually asking: why teens open up to chatbots more than to people, whether that's a problem or a relief, what her waiting room going silent taught her about where we're headed, and why "good enough" parenting is exactly what kids need.

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Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear
Girl Scouts: If you have a daughter in kindergarten through 12th grade, visit girlscouts.org to learn more

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

My Tween is Pulling Away. Is That Normal? - Revisit Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

A revisit from the Good Inside archives, hosted by Dr. Becky.

As our kids grow up and pull away, it can feel like they’re breaking up with us. This week, Dr. Becky talks to a mom wondering why her son feels so distant as he begins middle school. He seems to have plenty of time to play video games and talk to his friends but she feels like she doesn’t know anything about his life anymore.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear
Girl Scouts: If you have a daughter in kindergarten through 12th grade, visit girlscouts.org to learn more

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Muscles, Masculinity, and the Thing We Keep Mistaking for Health Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Boys have body image issues too. They're just harder to spot.

Dr. Kyle Ganson is a researcher at the University of Toronto who studies body image, eating disorders, and masculinity in boys and young men. He's also a dad. And yes, his six-year-old already flexes at him every morning.

In this conversation, Dr. Sheryl and Dr. Kyle get into what's actually happening to boys in a culture built around gym influencers, supplement stacks, looks maxing, and bulking protocols — and why parents keep missing the warning signs. (Spoiler: it looks like discipline and it looks like health. That's the problem.)

You'll hear about the 1-in-7 statistic that most parents have never encountered, what muscle dysmorphia actually is and how it shows up in teenage boys, why the "respectful curiosity" approach matters more than rules, and how Arnold Schwarzenegger was genuinely different from what your son is watching on YouTube right now.

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Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear
Girl Scouts: If you have a daughter in kindergarten through 12th grade, visit girlscouts.org to learn more

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Even-Keel Kid: What to Do When Your Child Can't Name Their Feelings Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Your kid seems fine. Easygoing, no meltdowns. But when you ask how they're doing — nothing. "Fine." "I don't know." A shrug. And then one day you notice something's off, and you spend weeks trying to figure out what.

Sarah comes to Dr. Sheryl with exactly this. Her 10-year-old son is kind, resilient, good at everything — and totally unable to name what he's feeling. She's tried asking directly. She's tried asking sideways. She's modeled emotions, referenced Inside Out, sat on his bed and guessed out loud until something landed. And now, as his school closes and his whole world reshuffles, she can feel him shutting down again.

In this conversation, Dr. Sheryl helps Sarah understand what's actually happening under the surface — why even-keeled kids often pay a silent price for their regulation, how puberty complicates the picture, and why trying to get them to talk isn't always the right first move.

They talk through the "mixed feelings" shorthand, the power of asking about what your kid actually cares about (no agenda, no pivot to the real stuff), and — in one of the most specific pieces of advice you'll hear on this show — why getting your kid physically activated might open more doors than any question you could ask.

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Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear
Girl Scouts: If you have a daughter in kindergarten through 12th grade, visit girlscouts.org to learn more

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Your Kid Comes Out: What to Say, What to Skip, and What Really Matters Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Kate Ellis has spent more than a decade as President and CEO of GLAAD, the nation's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. She's a TIME 100 honoree. She's testified before Congress. She's had two audiences with Pope Francis.

She's also a mom of two teenagers.

In this conversation, Dr. Sheryl and Sarah Kate get into what parents actually need to know — not the policy, not the politics, but the real stuff. What does it mean when your kid starts watching shows with queer characters? What do you say when they come to you? What do you do when you already said the wrong thing?

Sarah Kate's answer to almost all of it: love out loud, and leave room for exploration. Kids are watching everything — your reactions to the neighbor who just came out, the stranger at the store, the character in the movie. They're taking notes.

You don't have to have the perfect words. You just have to stay close.

Topics covered:

Why kids test the waters before they ever come out to you — and what to do in those moments
The terminology parents trip on (and what "queer" actually means)
What to do when you've already had a bad reaction
What trans kids actually need from their parents (Sarah Kate's left-handedness analogy is one of the best things in this episode)
Whether to celebrate when your kid comes out — and how to do it right

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Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Losing My Teen to the Screen - Revisit Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

What do you do when you give your teen a phone and everything you were worried about comes true? They stopped reading books like they used to. They never leave their room without their phone. Their grades slip. They’re getting into trouble socially. Can you take the phone away? Should you? And if you do, how should you go about it? This week, we're resurfacing a fan favorite from the flagship Good Inside podcast feed, in which Dr. Becky fields a few phone concerns and questions from her producer, Jesse.

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Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

*Kt by Knix:** Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Stay Friends When One of You Has Kids Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

What happens to friendship when one person has kids—and the other doesn’t?

In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with two of her longtime friends, Lisa and Nancy, to talk about a friendship that has lasted through marriage, parenthood, illness, career shifts, busy seasons, and very different life choices. One of them became a mom. One of them chose not to have children. And somehow, instead of drifting apart, they kept finding ways back to each other.

Together, they talk about jealousy, flexibility, showing up, opting out, making room for someone else’s reality, and why adult friendship takes more intention than we often want to admit. This is a conversation about friendship—but it’s also about identity, parenthood, loneliness, and the quiet work of staying connected through change.

Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can't Tap Out: One Mom on Single Parenting, Perimenopause, and Repair Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

What happens when your teenager is deep in puberty, your tween is just starting to feel the first shifts — and meanwhile, you're navigating perimenopause on your own?

In this episode, Dr. Sheryl talks with Camille, a single mom of two outside Nashville, who's living that exact season right now. They talk about what it really means to parent alone — not just the logistics, but the emotional weight of having no one to tap out to, no one to download the day to at night. They get into the "mom AND dad" myth (and why letting go of it changed everything), the strange grief that comes from giving your kids what you never had, and what it actually looks and feels like to repair yourself while you're raising them.

Good Inside now supports the entire parenting journey: pregnancy, babies, big kids, tweens, and teens — because the questions change as kids grow, but parents still need support.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What Today’s Girls Are Up Against May 27, 2026

Show notes

Tweens and teens today are growing up without something many of us took for granted: an off switch.

No break from comparison. No break from group chats, social pressure, performance, opinions, or the feeling of always being “on.”

This week, Dr. Sheryl talks with producer, writer, and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls co-founder Meredith Walker about what years of listening to girls has taught her about confidence, belonging, perfectionism, identity, and the exhausting pressure so many girls feel to get everything “right.”

They talk about:

why “just be yourself” can feel impossible for teens
what social media has changed about growing up
how girls learn to trust themselves
why experimentation and awkwardness are actually healthy
the importance of self-compassion
and what happens when kids feel genuinely listened to

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Trait That Drives You Crazy Might Be Their Superpower May 20, 2026

Show notes

You ask your kid to do something simple — put their shoes away, come downstairs, stop snapping at their sibling — and suddenly you’re in a full blown argument about your tone, your words, or whether you’re being “mean.”

In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with Emily, a mom of five navigating life with her 12-year-old son, Cooper, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD. But what starts as a conversation about missing assignments and emotional reactions becomes something much deeper: a conversation about sensitivity, literal thinking, overwhelm, repair, and what happens when a parent realizes they might actually share their child’s brain.

Together, they unpack:

why some kids seem to hear criticism everywhere
what “deeply feeling” can actually look like in tweens
why ADHD doesn’t always look hyperactive
how overwhelm changes the way both kids and parents communicate
and how repair — even after the hardest moments — can become the foundation of connection

If you’ve ever felt like you’re walking on eggshells with your tween, this episode will help you understand what may really be happening underneath the conflict.

Looking for more support navigating the tween and teen years? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that feel hardest at home.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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