New School Parenting Will Be Challenged | Everyday is a Story - Shannon Cason's Homemade

Summary5 min read

Episode Overview

Podcast: Shannon Cason's Homemade
Episode: New School Parenting Will Be Challenged | Everyday is a Story
Air Date: May 6, 2026
Host: Shannon Cason

In this emotionally resonant solo episode, Shannon Cason reflects on the daily challenges and growth moments of "new school" parenting. Through a candid story about a morning conflict with his teenage daughter, he explores generational differences, parental growth, and the tension between teaching autonomy and holding onto authority. Shannon’s trademark blend of vulnerability, storytelling, humor, and social commentary shines throughout as he asks listeners to examine their parenting choices and relate their own stories.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Morning Routines and Dad Life ([00:00]–[02:00])

Self-care rituals: Shannon shares his morning habits—visualization, affirmations, prayer, apple cider vinegar water, and “black seed oil” in his coffee.
- “These are things I do every morning.”
Signature Dad Uniform: He describes his “prana cargo pants,” “cane slip-on shoes,” and “homemade Detroit tee ('available at shannoncason.com, you like that? Homemade.')”—illustrating a comfortable and personal style that defines his “everyday dad clothing.”
Setup of the Day’s Story: These routines set up a contrast between his good mood and the morning challenge to come.

2. Parenting a Modern Teen: Zoe ([02:00]–[05:10])

Introducing Zoe: Shannon’s daughter (“Zoe will be 17 this month... an amazing young lady... beautiful... very smart in attitude as well as books”) now has her first boyfriend, and is about to start her first job working for a local politician in Detroit.
- He’s proud of how they raised her—to have a voice and speak her mind—but hints at the unique challenges this brings.
Parenting Philosophy: “We raised her to use her voice, speak her mind. Not many spankings, if I’m honest. Honestly, I’ve never actually spanked her myself, which tends to backfire at some point.”
The Headphones Dilemma: Zoe constantly wears large headphones and doesn’t respond to Shannon’s questions—even simple ones like “Good morning, Zoe. How you doing this morning?”
- Shannon humorously remembers cocking an ear out of respect when his parents spoke, “Or I might get popped upside my head if I didn’t respond.”

3. Seeking Professional Advice on Teen Behavior ([05:11]–[07:50])

Shannon shares a conversation with a “mental health professional” friend in Chicago—contextually, their chemistry and flirtation form a memorable subtext:
- “I shared this concern with her… while we drank wine together, sitting on my couch... Going to get some free services out of you if I’m paying for these drinks, you know.”
Professional Insight:
- She explains teens are bombarded by “an overwhelming amount of information,” changing chemically, and learning to respond to the world.
- Key advice: “Don’t take anything too personally. Correct bad behavior, of course, but stay unattached. Don’t let them hook you. She loves you. Just stay consistent... trust me, it’ll show in time.”
  - (Shannon, quoting his friend, ~[06:50])
Shannon internalizes this advice: “Consistency and patience,” but acknowledges, “It’ll always be tested.”

4. The Conflict: Being Challenged as a Parent ([07:51]–[12:20])

The Incident: During the school drop-off routine, Shannon calls out for Zoe repeatedly with no answer.
- He finds her on the steps, headphones on. Lifting the headphone cup, Zoe snaps, “Don’t touch me.” Shannon: “I had to let it register for a second. We raised her to have autonomy over her body. These are lessons that eventually come back to bite you.”
  - Memorable exchange:
    - Zoe: “Don’t touch me.”
    - Shannon: “What did you say?”
    - Zoe: “I said, don’t touch me.”
  - ([08:40]–[09:18])
Remembering his friend’s advice—don’t get hooked—he tries to remain calm and touches Zoe’s shoulder gently. She smacks his hand away.
- “I just, I just tell someone else that they gonna have to take her to school because I know my patience does have limits, and I won’t let her attitude take over my day. But trust we’re gonna have a good talk on the pickup.”
Conflict Management and Self-Reflection:
- “In that moment, I walked away before I let my emotions and pride take over. I recognize my own growth in that, in choosing my response instead of just reacting.”
  - ([11:55])
- Admits, “I know all this is new school parenting shit, but what about you?”

5. Inviting Reflection and Listener Engagement ([12:21]–[13:05])

Shannon steps back to ask the listener:
- “Are you raising your children differently than how you were raised? Maybe you’re more understanding, even a little more lenient. So how do you respond when you feel all that new school parenting is getting challenged by your teenager? What’s your story?”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Every day is a story. I’m Shannon Cason.” ([00:03])
“We raised her to use her voice, speak her mind. Not many spankings, if I’m honest.” ([02:55])
On teen silence: “Simplest of questions are met with silence because of the headphones. And I think she can hear me through them headphones. She just choosing not to respond.” ([03:55])
On parenting advice:
- “Don’t take anything too personally. Correct bad behavior, of course, but stay unattached. Don’t let them hook you… stay consistent… trust me, it’ll show in time.” (Mental health professional friend, quoted at [06:50])
Zoe’s assertion:
- “Don’t touch me.” ([08:40])
Self-control and growth: “In that moment, I walked away before I let my emotions and pride take over. I recognize my own growth in that, in choosing my response instead of just reacting.” ([11:55])
Invitation to the audience:
- “So how do you respond when you feel all that new school parenting is getting challenged by your teenager? What’s your story?” ([13:00])

Episode Flow (with Timestamps)

[00:00–02:00]: Morning routine; mood and personal style
[02:00–05:10]: Introducing Zoe, the generational headphones gap, and reflecting on his own youth
[05:11–07:50]: Conversations with a mental health professional; parenting advice for teens
[07:51–12:20]: The confrontation with Zoe; practicing restraint and self-reflection
[12:21–13:05]: Closing reflection, questions for the audience

Tone and Style

Cason’s storytelling is warm, relatable, and tinged with humor and vulnerability. He speaks conversationally, with comedic asides (“black seed oil… it tastes good to me”; “Going to get some free services out of you if I’m paying for these drinks, you know.”), yet grounds the story in genuine emotional stakes and self-awareness. The tone is confessional, reflective, and inviting—drawing listeners into both the challenge and hope of modern parenthood.

