What if the root of our youth mental health crisis isn’t just academic pressure or social media—but the quiet erasure of childhood itself? In this gripping and deeply practical episode, ADHD executive function expert Mike McLeod to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast for his most urgent conversation yet. Together, we dive into the realities of raising kids in a screen-saturated, performance-obsessed culture—and what it’s costing them. From summer packets to chatbots replacing real relationships, we explore how childhood has been engineered for burnout, and why reclaiming play, boredom, and independence is the antidote our kids desperately need.
Mike makes a compelling case that parenting doesn’t need to be more complicated—it needs to be simpler, more connected, and more rooted in what actually works. He lays out three critical skills to focus on this summer: people skills, executive function, and the ability to persevere through boredom. If you’ve ever felt the ache that something about modern childhood is off, this conversation will give you language, vision, and tools to chart a better path forward. It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing less of the wrong things and giving our kids their childhood (and future) back.
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