meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Teens Into Adulthood

Episode 250: Your Teen Summer Checklist Starts Now

Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Teens Into Adulthood

Kenneth Wilgus, Cynthia Yanof

Christianity, Education, Parenting, How To, Kids & Family, Religion & Spirituality

4.8801 Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dr. Ken and Cynthia are talking all things summer — because somehow it’s already almost here, and if you have teenagers at home, now is the time to start thinking ahead. In this episode, they walk through a practical summer checklist for parents: screen time, jobs, sleep schedules, dating relationships, family vacations, summer reading, and how to keep teens from spending three straight months attached to a phone or gaming system.

Cynthia shares the story of the year she created an ambitious “Summer Bucket List” for her kids that completely fell apart within days, while Dr. Ken explains why boredom actually matters, why teens need meaningful responsibility during the summer, and how parents can create structure without making summer miserable for everyone involved.

They also tackle the tricky balance of family time versus independence, how to think about summer jobs and volunteering, and why dating boundaries become even more important once school is out and teens suddenly have endless free time.

If summer tends to sneak up on you every year, this episode will help you plan ahead.


If you have a minute, please leave us a review. We love hearing listeners encouraging other listeners. 

You can order Dr. Ken's book "Feeding The Mouth That Bites You" here

You can order Cynthia's book "Life Is Messy, God Is Good" here

You can pre-order Cynthia's book "How'd I Miss That" here

 

Got questions or feedback? We want to hear from you! podcast@feedingthemouth.com 

Music provided by the great John David Kent - https://www.johndavidkent.com/



Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome back to Feeding the Mouth to Bight You, a weekly podcast guide on parenting teens and launching them into the world.

0:15.4

I'm Cynthia Yanov, and as always, I'm joined by psychologist and author Dr. Ken Wilgus.

0:20.9

Can you feel it in the air, Dr. Ken?

0:22.4

Can you feel the tension of summer is coming?

0:25.3

I thought that was just rain.

0:27.6

Okay.

0:28.4

Is that what it is?

0:30.9

It is.

0:32.3

It is coming.

0:33.3

And I don't know if I've ever told you about the summer years ago when I was like, we don't need summer camps for our kids.

0:40.7

My older two are younger.

0:41.8

We don't need summer camps.

0:43.2

Like we are going to have a together summer.

0:45.5

And we are just going to do all the things.

0:47.5

And I made a poster.

0:49.7

I bought poster board.

0:51.9

And I got the kids like two weeks before school was out and I sat everybody

0:56.3

down and I'm like, give me the top 10 things you want to do this summer within reason.

1:00.6

And I made this list.

1:02.6

It was our summer bucket list.

1:03.8

True story, isn't it?

1:05.0

True story.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 3 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

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

Generated transcripts are the property of Kenneth Wilgus, Cynthia Yanof and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.