parenting podcast Archives - Page 6 of 14

Helping Your Teen To Choose Their Own Unique Path in an Academically Competitive World with guest Cindy Muchnick, M.A.

Community college? Gap year? Four-year private university? Today’s teens are facing overwhelming pressure to follow a traditional path from high school to college, often with little regard for their readiness, motivation, or interest. Cindy Muchnick, co-author of “The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness & Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World” joined Dr. Amy and Sandy on the Brainy Moms podcast to share some advice on how to preserve your relationship with your teen while navigating a competitive academic environment. If you’re looking for insights on how to foster grit, resilience, and independence in your teen while also learning to listen to their feelings and fears, this episode will hit the spot! Combining her years of experience as a college admissions expert, high school teacher, and mother of four, Cindy offered some concrete strategies to help you navigate these crucial years and help guide your teen to THEIR preferred experience after high school.

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Intentional Parenting: Establishing Boundaries, a Family Culture, and a Growth Mindset with guest Monica Swanson

Amy Moore, PhD

Do you struggle to find the balance between setting boundaries and giving freedoms to your kids? Do you worry that your teens are unprepared to leave the nest? Are you concerned you’re spending more time raising your voice than connecting with your toddler? Monica Swanson, author of Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You and Raising Amazing: Bring Up Kids Who Love God, Like Their Family, and Do the Dishes Without Being Asked shares her wisdom, stories, and suggestions on this episode of the Brainy Moms podcast. Although Monica has raised four boys, these valuable insights—on everything from modeling integrity to allowing your kids to fail—can be applied to any family with children or teens.

Join Dr. Amy and Sandy as we tackle some common parenting challenges and techniques to either prevent them or approach them from a growth mindset for both parent and child.

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Peaceful Parenting Through Tough Moments at Any Age with guest Laura Reardon

Amy Moore, PhD

If you’ve struggled to control your own emotions during a toddler tantrum or tween storm, you’re not alone. Parenting is full of everyday challenges that often lead to big feelings, bad behavior, and reactionary responses—and we’re not just talking about the kids.

Parent coach Laura Reardon joined The Brainy Moms podcast to share her insights on effective strategies to get through the toughest, most emotionally charged moments of parenting. From homework meltdowns and how unmet needs can turn into a threat response, Laura walks us through some calming techniques and supportive wording to help diffuse charged moments and refocus on a peaceful path to parenting.

If you’re tired of feeling emotionally drained and want some guidance on how to create more peace in your family without constantly turning to punitive responses, tune in for this parent-focused podcast.

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Parenting a Differently Wired Kid on Your Own Terms with guest Debbie Reber, MA

Amy Moore, PhD

If you’re parenting a differently wired kid, you may have concerns that go beyond the already heavy stressors that can come with parenting. Am I parenting to bring out the best in my child or doing what’s comfortable, easy or socially expected? Is my child’s IEP just addressing the behavior rather than the stressors that are causing the behavior? Is my neurodivergent student going to be left behind because they don’t perform well on standardized tests despite being very smart? Am I stuck in a cycle of “compare and despair” rather than respecting my child’s unique timeline, interests and gifts?

On this episode of the Brainy Moms, podcast, Dr. Amy and Dr. Jody host a conversation with Debbie Reber, M.A., author of the book, “Differently Wired: A Parent’s Guide to Raising an Atypical Child with Confidence and Hope” and founder of Tilt Parenting. It felt like a lifeline for many of us raising neurodivergent children and teens. Offering insights, personal stories, and guidance for listeners who may be grappling with insecurities around parenting a differently wired child, Debbie provided comfort—and useful tips—to help us all gain perspective.

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Tired of yo-yo dieting? Losing weight isn’t just about what you eat (or when you eat it) with guest Matty Lansdown

Amy Moore, PhD

Have you ever tried a diet and lost weight, only to put the weight back on a few months or a year later? Research shows that as many as 80% of overweight people who manage to slim down noticeably after a diet gain some or all of the weight back within one year. That staggering figure can be overwhelming and discouraging when we’re trying to lose weight.

Dr. Amy sat down with Matty Lansdown, founder of the Healthy Mums Collective, to discuss why so many diets leave us feeling frustrated and why the weight often comes back on, even with careful changes and restrictions. It was a fascinating conversation about our relationship with food and our inner child-inner parent relationship!

If you are looking for a gentle approach to healthy living—regardless of your current size—Matty takes an innovative approach to food, nutrition, and lifestyle that might get you started on a journey to self-love and caring for your body. These are tough topics, especially if you struggle with an eating disorder or body issues. But this is a no-shame conversation. Matty is an encourager and educates us on some different ways to think about and understand our ongoing relationship with food. As a yo-yo dieter, Dr. Amy appreciated Matty’s tip to just make “one tweak a week” to our eating habits. That seemed manageable to her. Our hope is that you’ll hear a tip that resonates with you as well. It’s a food-for-thought episode without judgement for anyone who wants to dig in a little to the topic of eating for better health.

