► Tell us about you and your podcast
Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic is a podcast for kids in grades K-8. Each episode features an audio recording of a question from a kid about friendship plus a practical and thought-provoking answer. I also include discussion questions so parents or teachers can help children deepen their understanding and connect the topic to their own lives.
For my day job, I’m a clinical psychologist working with adults, children, and families in Princeton, NJ. I’ve also written a bunch of books, articles, and videos for parents, kids, and mental health professionals about children’s feelings and friendships. My books for kids include Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends and Growing Feelings: A Kids’ Guide to Dealing with Emotions About Friends and Other Kids.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
With the epidemic of loneliness among adults, the mental health crisis among teens, and the harsh divisiveness in our country and our world, the work of teaching children how to build strong and caring friendships has never been more urgent.
Friends make the good times more fun and the hard times easier to bear. Research tells us that when kids have even one reciprocal friend, meaning they like someone who likes them back, they feel happier and more confident, cope better with stress, are more engaged with school, and are less likely to be bullied.
But friendships can be complicated. Almost every kid has faced friendship rough spots, such as dealing with teasing, handling an argument with a friend, or trying to find a friend in a new class or activity. These situations are common, but they can be painful.
I started the Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic podcast in January 2023 because I wanted to give kids’ questions about friendship the attention and practical, research-based answers they deserve. Helping kids learn to build strong and caring relationships is crucially important for their individual well-being and for our world.
About six months before that, I’d been a guest on a podcast for kids called But Why?, talking about kids’ friendships. I’d been a guest on lots of podcasts for parents, but this was the first time I’d done one for kids. It was so much fun, I got off the recording and wondered, “How can I do more of that?!”
Eventually, I came up with the idea of creating Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic. I set up the website, pressured friends and cousins to get their kids to send in questions, and launched by releasing the first three episodes on the first day, on Substack. It’s been growing ever since!
The podcast got a 5-star review on Commonsense Media, but what keeps me going is getting emails and reviews from parents telling me how much their kids love the podcast and look forward to new episodes.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
The podcast is my favorite work activity, so I just make time for it! I love hearing the kids’ voices, and their questions are deep, heartfelt, and sometimes entertaining. They touch on fundamental issues in relationships that adults still grapple with:
- Do we have to change ourselves to make friends?
- Why do kids bully other kids?
- Why does my friend lie to me?
- What do you do if your friends say you’re bossy?
- How can I make a best friend?
The podcast episodes come out every Saturday morning (except holidays), around 8 am East Coast US time. I usually record episodes late at night, in my dining room. It takes me about three hours to produce a 5-minute episode. This includes writing, recording, and distributing it through my Substack newsletter. I pay someone to handle the technical audio part.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
The podcast is my labor of love for children. I think it’s very needed, but it’s also very fun to create. I look forward to doing it each week. I like the intellectual challenge of trying to say something interesting and useful in just five minutes. (Although sometimes I cheat and an episode runs to six minutes!)
I don’t have any sponsors. With the five-minute episode format, ads seem too intrusive. My monthly downloads currently range from about 2000 to over 4000. I’ve created over 70 episodes.
Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic is hosted on Substack, which sends it out to all the podcast platforms as well as to my free and paid email newsletter subscribers, and it saves it on a blog page. My income from Substack is underwhelming.
I recently added a new benefit for paid subscribers on Substack: Podcast Parent Notes. These are informal and practical notes that cover the issues raised in the corresponding podcast episode in more depth and offer parents ways to support their child’s learning about that topic. They also include specially selected bonus resources of videos or articles I’ve created.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
I record on my Mac laptop, using Garage Band and a plug-in Blue Yeti mic. My helper, Natasha, handles the technical, audio editing.
I don’t interview anyone, but each episode includes an audio recording of a kid saying:
1) a first name (doesn’t have to be theirs),
2) their age, and
3) a question about friendship.
Parents can use their phones to record their kid’s question and submit it here: https://DrFriendtastic.com/submit/
► How do you market your show?
*** For a limited time (until I get overwhelmed), I have a special offer for schools: Send in 20 audio recordings from students (in grades K-8) saying a first name, their age, and a question about friendship for the podcast, and you can get either a free 20-minute Zoom visit from Dr. Friendtastic for students OR $500 off my fee for a speaking engagement. Email: DrF@EileenKennedyMoore.com if you have any questions about this offer.***
About 70% of my audience listens on Apple Podcasts. The vast majority of people hear about the podcast through my Substack newsletter (Dr. Friendtastic for Parents). Google is the next best referral source. I’m on social channels, but that doesn’t seem to drive much traffic.
I do a fair bit of speaking at schools and conferences. Seeing me “in action” tends to lead people to check out my podcast and books.
I recently did a TEDx talk that has over 200,000 views. The original title was “Is It Bullying or Ordinary Meanness?” but TED central chose it as one of their Editor’s Picks and changed the title to “Conflict Resolution on the Playground.” Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF69LFSDQK0&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
Play like a child. Experiment without worrying about doing it wrong. Learn as you go.
Respect your listeners’ time. Scripts and editing are good things!
I love how podcasting is so accessible–anyone can make one and get it up everywhere! This means the doors are wide open for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to share their unique perspectives and interests!
https://KidsListen.org is a wonderful group of podcasters who create programs for children.
► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?
Submit YOUR kid’s question about friendship: https://DrFriendtastic.com/submit
Main website: https://EileenKennedyMoore.com.
Website for kids: https://DrFriendtastic.com/podcast
Substack newsletter (Subscribe for free to get podcast episodes sent directly to your email) https://DrFriendtastic.substack.com
I’m also on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
https://www.instagram.com/DrFriendtastic/
https://www.facebook.com/EileenKennedyMoore/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileenkennedymoore/
https://www.youtube.com/@DrFriendtastic