Starborn Parenting Podcast
Rick Kubina, PhD, and Madeline Jürgensen, PhD, have spent their careers studying behavior. Rick has three children of his own and now two grandchildren. Madeline has two young children. In other words, they live the research at home and teach it for a living. Each week on the Starborn Parenting Podcast, they take decades of behavior research blended with their own personal experience and turn it into tools parents can use that same night. Expect honest stories from their own parenting and grandparenting, including some that ended in frustration and tears, plus straight answers about what drives your child's behavior and how to change it without bribes or threats. They skip the jargon, disagree with each other on air, and never claim to have parenting fully figured out. Instead, they approach family life the way true scientists do: always observing, always testing, and sharing what works so other parents can benefit. New episodes drop weekly.
Starborn Parenting Podcast
Latest Episodes
The 4 Buckets That End Daily Parenting Battles
Not every behavior your kid does needs a lecture, and trying to fix everything can burn you out. In this episode, Rick and Madeline break down the four "behavior buckets" every parent should know: behaviors to grow, small stuff to let go, patte...
The Nagging Trap
"Put your shoes on. Put your shoes on. I told you, put your shoes on!" Sound familiar? Rick and Madeline dig into why nagging feels like it works (it's the same intermittent reinforcement that keeps people pulling slot machine levers) and what ...
Why Your Kid Isn't Testing You (Probably)
"He's testing me." "She's being dramatic." "He knows exactly what he's doing." Those are theories, and theories can be wrong. This week Rick and Madeline teach a skill that changes how you see your kid, describing exactly what they're doing, wi...
Every Tantrum Has a Trigger
When your kid melts down in aisle 6, something specific set it off, usually in the moment before the behavior. Maybe you said no, or the cart rolled past the toys. And some days, a skipped nap or a rushed morning primes your kid to blow at the ...
The Damage Punishment Leaves Behind
Nearly 400 million kids worldwide (3 out of 4) experience violent discipline at home. This week, Rick and Madeline take on the "blowtorch" of parenting: punishment. They dig into the global data, what pain-induced aggression does to a kid's bra...