How to Help Anxious Kids: Max Lucado on Parenting, Faith, and Finding Peace [Ep 556]
Don't Mom Alone Podcast
Don't Mom Alone Podcast
4.9 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are we living in the most anxious generation ever? In this powerful and hope-filled conversation, Max Lucado joins us to talk about anxiety, mental health, and the unseen struggles so many kids and teens are facing today—and what parents can do about it.
With constant access to phones, social media, and nonstop information, anxiety often shows up sideways in our kids through anger, withdrawal, or fear. Max explains what’s happening in the brain, why anxiety feels like an alarm that never shuts off, and how parents can become a soft place to land when emotions run high.
We also talk about the importance of parents addressing anxiety in their own lives, how worry steals joy and peace, and why our presence (not perfection) is what God desires most. Max shares encouragement for praying parents, reminding us that Jesus never turned away a parent who asked for help for their child. Here is some of what we cover:
- Why today’s kids are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety
- The physical and emotional toll of chronic worry
- Why a parent’s physical presence matters more than we realize
- Max Lucado’s personal faith journey and what God taught him about presence over performance
- Instagram: Max Lucado (@maxlucado)
- Facebook: Max Lucado
- Website: Max Lucado
Links Mentioned:
- Calm Thoughts for Kids: 90 devotions for Anxious Days
- Tame Your Thoughts: By Max Lucado
- Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado
- Hermie Series–Buzby and the Grumble Bees
- **SIGN UP to Join Heather and Megan at Pro Love Saturday for Embrace Grace
- Life Empowered by the Holy Spirit :: Max Lucado [Ep 381]
- You Are Never Alone :: Max Lucado [Ep 298]
- From Overwhelmed to Anchored: Replacing the Lies of Motherhood with God’s Truth :: Erica Gwynn [Ep 544]
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, y'all, welcome back to the Don't Mom Alone podcast. |
| 0:10.3 | I'm your host, Heather McFaddean, and this is the place where I get to walk alongside you |
| 0:14.2 | and connect you with people and resources so you know that you don't mom alone. |
| 0:18.8 | And in this episode number 556, I'm welcoming back to the show, |
| 0:23.1 | Max Lucado. If there's any encouragement, I would say to moms and dads, let's be aware that this |
| 0:31.3 | truly is a season in which there's an atmosphere of anxiety that our kids are inhaling that's different than the one most |
| 0:39.8 | certainly i was raised perhaps in which you were raised there is an exposure to bad news everywhere |
| 0:46.6 | and there is an exposure to comparison and competition everywhere and that's really a challenge for young people |
| 0:53.8 | i am such a fan of Max and it is not because of his prolific |
| 1:00.9 | writings and all of the beautiful resources he's created for adults and kids. It's his honesty and his vulnerability and you are going to hear that today when we talk about the topic of anxiety. |
| 1:14.4 | He has a new resource for parents to read with your kids called Calm Thoughts for Kids, 90 Devotions for Anxious Days. |
| 1:23.5 | And what I appreciate is this is not a, just calm down, put some faith on it situation. |
| 1:30.1 | Max is providing a tool in your toolbox for you to have intentional conversations with your kids |
| 1:36.6 | and to help reinforce that relationship, that connection, and the truth that they need |
| 1:42.6 | repeating in their minds in the world that we live in. |
| 1:45.6 | So definitely check that out. I've put a link in the show notes. I've put a link to the other |
| 1:49.5 | episodes he's been on. Just really, truly, if you don't know all of Max's story, I encourage |
| 1:56.8 | you to go back and listen to those episodes. But let's get right to it. Here we go. Max, welcome back to the |
| 2:04.2 | Don't Mom Alone podcast. It's an honor. It's an honor. It's great to see you. Are you doing well? |
| 2:11.3 | Doing well. Thank you for asking. I did my research because I knew you'd been on the show before, |
| 2:16.4 | but my brain doesn't work like it used to. So I had to look it up. And knew you'd been on the show before, but my brain doesn't work like |
| 2:17.8 | it used to. So I had to look it up. And apparently, you have been a September guest. You came |
... |
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