EPISODE · May 20, 2025 · 48 MIN
Is Your Kid an Asshole or Just a Kid? With Melinda Wenner Moyer
from Under the Influence with Jo Piazza · host Jo Piazza
Ever feel like gentle parenting only works for gentle children—and yours were born throwing punches? Same. That’s why this week, I sat down with science journalist and parenting sanity-saver Melinda Wenner Moyer, author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes and the new book Hello, Cruel World: How to Parent with Hope in an Era of Anxiety and Doom. We’re diving deep into the hard stuff: screen time panic, why discipline doesn’t mean dictatorship, and how to build actual resilience (hint: let your kid be bored). Melinda brings research, realism, and a refreshing amount of empathy to the parenting chaos. We also unpack why most parenting influencers should probably be legally required to disclose their lack of qualifications—and why your 8-year-old flipping you off at school pickup doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Subscribe to Melinda's substack here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What this episode covers
Ever feel like gentle parenting only works for gentle children—and yours were born throwing punches? Same. That’s why this week, I sat down with science journalist and parenting sanity-saver Melinda Wenner Moyer, author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes and the new book Hello, Cruel World: How to Parent with Hope in an Era of Anxiety and Doom. We’re diving deep into the hard stuff: screen time panic, why discipline doesn’t mean dictatorship, and how to build actual resilience (hint: let your kid be bored). Melinda brings research, realism, and a refreshing amount of empathy to the parenting chaos. We also unpack why most parenting influencers should probably be legally required to disclose their lack of qualifications—and why your 8-year-old flipping you off at school pickup doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Subscribe to Melinda's substack here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NOW PLAYING
Is Your Kid an Asshole or Just a Kid? With Melinda Wenner Moyer
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m