Years ago I worked as a referee coordinator for a soccer program in Maryland. The county I lived in had a thriving sports program and I helped make the games happen. I also refereed in that league. I coached a High School team during the week and refereed in the evenings and weekends. In one…
Today’s episode deals with grief. How do we experience it? How do we live fully when we feel heartbroken and our world is falling apart around us? A friend of mine recently lost his son who was trying to save someone else. Twenty-four hours later, another friend lost her dad unexpectedly. Grief and sorrow is…
I have a confession. The older I get, the less interested I become in blaming children for acting like children. Instead, I find myself wondering what role the adults played and how much of that responsibility they are willing to take . A few weeks ago, I dabbled in the tepid waters of questioning whether…
Today’s episode is a replay of a previous episode on constructs. What are they? How do they help us? How do they potentially hurt us? If you’ve heard it before, may it serve as a fresh reminder. If you’ve never heard it before, may it bring you something to chew on and grow from.From the…
Summer break has officially started. All of the end of the school year things are done and it’s time to enjoy popsicles late at night, sun tans, and pool parties.In theory.It also means parents across America are preparing themselves for one of the great modern fears:“How much screen time are my kids going to have…
The current conversations around phones and our kids reminds me a lot of past conversations around our kids, spanking and what it means to train our children. There was a lot of all or nothing fallacies thrown around back then.I think that’s happening often today with the conversation around phones and our kids. Phones are…
Mental health diagnoses can be incredibly helpful. They can bring understanding, reduce shame, and help people find the support they need. But somewhere along the way, many of us started turning diagnoses into identities. In this episode of The Joe Martino Show, I talk about the growing tendency to define ourselves by anxiety, trauma, ADHD,…
This morning, on my way to work I was inundated with parents being willing to break traffic laws and what I can only assume was an attempt to make sure that their student wasn’t late to school. That got me to thinking about this time of year and all of the “lasts” that will be…
People love blaming phones for everything.Social media is ruining kids.Technology is destroying families.Phones are why people don’t want children anymore.But what if that explanation is far too shallow?In this Mental Health Awareness Month episode of The Joe Martino Show, I push back on the growing tendency to blame objects for deeply human problems. This conversation…
Last week I talked about shame and Brené Brown. I also talked about Neil Postman and how I think he is one of the most underappreciated thinkers of the last century. Perhaps the most controversial thing I said was that I thought Brené Brown might be wrong when it comes to shame.More than a few…
