Show Notes
Eye rolls. Talking back. That tone that seems to come out of nowhere.
A lot of parents hit this moment around age 9 or 10 — when their once easygoing kid suddenly feels harder to reach, harder to guide, and harder to understand.
In this episode, Dr. Sheryl talks with a mom named Anna who’s navigating this exact shift with her daughter. Alongside the attitude and pushback, her daughter is also dealing with anxiety — leaving Anna wondering:
Are these things connected? And how do I respond in a way that actually helps?
Together, they unpack what’s really going on underneath this stage — why kids start pushing back, how anxiety can show up as irritability, and why this phase isn’t a sign that something is going wrong… but that something new is developing.
You’ll walk away with a powerful reframe — and practical tools to stay steady, set boundaries, and build connection during this in-between stage.
More from The In-Between Years with Dr. Sheryl
Sam Kelly describes a framework for raising kids who see what needs doing and do it, without being told.
Clay Vilhauer published his first book at six. At nine, he and his mom Amber wrote a second one together, for kids who have big feelings and zero interest in discussing them directly.
Dr. Sheryl revisits an episode from the Good Inside podcast, in which Dr. Becky sits down with Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, to talk about his powerful personal story and research. They discuss understanding emotions as data, validating kids’ feelings without overindulging them, and building emotional literacy for the whole family.
Dr. Sheryl talks to Michaeleen Doucleff about the surprising techniques ancient cultures can teach us about parenting into the teenage years.
Dr. Sheryl talks to Gretchen Rubin about what comes after a quiet house.