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Caring for your newborn: How to feel confident as a new mom (and when to worry) with guest Dr. Emeka Obidi

Amy Moore, PhD

Are you a new mom? Do you love a new or soon-to-be mom? If you do, then this podcast episode is for you! It’s been a while since Dr. Amy and Dr. Jody were mothers of newborns, but the story hasn’t changed much: we are all just wondering if our babies are okay! Becoming a first-time mother may seem like an instinctual rite of passage for many women, but once baby is born, many of us find that we have more questions than answers. And it can be hard to know where to turn in the middle of the night when baby is crying!

Dr. Amy and Dr. Jody sat down with Dr. Emeka Obidi, board-certified pediatrician and CEO of the Newborn Prep Academy, to talk about parenting a newborn. We asked some doozies: should baby boys be circumcised? When should we worry about a fever? What about vaccinations? Breastfeeding or formula feeding? Dr. Obidi shared his wisdom after more than 17 years as a practicing pediatrician, and we found his answers incredibly helpful—and graciously gentle. Join Dr. Obidi as he provides new moms with a Confident Mom Mindset!

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Self-care: It’s not selfish, and it’s probably not what you think! with guest Dr. Tamara Beckford

Amy Moore, PhD

If you’ve ever felt stressed (like, you know, every other mom who’s lived through the past two years), and if you’ve ever tried to do something about it, it’s likely that someone, somewhere along the way, has asked you this question: “What do you do for self-care?” We know, we know, that can cause quite a visceral reaction! In fact, it does just that for our very own Dr. Amy. But—here’s the good news! According to our latest podcast guest, Dr. Tamara Beckford, self-care is probably not what you think! Join Dr. Amy Moore and Sandy Zamalis as they chat with Dr. Beckford about her own self-care journey, where to start if you’re ready to embark on your own journey, and how very important our own self-care is to our children’s understanding of what it means to be a parent. Because, statistically speaking, many of them will eventually parent their own kids! We really enjoyed this conversation, and left with some personal, real-world ideas for how to reframe self-care as a reasonable practice—that may or may not involve journaling OR the nail salon.

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How to help your kids successfully navigate the school system (Hint: it starts with a strong parent-teacher relationship) with guest Punam Saxena

Amy Moore, PhD

Every family has their own set of goals for their children after they graduate high school and fly the nest. No matter whether your family’s goals are secondary education at an Ivy League institution, learning a trade at a vocational school, or heading straight into the workforce, parents can play an active role in their child’s education and help them safely experience both successes and failures as part of their journey.
Join Dr. Amy Moore and Sandy Zamalis for a chat with Punam Saxena, author of Parent Power: Navigate School and Beyond. Punam shares her tips and tricks for navigating the school system and creating positive relationships between parents and teachers so that they can work together to help their children safely experience both the highs of great success, and the lows of difficult, sometimes unexpected, failures. Punam explains why it’s important to provide a safe place for children to fail while they are still living at home, so that they can independently navigate the world of secondary education, the workforce, and beyond.

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Want to Heal Your Trauma? Don’t Start with Therapy, Start with the Body! with guest Dr. Aimie Apigian

Amy Moore, PhD

Whether we know it or not, each of us is carrying trauma inside of our bodies. Even with a charmed childhood, there are moments in your life when you experienced a feeling of overwhelm. Each time we don’t work through those feelings, they add to our unresolved trauma. We carry all of that trauma into our adulthood—and into motherhood. Dr. Amy Moore and Teri Miller sat down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, who is the creator of the Biology of Trauma Methodology. Dr. Aimie explains to Dr. Amy and Teri how therapy is actually not the first step in healing our trauma, despite what we have been taught—and what many of us have tried.

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Is Not Getting Enough Sleep Really That Bad For Us? with guest Dr. Jennifer Reid

Amy Moore, PhD

What’s the big deal if we don’t get enough sleep? On this episode of Brainy Moms, Dr. Amy and Sandy asked psychiatrist and insomnia expert, Dr. Jennifer Reid that question and she shared several ways that sleep deprivation impacts both our physical and mental health. We talk about the basics of sleep, the difference between sleep deprivation and insomnia, and the impact of sleep on weight, metabolism, immune system function, focus and attention, and overall health. It’s kind of a big deal that we get enough sleep! Join us to learn some serious sleep science from a serious sleep doctor.