Raising Good Humans

Dr. Aliza Pressman answers your hardest parenting questions: toddler tantrums, screen time guilt, porn talks, vaping teens & social media limits.

Real parenting questions don't come with a manual — so Dr. Aliza Pressman, developmental psychologist and New York Times bestselling author, is answering yours. In this listener Q&A episode, Dr. Pressman offers practical, shame-free parenting strategies rooted in child development research — helping you move from panic and guilt to clarity and connection, no matter what stage your kid is in.

What You’ll Learn:

How to respond when your young child says "I hate you" without shaming them or ignoring it

The truth about toddler screen time guilt and whether 45 minutes of Bluey is actually harmful

Why your well-behaved child falls apart at school pickup (and what to do about it)

How to talk to your preteen about pornography in a way that's honest, age-appropriate, and shame-free

How to hold firm on a no-social-media rule at 12 — and where your confidence as a parent comes from

What to do when you find vapes in your teenager's backpack, and how to have the conversation without blowing up your relationship

🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS:

📖Order "The 5 Principles of Parenting" by Dr. Aliza Pressman: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Parenting-Essential-Raising-Humans/dp/166801453X

📱Follow Raising Good Humans Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/raisinggoodhumanspodcast/

📧Follow Raising Good Humans with Dr. Aliza Pressman on Substack: https://dralizapressman.substack.com/

🎙️Follow Raising Good Humans Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-good-humans/id1473072044

This episode is brought to you by:

OneSkin: Unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code RGH at oneskin.co/RGH

Kodiak: Feel good about snack choices with Kodiak Bars. Find them at kodiakcakes.com or your local grocery store. They’re the ones with the bear on the box.

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can you actually grow your brain? Johns Hopkins neurologist Dr. Majid Fotuhi reveals 5 science-backed ways to build brain volume — even in the chaos of parenthood.

In this episode of Raising Good Humans Podcast, Dr. Fotuhi breaks down the research on neuroplasticity and brain health, and helps us all understand how measurable brain growth is possible in as little as 12 weeks.

What You’ll Learn:

The 5 pillars of brain health and the minimum effective dose for overwhelmed parents

How poor sleep physically shrinks the brain and whether years of damage can be reversed

Brain training demystified: why mahjong counts, and a name-memory trick that actually works

How to rewrite negative narratives that are quietly working against your brain

Your brain isn't declining — it's waiting for the right conditions to grow. The science is more hopeful than you think.

🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS:

📚The Invincible Brain by Dr. Majid Fotuhi: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-invincible-brain-majid-fotuhi?variant=43878812614690

🧠The Invincible Brain App (free):

https://drfotuhi.com/online-course-app/

📖Order "The 5 Principles of Parenting" by Dr. Aliza Pressman: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Parenting-Essential-Raising-Humans/dp/166801453X

📱Follow Raising Good Humans Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/raisinggoodhumanspodcast/

📧Follow Raising Good Humans with Dr. Aliza Pressman on Substack: https://dralizapressman.substack.com/

🎙️Follow Raising Good Humans Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-good-humans/id1473072044

This episode is brought to you by:

Merit Beauty: It's time for your makeup and skincare to meet the reality of your daily routine with Merit Beauty.com

MyPhone by Ooma: Safe calling with parental controls. Go to ooma.com/myphone to shop phones and learn more.

Kodiak: Feel good about snack choices with Kodiak Bars. Find them at kodiakcakes.com or your local grocery store. They’re the ones with the bear on the box.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should your child get a neuropsychological evaluation? Neuropsychologist Dr. Joanna Jacobs explains what it reveals, who needs one, and why it's not scary.

If you've ever been told your child might need a neuropsychological evaluation and felt your stomach drop, this episode is for you. Dr. Aliza Pressman sits down with neuropsychologist Dr. Joanna Jacobs to demystify what a neuro psych evaluation actually is, what it can tell you about your child's learning profile, and why so many parents leave the process feeling relieved rather than devastated. Whether your child is struggling with reading, attention, executive functioning, or social communication — or whether they seem fine on paper but something feels off at home — this conversation will help you understand what the evaluation process looks like, what questions to ask, and how to make sense of what you find out.

What you'll learn:

What a neuropsychological evaluation actually measures and who it's designed for

Why a diagnosis is a tool for accessing support, not a life sentence — and how to talk about it with your child at any age

The critical difference between cognitive profile and disorder

How neurodivergent brains, including those with dyslexia and ADHD, carry genuine strengths that language-based school systems frequently fail to identify or nurture

This episode is brought to you by:

OneSkin: Unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code RGH at oneskin.co/RGH

Kodiak: Kodiak Bars help keep busy families fueled, satisfied, and ready for whatever the day brings. Find them at kodiakcakes.com or your local grocery store.

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do constraints help kids thrive? Dr. Aliza Pressman & David Epstein reveal the counterintuitive science of raising resilient, confident children.

If you've ever wondered whether making things easier for your kids is actually holding them back, this episode will stop you in your tracks. Dr. Aliza Pressman sits down with bestselling science writer David Epstein, author of Inside the Box, to unpack the research-backed case for constraints as one of the most powerful — and most misunderstood — tools in child development. From the Harvard Study of Adult Development's landmark findings on chores and confidence, to the neuroscience of why frustration tolerance is a skill every parent should be actively building, this conversation gives you concrete strategies you can implement this week. Starting at the dinner table.

What you’ll learn:


Why assigning chores in kindergarten predicts higher self-confidence later, and how to frame them so kids actually want to do them


What the Constraints-Led Approach (used by elite sports coaches) can teach every parent about stepping back and letting kids self-organize


"Brain first, tool second," David's framework for navigating AI, screens, and the cognitive risks of passive consumption


Why anomie (normlessness) drives youth anxiety and how clear family values and rituals act as a protective anchor

This episode is brought to you by:

Minnow: Cabana Capsule celebrates days spent lingering by the sea, soaking up the sun, and savoring the simple luxury of having nowhere to be. Shop the capsule starting July 7th at shopminnow.com and enter code MEETMINNOW15 at checkout to receive 15% off your first order.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the hardest part of dating after divorce isn't whether you're ready, but whether your kids are?

This solo episode tackles one of the most-asked, least-discussed questions in the inbox: how to start dating again after divorce in a way that honors your own life and your children's emotional reality. It's a topic carrying guilt, grief, longing, worry, and the very real truth that you are still a living, breathing person who wants a romantic life. 

Drawing on listener-submitted questions, this conversation walks through the practical and emotional terrain of re-entering romantic life. We will discuss why your timeline almost never matches your child's, what inner work to do before your first date back, how to introduce a new partner without quietly handing your kids the job of approving them, and how to be honest about loneliness without making them feel responsible for filling it.

What you'll learn:


Why your child's timeline is on a totally different track than yours and the rough one-year guideline for keeping your dating life "off-stage"


The two moves to avoid when you introduce a new partner, including the one that quietly puts adult-sized weight on your child's shoulders


What to actually say when the blunt questions come and why your kids can never be the ones who fill your loneliness

This episode is brought to you by:

OneSkin: Unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code RGH at oneskin.co/RGH

MyPhone by Ooma: Safe calling with parental controls. Go to ooma.com/myphone to shop phones and learn more. 

Wayfair: Patio season is here and these deals won’t last! head to Wayfair.com right now to get your outdoor space ready for way less.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices