Middle Years with Bridget KerMorris
The middle school years can feel like the start of losing your child.
One day they’re chatty and affectionate. The next they’re rolling their eyes, questioning everything, and leaving you wondering, “Am I doing this all wrong?”
The truth is, middle school isn’t the end of your relationship. It’s the beginning of a new one.
Each week, middle school therapist, coach, and creator of Steady + Connected Parenting™, Bridget KerMorris answers a real question from a real parent. Together, you’ll move beyond quick parenting tips to understand what’s really happening underneath your child’s behavior, what’s getting activated inside of you, and how to lead your family with steadiness, warmth, and confidence.
Whether you’re navigating friendships, technology, ADHD, sibling conflict, identity, motivation, anxiety, or simply wondering how to stay connected to a child who suddenly seems impossible to reach, each episode offers practical tools, fresh perspective, and the kind of relational clarity™ that helps both parents and kids thrive.
Bridget is a Stanford-trained lawyer with thousands of hours of education and experience as a marriage and family therapist specializing in family systems, neurodivergence, and relational trauma. She’s also a mom of seven, currently parenting her fourth middle schooler, and the creator behind @bridget.parentcoach, where more than 100,000 parents turn each day for grounded, compassionate support.
Because your middle schooler isn’t asking for a perfect parent.
They’re asking,
“Do you like me?”
“Will you come back for me?”
This podcast will help you answer, “Yes.”
Middle Years with Bridget KerMorris
Latest Episodes
How Do I Keep Everyone In The House Safe? (when one kid's big feelings fill the whole house)
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 s...
I Genuinely Don’t Understand Why This Is a Crisis (when your middle schooler gets completely stuck on something small)
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 ...
I'm Just Trying to Help . . . Why Does Everything Turn Into a Fight?
You ask about homework --> Your middle schooler gets defensive.You offer a reminder. --> They hear criticism.And before you know it, both of you are caught in a conversation that feels much bigger than the missing assignment...
Middle School Friendships Are Practice (and that's actually good news)
What if your middle schooler's friendship struggles aren't a sign that something is wrong?What if they're exactly where they're supposed to be?In this special episode of Middle Years, I'm sharing one of the most important...
Am I Too Sensitive? (it hurts when your middle schooler argues with everything you say)
Am I too sensitive or is something else going on?Do you ever walk away from a conversation with your middle schooler feeling . . . dismissed and, well, kind of small?Maybe every casual comment turns into a debate. Maybe the...