Tween pod centers on healing nature and generational trauma.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
Becoming Mother Nature opens with a storm sequence where a young boy encounters a tornado, though he emerges unharmed. Other sequences similarly depict the destructive power of nature. Chloe is verbally bullied at school and initially responds by pushing another girl. Characters respond aggressively and sometimes by lashing out when they experience emotional distress. They're almost always regretful when this happens. The mortality of an elderly character becomes key to the storyline, with talk of how much time she has left.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
A school bully calls another girl "weird" and persistently mocks her family's connection to the natural world and animals in particular. One character tells another that her mother sent her away because she doesn't want her around, in order to hurt her feelings.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
A short ad at the end of each episode promotes the ad-free version of the show on the Wondery+ app and Amazon Prime, which require a paid subscription.
Positive Messages
a lot
Nature is powerful, capable of both beauty and destruction. The natural world deserves to be respected. Everyone has their own trauma to overcome, regardless of how they may portray themselves externally. Some responsibilities can't be escaped. Growing up involves developing an understanding of the adults in your life and perhaps embracing the parts of them that live in you. Climate change is real and a major concern that requires immediate action.
Positive Role Models
a lot
The main character Chloe is initially portrayed as moody, rude and flippant to those around her. Other characters consistently call this behavior out as inappropriate and try to hold her accountable. Over the course of the story, we get a greater understanding of why she acts like this and keeps people at a distance. This arc provides context to people's behavior and how sometimes it's caused by their own trauma and fears. It doesn't use this as an excuse for negative behavior, but as a source of empathy and deeper understanding of why it's important to focus on always working to heal ourselves.
Diverse Representations
a little
The main character is a 12-year-old girl and most of the principal characters are female. The story centers on Chloe's relationship with her grandmother, and the perspective shift from one generation to the next. It also explores the difference between being a "city girl" and connecting to nature.
Parents need to know that Becoming Mother Nature is a podcast geared toward tweens that isn't afraid to confront the emotional turmoil of adolescence. Intergenerational connection, generational trauma and climate change are all major themes centered in the story. The main character, Chloe feels emotionally isolated and disconnected from her mother, and her mother and grandmother also have a resentful relationship. In addition, the story centers on the power of nature to inspire awe and terror in equal measure. The podcast highlights the need to protect and respect our environment. Courage, humility and self-control are all lessons learned by many characters within the story that shows the parallel of healing the Earth, ourselves and our relationships. Some discussion of natural disasters and bullying behavior may be disturbing to younger listeners.
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
BECOMING MOTHER NATURE centers around a 12-year-girl named Chloe who's sent to live with her eccentric grandmother. As she adjusts to her new environment, Chloe discovers the secret behind her family and must come to accept her own connection to the natural world. As such, Becoming Mother Nature is both a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the vitality of nature. The podcast serves as the first season of The Natureverse, by Gen-Z Media which presents a new, interconnected story every 10 episodes within the same podcast feed.
Acombination of supernatural adventure and emotional tween drama, this podcast is a character-driven story about discovering who you are versus who the world wants you to be. Becoming Mother Nature might have more to say than some listeners are expecting, but considering its target audience of tweens, it delivers the right messages at just the right time. Chloe's journey is sure to be relatable to tween listeners and their parents, offering a great spark for post listening conversation. The compelling story emphasizes the beauty and might of nature itself in a way that will make a positive impact on impressionable listeners. In addition to its rich story and themes, Becoming Mother Nature features stellar voice performances and immaculate production across the board.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Chloe's attitude at the start of the Becoming Mother Nature. How is her emotional state reflective of her behavior? Could she find a healthier way of expressing herself instead of acting like she doesn't care?
Do you notice when how you feel inside affects how you behave and interact with others? Can you think of a time you've lashed out at someone you care about because of how you were feeling inside? How did you mend the situation?
Becoming Mother Nature focuses heavily on the importance of the natural world and climate change is mentioned several times. How can listeners do their part to contribute to helping solve the problem? What are little steps you can take?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Robert Yaniz Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
