The Funny Kid Becomes the Dad: How We’re Raised with Kenan Thompson

We all grow up playing a role in our family — the responsible one, the easy one, the funny one. For Kenan Thompson, that role started early. In this episode of How We’re Raised, Dr. Becky talks with Kenan about how becoming “the funny one” shaped the way he connects with people — and what it looks like to parent with more intention today.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  After my first baby was born, I treated my own recovery like a complete afterthought. If the baby needed something, I showed up immediately. If I needed something, well, it would wait. But research shows that when parents have the support they need, they're better able to care for their children. Taking care of yourself isn't separate from parenting. It's a huge part of parenting. That's why I love Frida's mission to prepare women for the realities of pregnancy, postpartum, recovery, and feeding. Frida creates solutions for the moments that often catch moms off guard. The Postpartum Essentials Kit and Breastfeeding Survival Kit help women feel more prepared for those early weeks of motherhood. Be motherhood prepared and shop Frida at Amazon, Target, and Walmart today.

• 0:43Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  I recently traveled to Switzerland for work, and I have to say, the home I booked on Airbnb really shaped the whole trip. It overlooked the mountaintops, and there was this sweet little porch where I could sit in the morning and drink my coffee. If you were following me during that time on Instagram, you saw me post from that exact location. Also, there was just this incredible coffee machine that somehow made my morning routine feel intact even across the ocean. And I was also just able to get sunshine before a full day of conversations. All those quiet moments in the morning, they grounded me. Oh, and this touch I just loved was I got three bars of Swiss chocolate left by my host, and I can confirm, they were all gone by the end of my three days stay. When I travel, I don't just want a place to sleep. I want a place to land, a living

• 1:28Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  room where I can decompress, and a space where I can do bedtime over FaceTime and feel at home when I'm away from home. That's why I book homes on Airbnb. It helps me find places that feel grounding, not just convenient. Because when where you stay feels good, everything else feels a little better, too.

• 1:45Speaker 01

  One of the biggest kind of ironic situations that a lot of comics are dark people, but I want to be a light person. You know what I mean? I want to be a person that provides joy but also has joy. And like, what are we gonna do? Like, we're gonna dwell on, you know, negativities. Like, I would much rather try to spin towards the light.

• 2:09Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Here's something I think about a lot. The roles we play as kids. The funny one, the responsible one, the easy one. These roles don't just disappear and we grow up. They often become the traits the world sees us as or rewards us for. And when all this happens early enough, it can shape how we move through every room we enter. My guest today is someone a lot of us feel like we grew up with. Kenan Thompson started performing as a kid in Atlanta and became a household name on Nickelodeon shows like All That and Kenan and Cal. Today, he's the longest-serving cast member in history of Saturday Night Live. For decades now, he's been the person who can walk into a scene and make it funnier, lighter.

• 2:54Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  But what interests me most isn't just that Kenan is funny. He's also incredibly steady. In an industry that's known for chewing people up, especially people who start young, Kenan has built a career defined by consistency, generosity, and longevity. And he's also the dad of two daughters, which means he's in a very different role now. Not just performing for a room, but shaping the environment his kids grow up inside. Today, we're continuing a series called How We're Raised, conversations about the homes we grew up in and how those early experiences shaped the way we live, lead, and parent today. This isn't about celebrity or comedy. It's about the kid underneath the performer, the roles we learned early,

• 3:39Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  the gifts those roles gave us, and sometimes the pressure that came with them. I'm Dr. Becky, and this is Good Inside. I'm so glad you're here.

• 3:50Speaker 01

  I mean, I feel like second kids are a little more like wild and free of like a lot of the pressures of being like a firstborn child and just like that firstborn child, for some reason, just has the mentality of like, I have to get it all right, basically. You know what I mean? I think like a second child is somewhat free of that a little bit. And Kind of, you know, got a little bit of a cheat code with an older sibling to be able to just kind of like either ask questions or watch and observe and learn, you know, much faster. And kind of take or leave the pressure a little bit.

