Back-to-School Survival Guide, with Sam

(mouse clicks) (bright music) Headspace Studios. Hey, folks, it's Robin here. And guess what? It's late August, and that means one thing. Back to school is creeping up on us all. Now, we all know this can be a tough time for parents, so we wanted to share with you our favorite "Dear Headspace" episode that's all about handling those issues that pop up around back to school. We're talking about setting boundaries with kids' friends and dealing with neurotic parents. Then we also have a question about when you feel like you're just not enough. So, really, there's something for everybody in today's show. So here we go. Oh, oh, but don't forget, we got new episodes coming back at you on September 10th. Whoo! Have you ever wished you had a wise meditation teach show in speed dial? Someone you can call after a long day. Someone you could lean on for their advice. Someone to listen and help you to see things differently. Welcome to "Dear Headspace," a podcast where I sit with a meditation teacher and we answer your questions. Hi, friends. I am excited to be here with you for another episode of "Dear Headspace." Now, today, our questions are all about back to school and mindful parenting. And I am so excited to have Sam here with me because she is an expert when it comes to kids and mindfulness-based tools. Absolutely. Happy to be here with you, Robin. Yeah. You're gonna cover for me 'cause we know that I am not an expert in mindfulness as tools for kids. (Sam laughs) Well, you're an expert in many things about parenting as I've been able to deduce from your stories. (both laughing) I mean, would my kids say the same thing? Yes. All right, let's just roll right into our first question from Angie. Here she is. Okay, sounds good. Hi, this is Angie from Minneapolis, Minnesota. My daughter is 12 and she has a friend at school who is a lot. It's really hard for us to keep boundaries and my daughter actually would like to spend less time with them, but at the same time, my daughter is very concerned with making sure that she treats her with kindness and is considered for her feelings. What suggestions do you have for setting boundaries with friends that, really, my kids don't wanna be friends with anymore. Thanks. Oh, that is a very tough question. It is. Because you know your kid's been that kid sometime. Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, my stepdaughter just went through something like that. She had this like kind of best friend who is now in the foster care system in Sweden, and she just stopped hanging out with her because she was getting into trouble and kind of hanging out with the kids that were doing stuff that were a bit dangerous. And so, yeah, it was just, for me, it's primarily about listening and just getting to know what, like, what has...