If your tween or teen feels stuck, scared of failure, or glued to their screen, this episode will change everything. Education innovator Chris Balme reveals why adolescence is the second great brain-growth window — and why kids today desperately need more real-world challenges, not more protection.

A powerful, hopeful conversation about autonomy, resilience, and helping young people feel big, brave, and capable again.

KEY POINTS

Why ages 11–16 are a critical “second toddlerhood” of brain growth
How autonomy builds confidence (and why modern kids get too little)
The danger of overprotection and structured everything
What a good challenge looks like vs. a stress-inducing one
How to help risk-averse teens stretch themselves — without forcing
Why peers, not parents, are the secret to motivation
Real examples of challenges that transformed kids

QUOTE OF THE EPISODE

“When we don’t trust our adolescents, they stop trusting us.” — Chris Balme

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Challenge Accepted by Chris Balme
Argonaut: Online advisory program for middle schoolers
Millennium School + Hakuba International School

ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS

Fuel autonomy: Let your tween choose a meaningful challenge this week.
Enlist peers: Hook them in through a friend, not parental pressure.
Normalise failure: Remind them adolescence is the best time to mess up safely.
Reduce overprotection: Give back small freedoms — walking, biking, exploring.
Model vulnerability: Share your own unfinished, imperfect self.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Challenge Accepted: Raising Kids Who Step Up [with Chris Balme]