Thriving Kids

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:

• Common reasons kids may avoid school
• How bullying, peer conflict, tests, teachers, bathrooms, and lunchrooms can become triggers
• How ADHD, executive functioning challenges, learning disorders, and autism can contribute
• How to validate anxiety without validating avoidance
• Why staying home shouldn’t become more rewarding than going to school
• How gradual exposure can help kids build tolerance for anxiety
• When professional help may be needed
• Why progress isn’t always linear — and why effort matters
Further reading
When Kids Refuse to Go to School
How Anxiety Affects Kids in School
Anxious Stomachaches and Headaches
Have a question you’d like Dr. Dave and a Child Mind Institute expert to answer in a future episode? Send it through the Child Mind Institute’s social channels or email podcast@childmind.org.

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.

They explain why the relationship parents build with their kids may be one of their most powerful prevention tools. And they discuss how to talk about drugs and alcohol without exaggerating the risks or losing credibility, what parents should know about the connection between substance use and mental health, and how to respond when a teenager comes home after drinking or doing drugs. They also offer guidance on when to seek treatment, what effective treatment should look like, and why it’s important for families to be involved in the recovery process.

In this episode, they cover:
• How to distinguish typical experimentation from more concerning patterns of substance use
• Why mental health challenges can make teens more vulnerable to misusing substances
• How parents can balance family values, consequences, safety, and open communication

Key takeaways
• Relationships are a powerful prevention tool. Staying calm, curious, and connected — Dr. Hogue’s “three C’s” — can offer teens somewhere to turn when they encounter substances or difficult situations.
• Don’t feel like you have to exaggerate the risks of substances to be heard. Scare tactics can backfire, undermining parents’ credibility. Accurate, age-appropriate information can help teens understand real risks while preserving trust.
• Think in terms of many small conversations, as opposed to one “big talk” about drinking and drugs. You can create an ongoing dialogue about peer pressure, family values, mental health, and safety.
• Prioritize safety when something happens. If your teen has used a substance, beginning with curiosity about what happened and whether they’re safe preserves an open line of communication that can help them make better decisions in the future.
• If a teen does need treatment, it should be framed as a form of support, not a punishment. Parents can approach counseling as something the family can work on together rather than evidence that the teen has failed or needs to be “fixed.”
• Effective treatment should address the whole child. For adolescents, that often means addressing co-occurring mental health challenges and meaningfully involving parents and families in care.

Further reading
How to Talk to Your Teen About Substance Use  – Child Mind Institute
Complete Guide to Substance Use + Mental Health – Child Mind Institute

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.

In this episode, Dr. Dave covers:
• Why is my three-year-old so angry and aggressive?
• How can I help a child with ADHD without medication?
• My child is out of control. Where can I send him?
• How do I motivate a “lazy” child?
• How do I explain OCD to a child?
• Why does my child lie about everything?
• Why won’t my child listen unless I yell?
• Why is my child so sensitive?

Key takeaways
• Anger and aggression in young children can stem from temperament, development, family stress, and other factors. Behavioral parent training can help parents combine warmth with clear expectations and consistent consequences.

• Medication is not the only evidence-based ADHD treatment. Parent training, classroom support, organizational skills, and help with peer relationships can all be effective but require consistent adult involvement.

• Even when behavior feels out of control, behavioral and family interventions can help. Families may also consider school-based services, therapeutic programs, residential treatment, or hospitalization when safety is a concern.

• What looks like “laziness” may reflect depression, ADHD, learning challenges, or other difficulties. Parents can build motivation through meaningful rewards and opportunities for success.

• OCD involves intrusive thoughts and/or repetitive behaviors a person feels driven to perform. Treatment, including exposure and response prevention (ERP), can help kids tolerate anxiety without compulsions.

• Lying is common in childhood. Parents can emphasize honesty, reinforce truth-telling — especially when it’s difficult — and use calm, proportionate consequences when needed.

• If kids only listen after a parent yells, the family may be in a coercive cycle. Calm directions and predictable consequences can break the pattern and show that yelling isn’t what makes a direction matter.

• Some children experience emotions more intensely. Parents can help them identify feelings, build coping skills, and learn to move forward after difficult moments.
 
Further Reading
Angry Kids: Dealing With Explosive Behavior
Behavioral Treatments for Kids With ADHD
Behavioral Parent Training
School Success Kit for Kids With ADHD
Complete Guide to ADHD
Why Kids Lie and What Parents Can Do About It
How to Give Kids Effective Instructions
Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids