355- When You Don’t Know What to Say: Talking to Kids About Hard Stuff with Melinda Wenner Moyer

You're listening to Voices of Your Village, and today I got to hang out with science journalist and author Melinda Wenner Moyer to talk about something that so many of us wrestle with-- how to talk to our kids about the hard stuff. From climate change to inequality, to violence in the news, it can feel overwhelming to know what to say, when to say it, or even if we should say anything at all. Melissa's book, How to Raise Kids who Aren't Assholes, gave so many parents tools for raising kind, thoughtful humans. And her new book, Hello, Cruel World! continues that work by helping us navigate these tricky conversations with clarity, honesty, and compassion. In this episode, we dive into how to avoid toxic positivity without overwhelming our kids, how to model emotional regulation while still being real, and how to raise resilient humans in a world that doesn't always make it easy. All right folks, let's dive in.

Connect with Melinda:

Instagram: @melindawmoyer (instagram.com/melindawmoyer)

Facebook: facebook.com/melindawennermoyer

X: @lindy2350 (x.com/lindy2350?lang=en)

Website: melindawennermoyer.com

Order the book: Hello, Cruel World! (penguinrandomhouse.com/books/751131/hello-crue…)

Substack: Now What (melindawmoyer.substack.com)

Connect with us:

Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew (instagram.com/seed.and.sew)

Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz (quiz.tryinteract.com/#/63bc2ee1daebab0016f17b3e)

Pre-order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings (harpercollins.com/products/big-kids-bigger-fee…) now!

Website: seedandsew.org

Credits:

Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell

Co-host: Rachel Lounder

Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh

Graphics: Kayla Kurkland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig

Music by: Ruby Adams (instagram.com/rubygoldentiger) and Bensound (bensound.com)

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