Good Inside with Dr. BeckyHow to Raise Kids Who Can Handle Failure | Dr. Becky and Astronaut Kellie Gerardi
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 20, 2026
- Duration
- 48m
- Channel
- Good Inside with Dr. Becky
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
What if confidence isn’t believing you’ll succeed, but knowing you’ll survive it if you don’t? Kellie Gerardi grew up near Kennedy Space Center dreaming of space, with no obvious way to get there. She had no military background, wasn’t on a test-pilot track, and her parents had no background in science. She left Earth anyway, flying in November 2023 as a researcher on a Virgin Galactic science mission. Dr. Becky digs into what happened early in Kellie’s life that made “I can figure this out” possible. It started with parents who took her interests seriously without promising her anything. Then came a kindergarten meltdown over reading an analog clock that changed how she handled failure. And it shows up now in why she lets her daughters watch her be bad at things (ever tried weekly improv?). They also talk about how her scientist’s mindset helped her through years of secondary infertility, and how to tell when quitting is actually the right call. This is Episode 1 of Challenge Accepted, a new four-part series from Good Inside and Hot Wheels for parents who want to raise resilient kids. Coming up: Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart; and YouTuber, engineer, and inventor Mark Rober. * Thank you to Hot Wheels for making this episode possible. Chapters 0:00 – Intro: what if confidence means surviving failure? 2:07 – Who Kellie was at eight years old 5:02 – Why your kid’s obsessions matter (yes, even squishies) 9:58 – Saying no while still feeding your kid’s curiosity 10:58 – Growing up near Kennedy Space Center 13:07 – Taking a kid’s dream seriously without promising the outcome 17:33 – The kindergarten clock meltdown that changed everything 23:57 – Is confidence believing you’ll succeed, or knowing you’ll survive? 27:20 – Letting your kids watch you be bad at things 33:15 – Secondary infertility and a scientist’s mindset 38:06 – Writing a children’s book and creating your own “yes” 43:03 – What “challenge accepted” means, and when quitting is the right call 46:08 – Dr. Becky’s plan: interest month Want more support raising kids who can handle the hard stuff? Good Inside gives you the tools and community for that: https://www.goodinside.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=traffic_evergreen&utm_content=description_20261020 #goodinside #drbecky #challengeaccepted #resilience #growthmindset #confidence #parenting
SPEAKERS
Dr. Becky
hostClinical psychologist and parenting expert; host of the Good Inside podcast.
Kellie Gerardi
guestAstronaut and microgravity researcher; author and parent discussing resilience and failure.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Good Inside with Dr. Becky, featuring Dr. Becky and Kellie Gerardi, How to Raise Kids Who Can Handle Failure | Dr. Becky and Astronaut Kellie Gerardi explores build kids’ confidence by teaching them to survive failure, not avoid it Dr. Becky and astronaut-researcher Kellie Gerardi argue that real confidence is the belief you can survive failure, not certainty you will succeed.
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