Middle Years with Bridget KerMorris

18 Episodes

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My Kid Says He's Not Lonely . . . So Why Am I Still Worried?

2026-09-1117:35

Your middle schooler says he’s not lonely. So why are you still worried? In this episode of Middle Years with Bridget KerMorris, I answer a mom whose 12-year-old son is well-liked at school, has ADHD, and rarely reaches out to friends outside of school. She’s wondering whether to trust that he’s genuinely content or worry that difficulty maintaining friendships will catch up with him later. We talk about: why the question isn’t “does he have enough friends?”the hidden executive-function load ...

I Feel Pretty Much Invisible to My Kid (here's how to spot their backward glance)

2026-09-0315:59

Your middle schooler says “leave me alone,” slams the door, or falls apart the second they see you. It can feel like rejection but what if it’s actually a hidden reach? In this episode of Middle Years with Bridget KerMorris, I’m sharing one of the most powerful ideas from my recent workshop, Your Middle Schooler Is Secretly Obsessed With You: the backward glance. That little look your toddler used to give you from across the playground never really disappeared. It just changed form. Now it mi...

With Friendships, Middle Schoolers Don't Always "Work It Out on Their Own" (and that's not a failing)

2026-08-2715:20

We tell middle schoolers to “work it out on their own” all the time. But what if that advice is leaving kids alone with relationship skills they haven’t actually learned yet? In this episode, I’m sharing a piece of my recent Social Lives of Middle Schoolers workshop and challenging one of the most common rules parents hear about friendship struggles. Because stepping in does not have to mean taking over. We talk about: why “let them figure it out” can quietly protect the child causing harmthe...

How Do I Keep Everyone In The House Safe? (when one kid's big feelings fill the whole house)

2026-08-2025:33

How do you make home a safe haven for a middle schooler whose big feelings are loud, when that same loudness makes home feel less safe for everyone else? In this episode, I answer a mom whose 13-year-old is being evaluated for ADHD, has significant sensory sensitivities, and can become loud or aggressive when overwhelmed. We talk about: what sensory overwhelm can actually feel likewhy ADHD is not simply “an inability to focus”helping a child recognize overwhelm before someone else has to abso...

I Genuinely Don’t Understand Why This Is a Crisis (when your middle schooler gets completely stuck on something small)

2026-08-1521:41

When your middle schooler is melting down over a stained sweatshirt, a messy room, or something that seems objectively small, it can be hard not to think: Why is this such a crisis? And then the parenting questions start. Is this anxiety? Am I making it worse if I help? Should I be teaching them to tolerate the discomfort? Could this be something like OCD? Or am I overreacting by even wondering? In this episode of Middle Years with Bridget KerMorris, Bridget walks through how to take your chi...

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