TED Health The science of raising kids (Part 2): How to raise healthy kids with Dr. Shari Barkin
Feb 17, 2026
Dr. Shari Barkin, a pediatrician and academic leader focused on community-engaged child health, shares practical ways families can build healthy routines. She discusses starting small, phone-free meals, community partnerships, family-based interventions, and 10-minute activities to model movement and connection. Conversations also cover dignified approaches to weight and designing culturally feasible programs.
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Phone Free Family Time
- Do set aside 30 to 45 minutes for phone-free family time around the table.
- Shari Barkin recommends a visible basket where everyone, including adults, puts phones away to force connection during meals.
Health Is Shaped By Contexts Not Clinics
- Health develops from nested contexts: child, family, community, and society rather than only the doctor's office.
- Barkin maps influences like parks, schools, and neighborhood safety to show how environment shapes behavior and long-term health.
Families Found A Mother In Crisis
- Bring groups of families together and design programs using social network ties to spread behaviors and mutual support.
- Barkin describes families forming weak ties, walking together, and checking on an absent member who was found to be in major depression.