Welcome to the home of The Balanced Parent Podcast!

Parenting is often lived in the extremes. It's either Great Joy or chaotic overwhelmed. In one moment you’re nailing it and the next you're losing your cool I want to help you find your way to the messy middle, to a place of balance. You see, balance is a verb not a state of being. it is a thing you do not a thing you are. it is an action a process a series of micro-corrections each and every day to keep ourselves feeling centered. We are never truly balanced. We are engaged in the process of balancing.

Hello, I’m Dr. Laura Froyen and this is the Balanced Parent podcast, where overwhelmed stressed out and disconnected parents go to find tools, mindset shifts and practices to help them stop yelling at the people they love and start connecting on a deeper level, all delivered with heaping doses of grace and compassion. Join me in conversations that will help you get clear on your goals and values and start showing up in your parenting, your relationships, YOUR LIFE, with open-hearted authenticity and balance. Let’s go!

As parents, many of us worry about how to prepare our kids for the teenage years—especially when it comes to conversations around drugs and alcohol. In this week’s episode of The Balanced Parent Podcast, I welcome two incredible guests from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Dr. Robert Turrisi, a professor and prevention researcher at Penn State University, and Catrina Clemens, MADD’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.

Here are the main points:

Preparing tweens for exposure to substances and guiding healthy decisions about alcohol.
Exploring different parenting approaches to teen alcohol use and engaging each group in prevention.
Understanding why delaying teen drinking as long as possible reduces long-term risks.
How early drinking and parental permission heighten risks due to developing teen brains.
Research showing no evidence that “teaching kids to drink safely” at home is protective.
Building open, judgment-free communication and safety plans for risky situations.
Helping teens feel safe calling parents for help when needed.
The importance of setting clear no-alcohol rules and delaying drinking to lower risk and strengthen influence.

If you’d like more resources on how to talk with your kids about alcohol and substance use, visit madd.org to access MADD’s Power of Parents guides, tools, and upcoming audiobook. You can also connect with Mothers Against Drunk Driving on social media for ongoing tips and inspiration, Facebook @MothersAgainstDrunkDriving, Instagram @maddnational, X (formerly Twitter) @MADDNational and Tiktok @maddnational

Remember, these conversations don’t have to be perfect—just ongoing, open, and filled with care. The more we talk, the more our kids learn to trust us and make safe choices.

Laura Froyen, PhD

Laura Froyen, PhD

Balanced Parent Podcast

Laura Froyen, PhD

Welcome to the home of The Balanced Parent Podcast!

Episode 236: The Truth About Teen Drinking: What Parents Need to Know and How to Talk About It with Dr. Robert Turrisi and Catrina Clemens