1KHO 671: The Mental Health of Young People Has Cratered | Hara Estroff Marano, A Nation of Wimps

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich

Kids & Family, Parenting

4.9 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) ** Ginny Yurich sits down with Psychology Today editor and author Hara Estroff Marano to talk about the quiet shift that started long before smartphones—and why it’s been devastating for kids. Drawing from A Nation of Wimps, Hara explains how fear and rapid cultural change pushed parents into “invasive” parenting, accidentally transmitting anxiety and squeezing play, risk, and independence out of childhood. The result isn’t safer, stronger kids—it’s more rigidity, perfectionism, and fragility. This episode is a steadying, permission-giving reset: play isn’t extra, it’s training for uncertainty; disappointment is information; and childhood doesn’t need to be optimized to be successful. If you’ve felt the pressure to manage every outcome, this conversation will help you step back, rebuild resilience the natural way, and give your kids what they actually need to grow up well. Get your copy of A Nation of Wimps here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Oh, oh, it's a beautiful world.
0:05.0	Ain't nothing on a screen that's ever gonna beat this view.
0:10.0	Oh, oh, it's a beautiful world.
0:16.0	And I just wanna share it with, I just want to share with you.
0:22.9	This beautiful world, such a beautiful world.
0:30.1	Before we begin, I want to say thank you for being here.
0:37.4	The 1,000 hours outside podcasts exist because of people like you, kids, parents, grandparents,
0:42.0	educators, and thoughtful humans who sense that something important is at stake in how
0:46.4	childhood is unfolding and who are willing to slow down and choose a more grounded way forward.
0:51.3	Today's conversation matters deeply.
0:53.5	You are about to hear from Hara
0:54.6	Estraff-Morano, longtime editor at Psychology Today and author of A Nation of Wimps. This episode
1:00.7	puts words to what so many parents are feeling, but haven't been able to fully articulate yet.
1:05.3	The mental health of young people didn't collapse overnight, and it didn't start with
1:09.2	smartphones. The answer isn't more pressure, more
1:12.1	optimization, or tighter control. The answer is play. In a world that feels increasingly uncertain,
1:18.8	socially, technologically, economically, play is not frivolous. It is preparation. It builds
1:24.8	mental flexibility, resilience, creativity, and the ability to adapt when
1:29.0	life doesn't follow a script. And that is exactly why the 1,000 hours outside journey is more
1:34.6	important now than ever. So before we jump in, I want to invite you into a few practical tools
1:39.3	that can genuinely change the culture of your home this year. First, our free 2026 1,000 Hours Outside
1:45.2	Tracker Sheets are available now. These trackers are simple but powerful. They help you to prioritize play.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 22 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ginny Yurich, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ginny Yurich and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.