All Episodes

August 14, 2025 42 mins

In this episode of All Together, host Sarah Stancombe is joined by expert Kurt Ela, Psy.D. to discuss the role of grandparents in the family, their impact on grandchildren, and their relationship with parents.

Kurt Ela, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He works with patients throughout the life cycle, with an emphasis on child and adolescent therapy as well as parenting and grandparenting. He has been awarded the Department’s Psychotherapy Supervisor of The Year Award, The Wellness Coach Recognition Award, and The William Licamele, M.D. Distinguished Seminar Teacher Award. Kurt received his BA from Amherst College and his doctorate from The George Washington University. He completed his internship at the University of Pennsylvania where he worked with pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients. In this episode, Kurt Ela, Psy.D. explains how a grandparent can take on many different roles in families - everything from someone distant, someone fun, a babysitter, to even a surrogate parent. Some grandparents struggle with distance, and this is where technology can help to ensure their involvement in the family. On the other hand, some parents may consider grandparents to be overbearing. Kurt Ela, Psy.D. advises open communication between parents and grandparents to ensure boundaries and expectations regarding caring for the grandchildren are clear. Together, Sarah and Kurt Ela, Psy.D. explore how to be better grandparents. Grandparents can be a light in the darkness when families go through hardship, especially if they foster a safe and familiar environment, where their home has structure, routine, and safe, familiar faces. By listening to what their grandchildren need and enjoy, grandparents can be a positive influence on their lives.

Connect with Kurt Ela, Psy.D. via the follow platforms: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurt-ela-36339289/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkurtela/ Follow Kurt Ela, Psy.D.’s work via his website: www.decadeofchildhood.com

Produced by the Family Science Labs, a division of LMSL, the Life Management Science Labs.

Explore LMSL at https://lifemanagementsciencelabs.com/ and visit http://fa.lmsl.net/ for additional information about Family Science Labs.

Follow us on social media to stay updated: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@familysciencelabs/ Facebook: http://facebook.com/family.science.labs.1/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/family.science.labs/ LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/showcase/familysciencelabs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaScienceLabs/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@family.science.labs/

You can also subscribe and listen to our podcasts on your preferred podcasting platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-together-the-family-science-insights-podcast/id1648226863 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KsAHQ9cboyvEwXq2oNGXF Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/97921230-f6e8-4e0b-aaf6-57475fa796d7/all-together-the-family-science-insights-podcast iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/102676509 Podbean: https://familyscienceinsights.podbean.com/ PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/3401811 Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/all-together-the-family-scienc-4903181

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.