Episode 78: Kids Do Well if They Can. A Conversation with Stuart Ablon.

We rethink “behavior problems” with Dr. Stuart Ablon, showing why kids struggle when skills lag and how collaboration—not control—creates durable change. We walk through Plan B step-by-step, with a classroom role play that turns disruption into progress.

• kids do well if they can as core mindset
• relationship quality as strongest predictor of change
• plans A, B, C defined with pros and cons
• plan B three steps: empathy, adult concern, invite solutions
• externalizing the problem to reduce defensiveness
• real-time role play: talking during math
• testing solutions against both concerns for realism
• building intrinsic motivation via mastery, autonomy, relatedness
• strategic use of plan C for prioritization
• how adults regulate themselves to avoid power struggles
• resources for learning more about Think Kids and Collaborative Problem Solving

About our guest
Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is Founder and Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. An award-winning psychologist, Dr. Ablon is Associate Professor and the Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of three books, Changeable, hand-picked by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Dan Pink, and Susan Cain for their Next Big Idea Club, The School Discipline Fix, and Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. One of the world’s top-rated thought-leaders and keynote speakers, Dr. Ablon teaches educators, parents, clinicians, managers, and leaders a very different approach to understanding and addressing challenging behavior of all types and in all people. Dr. Ablon has helped hundreds of organizations throughout the world implement the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.

Connect with Stuart
Stuart Ablon
Changeable
The School Discipline Fix

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.

Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.

Got a burning question?
We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to podcast@prenda.com. Let's dive into the conversation together!

Important links:
• Connect with us on social
• Get our free literacy curriculum

Interested in starting a microschool?
Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool