How to Raise Happy, Healthy Children in an Anxious World (with Todd Sarner, LMFT)

Gentle parenting. Strict parenting. Free-range, attachment, screen-free, let-them-be-bored. Every philosophy has a following and a comment section, and for parents, it can be overwhelming. Meanwhile teachers are reporting a generation of kids who can't handle boredom, can't hear the word no, and fall apart the first time something doesn't go their way.

Jesse sits down with Todd Sarner — a licensed marriage and family therapist, former Neufeld Institute faculty, and the author of The Calm & Connected Parent — for a 101 on what actually works. Why you don't have to be a perfect parent, and why perfectionists often struggle the most. What attachment science actually says, and the difference between a secure and an anxious kid. Todd's framework of connection, regulation, and guidance — and why your kids need you to be an alpha, calm, and aligned parent. Why the gentle-versus-strict pendulum on Instagram misses the point entirely. And Jesse gets honest about what happens inside him when three kids get loud at once.

Then it gets practical: a fifteen-second breathing reset you can do in the car with the kids in the back seat, why giving a hug bigger ends a meltdown faster, and how to fill your kid's tank before things go sideways. No perfect scripts. No shame. Just a proven, research-backed framework to help you raise happy, healthy kids in an anxious generation.

PLUS THIS WEEK'S HEALTH & FITNESS NEWS

- Six minutes of reading tied to a 68% drop in stress — and kids' reading is at a record low

- Over half of men in high-stress jobs report a private health problem, and it's reversible

- The 2026 school lunch report card: which states feed their kids best and worst

- ER visits for gambling nearly doubled after online sports betting expanded — mostly men and boys

- Twenty-four teachers on the modern parenting trends doing the most damage

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Cold Open & Intro

1:54 - The Weekly Health Brief: Six Minutes of Reading