Why We Made “The FYBS Playbook: Big Feelings, Real Caregiving — Toddlers to Teens”

Written by Dr. Jess Koslouski

When I was a kid, I thought my parents knew what they were doing.

I assumed there was a manual somewhere — a set of instructions handed out at the hospital along with the tiny hat and the discharge papers. It told caregivers what to do when a toddler melts down in the grocery store and what to say when a teenager slams the door. And of course, it helped caregivers know when to reach out for more support.

Now that I spend my days researching child development and mental health, and have two kids of my own, I’ve realized there’s no manual. Every caregiver, every teacher is figuring it out as we go, one hard moment and one small win at a time.

That’s the gap we wanted to fill with our podcast, The FYBS Playbook: Big Feelings, Real Caregiving — Toddlers to Teens.

The idea behind the show

My co-host, Dr. Sandy Chafouleas, and I have spent years in the research world — reading studies, testing programs, writing papers. The trouble is the research is often sitting behind paywalls and written in over-complicated language.

Caregivers don’t need another dense report. They need something they can use in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon meltdown — or the evening silence from a teenager who won’t say what’s wrong.

So we built the podcast around a simple idea: take the big feelings that show up at every age, from toddlerhood through adolescence, and talk through them honestly. No pretending we have it all figured out. No pretending there’s one right answer. Just real conversations grounded in what the science actually says, paired with the reality that raising and caring for kids is messy no matter how much you know.

What “playbook” really means

We didn’t want to call it a manual — because a manual implies there’s one correct way to do this, and there isn’t. We called it a playbook instead, because that word felt more honest. A playbook isn’t rigid. It’s a set of plays you can pull from depending on what’s in front of you. Some will work. Some won’t. You adjust, you try again, and you keep the ones that fit your kid, your family, your moment.

That’s what we’re trying to hand caregivers: not answers, but options. Not certainty, but company.

What you can expect

We built each episode with a simple, predictable structure. Every episode includes:

• 3 big ideas — core concepts about big feelings explained without the research jargon.

• 2 questions from the audience — questions from parents, teachers, coaches, and community providers, because the best dilemmas come from real experiences.

• 1 takeaway — a simple suggestion you can put into practice that same day or week. Not a long-term overhaul. Just one thing you can try tonight, or tomorrow morning.

Every episode is a reminder that the “figuring it out as you go” feeling is not a sign that you’re doing it wrong. It’s a sign you’re doing it like everyone else — in real time, with kids who don’t come with instructions.

If you’ve ever stood in a kitchen wondering what other parents know that you don’t — they don’t know either. Hit play on The FYBS Playbook, and let’s talk it through together, one big feeling at a time.