April 23, 2025 • 8 mins
Welcome to Season 7 of Ground Control Parenting with Carol Sutton Lewis! Starting April 30, Carol is back with a new season packed with resources and advice to help you raise curious, confident Black and Brown children. This trailer gives you a taste of the powerful conversations coming your way this season as Carol engages with a team of experts to tackle a wide range of important parenting topics.Tune in each week and join us on this journey!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello and welcome to Ground Control Parenting, an award winning
podcast creative for parents raising black and brown children. I'm
the creator and your host, Carol Sutton Lewis. In this
podcast series, I talk with some really interesting people about
the job and the joy of parenting. A brand new
season of Ground Control Parenting is launching next week on
(00:25):
April thirtieth, twenty twenty five. This season, I am bringing
a team of experts to GCP to help us with
a lot of parenting issues. John B. King Junior, the
former Secretary of Education under President Obama who has worked
and led in so many school settings. He's going to
join me for two episodes this season. We're going to
tap into his expertise on school choice, which is a
(00:48):
topic that a lot of parents are focusing on, and
we're going to discuss his riveting new book, Teacher by Teacher,
The People Who Change Our Lives. John opens up about
how losing his mom when he was only eight years
old and then being raised by his father who was
battling dementia created such a chaotic household that the only
(01:08):
safe haven he could find was school. So, in the
category of what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, were
there any positive aspects of the traumatic experiences of your youth?
I mean, how are you able to move so far
away from the impact of the trauma?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
You know. A couple things. I think one, it really
deepened my love for school and academics right in many ways.
I can recall times where home was so difficult with
my father and I would just escape into a book,
and that passion for academics has defined a lot of
(01:49):
my life. The other thing I would say is I
have a lot of empathy for the struggles people are
going through. And I'm very conscious as a person who
was going through struggles and didn't tell anyone, I'm very
conscious going through life that when people are upset or unhappy,
(02:12):
you don't know what's behind that, you know. I always
think about the scene in the movie It's a Wonderful Life,
So it's a parent teacher scene where the main character
has had a very upsetting situation and the school calls
and he's very rude to the educator on the other
(02:34):
end of the line. And I always think about that
that for the educator, you could internalize that, or you
could have the perspective that you just don't know what
else is happening in that person's life. When I was
a principal and sometimes you know, folks were short with
me or so forth, I would think about, I don't
(02:54):
really know what else is going on with them, and
let me just try to be as empathetic and express
care as best I can, because you just don't know
people's struggles.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Emily Oust, the data driven parenting Guru, is coming to
the podcast this season. Emily talks with me about her
approach to decision making and pregnancy and parenting. How she
breaks down the research and she turns it into smart,
down to earth guidance the parents can actually use. We
have a great conversation that covers a lot, including how
to steer clear of the misleading parenting advice that can
(03:32):
be found on social media.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
So the biggest kind of like misinformation issues arise for
me when people send me these like Instagram reels, and
I just imagine, you know, it's at night, you're scrolling Instagram.
All you want to do is just watch like Valeriina
Farm's latest instagram about her sourdough, you know, and you're
like just enjoying yourself and then the next thing that
shows up in your feed is like, did you know
(03:58):
that you can cure your child's et by small changes
to their diet? Or you know, vaccines have never been
tested against a placebo or whatever is the latest thing,
and people aren't ready to process that, and all they
see is this one Instagram real or this one quote.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And it's by someone who has a million followers.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
And I think that's when the misinformation is most harmful,
because it sort of gets in your head in a
moment you're not really ready to think about it in context.
And so I don't know how much to tell people
to fight that except just be like scroll path, you know,
like wait, like file that away until you're ready to
think about this question overall, and then you can really
dive into an actual research project actually trying.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
To learn what trusted sources say. Right, Okay, that's a
really good note to parents. When you are scrolling and
you come across some genius idea in the middle.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Of the night, return to the sourdough, look for more sourdovers.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Back to the Sourdough and Emily returns later the season
to answer questions from listeners whether you're a new mom
or dad, a mom to be, new grandparent, or a
new favorite auntie or uncle. You won't want to miss
that episode. We'll explore how to talk with our children
about race with author, journalist, and podcaster Michelle Norris, who
(05:14):
has written an amazing book called Our Hidden Conversations What
Americans Really Think about Race and Identity. In this sneak peek,
Michelle shares a powerful story that highlights the complexities of
families face when they're thinking and talking about race.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
You know, when I was writing the book, one of
the difficult things, much like this story I shared with
you earlier, is trying to figure out how to tell
these stories in a way that people can interpret them
from their own entry point. An example I use when
I do workshops is a six word card that came in.
Grandma sent one hundred dollars when we broke up. Broke
up was typhenated, so it became one word, and one
(05:54):
hundred dollars was like numeral one hundred, so he made
it six words. So when you hear that, sure, what
do you think was behind that?
Speaker 1 (06:03):
She was so happy that this union that she didn't
approve of ended that she wanted to reward her grandchild.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Yeah, so it's got a certain ambiguity, you know, But
I always note that could it be that your heart
might be broken?
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Right? That didn't even Yes, I thought of that immediately after.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Look at your toes done, you know, fit yourself up,
go out for a go, go out for a night
on the town. But even if it's more of one
than the other, does that mean that grandma was racist?
Or did Grandma just want someone who was going to
get in the kitchen with her and make to Molly's,
you know? Did she want someone who was going to
understand her culture, her religion, her history. And that's that
(06:46):
fuzzy line. Is that racism, is that cultural pride? Is
that insensitivity?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
And I don't have the answer to that, but I
use it as an example to show you how a
story can be in turn in lots of different ways.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Psychologist and parenting coach Doctor and Louise Lockhart brings our
expertise back to the podcast for a couple of episodes
this season. In one episode, we talk about how to
raise emotionally intelligent, resilient kids. Doctor Lockhart explains that it's
tough for some parents to teach their kids emotional intelligence
because they haven't learned it themselves.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Many people struggle with it as an adult because they
never learned it. It wasn't modeled for them, They never
were taught. So you have kids and then you're automatically
expected to be this mature grown up who knows how
to have emotional intelligence. But if it was never modeled
for you and you never got to practice it, then yeah,
maybe that's why you're raging all the time because that's
your go to, that's your default. So it's not fixed,
(07:49):
and that's the good news. It can be changed and
you can grow it with practice, with self reflection, with
self monitoring, and just learning strategies.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
This season is going to be amazing, and you've just
gotten a sneak peek at some of the many powerful
conversations coming your way. So please join me for the
new season of Ground Control Parenting with Carol Sutton Lewis
starting Wednesday, April thirtieth. Listen wherever you get your podcasts,
and please don't forget to subscribe so you never miss
an episode. I can't wait for you to join us.
Hello and welcome to Ground Control Parenting, an award winning
podcast creative for parents raising black and brown children. I'm
the creator and your host, Carol Sutton Lewis. In this
podcast series, I talk with some really interesting people about
the job and the joy of parenting. A brand new
season of Ground Control Parenting is launching next week on
(00:25):
April thirtieth, twenty twenty five. This season, I am bringing
a team of experts to GCP to help us with
a lot of parenting issues. John B. King Junior, the
former Secretary of Education under President Obama who has worked
and led in so many school settings. He's going to
join me for two episodes this season. We're going to
tap into his expertise on school choice, which is a
(00:48):
topic that a lot of parents are focusing on, and
we're going to discuss his riveting new book, Teacher by Teacher,
The People Who Change Our Lives. John opens up about
how losing his mom when he was only eight years
old and then being raised by his father who was
battling dementia created such a chaotic household that the only
(01:08):
safe haven he could find was school. So, in the
category of what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, were
there any positive aspects of the traumatic experiences of your youth?
I mean, how are you able to move so far
away from the impact of the trauma?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
You know. A couple things. I think one, it really
deepened my love for school and academics right in many ways.
I can recall times where home was so difficult with
my father and I would just escape into a book,
and that passion for academics has defined a lot of
(01:49):
my life. The other thing I would say is I
have a lot of empathy for the struggles people are
going through. And I'm very conscious as a person who
was going through struggles and didn't tell anyone, I'm very
conscious going through life that when people are upset or unhappy,
(02:12):
you don't know what's behind that, you know. I always
think about the scene in the movie It's a Wonderful Life,
So it's a parent teacher scene where the main character
has had a very upsetting situation and the school calls
and he's very rude to the educator on the other
(02:34):
end of the line. And I always think about that
that for the educator, you could internalize that, or you
could have the perspective that you just don't know what
else is happening in that person's life. When I was
a principal and sometimes you know, folks were short with
me or so forth, I would think about, I don't
(02:54):
really know what else is going on with them, and
let me just try to be as empathetic and express
care as best I can, because you just don't know
people's struggles.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Emily Oust, the data driven parenting Guru, is coming to
the podcast this season. Emily talks with me about her
approach to decision making and pregnancy and parenting. How she
breaks down the research and she turns it into smart,
down to earth guidance the parents can actually use. We
have a great conversation that covers a lot, including how
to steer clear of the misleading parenting advice that can
(03:32):
be found on social media.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
So the biggest kind of like misinformation issues arise for
me when people send me these like Instagram reels, and
I just imagine, you know, it's at night, you're scrolling Instagram.