• 4:25Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Mm hmm.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  And be a little bit of the tension breaker, honestly, because you have that perspective where it's like, why are you guys arguing? What happened? Do you know, like, okay, they didn't read one assignment, like, is it worth all this, like, anger and stress? Like, I remember kind of being in that position when it wasn't my fault. It's just like, all right, well, you know, let's all just kind of, you know, figure out a way to turn this energy another kind of way or something, or try to tell a joke. But, you know, at a young age, you don't really, you know, overly identify with what's happening necessarily. You just kind of want everybody to feel better. So, yeah, I remember kind of just being witnesses to, you know, tensions and wanting to break it, basically, or send it in another direction.

• 5:08Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Well, zoom out, or maybe zoom back before we come back here. So, one of the things I think a lot about in families and why I love working with parents and kids is, I think about a family a lot as a system.

• 5:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:21Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And I feel like within a system, we all act individually, but we're all really impacted by the system we're in, and we can take on roles and we kind of, with our siblings, like, we'll see what's left over, we'll pick up what's left over. So, if I, if I go back, your identity as someone who, I don't even know how you would describe it, is it, is funny, seeks humor, creates humor, can find a nuance in a moment. When, when did that start?

• 5:46Speaker 01

  I mean, I guess my sense of humor came along with my brothers, us watching a lot of TV early, because we're cable generation kids, so.

• 5:55Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Same.

• 5:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, we grew up watching, you know, movies over and over and over again, because, I mean, latchkey-ish, you know, kind of just being in one place where, you know, your parents kind of know you're safe or whatever, you know, TV was a companion, so.

• 6:10Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  What'd you watch?

• 6:12Speaker 01

  Pretty much, in those days, it was Coming to Americas and Trading Places and things like that, but like also like Spies Like Us and Ghostbusters and a lot of the SNL people's work in general, basically, because I think those are the, the main kind of comedy, you know, powerhouses that were actually, you know, putting movies out, like, Spies Like Us, I don't think. You know, no names could have gotten that done just because it's such a crazy story. It's just like our story. But, you know, since it was, you know, chasing Akeroyd, it got done, kind of thing. So, yeah, it started early, you know, and like, we used to take road trips because my parents are from, you know, Virginia and we grew up in Atlanta. So to pass the time, this is before anything, you know, kind of electronic was concerned, like, yeah, maybe.

• 6:58Speaker 01

  What was it? It's like see and say or something like, what was the most low-fi digital thing back in the day? Those road trips were long and boring. You know what I mean? And we used to just quote coming to America back and forth.

• 7:10Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Wipers?

• 7:11Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 7:13Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Exactly.

• 7:14Speaker 01

  Yes, it is my birthday. Yeah, from, from moment one.

• 7:17Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Mm-hmm.

• 7:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:18Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And so, did you, was it then, where you're like, oh, my brothers were kind of funny? Or you're like, no, I kind of had a knack for the moment. I kind of was one making everyone laugh?

• 7:27Speaker 01

  A bit of both, like my dad for sure. My dad's a joke teller. My mother's side of the family were like country people. They were out in the woods, kind of thing. And they stayed in the house at night. Like, once the sun went down, it was dark out there. So it's like five o'clock still, you know? So, so many hours in the night and we're all just gathered around kind of like the stove to keep everybody warm. Who's going to entertain us, you know, not these three channels that they have on TV? Someone's got to be kind of like the, you know, the, the party person. And like, my dad had that personality. So it was nice to be able to relate to that and also not necessarily have to be that kind of thing. And then, yeah, me and my brother just had this bond of, you know, our senses of humor being very, very similar.

• 8:12Speaker 01

  Like what we were struck by in those movies was very similar.

• 8:16Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah. Did, did your sense of humor being funny, is that ever anything that you feel like worked against you?

• 8:24Speaker 01

  Only in times where I was naive to how other people were taking it. You know, like I was, I've been, you know, kind of confidently naive in, in, you know, certain circumstances where it works to my favor, like auditioning for things and not being afraid to,

• 8:44Speaker 01

  you know, throw a joke out there and then, you know, pretty much just assume people are gonna laugh at it, kind of thing, in auditions, or assume that I was coming across in a charming kind of fashion or anything like that. Like, I was very kind of naively confident like that in that sense. But I wasn't necessarily too aware of, in normal settings, that someone might be, like, getting annoyed by this, or, you know, I'm being, you know, I'm pestering them in some sort of way. Like, once I started going on a tangent, I couldn't tell if it was annoying until I actually would have a reaction. You know, so I didn't know where the finish line was until that person responded, kind of thing.

