Grown, a podcast from The Moth: A Podcast Review For Parents
Updated October 24, 2023
Overview
Growing up is full of twists and turns, conflicts, hardships — and good stories.
Grown, a podcast from The Moth, is all about what it means to grow up. They explore this through the art of storytelling, with people from all over sharing memories from their own adolescent journeys. This podcast is a spin-off from The Moth, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for the art of storytelling. They host events around the world where everyday people get up on a stage to share a story. The Moth believes there is power and purpose in sharing and listening to other people’s perspectives.
In a typical episode of Grown, it’ll start with a small introduction from one of the hosts, Aleeza or Alfonso. Each episode centers on a topic, which can be anything like music, heartbreaks, food, puberty, or feeling lost. Then, they’ll switch to a storyteller who has prepared a story on the topic from childhood. Sometimes it’s a kid themselves, or an adult reflecting on their younger years. Each episode will feature around 3-4 of these storytellers, interspersed with commentary from the hosts.
In this review, we’ll go over everything parents need to know about Grown. For tweens and teens who love listening to podcasts and audiobooks, this one may be next up on their list!
Harmful Content ❗️
The podcast covers just about every topic that may come up in adolescence. This includes a very wide range, and some of them are more heavy and mature — things like mental health, sexuality, family conflicts, religion, and finding your identity. Some stories explore very difficult experiences such as suicide, abuse, and severe mental illness. All of these are handled very respectfully and tastefully, but it definitely means most episodes are better suited for a slightly more mature audience.
Language
There’s the occasional swear word in some episodes. Mostly it’s words like “a**,” and “s**t.” Every now and then, an F-bomb is dropped.
Sex
Some episodes hit on topics like first crushes, sexuality, puberty, and body image. Again, these are handled tastefully, whether in serious tones or lighthearted, humorous tones.
Violence
There are rarely stories surrounding gory or graphic violence.
Positive Value 💫
Grown was created to show that, even with vastly different experiences and backgrounds, a lot of us have similar struggles in our adolescent years. If your child feels like this time of growing up is overwhelming and confusing, they’re not alone. Just have them hit play on any one of these episodes. But by the end of the episode, they’ll also see that how they view their experiences — whether good or bad — will shape who they eventually become.
At the end of each person’s story, they’re asked “How would your younger self describe you now?” Most answers reflect that their younger self would be proud of their character or growth as a person. This podcast encourages kids to be introspective about their own character and journey, as well as help them appreciate different perspectives. Even more, it could inspire them to believe that they have a story worth sharing, cause you never know who might relate.
So, should my kid listen to it?
Due to the more mature topics covered in the episodes, we’d say this podcast is appropriate for ages 15 and up. However, you know your child best and whether or not they’d benefit from listening to Grown.