All you want to do is just watch like Valeriina
Farm's latest instagram about her sourdough, you know, and you're
like just enjoying yourself and then the next thing that
shows up in your feed is like, did you know
(03:58):
that you can cure your child's et by small changes
to their diet? Or you know, vaccines have never been
tested against a placebo or whatever is the latest thing,
and people aren't ready to process that, and all they
see is this one Instagram real or this one quote.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And it's by someone who has a million followers.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
And I think that's when the misinformation is most harmful,
because it sort of gets in your head in a
moment you're not really ready to think about it in context.
And so I don't know how much to tell people
to fight that except just be like scroll path, you know,
like wait, like file that away until you're ready to
think about this question overall, and then you can really
dive into an actual research project actually trying.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
To learn what trusted sources say. Right, Okay, that's a
really good note to parents. When you are scrolling and
you come across some genius idea in the middle.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Of the night, return to the sourdough, look for more sourdovers.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Back to the Sourdough and Emily returns later the season
to answer questions from listeners whether you're a new mom
or dad, a mom to be, new grandparent, or a
new favorite auntie or uncle. You won't want to miss
that episode. We'll explore how to talk with our children
about race with author, journalist, and podcaster Michelle Norris, who
(05:14):
has written an amazing book called Our Hidden Conversations What
Americans Really Think about Race and Identity. In this sneak peek,
Michelle shares a powerful story that highlights the complexities of
families face when they're thinking and talking about race.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
You know, when I was writing the book, one of
the difficult things, much like this story I shared with
you earlier, is trying to figure out how to tell
these stories in a way that people can interpret them
from their own entry point. An example I use when
I do workshops is a six word card that came in.
Grandma sent one hundred dollars when we broke up. Broke
up was typhenated, so it became one word, and one
(05:54):
hundred dollars was like numeral one hundred, so he made
it six words. So when you hear that, sure, what
do you think was behind that?
Speaker 1 (06:03):
She was so happy that this union that she didn't
approve of ended that she wanted to reward her grandchild.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Yeah, so it's got a certain ambiguity, you know, But
I always note that could it be that your heart
might be broken?
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Right? That didn't even Yes, I thought of that immediately after.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Look at your toes done, you know, fit yourself up,
go out for a go, go out for a night
on the town. But even if it's more of one
than the other, does that mean that grandma was racist?
Or did Grandma just want someone who was going to
get in the kitchen with her and make to Molly's,
you know? Did she want someone who was going to
understand her culture, her religion, her history. And that's that
(06:46):
fuzzy line. Is that racism, is that cultural pride? Is
that insensitivity?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
And I don't have the answer to that, but I
use it as an example to show you how a
story can be in turn in lots of different ways.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Psychologist and parenting coach Doctor and Louise Lockhart brings our
expertise back to the podcast for a couple of episodes
this season. In one episode, we talk about how to
raise emotionally intelligent, resilient kids. Doctor Lockhart explains that it's
tough for some parents to teach their kids emotional intelligence
because they haven't learned it themselves.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Many people struggle with it as an adult because they
never learned it. It wasn't modeled for them, They never
were taught. So you have kids and then you're automatically
expected to be this mature grown up who knows how
to have emotional intelligence. But if it was never modeled
for you and you never got to practice it, then yeah,
maybe that's why you're raging all the time because that's
your go to, that's your default. So it's not fixed,
(07:49):
and that's the good news. It can be changed and
you can grow it with practice, with self reflection, with
self monitoring, and just learning strategies.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
This season is going to be amazing, and you've just
gotten a sneak peek at some of the many powerful
conversations coming your way. So please join me for the
new season of Ground Control Parenting with Carol Sutton Lewis
starting Wednesday, April thirtieth. Listen wherever you get your podcasts,
and please don't forget to subscribe so you never miss
an episode. I can't wait for you to join us.
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