Today’s youth are connected to many devices, but often disconnected from their parents. The Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau’s parenting experts address the challenges facing young people and parents today, covering topics such as nutrition, adolescent development, bullying, time management, social media, and safety. With immense knowledge, well-founded research, and a healthy dose of common sense, our speakers engage with parents, educators, and youths themselves.

JANE FONDA – Guiding teens and parents through adolescence
When speaking about her recent book Being A Teen, Jane Fonda likes to joke that it is not the book anyone was expecting her to write – given that she has famously written and spoken about enjoying life’s “third act.” But once Fonda finishes her keynote on adolescent development, bullying, and gender identity there is no doubt among audiences that Fonda’s decades-long work with young people – as the founder of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP) and Emory University’s Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health – makes her an eloquent and valuable expert.

ANA HOMAYOUN – Helping teens and students excel through organization
Time management is a buzzword at business seminars and among professionals – but in fact also a crucial skill for teens and students. Using real-life stories and humor, Homayoun teaches parents how they can help their children remain organized and focused without micromanaging their lives. Homayoun also offers advice on handling teens’ social media habits and helping adolescents build emotional and social resilience.

JENNY ROSENSTRACH – Reinventing the family dinner
Just when parents think they have mastered lunch, and packed their children something worth eating rather than trading, anxiety over THE family dinner looms. Stuck in the great pizza-and-pasta-rut of 2006, Jenny Rosenstrach went on a mission to make family meals enjoyable – for body and mind. The creator of the wildly popular blog Dinner: A Love Story and obsessive list-maker, Rosenstrach shares her advice, recipes, and utterly relatable anecdotes with parents, educators, and culinary adventure seekers.

HANNA ROSIN – Reexamining parenting culture
While many adults have fond memories of a childhood spent playing pick-up games on the street until dusk, today’s children may be more likely to remember their time in the car being driven to so-called play dates. Hanna Rosin, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a founder and co-editor of Slate’s DoubleX, has her finger on the pulse of today’s most pressing and contentious issues, and so it is no surprise that she has uncovered the phenomenon that is “The Overprotected Kid.” Speaking to parents and educators Hanna Rosin talks about how our bid to keep our children safe may be robbing them of the independence they need to become successful adults.