Summary Takeaways

The episode spotlights the paradox of “new school” parenting—raising children to be independent and self-assured, only to have that confidence challenge parental control. Shannon’s story offers a mix of humor, frustration, nostalgia, and growth, showing the daily work of parenting as a process of mutual learning and self-discipline. The invitation for listeners to share their own stories further cements the podcast’s connective, community-driven spirit.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
I woke up in a good mood and it got tested immediately. Every day is a story. I'm Shannon Cason. Make sure you like and subscribe. I'm feeling good. Did my morning visualization, affirmations and prayer. These are things I do every morning. My morning apple cider, vinegar, water. And then in my morning coffee, I put a little black seed oil. That's how I do my coffee. It tastes good to me. And then it's time to drop off my daughter at school and I put on my prana cargo pants, my cane slip on shoes, and my homemade Detroit tee. Available@shannoncasen.com you like that? Homemade. And these are my everyday dad clothing. This is things I wear every day. Now my daughter ZOE will be 17 this month and she's an amazing young lady. So beautiful. She has a little boyfriend now, which is mind blowing for me. She's gonna be starting her first job ever. She's gonna be working for a local politician downtown Detroit. Very smart young lady, but not only in books, she's very smart in attitude as well. And we raised her to user voice, speak her mind. Not many spankings, if I be honest. I've. Honestly, I've never actually spanked her myself, which tends to backfire at some point. My biggest issue with Zoe is her responding. I'll ask Zoe a question only to get silence in return. And most times it's because she has on these headphones, these big huge heavy headphones that fit over her ears. Now, I grew up the same way. I was a Sony Walkman big headphone wearing person back in high school. So I respect the music, I respect the love of the music and any of my friends who watching this from high school, you probably remember me with big huge headphones on. But if I'm at home, I cock an ear, you cock an ear to the side. So if my mom or my dad or my grandma was talking, I'd had it ear cocked so I could hear. Or I might get popped upside my head if I couldn't hear, if I didn't respond. But Zoey doesn't respond to the simplest of questions. Good morning, Zoey. How you doing this morning? Simplest of questions are met with silence because of the headphones. And I think she can hear me through them headphones. She just choosing not to respond. I had a friend in Chicago and I shared this concern with her. She was a mental health professional, so she had experience with such things. And I asked this pretty lady about her professional suggestion while we drank wine together, sitting on my couch and Going to get some free services out of you if I'm paying for these drinks, you know. And she said that during the teenage years, so many things are happening with these young people. It's new ideas and thoughts and, and everything from the overwhelming amount of information that's available on our phones nowadays. And they're changing in so many ways. Even chemically changing, they aren't fully developed, developed yet. So they're learning how to respond to the world around them. So it's important for me not to take anything too personally. Correct bad behavior, of course, but stay unattached. Don't let them hook you. She loves you. Just, just stay consistent and trust me, it'll show in time. And I heard what this fine ass mental health professional was telling me while we were sitting on my couch on the other side of the, the charcuterie board, you know, and, and I heard her and I kept that in mind over the years. Consistency, impatience. But it'll always be tested. Today we're getting ready for the school drop off and I, I call out of my office, I say, zoe, you ready? Silence. Zoe, are you ready? More silence. My mood hasn't actually changed. I'm used to this level of ambivalence in ignoring me. So I see her sitting on the steps with her book bag on and her headphones over her ears. And I grab one of the headphone cups to lift it up from her ear. And Zoe says with a bite, don't touch me. It has to register for a second. We raised her to have autonomy over her body. You know, raise her voice if she's in a circumstance that's otherwise. These are lessons that eventually come back to bite you as parents. I'm like, what did you say? She repeats it. I said, don't touch me. Now I remember what this cute mental health professional lips are telling me. I can see the lips right now. Don't let her hook you. So I do, but I, you know, I'm me, I'm her father. So I touch her shoulder gently. I'm still in a good mood. I'm in control of my emotions. And she smacks my hand, smacks it from there. I just, I just tell someone else that they gonna have to take her to school because I know my patience does have limits and I won't let her attitude take over my day. But trust we're gonna have a good talk on the pickup. Now, the moment of meeting for me in that, that just happened just a few hours ago, you have to predetermine your responses for certain situations in the moment, I may have lashed out. Otherwise, trust me, this is gonna be a long, hard talk on the way home when I pick her up. But in that moment, I walked away before I let my emotions and pride take over. I recognize my own growth in that, in choosing my response instead of just reacting. And this is. I know all this is new school parenting shit, but what about you? Are you raising your children differently than how you were raised? Maybe you're more understanding, even a little more lenient. So how do you respond when you feel all that new school parenting is getting challenged by your teenager? What's your story?