Parents' Guide to The Middle School Mind

Podcast Kids & Family Independent Average run time: 28 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Debra Alvarado By Debra Alvarado , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 10+

Father & son chat about middle school life; drug references.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 10+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 9+

Based on 1 kid review

What's It About?

In THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MIND podcast, a tween and his dad have fun chatting about an assortment of subjects of interest to a middle schooler, including video games, fast food restaurants, and bad gift ideas for middle school students. With a light-hearted approach and easy laughs, the son and his dad (who don't reveal their names) dish on starting a new school year, making friends, and "Would you rather?" questions. Though the host is 11 years-old, several of the video games he talks about may be a bit mature for some listeners. One episode includes some potentially more difficult subjects (drug use and underage drinking), while others touch on minor anxiety about starting a new school year, managing stage fright, or having food allergies. Both father and son are consistent in their promotion of healthy choices and behaviors.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say ( 1 ):

This easy-going, father son podcast delivers clean, positive, and respectful conversations that are likely to be familiar to families of tweens. The Middle School Mind podcast, hosted by anonymous "Dad" and "Son," shares conversations from daily life and promotes healthy communication between kids and adults. Video games are a recurring theme of interest and debate, and the discussions include explanations of numerous games that may be mature for some listeners. While most episodes cover themes with humor and laughs including, some cover more difficult subjects as well. Though the show may be a bit amature in production quality, the messaging is positive.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the hosts of The Middle School Mind don't share their real names in order to protect their anonymity. When is it important to protect your privacy? What are some other ways you can be safe online?

  • How is the mind of a middle-schooler different from that of an elementary-schooler? What happens to cause those changes?

  • If you were to start your own podcast, would you want to do it alone or with a partner? What would you talk about? How would you decide what was important to share?

  • In this podcast a son has honest and open conversations with his father. Is there a trusted adult you can have conversations like this with?

Podcast Details

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