What if connecting with your kid didn’t require a big heart-to-heart or even a lot of time?

Teacher and parent Buffy Sallee aims for something much more manageable: 15 minutes daily of real connection - time together that isn’t about grades, schedules, college applications, or getting something done.

In this episode of Parenting the Mental Health Generation, Buffy joins CATCH founder Amy Oberholtzer to talk about what she’s seeing in teens at school and at home. After more than two decades in the classroom, she has some tried and true ideas about what parents can do to help kids slow down, get curious, and figure out what matters to them.

Amy and Buffy, explore how parents can model curiosity instead of rushing to provide the “right” answer, thus allowing our kids to understand their own values and opinions more authentically. They also discuss why kids need opportunities to sit with disagreement and uncertainty rather than immediately dismissing what makes them uncomfortable.

You’ll also hear practical ideas for creating more connection at home, including:

• Finding small, realistic opportunities for one-on-one time
• Asking questions instead of immediately correcting
• Helping kids identify their values through everyday choices
• Modeling humility, vulnerability, and repair
• Making room for conversations that don’t have easy answers

It's noisy and chaotic out there. Come in and connect with your kids. You don’t need hours. You don’t need the perfect question. Sometimes, 15 good minutes is a meaningful place to start.

Try this after you listen

• Name one emotion out loud. Share something you felt that day or week, and give your child space to do the same without judgment.
• Lead with curiosity. When you hear something you disagree with, try asking, “I wonder what I don’t know yet?”

Music Credit: Line Up/Pond 5

CATCH 2026

To find all of the resources CATCH provides to caregivers of young people struggling with their mental health, go to www.catchiscommunity.org.

Follow us on social media
Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky: @catchiscommunity

CATCH, Community Action Together for Children's Health, is a 501(c)3 that provides support and education for families around mental health topics. Original content and materials from CATCH and its collaborators are for informational purposes only. They are provided as a general resource and are not specific to any person or circumstance.

In this episode of Parenting the Mental Health Generation, Amy talks with therapist Karen Cloyd about how parents can help kids navigate a world full of constant headlines, graphic images, and overwhelming information. Together, they explore what it looks like to respond rather than react, how to open age-appropriate conversations, and why curiosity, calm, and connection matter so much when kids are trying to make sense of hard things.

Karen shares practical ways parents can support children of different ages, help them name their feelings, sort truth from misinformation, and understand the impact of social media and comparison. This conversation is a reminder that parents do not have to have perfect answers—they just have to keep showing up as a safe, steady place for their kids.

Action item: Learn what your kids are seeing and hearing. Be curious. Prioritize connection with your children and find a regular time to normalize conversation about feelings and vulnerabilities including yours.

Some of the news to which our kids are exposed in this ever-changing world may cause them to experience big feelings or feel overwhelmed. Use the safe place you've created to help them process and better understand with your guidance.

SHOW NOTES:

Family Service Center, Northfield IL

Music Credit: Line Up/Pond 5

CATCH 2026

To find all of the resources CATCH provides to caregivers of young people struggling with their mental health, go to www.catchiscommunity.org.

Follow us on social media
Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky: @catchiscommunity

CATCH, Community Action Together for Children's Health, is a 501(c)3 that provides support and education for families around mental health topics. Original content and materials from CATCH and its collaborators are for informational purposes only. They are provided as a general resource and are not specific to any person or circumstance.

In this special, closer-to-home episode of Parenting the Mental Health Generation, host Amy O. shares a real (not scripted, not polished) conversation with her daughter, Shawn. It was recorded for a CATCH “Parenting with Grit” event on February 25, 2026. Together, they talk about what it looked like to grow up in pressure-filled community, chase achievement for a sense of self-worth and battle crippling anxiety- all while trying to stay connected.

They get honest about the moments parents miss, how reassurance can feed anxiety, and why kids need space to feel what they feel, without being rushed, fixed, or talked out of it. This episode isn’t about quick solutions. It’s about presence, repair, and building trust that can hold steady when things get messy.

Action item: Over the next few days, choose one moment to validate instead of fix. Reflect back what you see or hear, “That sounds really hard,” “I can see why that upset you,” “Thanks for telling me”, and stop there. No lesson. No solution. Just connection.

SHOW NOTES:
Letting Go and Trusting What Matters Most | A Parenting with Grit Conversation

music credit: Line Up/Pond 5
©CATCH 2026

To find all of the resources CATCH provides to caregivers of young people struggling with their mental health, go to www.catchiscommunity.org.

Follow us on social media
Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky: @catchiscommunity

CATCH, Community Action Together for Children's Health, is a 501(c)3 that provides support and education for families around mental health topics. Original content and materials from CATCH and its collaborators are for informational purposes only. They are provided as a general resource and are not specific to any person or circumstance.