Most parents agree raising kids can be overwhelming, and there is no shortage of advice on how to best navigate the challenges. But many of today's parents have come to rely on a clinical psychologist named Becky Kennedy, known as Dr. Becky.Â
From Covid-19 to bestselling guru Kennedy's teachings were an essential resource for many during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her 2022 book, "Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want To Be," became a New York Times bestseller.Â
Kennedy’s path to fame began with her Instagram account, launched in 2020, where she posted short clips acting out both sides of child-parent role plays. She covered topics like bedtime resistance and stubborn toddlers, and these videos often went viral, thanks to their ability to speak directly to parents' deepest frustrations, particularly during stay-at-home quarantine orders. Kennedy's confessional-style videos "made her feel like a parent who was in the trenches with me," said Liz Krieger at The Cut.Â
The basic philosophy behind Kennedy’s teachings is gentle parenting, a method that aims to respond to a child's emotional reality rather than jumping straight into strict discipline. "You see your kid as being on the same team, like, it's me and my kid against a problem, not me against my kid," she said to The New Yorker.Â
'Connects more with parents in this moment' After Kennedy's pandemic-era Instagram reels struck a nerve, she capitalized on it, launching a website called Good Inside and a podcast. She is now the kind of sought-after expert who can charge up to $100,000 for a speaking fee. She also single-handedly invented a new concept, the Deeply Feeling Kid, which has helped many parents make sense of their children's emotional inscrutability.
Some of Kennedy's success can likely be attributed to the way she channels parents' frantic energy in her videos and often seems, herself, tired and worn out. There's "something about her delivery that connects more with parents in this moment," said Doree Shafrir at Time, making her the "millennial parenting whisperer." |