• 9:29Speaker 01

  And, yeah, it was usually a negative response that was the teacher, basically, so.

• 9:35Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  We kind of know what your Saturday nights look like, but your Sunday, your weekend, an ordinary Tuesday, give me a sense.

• 9:41Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, I'm all about, like, chasing the family around, you know, when I'm not working. That's just, like, that's my happy place, just knowing what the little ones are up to. They're so busy, you know? I want to be around them as much as possible, basically.

• 9:56Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  They're not that little, right? Well, how old are they?

• 9:58Speaker 01

  They're seven and 11 now, and it is going way too fast. Like, I just had a two-week break, and I can't believe it's over already.

• 10:06Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And what is, yeah, what is, let's say, a Sunday in your house that your kids like?

• 10:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, New York is such a good place to, like... Just be out, basically. So we go to dinners or we go to, you know, museums, Ice Cream Museum. The other day was a lot of fun.

• 10:25Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  What might people maybe expect of you as a father, based on at least the version of you they know, you know, from TV? Or maybe what might someone not expect?

• 10:35Speaker 01

  I mean, I guess, like, people don't see me in like the disciplinarian role because they don't know me like that. You know what I mean? But, you know, I'm a father, so like, I have to, you know, show where the boundaries really are, kind of thing. You know what I mean? And I don't want to raise irresponsible citizens, basically. And I don't want society to correct them. So I think that's one of the more surprising things, you know, when I'm just like straight, straight-faced dad mode, kind of thing, or whatever. But, you know, we still have a good time.

• 11:06Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Do you think about that, especially in the context of, I don't know, raising kids with fame around them? Like, do the boundaries matter that much more? The try to, trying to avoid that, what, classic entitlement around that?

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, in the beginning, like, when they were, when they were young, I was very, you know, kind of territorial around, you know, picture-taking and stuff like that, you know, out in public or whatever. And then they got to a point where they kind of were just like, Dad, why don't you just take the picture? Kind of thing. So like, once they felt fine about it, you know, it didn't bother me as much because I just wanted to protect, you know, their childhood. You know, you only get, you know, your one childhood, kind of thing. So I wanted our time together to kind of be pure of that, if you will, kind of thing. And just have it be as normal as possible. Like, you know, at home, I'm just dad, basically, as opposed to like, you know, Keenan.

• 12:01Speaker 01

  Like, it's so funny when people call me by my first and last name. I'm like, you don't know me very well. You know what I mean? Like, no one just like... Calls their friend by their first and last name.

• 12:12Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yup.

• 12:13Speaker 01

  It's a, it's a pretty like immediate indicator that you're a stranger.

• 12:16Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Kenan Thompson, like that.

• 12:17Speaker 01

  And I remember it went from Kenan and Kale to Kenan and Thompson.

• 12:21Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  People called you Kenan.

• 12:23Speaker 01

  People used to call me Kenan and Kale. People used to call me Kale. People called me Tracy Morgan a lot. Like, people called me a lot of, lot of different things. And then, once people started like calling my last name, I was like, oh wow, I'm, I'm really out here, basically.

• 12:36Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  You know, I'll have people call me my whole Instagram handle on the street. Dr. Becky, I couldn't sign.

• 12:40Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? Okay, okay. All right. Thank you, thank you. And I'll take a quick picture, but.

• 12:47Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  But I'm thinking, for what you do, you know, one of the things I think about a lot is something I call porousness. Like, how porous are we to our environment? How much do we notice things and take it in versus how much are we kind of a little more self-focused? And one's not better than the other. They both kind of matter, but being attentive to your audience, wanting to get their reaction versus really kind of paying attention to your own line of thought and like allowing a kind of a pause to, to not totally throw you. I, I, I'm trying, I'm trying to think where you are in that spectrum, because I'd imagine both matter in your line of work. You can't be totally taken by the audience's immediate reaction, but you're probably also, you need to kind of track it.

• 13:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, and before SNL, I think I was always like, well, that's not my responsibility. You know what I mean? Like, I didn't write this, you know, or whatever. I'm just kind of just doing whatever someone else asks me to. So if it's rubbing you wrong, you know, it's not on me. Like, I think we all apologize together kind of thing or whatever. And then SNL is when, you know, that relationship between, you know, call and response was real, basically, because it's like.

• 14:00Speaker 01

  Oh, no, they want you to write and they want you to write well. Not just the people at the show, the audience. You know what I mean? This is an audience of people. There's people out there that have watched every single show.

• 14:10Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yep.

• 14:10Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? And you have the audacity to come in and try to present what you think is funny. But good luck with that because it's a pressure cooker and it's also everybody's dream job that's doing comedy or voices or sketch. You know what I mean? There's a lot of people that want to be in that position, kind of thing. So it's not like you can just assume everybody's gonna let you figure it out for the sake of being fair. You know what I mean? I got very lucky, but I was able, I think, to service the shows in other ways while I figured out the writing part of it all. Thank God. So, yeah, no, it's intense.

• 14:43Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah. People have described you as kind of calm, unflappable. Is that something that you've always...

• 14:49Speaker 01

  I get flappable.

• 14:50Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  You get fl- you're flappable?

• 14:51Speaker 01

  I'm flappable.

• 14:51Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Okay, we're gonna now describe you as flappable.

• 14:53Speaker 01

  I can get flappable, no, I get very concerned, you know, like...

• 14:56Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  What's the hardest part of your job for you?

• 15:00Speaker 01

  It's funny, Marcelo, I was just reading something Marcelo said. He's like, "The most annoying part of the show is coming up with the next funny thing." Doing comedy, as far as comedy is concerned, on that part of my job, that is, I think, the hardest thing, is just to constantly find new things, you know? It's tough.

• 15:21Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  When you have success,

• 15:25Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  does that, does that kind of, I don't know, make the stakes? It can feel like it can make the stakes even higher for the next time? Yeah.

• 15:32Speaker 01

  Because it's like, now you have to validate the success, but it's like the success was the validation in the first place. And people miss that part, you know what I mean? Because they're like, "All right, well, let me just reestablish on the next one and on the next one and on the next one." And it's like, you're kind of competing with an infinity mirror. Like, you'll never see the, the point where you're gonna actually catch it.

• 15:53Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yep.

• 15:53Speaker 01

  And then actually legitimately, like, transfer to the next level of appreciation from people, if you will. So take the success at the moment. You know what I mean? And then remove, I guess, the pressures for the next one. And then the success on the next one starts with you. How do you feel about it? You know what I mean? Did you enjoy that sketch that you put up and blah, blah, blah? And like, you can't lie to yourself. You're gonna be like, yeah, I'm the one that liked it, but the room didn't laugh. Like, that's not a success. You know what I mean? Like, you can't be naive in that way. But you can kind of let the finish line be with yourself, if you will.

• 16:37Dr. Becky Kennedy?

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• 17:22Dr. Becky Kennedy?

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• 17:42Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  You know that feeling when your brain is at full capacity, right? I mean, you have a reminder from the dentist in your email, a birthday party invitation on the fridge, and your kid just texted you about a soccer game they forgot to mention until that moment, and you just cannot remember one more thing.

• 17:59Dr. Becky Kennedy?

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• 18:38Dr. Becky Kennedy?

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• 19:00Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Something I talk to parents a lot about is we have to gaze out in the world and notice something I did. How did it land? And how did my boss think about my project or whatever it is. But we live in a world now where I think we gaze out at the complete absence of gazing in. Like gazing in and be like, did I like it? That doesn't mean that's the whole. Right. That's not the whole truth either, but without that, you completely, completely lose yourself.

• 19:25Speaker 01

  Yes, because you're starting with your sense of humor or your idea or what you think is humorous about any given specific subject matter. You know what I mean? So why leave yourself out of it at the end? You know what I mean?

• 19:39Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Right.

• 19:40Speaker 01

  It's like, no, to like, keep yourself kind of involved. It's not necessarily about you, but your instincts, your taste, you know what I mean? Is a large part of this, you know? And you shouldn't like gloss over that just for the sake of trying to please the audience, if you will.

• 19:59Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  That's right. I guess I'm picturing a, a circle of kind of what I think is funny. No one really cares what I think is funny.

• 20:05Speaker 01

  Oh, come on. Of course.

