Raising good humans is a full-time job the busy professional parent often has to fit into after-work hours. Talk about pressure!
Fortunately, Dr. Aliza Pressman, host of the Raising Good Humans podcast, provides a map, guide, and compass to navigate the parenting journey with more insight, knowledge, and confidence.
Dr. Aliza knows this journey well. She’s in the trenches, too, raising two good humans while juggling, balancing, and walking the “tightrope” of life right alongside her listeners who are focused on working, parenting, and keeping the romance alive with their partner. Co-founding clinical director for Mount Sinai Parenting Center and assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, she walks her talk and shares her expertise with parents across the globe.
“Raising good humans can feel so overwhelming, but it is so doable. It doesn’t take as much intense perfectionism as we may think. I want to share the things we know to really work.
“I’ve done tons of research on what helps children and humans thrive, and from that, I know what’s necessary for a thriving family, as well. My mission is to take the research from page to stage in easy, achievable ways, reassuring my listeners that they CAN do it.”
Raising Good Humans covers many diverse topics, from how children learn to lie, to how they become perfectionists, to what and when they’re thinking about sex, to their use of mobile phones, to picky eaters, to brain science.
Fearless in tackling the tough stuff, Dr. Aliza also covers cultural diversity as an added complication to parenting. Whether that culture is ethnic, or within the family only, diverse expectations raise spoken (and often unspoken) issues. Well, Dr. Aliza speaks up!
Featuring expert and experienced guests who capsulize vast fields of information to light the parenting path, you’ll find no shortage of encouragement when you listen in.
For example, Dr. Aliza has interviewed Dr. Dan Siegel, author of The Developing Mind, Drew Barrymore on reducing materialism, and most recently, New York Times best-selling author, Peggy Orenstein on boys, sex, porn, and masturbation.
Nothing’s off limits to fulfill her mission.
“I have curated a beautiful list of professionals who are such great voices. I’ve learned so much from them as they’ve mentored me and inspired me in my work. Some, I’ve mentored. They know what families need to hear.”
Dr. Aliza delivers practical, down-to-earth advice, successfully translating the academic into the day to day. Research is not everyone’s passion, but fortunately, developmental psychology is hers. That passion led to the development of her podcast, in which she offers her research and insights in manageable, bite-sized, actionable tips and strategies for parents.
Plus, Dr. Aliza takes her show a step further to answer her listeners’ specific questions by inviting parents and caregivers to submit them to her via Instagram. Each week, she can then follow up on the previous week’s show, providing her answers to what listeners (who are tackling real-time issues) need most.
“The great thing about podcasting is you can mess with it. If there’s a pressing need, and five people suddenly have the same question, I can respond to it. A planned episode can wait. If something in the news creates urgency—recent mass shootings in schools, for example—I can respond quickly with strategies to help parents talk about it with their kids. I always make it clear, however, that if a child experienced the trauma firsthand, there are much more thorough and important resources to go to than a podcast!”
Dr. Aliza’s experience as a mental health professional allows her to also delve into some of the more intriguing corners of a parent’s mind—those places where the things that so often keep parents awake at night lurk: fears, worries, and worst-case scenarios. She and her guests—powerful parenting advocates—shed light onto those places, allaying fears with their knowledge, insight, and experience.
The reality is that we live in a digital world that makes so much information accessible, it’s often overwhelming for parents. Children have the same access to that information, and really, parents have no idea what situations and ideas are presented to them every single day via the Internet. Sure, some of it will enlighten and uplift them; but some will baffle, scare, and confuse them.
Dr. Aliza has her finger on the pulse of what’s relevant now, and what needs addressing in order to raise good humans.
Raising two herself, she is dedicated to making the parenting journey less overwhelming and stressful—and a lot more joyful—for herself and others!
If you are a fast-moving parent who wants to raise fabulous kids you truly enjoy spending time with, Raising Good Humans is a great go-to resource.
