EP 170: Cece on Teens Navigating Challenging Times

In this episode, Kimberly welcomes back her daughter Cece to the podcast. Cece first appeared on the podcast in 2019 when she was in 6th grade. She shares what has changed in her and Kimberly’s lives since then. Together, they discuss Cece’s perspective on issues important to her peers and teenagers in general such as sex, intimacy, mental health, climate change, and more. Cece explains that much of her and her peer’s frustrations are with older generations who cannot empathize with adolescence experiences today. Cece suggests for parents and older generations to provide specific information regarding these major issues to have non-defensive, open-hearted conversations. She also provides some comical tidbits of what it’s like being Kimberly’s daughter.

Bio

Cece, Kimberly’s daughter, is a 15 year old biracial highschooler, who shares her perspectives on Kimberly as a mother, Kimberly’s work on sex, birth, and trauma, and other important topics that her peers are discussing. She is a guitarist and has enjoyed playing in a band since she last appeared on the podcast.

What She Shares:

–Cece’s evolution since her first podcast episode

–Teens’ perspectives on sex

–Technology’s influence on teen girls’ mental health

–Intergenerational conversations on complex issues, including climate change

–Pandemic’s impact on teens

What You’ll Hear:

–Cece’s first podcast episode in 2019

–Moved to NYC, Moved back to California, started high school

–Cece’s interest in guitar and writing music

–Cece’s perspective on having Kimberly as a mom

–Parents discussing sex

–Remaining neutral in conversations around sex with teenagers

–Cece’s experience of over-exposure of Kimberly’s work

–Teenage girls’ perspectives on porn

–Cece’s friends turning to her for information on sex

–Teens turning to social media for intimacy and dating

–Rejecting labels of sexual identities

–Social media impacting teen girls negatively

–Social media and comparison

–Teenage girls using social media to tear each other down

–Experimenting with removing social media

–Higher rates of depression and anxiety in teen girls

–Disconnect of understanding from older generations to teens now

–Generations without technology

–Expressing anger towards older generations for contributing to climate change

–Having difficult conversations without getting defensive

–Adolescence during threats of nuclear warfare, climate change, artificial intelligence

–Having specific conversations around complex issues

–Feelings of impending doom culturally contributing to mental health issues

–Accepting and enjoying solitude without spiraling

–Cece’s reaction to Kimberly’s work with Stephen Jenkinson

–Pandemic’s impact on Cece and peers

–People who didn’t transition well back into socializing