What "Bullying" Really Means and What to Do About It

"Bullying is just a part of life and you just have to deal with it." That's what people told Dr. Patricia Newman 25 years ago when she started the Respect Organization. She didn't buy it then, and she doesn't buy it now. Dr. Newman joins hosts Dr. Christopher Villarreal and Dr. Deb Anderson to cut through the confusion around bullying, what it actually is, how to spot it, and how to raise kids who know what to do when it happens.

Discover why not every unkind behavior is bullying (and why that distinction matters), how to tell if your child is being targeted or doing the targeting, and why role playing in the car might be the most powerful tool parents aren't using.

Whether you're a parent trying to decode what your child is telling you about their day, or an educator navigating a difficult conversation with a family, this episode gives you the language and tools to actually help.

Let Kids Be Kids: Rethinking What Supports Learning at Home

"Their brain should hurt at the end of the day — that's how hard we're pushing them in the classroom." If you've ever wondered whether your child's lighter homework load means less learning, fifth grade teacher Tim Schooley and sixth grade teacher Kelly Perry are here to reframe the conversation. With nearly 40 combined years in the classroom, they join hosts Dr. Christopher Villarreal and Dr. Deb Anderson to explain how homework has evolved, why today's classrooms are more rigorous than ever, and what parents can actually do at home to support learning.

Discover why the best homework is always review, never new content, how classroom deadlines and conversations build the study skills kids need for middle school and beyond, and why reading the teacher newsletter might be the most powerful thing a parent can do.

Whether you're a parent frustrated by how little comes home or an educator fielding questions at conferences, this episode offers the practical perspective that changes how you think about homework.

Healthy at Every Size: Raising Kids with Positive Body Image

By age six, most children have already formed strong opinions about what they'd like to change about their bodies. In this episode of Mindshift, hosts Dr. Christopher Villarreal and Dr. Deb Anderson sit down with Christina Powell, a mental health therapist with over 20 years of experience in eating disorders at Children's Hospital, to explore how parents can break the cycle of negative body image.

Christina introduces the Health at Every Size movement, explaining why the focus should be on healthy behaviors rather than numbers on a scale. She tackles tough questions like: Should we compliment children's physical appearance? How do we respond when someone loses weight? And what's the difference between exercising for joy versus exercising as punishment? Through her powerful "two women on treadmills" analogy, Christina reveals how our internal relationship with our bodies shapes everything, and how parents can model self-acceptance that their children will absorb.

Whether you're worried about passing down your own body image struggles or simply want to raise confident kids in an image-obsessed world, this conversation offers the practical guidance and perspective shift you need.