Q&A: How to Stay Connected Without Power Struggles

When a child refuses to go to school, it can be easy to assume they’re unmotivated, being defiant, or simply trying to skip class. But school avoidance is often driven by anxiety — and understanding what’s behind it is an important first step toward helping kids get back to school. In this Q&A episode of Thriving Kids, Dr. Dave Anderson is joined by Alana Cooperman, LCSW, a senior social worker in the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute, to answer parents’ questions about school anxiety, avoidance, and refusal. Cooperman explains how school avoidance can look different across ages, from crying and clinging to parents in younger children to stomachaches, sleep problems, irritability, frequent trips to the nurse, or repeated requests to come home in older kids and teens. She and Dr. Dave also discuss how ADHD, learning difficulties, autism, peer problems, academic pressure, and embarrassing experiences at school can contribute to avoidance. In this episode, they cover:

Journalist, author, and podcast host Molly Jong-Fast got sober at 19 — and nearly three decades later, she continues to speak candidly about her experience with alcoholism and recovery. In this episode of Thriving Kids, she joins Dr. Dave Anderson for a conversation about recognizing addiction in adolescence, overcoming stigma, and why young people struggling with substance use need to know that recovery is possible. In this episode, they cover: • Why addiction can look different from typical adolescent experimentation • Why family history can be an important part of conversations about substance use • How parents can talk openly with kids about addiction without relying on shame • What parents should know about marijuana and the developing adolescent brain • Why lasting recovery involves more than simply removing access to a substance • How schools and colleges can better support young people who choose sobriety Key takeaways • Addiction can begin early. Jong-Fast describes recognizing during adolescence that she had difficulty controlling her substance use and that her experience looked different from that of many of her peers. • Pay attention to patterns, not just individual incidents. Repeated inability to stop, dramatic changes in behavior, escalating use, or repeatedly trying and failing to cut back may signal that a young person needs additional support. • Talk honestly about family history. When addiction runs in a family, age-appropriate conversations can help kids understand that they may have increased vulnerability without framing their future as inevitable. • Shame isn’t treatment. Families can establish clear boundaries around substance use while continuing to communicate love, connection, and a willingness to help. • Legal doesn’t mean harmless. Alcohol and marijuana may be legal for adults, but that doesn’t eliminate the potential risks associated with adolescent use. • Young people need spaces that support sobriety. Substance-free housing, recovery communities, treatment programs, and supportive peers can help young people build lives that don’t revolve around alcohol or drugs. • Recovery can open up possibilities rather than close them down. Jong-Fast describes sobriety as what allowed her to build a life in which alcohol and drugs did not dictate her decisions. Further reading Complete Guide to Substance Use and Mental Health How to Talk to Your Teen About Substance Use

Attention problems can be frustrating for kids and parents. In this Q&A episode of Thriving Kids, Dr. Dave Anderson answers nine parent questions about attention and focus, including when difficulties may point to ADHD. Dr. Dave explains why ADHD can make boring or repetitive tasks especially difficult and shares practical strategies for strengthening study, organization, and attention skills. In this episode, Dr. Dave covers: • How to distinguish attention problems from lack of motivation • Strategies for kids with attention difficulties • How phones, gaming, and social media may affect attention • Why ADHD can look different in girls and boys • Helping kids start homework & stay focused • When to seek a professional ADHD evaluation Key takeaways • ADHD is not simply a lack of effort. Kids may struggle most with tasks that feel boring. • Attention problems don’t always mean ADHD. Anxiety, depression, trauma, learning disorders and other factors can also affect focus. • ADHD strategies can help even without a diagnosis. Routines, reinforcement and organization systems can make tasks easier. • Planners, calendars, distraction-free workspaces, technology impacts and more. Further reading How to Get an ADHD Diagnosis How to Tell if Your Daughter Has ADHD How Girls With ADHD Are Different How to Help Yourself Get Organized Side Effects of ADHD Medication Not All Attention Problems Are ADHD Books mentioned in the episode All About ADHD: The Complete Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers — Linda J. Pfiffner Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents — Russell A. Barkley Managing ADHD in School — Russell A. Barkley The Everyday Parenting Toolkit — Dr. Alan E. Kazdin Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD: An Empirically Supported Treatment — Richard Gallagher, Howard B. Abikoff, and Elana G. Spira Additional Resources ADDitude CHADD

Experimenting with alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other substances isn’t uncommon during adolescence — but that doesn’t mean that parents don’t, or shouldn’t, have concerns about it. On this episode of Thriving Kids, Dr. Dave Anderson is joined by two experts from Partnerships to End Addiction, clinical psychologist Dr. Aaron Hogue and licensed clinical social worker Molly Bobek, for a practical conversation about preventing teen substance use, recognizing the warning signs of substance use problem, and helping young people make safer decisions.

In this Q&A episode of Thriving Kids, Dr. Dave Anderson answers eight parent questions about some of the most common — and challenging — behaviors families face. From aggression and ADHD to lying, motivation, OCD, and big emotions, Dr. Dave explains what may drive these behaviors and offers practical, evidence-based strategies parents can use to respond.