Episode 255: Is Your Teen Being Sneaky—or Just Growing Up?
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Teens Into Adulthood
Kenneth Wilgus, Cynthia Yanof
4.8 • 803 Ratings
🗓️ 16 June 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Fake Instagram accounts. Secret relationships. Hidden piercings. Skipped classes. Every parent eventually discovers something their teen didn't tell them—and it raises the question: Is this normal teenage behavior, or is there something deeper going on? In this episode, Dr. Ken and Cynthia discuss why teens become "sneaky" and how to tell the difference between healthy independence and behavior that deserves closer attention.
Together, they tackle everything from Finstas (fake Instagram accounts) and hidden relationships to bad grades, skipping school, tattoos, piercings, and phone privacy. Along the way, Dr. Ken explains why some sneaky behavior is actually a normal part of adolescence, how certain parenting styles can unintentionally encourage secrecy, and what parents should do when they discover something they don't like. If you've ever found yourself wondering whether your teen is hiding something—or simply growing up—this episode offers practical guidance for raising honest kids while helping them become independent adults.
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 That Bites You, a weekly podcast guide on parenting teens and launching them into the world. |
| 0:15.3 | I'm Cynthia Yanov, and as always, I'm joined by psychologist and author Dr. Ken Wilgus. |
| 0:21.3 | Dr. Ken, how's it going over there? |
| 0:24.3 | Doing well. |
| 0:25.2 | How are you, Cynthia? |
| 0:26.7 | Well, you know what? |
| 0:27.5 | We're getting by. |
| 0:28.1 | It's summer, Dr. Ken, and it's summer. |
| 0:32.8 | Okay. |
| 0:33.7 | It's summer. |
| 0:34.6 | It's summer. |
| 0:35.3 | All the kids come home from college. |
| 0:36.6 | We're going to talk about that in another show coming up. |
| 0:39.8 | Kids are home from college, little ones out of school, just doing all the things, but it's going well. |
| 0:45.7 | How's empty nesting? |
| 0:46.9 | Same in the summer as it is in the winter? |
| 0:48.5 | It is the best thing ever. |
| 0:51.4 | Yes. |
| 0:52.2 | It's all good for you. |
| 0:53.3 | Good. |
| 0:59.3 | We all are real thrilled for you um we're talking about sneaky teens today and um just things they do that are sneaky and or we think they're sneaky |
| 1:07.4 | maybe they don't think it's sneaky. And I was thinking back, |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 19 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.
