The Parenting Reframe
Raising Resilient Kids: An Insightful Conversation with Author Dr. Will Dobud
Episode Summary
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Will Dobud, co-author (with Dr. Nevin Harper) of the groundbreaking new book Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Your Mental Health. We explore what it really means to support today’s kids and teens in a world where diagnoses, labels, and interventions are at an all-time high—yet mental health outcomes continue to decline. Dr. Dobud shares his unique lens as a researcher, social worker, and outdoor therapist to reframe how we think about children, resilience, and the role of parents. This conversation is a refreshing, hopeful reminder that kids don’t need to be “fixed”—they need connection, mastery, freedom within boundaries, and adults who notice their strengths.
Episode Notes
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- The inspiration behind Kids These Days and why Dr. Dobud and Dr. Harper felt compelled to write it.
- The three frameworks of the book: interference, intervention, and ideology—and how they’re shaping modern childhood.
- Why blaming phones and social media is an oversimplification of a much bigger picture.
- The concept of digital integration vs. digital interference—and how parents can approach technology more thoughtfully.
- How to foster resilience and mastery in kids without overstepping or over-fixing.
- The overlooked power of gratitude, generosity, and noticing what’s working in our kids.
- Why boundaries paired with empathy create the conditions for true growth.
- A reframe for parents: shifting from control and fear to presence, connection, and curiosity.
Resources & Links
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more parents can discover these conversations.