Sarah Kate Ellis has spent more than a decade as President and CEO of GLAAD, the nation's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. She's a TIME 100 honoree. She's testified before Congress. She's had two audiences with Pope Francis.

She's also a mom of two teenagers.

In this conversation, Dr. Sheryl and Sarah Kate get into what parents actually need to know — not the policy, not the politics, but the real stuff. What does it mean when your kid starts watching shows with queer characters? What do you say when they come to you? What do you do when you already said the wrong thing?

Sarah Kate's answer to almost all of it: love out loud, and leave room for exploration. Kids are watching everything — your reactions to the neighbor who just came out, the stranger at the store, the character in the movie. They're taking notes.

You don't have to have the perfect words. You just have to stay close.

Topics covered:

• Why kids test the waters before they ever come out to you — and what to do in those moments
• The terminology parents trip on (and what "queer" actually means)
• What to do when you've already had a bad reaction
• What trans kids actually need from their parents (Sarah Kate's left-handedness analogy is one of the best things in this episode)
• Whether to celebrate when your kid comes out — and how to do it right

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Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

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What do you do when you give your teen a phone and everything you were worried about comes true? They stopped reading books like they used to. They never leave their room without their phone. Their grades slip. They’re getting into trouble socially. Can you take the phone away? Should you? And if you do, how should you go about it? This week, we're resurfacing a fan favorite from the flagship Good Inside podcast feed, in which Dr. Becky fields a few phone concerns and questions from her producer, Jesse.

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Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• *Kt by Knix:** Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

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What happens to friendship when one person has kids—and the other doesn’t?

In this episode, Dr. Sheryl sits down with two of her longtime friends, Lisa and Nancy, to talk about a friendship that has lasted through marriage, parenthood, illness, career shifts, busy seasons, and very different life choices. One of them became a mom. One of them chose not to have children. And somehow, instead of drifting apart, they kept finding ways back to each other.

Together, they talk about jealousy, flexibility, showing up, opting out, making room for someone else’s reality, and why adult friendship takes more intention than we often want to admit. This is a conversation about friendship—but it’s also about identity, parenthood, loneliness, and the quiet work of staying connected through change.

Looking for more support in the in-between years of parenting? Good Inside Teen gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming with tweens and teens.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear

Follow Dr. Sheryl on Instagram

Learn more about Good Inside

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.