1KHO 671: The Mental Health of Young People Has Cratered | Hara Estroff Marano, A Nation of Wimps

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) ** Ginny Yurich sits down with Psychology Today editor and author Hara Estroff Marano to talk about the quiet shift that started long before smartphones—and why it’s been devastating for kids. Drawing from A Nation of Wimps, Hara explains how fear and rapid cultural change pushed parents into “invasive” parenting, accidentally transmitting anxiety and squeezing play, risk, and independence out of childhood. The result isn’t safer, stronger kids—it’s more rigidity, perfectionism, and fragility. This episode is a steadying, permission-giving reset: play isn’t extra, it’s training for uncertainty; disappointment is information; and childhood doesn’t need to be optimized to be successful. If you’ve felt the pressure to manage every outcome, this conversation will help you step back, rebuild resilience the natural way, and give your kids what they actually need to grow up well. Get your copy of A Nation of Wimps here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices