On this episode of Children Deserve Better, Dr. Jasmine Moses is joined by Mx. Taryn Kaplan, director of Heights Cooperative Preschool, for an honest conversation about grief, loss, and what it means to support children through hard things.

Together, they reflect on their own experiences with grief after the loss of people they love and explore the many ways children experience grief, too. They discuss why grief is about more than death, how children experience loss when routines change or people leave, and why adults need to stop shielding children from difficult truths.

Mx. Taryn shares what it looked like to navigate the death of their best friend while continuing to support the children in their classroom. Dr. Jasmine Moses reflects on talking with her three-year-old daughter after the death of her mother and what it has meant to grieve alongside her child.

This episode is a reminder that children notice more than we think they do. They deserve honesty, support, and space to ask questions. Together, Jasmine and Taryn discuss grieving out loud, the importance of allowing children to see grown-ups express emotion, and why there is no timeline for grief.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why grief is about loss and change, not only death
• Honest, developmentally appropriate ways to talk with children about grief
• Why children need to see adults grieve and express emotion
• How to support children through grief at home and in the classroom
• Why grief has no timeline and why children deserve ongoing support
• Resources to support the discussion

Where to find Mx. Taryn:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey.mx.taryn/

More About Heights Cooperative Preschool:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heightscooppreschool/
• Website: https://www.heightscooppreschool.org/

Resources for Grief and Young Children:

• Goodbye: A First Conversation About Grief
• The Invisible String
• Explaining Death to A Three Year Old
• Helping Toddlers Cope with Grief and Change

Support the show

Find Dr. Jasmine Moses On Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/theantibiasece/

Visit Her On The Web:

https://www.equityinbloom.com/

Today on Children Deserve Better, Dr. Jasmine Moses is joined by the amazing Kisa Marx for a conversation that feels especially meaningful, as it was recorded on the very day her book entered the world. Together, they discuss her new book, We Are Who We’re Waiting For: Transformative Change in Early Childhood Education, and what it means to create spaces where children can live, grow, and be seen as their full selves.

In this conversation, Kisa shares what freedom dreaming means to her and how it can shape the way adults show up for children in classrooms, homes, and communities. The conversation explores preserving children’s dreams instead of placing adult expectations on them, why changing our minds is necessary if we want to do better for children, and how unlearning is part of the work.

They also reflect on the children who are often overlooked, especially the “quiet” children. This episode is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and think more deeply about the kind of world we want children to grow up in and what it will take from all of us to build it.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Kisa’s new book, We Are Who We’re Waiting For
• What freedom dreaming means in the context of children and education
• The harm of equating quietness with being “fine” or being a “good child”
• Changing our minds as part of lifelong learning
• Modeling mistakes, apology, and repair with children
• Community care and what it really means to embrace all children
• The power of storytelling and “saying the quiet part out loud”

Where to find Kisa:

• Substack: Kisa Marx / Function of Freedom
• Instagram: @iam_still_learning
• Instagram: @theplaylabfoundation
• Website: https://theplaylabnfpoakpark.org/
• Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liberated-learning/id1866573493

GRAB THE BOOK:

We Are Who We’re Waiting For: Transformative Change in Early Childhood Education is available now through Redleaf Press. A 20% discount code is also available using the code: WWWW20

https://www.redleafpress.org/We-Are-Who-Were-Waiting-For-Transformative-Change-in-Early-Childhood-Education-P3172.aspx

A reminder from this episode: Read the book, share it, tell somebody about it, and keep putting this work into the hands of people who care for children. Anywhere children are, this conversation matters.

Support the show

Find Dr. Jasmine Moses On Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/theantibiasece/

Visit Her On The Web:

https://www.equityinbloom.com/

In this episode of Children Deserve Better, Dr. Jasmine Moses sits down with Dr. Casey Y. Myers—educator, researcher, and co-founder of Watershed Community School—to unpack adult supremacy and its impact on children’s lives.

From classroom routines to state laws, we explore how unchecked adult power harms children—and what it takes to raise and teach with solidarity instead of control.

Topics include:

• What Adult Supremacy is and it's impact
  
  
• The difference between guidance and control
  
  
  
• How everyday practices can uphold harmful power dynamics
  
  
  
• The long-term impact of adult dominance on children’s development
  
  
  
• What it means to treat children as full human beings

Find Dr. Myers Here:

www.watershedcommunityschool.com

https://www.instagram.com/watershed.community.school/

Purchase her book:

https://www.routledge.com/Reframing-the-Everyday-in-Early-Childhood-Pedagogy-Conceptualising-the-Mundane/Myers-Smith-Hostler-Tesar/p/book/9781032335100?srsltid=AfmBOooc8rcHHwYy0ZKRyc-10KbSiXFPVIUrnS_IcfmwYwRIAZ0McmT2

A Zine on Adult Supremacy:

https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1460

Support the show

Find Dr. Jasmine Moses On Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/theantibiasece/

Visit Her On The Web:

https://www.equityinbloom.com/