Ep. 137: Taking on Teens (A Chat with RuthAnn Zimmerman)
M Is for Mama Podcast
Abbie Halberstadt
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a world that tells every parent of young children, “Just you wait until they’re teens. Then you’ll really know how bad parenting can be,” RuthAnn Zimmerman and I are here to call hog wash.
Yes, teens are a unique challenge and need to be treated with kindness and discernment. Yes, teen struggles can feel much bigger and scarier than toddler meltdowns.
But teenagers also can be delightful, funny, and thoughtful.
In this show, we debunk the myth that the teen stage has to be miserable and talk about some strategies we’ve employed to not just survive but thrive through it.
I know you’ll be encouraged to reframe your mindset about teenagers to one of hope rather than dread.
Sponsor Info:
Voetberg Music Academy
Voetberg Music Academy provides online, at home, shareable lessons so that your kids can pursue their musical passions without stress or hassle.
Use Code: MISFORMAMA20 For 20% Off Of Each Month That You're Enrolled!
Give your kids a stronger foundation to embrace a biblical worldview and learn to navigate complex topics, such as abortion, doubts, evolution, gender identity, God’s existence, homosexuality, marriage and family, pornography, reliability of scripture, and much more.
Use Code: MAMA26 For $250 Off On Top of Early Bird Pricing
Guest Info:
RuthAnn Zimmerman
Visit RuthAnn's Site Here
Buy Her Book The Heart of the Homestead Here!
Bible References:
Galatians 6:9
Proverbs 22:6
Ephesians 6:4
Matthew 5:16
1 Corinthians 13
Philippians 1:6
Links:
The Gentleness Challenge
Penny Reward System
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Emmys for Mama podcast. I'm your host, Abby Halberstadt, happy wife, |
| 0:09.5 | mom in a 10, Bible believing Christian. And we have Ruth Ann Zimmerman back on the show today |
| 0:15.0 | to talk again about another hot topic. This week we're going to talk about teenagers. |
| 0:19.4 | Last week we talked about responsibilities and chores and how to give your kids meaningful life skills and be intentional |
| 0:24.8 | with that if you have not listened to that episode yet. I highly recommend that you do. |
| 0:28.5 | And this week, we're going to speak life into this topic of teens, of which we each have several. |
| 0:33.7 | I think that's going to be a really edifying and fun conversation for you guys to listen to. |
| 0:37.5 | Before we dive into that, I want to highlight our podcast sponsor, Voteberg Music Academy. |
| 0:42.5 | If you have ever looked at your bill for private lessons for individual students in your home |
| 0:46.8 | and winced because it was so high, I highly recommend you check out Boatberg because they allow |
| 0:52.4 | students to learn together using the same |
| 0:54.2 | account for as little as and maybe less than $30 a month, especially if you use my code |
| 0:59.1 | Emmis for Mama 20 for 20% off each month that you're enrolled. They have lessons in guitar, |
| 1:05.7 | ukulele, mandolin, fiddle, and piano. And they have fun ways of encouraging your students to stay engaged |
| 1:12.5 | and motivated, like 24-hour access to your teachers, being able to play back your lessons and work |
| 1:18.6 | at your own pace. And you can even get badges mailed to your door when you achieve certain |
| 1:23.0 | milestones. Such a fun way for kids to learn and to want to keep learning. You can use the code |
| 1:28.4 | Emmits for Mama 20 at checkout at boatbird music academy.com. I also want to mention our podcast |
| 1:33.9 | sponsor Summit Ministries. They are an apologetics ministry that helps young people ages 13 to 25 |
| 1:39.9 | to know what they believe, why they believe to stand firm on it, and to be able to express it with |
| 1:45.1 | clarity and kindness. If that sounds like something your students would benefit from, they have both |
| 1:49.1 | in person and online options, and you can check them out at summit.org slash mama and use the code |
... |
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