• 20:07Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And then the other circle is like what the audience thinks is funny. And obviously kind of success probably happens at, you know, the, the intersection, but it is something that happens and it's not just in comedy. I think it's with sports with, right? Or with, with anything we start to do as a performance is. We start to have success because we do have something inside of us that tastes the unique perspective and it has an overlap with an audience. But if we completely lose that focus internally and we start to just focus on externally, I think we drive ourselves into the ground.

• 20:39Speaker 01

  I don't know a good example of it going that way. You know what I mean? When everybody starts micro focusing on everyone else except for themselves.

• 20:48Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Right.

• 20:49Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 20:50Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 20:51Speaker 01

  You just, it's unfair to yourself and I think at some point, subconsciously, you start to acknowledge that. Like hello, I would love to be acknowledged in this whole thing. Like, everybody else is feeling good about something, but I'm just stressed and tired.

• 21:04Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Right.

• 21:05Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? And like, now I have to come up with something else and I didn't even get a chance to like, really understand why or just have a moment. You know what I mean? Like, when we did Electric Shoes, I got a DM from someone showing me their mute autistic child singing along to it, just humming it, you know, and humming the notes. And like, they were like in Chick-fil-A or something. And then like, he watches this every day, you know what I mean? And it brings him so much joy and this is kind of the only time he makes noise, if you will. And it's like, that's just our silly little idea. You know what I mean? Like, bringing so much light into, you know, these people's lives, basically.

• 21:45Speaker 01

  So, that was when it was like, alright, that's the power of what we're doing here, basically. So, don't let that, like, other side, you know, bring you too far down because the upside is so high. Like, being, you know, a gift to others is such a high thing to be involved with, in my opinion.

• 22:05Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Has comedy taught you how to deal with failure? Maybe failure, I don't love that word, it feels so final, but struggle, something not landing, oh, I thought that was gonna go well, turns out it didn't.

• 22:17Speaker 01

  I think comedy, but like, also like... You know, being in the business or like working young, you know, kind of taught me that, you know, there's always more opportunities. You know what I mean? So I don't necessarily have to wallow in failure too much. Like, okay, I failed there, you know, but here comes another opportunity where it's like, you might succeed on this, you know, based on what you learned from this previous situation or whatever. If you can look back at failures without too much emotion and try to find a lesson in it.

• 22:49Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yep.

• 22:49Speaker 01

  There's not a lesson in everything. You know what I mean? Sometimes a lesson is that that wasn't funny. But, you know, if you can find tools for the next kind of thing, it's great. And SNL especially is another kind of like, don't dwell on this one specific show. There's another show coming. Opportunity will continue to come, you know, as the sun rises kind of thing.

• 23:11Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah. The show will go on.

• 23:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:13Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 23:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's definitely helped with not wallowing.

• 23:16Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Is that perspective helpful in your parenting with your kids?

• 23:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, absolutely. Especially trying to convey that message.

• 23:25Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 23:25Speaker 01

  You know? And I guess there's no better example than by leading by example. It's like, all right, if you need an example, look at what I do. You know what I mean? Like, I've done so many different kinds of projects. Not every one of them is great, but if I dwelled on the fact that I did a bad one, I wouldn't have been able to do a good one following behind it. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, Peter Cotton Tail is not going to be the same as Trolls, but we try the hardest, you know, and do our best each time and things turn out to it. Not to say that Peter Cotton Tail was bad. It's just, it's just different. You know what I mean? And success wise, it's like night and day. You know, like Trolls is a ginormous global thing kind of thing.

• 24:10Speaker 01

  And Peter Cotton Tail, I think, was on DVD, you know? So very specific kind of audience, but you have to be careful how you look at your successes and failures and stuff like that. Not micro focus on either one of them and just kind of continue building and continue being creative and continue servicing as long as it is servicing both yourself and the audience. It's, you know, it's a lot like, yeah, we're preaching to the choir, you know, with this kind of like balanced talk in life, but that's really what it is in so many different ways. It really is.

• 24:44Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah. When your daughters are upset or having a hard moment, what shows up for you?

• 24:51Speaker 01

  Panic.

• 24:56Speaker 01

  And also like, wow, you know what I mean? Like, okay. Because I'm not, I guess, overly, I'm not a big crier. So to see tears come from me was like, yo, like, why, what's that? Like, let's pull back and like, stop the tears, please, by, by any means. You know what I'm saying? Kind of thing and get to a place where we can discuss the differences between what you would like to have happen and what, you know, a parent's discipline, you know, should allow to happen, kind of thing. And just find a middle ground without so much crying, but not necessarily diminishing, you know, them going there emotionally. And like, it's a reminder of me, like, we're all human, you know what I mean?

• 25:40Speaker 01

  Like, I should, maybe I should allow myself to be more emotional, but, you know, I've been blessed.

• 25:46Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  You're not a very emotional, were you an emotional kid?

• 25:49Speaker 01

  No, not really. I mean, I'm just kind of like, even keeled. Like, yes, I get, you know, more like upset, angry wise about things when they don't, you know, when they, I guess it's a sad thing because it's like I'm such a logical thinker. Anything sad makes me mad. So, you know, I try to like, not get so temperamental, kind of like touristy temper, kind of whatever. And just, you know, stay even. So when bad things happen, it's like, all right, well, that happened and like, what are we gonna do? Like, we're gonna move, figure out ways to move forward? Or are we gonna like dwell on, you know, negativities? Like, I would much rather try to spin towards the light, you know, if, if possible. Like, not necessarily.

• 26:36Speaker 01

  Not feel the moments, you know, but.

• 26:40Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  But you're oriented toward.

• 26:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't want to engage in sadness, you know, I don't want to engage in, you know, being angry, I don't want to engage in none of that, I want to engage in the good times. Like, I do comedy for a living, you know, yes, it's the toughest thing in the world, and it's one of the biggest kind of ironic situations that a lot of comics are dark people, but I want to be a light person, you know what I mean, I want to be a person that provides joy but also has joy.

• 27:06Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Uh huh, yeah. Are there things you want to do differently as a dad for your girls than what was true in your childhood?

• 27:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, we used to get whuppings, man, you know, so start there. We've already been doing that, like, very like, no hands, you know, um, hands off of everyone, feet to yourself kind of thing, you know, and then use your words, if you will, that's for, if you will. Have to stop it, but yeah, that's, that's kind of the approach these days, and it's a huge one because, I mean, there's arguments for, you know, being straightened out dramatically, unfortunately, but you, you feel me? But at the same time, like, no, we can, we could definitely raise children without

• 27:59Speaker 01

  switches and belts and, and, you know, spankings and stuff like that or whatever, and, you know, there's plenty of cases to, to prove it, so like, why not?

• 28:07Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 28:08Speaker 01

  Go that route, and like, yes, you may have to have a little more patience or say things a little more often or be a little more on top of situations when they do arise, but that's your responsibility, yeah.

• 28:20Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Are you proud of yourself for that?

• 28:22Speaker 01

  I am very, you know, for being open to learning that approach, you know, and not just doing everything that, you know, I was raised around, not to say that it was a negative, but it was just, you know, probably my parents were raised 10 times worse than that kind of thing, you know, and just gets less and less and less as the generations go on or as generations learn or evolve or whatever it is.

• 28:45Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 28:46Speaker 01

  Um, but yeah, I'm very proud of myself for that approach because it's just more loving, you know, it's just, it's warmer and it's, you know, I feel like it's a closer knit bonding experience to, to kind of. Go through the the rights and wrongs of raising a child or raising a child to see right and wrong.

• 29:07Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  What what role, um, maybe now, maybe when your kids are younger, did children's books play in your home?

• 29:11Speaker 01

  I mean, I feel like they go hand in hand with childhood. Like, there's nothing better than things that are for you, for your world. And that's kind of what, you know, kids' books, you know, kind of glow in the dark toys, anything, you know, it just felt very much for me and my time.

• 29:30Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And what what prompted Unfunny Bunny?

• 29:33Speaker 01

  Unfunny Bunny came from wanting to do, always kind of wanting to do a kid's book. When I did my first memoir book, I was like, well, I want to make a book, you know, for readers, that would be fun. But along that journey, I'd learned about kind of, my colleagues all had done memoirs and a kid's book, you know? And it was such a fun space and the titles were so good. Like, you know, this book has no pictures and, you know, there's a monster at the end of this book and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, this is such a fun world. And I had such a good time growing up in an environment where it was like kids rule kind of thing.

• 30:15Speaker 01

  That's what like the Nickelodeon kind of overall theme was, was like, this is our world kind of thing.

• 30:20Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And what do you hope the book does between parents and kids when they read it?

• 30:24Speaker 01

  This sort of thing. You know, let's all put a kid here, put a, you know, maybe where you're at, your lake house, where you're sitting by a fire and it's a Christmas tree, or you're in the, you know, in the car, or you're on a train, you know, just any sort of time passing together is, you know, my my main goal with that.

• 30:44Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  But you're also doing something powerful in your body movements. Like, a children's book has a way of literally bring a kid and a parent together. Like, you're using a lap, there's touching, there's closeness. It's like, this is our moment. I always love the conversations that happen after I read a book, because I think even with this one, to be able to, whether you've told jokes publicly or not, we all take risks. We all try something, you know, doesn't go the way. We want such a nice opportunity to share a moment. You did that with your kid. I always find kids are amazed to hear the stories of us when we were younger. Like, I tried out for this play, I didn't get it. Or, you know, I tried out for the soccer team and I was cut. And every time I tell that to my kid, they're like.

• 31:25Speaker 01

  What?

• 31:25Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Because we forget that we're so capable. Like, we put on our shoes well.

• 31:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:30Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  We pour milk without spilling, like, generally.

• 31:33Speaker 01

  I haven't spilled milk in years.

• 31:34Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Years. You know, and gives us credit for that. But our kids see that, and they're like, wow, you are amazing. And it's really hard to learn anything from someone who seems like an expert in anything. Like, if I did want to get better at comedy, no offense, like, I'm not calling you. Like, you're just not my first call. I'm like, you've made it. Like, I'm not learning cooking from a professional chef. And we're so good at so many things that we don't even realize to our kids. That to have a book where there's a little bit of a struggle and share your own moment after. Oh, I just.

• 32:06Speaker 01

  And also find out who your kids are, you know? Because we always see them as little people. They see themselves just as themselves.

• 32:15Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 32:15Speaker 01

  So when you get a little glimpse of, like, who they really are, what their personalities are, kind of, and they just come out in certain preferences and things like that, it's fascinating.

• 32:25Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yeah.

• 32:26Speaker 01

  It really is, because they stay true to it. Like, the things that they like, they like. And if they don't like it, it'll be a pattern of, like, anything in that world, I don't like it. Like, how many times do I have to tell you, like, I don't like that?

• 32:38Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Yep.

• 32:39Speaker 01

  And it's like, okay, you are your own person.

• 32:41Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  You know who you are.

• 32:42Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 32:42Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Right?

• 32:47Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  Here's something I keep thinking about after talking with Keenan. Parenting is so hard. There are so many moments that are heavy and things that live in our brain, and we have to figure out, and problems we have to work through. And sometimes there are more opportunities to introduce humor than we realize. Sometimes we can laugh. Sometimes we can add a silly move. Sometimes we can read a book that brings a smile to our face with our kid. And sometimes that moment. Of humor is the exact thing we need to kind of break tension. I know I'll be thinking about that. Before we go, I want to zoom out for a moment. This conversation is part of a series we're calling How We're Raised,

• 33:28Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  where we explore how the homes we grew up in shaped the way we show up as adults and leaders and parents. Every couple of weeks, we'll be bringing you another conversation like this one. Every day in the Good Inside community, parents are having honest conversations like this, exploring the things they inherited and the things they're trying to change. I encourage you to check it out at goodinside.com. If this interview resonated with you, let us know. If there's someone whose story you'd be curious to hear in this series, we'd love to know that, too. You can reach out to us at [email protected]. Now let's end the way we always do. Place your feet on the ground and a hand on your heart.

• 34:10Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  And let's remind ourselves, even as we struggle on the outside, we remain good inside.

• 34:20Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  I'll see you soon.

• 34:27Dr. Becky Kennedy?

  You know, parents carry a lot. In fact, data show that most parents spend every waking hour caring for someone else. So if you feel exhausted and stretched thin, you're not alone, and that makes sense. And look, I also know from experience what a relief it is to find caregiving support. Finding a babysitter you trust and your kids will have fun with, that makes it so much easier to go back to work or travel or, yeah, even go on one date with your partner. Care.com makes it easier to find trusted, background-checked caregivers with search and hiring tools you won't find on social media. Whether you need full-time help or just part-time help with morning drop-off or after-school care,

• 35:11Dr. Becky Kennedy?

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