The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast
💜☂️ The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is a chart-topping parenting and education podcast hosted by Suzanne M. Swain, EdS LMSW — former middle school teacher, school librarian, administrator, professor of education, therapist, and educational sociologist with over 20+ years of experience working with tweens, teens, families, and school systems.
👩🏫📚🎓 Educated, trained, and classroom-tested in Tennessee (UT🧡), Suzanne taught 5th, 7th, and 8th grade while becoming deeply determined to understand every layer of the middle school experience in order to better serve kids. From classrooms and school libraries to administration, behavioral support, higher education, and emotional health, that journey eventually became the foundation of The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ — a warm, research-based approach to helping families navigate the emotional realities of adolescence.
💕 ND-Friendly: MSMP is designed with neurodivergent listeners and families at the heart of the show, keeping distractions, abrupt interruptions, & excessive ads to a minimum for continuity & regulation. Any carefully selected, relevant sponsors will be limited and placed primarily at the beginning or end of episodes.
✨ Today, the podcast has grown into one of the top-ranked independent parenting podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, reaching listeners in more than 115 countries and earning over 4500 + five-star Spotify reviews.
🍎 Apple Podcasts (May 3-11, 2026):
#1 in Kids & Family
#1 in Kids & Family: Parenting
🏆 Spotify:
4,500 + five-star reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Each episode blends years of classroom experience, humor, neurobiology, emotional regulation tools, school culture insight, and real-world support for parents, educators, and caregivers navigating the beautiful chaos of adolescence. Topics include anxiety, autism, ADHD, screen time, emotional resilience, executive functioning, family systems, neurodivergence, and the emotional realities of modern parenting.
📚 The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast™ is especially known for its “Emotional Critical Thinking” educational theory developed by Swain, (ECT) is based in systems theory and is focused on helping families move beyond shame, punishment, and panic toward connection, re/regulation, technology resilience, and long-term self-recognized growth using simple, practical tools families can actually use, with technology as a constant thread.
👏 The show proudly remains independently produced and intentionally selective about sponsorships and featured partnerships. Companies and organizations highlighted on the show are carefully vetted for alignment with the podcast’s mission, values, and commitment to supporting children and families ethically. If you are interested in speaking engagements or advertising, email: suzanneswain@gmail.com
🦊 If this episode helped your family, classroom, or community, you can support the show and explore additional resources for parents and educators at:
msmarypoppins.com. Help spread the word by offering some stars or a review! Thank you for supporting grassroots podcasting!
Coming Soon:
Downloadable Survival Guides & More
🎤 For media appearances, conferences, speaking engagements, educational consulting, or partnership opportunities:
suzanneswain@gmail.com
💜 Extra special thanks to Janine Stella of StellaMix for supporting independent podcast production and creative collaboration behind the scenes. To learn more about StellaMix or to help make your own podcasting dreams come true, visit: stellamix.com
The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast
Latest Episodes
S2 EP 27 - Plain-Talk: Showing Grace — Don’t You Forget About Me
Middle school can feel like a daily showdown… until you realize the kid isn’t always the problem. Sometimes the kid is the signal.In this episode of The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast, Suzanne Swain, EDS LMSW explores the mo...
S2 EP 26 - Internet Culture & Emotional Health: The Safety Dance
Internet Culture & Emotional Health: The Safety Dancefeat. Adam Brooks, Program Coordinator from BARK Technologies adamb@bark.usSpecial MSMP listener offer:Use code POPPINS25 for $25 off any ...
S2 EP 25 - Dogs, Cats, and the Neurodivergent Brain: You’ve Got a Friend in Me
Plain Talk: Dogs, Cats, & the Neurodivergent Brain (Unscripted & Unedited) 🐶💕🐱🥹This episode is a different one, y’all!No outline.No “cheat sheet.”No editing out the pauses or the “you knows.” 🤓🤫Just a re...
S2 EP 24 - Leveling Up Self-Regulation: The Final Countdown
Screen time is not going anywhere, so instead of arguing about whether it is “good” or “bad,” let’s get specific about what it doing positively for our kids. My EDS is in Education Technology, bring it! This is episode two in our ex...
S2 EP 23 - The Screen Time Clash: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Screens: the ultimate villain… or your kid’s emotional support sidekick? In this playful (and eye-opening) episode, Suzanne dives into the nightly showdown every parent knows too well—the “put the phone down” battle—and flips the script in a wa...
