This is TED Health, a podcast from TED, and I'm your host, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter.

It's our second episode in a special mini-series called The Science of Growing Up,

exploring the health and science of parenting and raising young people.

Across these conversations, we're looking at how children grow, not just biologically,

but within their families, schools, and communities that shape them every day.

And I've been thinking about how raising healthy kids has become complicated, not in a

catastrophic way, but in the quiet, everyday decisions that add up.

The after-school snacks, the screen time negotiations,

the stress of packed schedules and tight budgets.

So many parents I talk to tell me they're trying their best, but it still feels like the world around them is stacked with challenges.

And the truth is, they're not imagining it.

Many families in the US today are navigating neighborhoods

without safe places to play,

limited grocery options or the ripple effects

of chronic stress.

And as we mentioned on this show before,

these conditions shape childhood in profound ways.

It's important to take a holistic approach to health, particularly for children as they continue to develop and grow.

That's why I'm so grateful for people like my guest this week, Dr. Sherry Barkin.

Dr. Barkin is an internationally recognized leader in pediatrics,

someone who has spent her career going beyond the exam room to understand how children actually

grow, learn, eat, move, and thrive in the world. As a pediatrician-in-chief for Children's

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