For over 20 years, Jessica Lahey has taught every grade from sixth to twelfth in both public and private schools, spent five years teaching in a drug and alcohol rehab for adolescents in Vermont, and serves as a prevention and recovery coach at Sana, a medical detox and recovery center in Stowe, Vermont. She is the author of “The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence” and the New York Times bestselling book “The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed.” Lahey spoke with Erin Prather Stafford for the Girls That Create podcast. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Erin Prather Stafford: I found the research for this book helpful because I’m a child of the ’80s and ’90s, and we were often just told don’t do it. I’m thinking of the commercial with the egg, and it was just like, this is your brain on drugs and don’t. And that was the end of the conversation. Research suggests that’s not the best approach because kids like to understand why. Parents should also understand why. Let’s talk about brain development. Why should the age of 25 be the birthday all parents celebrate more than 16, more than 21? Why is 25 the magical birthday?
Jessica Lahey: