Positive Parenting for Military Families | Mr. Dad

6/11/17 Erin Leyba, author of Joy Fixes for Weary Parents. Topic: Quick, research-based ideas for overcoming stress and building a life you love. Issues: Grieving your former life; rebel against the “should”; stop kicking your own ass; parent-kid date nights; parent-parent date nights; how to get your kids to cooperate; many, many more great ideas. Beau Lotto, author of Deviate. Topic: The science of seeing differently. Issues: Why we don’t see reality (and why our brains didn’t evolve to perform that function); how realizing that we aren’t seeing reality can make us more creative and innovative at work, home, play, and love; why we need to embrace uncertainty; how changing our environment changes the brain.

Judith Orloff, author of The Empath’s Survival Guide. Topic: Life strategies for sensitive people. Issues: Are you an empath? How to stop absorbing other people’s distress; empaths and addiction; protecting yourself from narcissists and other energy vampires; empaths, parenting, and raising empath children; empaths and intuition; much more. Mary Lamia, author of What Motivates Getting Things Done. Topic: Procrastination, emotions, and success. Issues: The differences between task-driven procrastinators and deadline-driven procrastinators; tools to turn agitation and annoyance into affirmation and acceptance; helping procrastinators jump-start their system and make the most out of their time; much more.

Heather Haupt, author of Knights in Training. Topic: 10 principles for raising honorable, courageous, and compassionate boys. Issues: The elements of the Knight’s Code: Stand against injustice; protect the weak, respect women, don’t give offense, speak truth, be generous, pursue excellence, and more. Lea Waters, author of The Strength Switch. Topic: How the new science of strength-based parenting can help your child to flourish. Issues: Understanding strengths; the ages and stages of strength growth; building strength through attention, savoring, gratitude, and goofing off; strength-based living in the real world; much more.

Michelle Janning, author of The Stuff of Family Life. Topic: How our homes reflect our lives. Issues: Does putting your smartphone on a restaurant table during a date impact your relationship? How does where you place your TV in your home impact your family? Exploring and understanding the changing world of families by looking at their stuff; more. Jack Gilbert, author of Dirt is Good. Topic: The advantage of germs for your child’s developing immune system. Issues: The microbiome; the importance of the bacteria that live inside us across the lifespan (but especially in childhood); where does our microbiome come from? The effects of diet, antibiotics, probiotics, and more; physical, emotional, and psychological effects of the microbiome; the dangers of antibacterial soaps and attempts to keep our children’s environment super clean; more.

Lisa Sugarman, author of Untying Parent Anxiety. Topic: Myths that have you in knots—and how to get free. Issues: Debunking myths like: Good grades are what matter most; if I punish my kid, she’ll hate me; drama is a middle school and high school problem; kids should be seen and not heard; my kids are too immature to do chores; saying “no” to my kids makes me a horrible parent; many more. Michael Bradley, author of Crazy Stressed. Topic: Saving todays overwhelmed teens with love, laughter, and the science of resilience. Issues: Understanding what’s wrong with the teen brain, teen culture, and the world they live in; what resilience is and why it’s so important; common resilience challenges such as behavior, school, sex and dating, and social issues.

Dennis Trittin, author of What I Wish I Knew at 18. Topic: Life lessons for the road ahead. Issues: Getting a perspective on life; the importance of character; relationships and communication; handling adversity; career selection and advancement; college academics; managing your finances; love and marriage; much more. Lisen Stromberg, author of Work, Pause, Thrive. Topic: How to pause for parenthood without killing your career. Issues: The politics of pausing; men want a place in the home; conscious careers, conscious choices; thriving: the career you deserve, the life you want; money matters; the need to prepare yourself and your career before you pause; what to do during your pause.

Michael Gurian, author of Saving Our Sons. Topic: A new path for raising health and resilient boys. Issues: Recognizing and confronting the boy crisis; the real causes of male violence; the new science of healthy boyhood; dangerous attacks on boyhood; supporting and building male emotional intelligence; the male motivational and maturity gap; much more. Harriet Lerner, author of Why Won’t You Apologize? Topic: Healing big betrayals and everyday hurts. Issues: Best ways to ruin an apology; why some people refuse to apologize while others over-apologize; how to get past anger and resentment when you’ll never get the apology you deserve; why forgiving too quickly can hurt you; the simple sentence that will teach children to apologize.

Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read. Topic: Your parenting legacy–past and future. Issues: How the past comes back to but us (and our children); the importance of your child’s environment; feelings–what they are and how to understand and validate them; support–making sure we give it to our kids and overcoming what we didn’t receive from our own parents; much more. Joseph McCormack, author of Noise. Topic: Living and leading when nobody can focus. Issues: Weapons of mass distraction and how we’re becoming deaf to information overload; how our brains are changing; the effects of info overload; the loss of civil discourse; how to start tuning in; how to start focusing on what matters most to you and your family; learning to say no to the noise; much more.

James McKenna, author of Safe Infant Sleep. Topic: Expert answers to your co-sleeping questions. Issues: What is co-sleeping? The history of co-sleeping; controversies, confusion, and flawed conclusions; science behind co-sleeping; benefits of co-sleeping; effects of co-sleeping; how to do it. Robert Hamilton, author of 7 Secrets of the Newborn. Topic: Secrets and (happy) surprises of the first year. Issues: The importance of letting the baby lead the way (meaning no schedules, no programs); why all your baby needs for the first few months is you (no toys, no gear, nothing but mom and dad); moms and dads are equally important; no screens for the first year; much more.

Tim Jones, author of You’re Grounded for Life. Topic: Misguided parenting strategies that sounded good at the time. Issues: The trials and tribulations of parents with kids of all ages; the daunting task of starting, raising, and surviving a family; innovative parenting strategies that have produced hilariously disastrous results. Tara Haelle, coauthor of The Informed Parent. Topic: The science of parenting in your child’s first four years. Issues: The importance of looking at the science before acting on advice you get from a friend (or the Internet); the truth about soft cheese, cat poop, alcohol, vaccines, SIDS, bed sharing, pacifiers, and much more.

Darin Ingels, author of The Lyme Solution. @lymeexpertND – Instagram: dariningelsnd Topic: How to fight Lyme’s inflammatory auto-immune response and beat the disease. Issues: A five-part plan to: fortify your gut health and restore the immune system; follow a diet that increases immunity and reduces inflammation; thwart and target an active infection; identify hidden toxins that worsen Lyme symptoms; improve your lifestyle to stimulate and perpetuate healing. Liza Hanks, author of Every Californian’s Guide to Estate Planning. @NoloLaw – Instagram: nololaw Topic: What you need to know about wills, trusts, and everything else—regardless of where you live. Issues: What’s in an estate plan and why you need one; wills; living trusts; choosing a guardian for minor children; leaving money to children; estate planning for blended families; death and taxes; naming beneficiaries for retirement accounts and life insurance; finding a lawyer; keeping your plan up to date.

Deborah Reber, author of Differently Wired. @TiltParenting Topic: Raising an exceptional child in a conventional world. Issues: Letting go of your impossible expectations for who you “should” be as a parent; seeking out like-minded parents; becoming fluent in your child’s language; creating a world where your child can be secure; parenting from a place of possibility instead of fear; letting your children be on their own time line. Jena Pincott, author of Wits, Guts, Grit. @jenapincott Topic: All-natural biohacks for raising smart, resilient kids. Issues: What if we could identify microbes in our gut that correlate with stress resilience? What if memory and learning and overall wellbeing could improve after eating more of certain foods or minerals? What if merely smelling sweat before completing an anxiety-inducing task could improve your performance? Meet a woman who tested these and other hypotheses on her own children.

Chantel Olson, author of Homefront Warriors. @chantellouise16 Topic: Not every warrior wears a uniform. Issues: The many lessons learned from military spouses during their spouse’s deployment; how military spouses can get support during deployment; special concerns of children with a deployed parent; why it’s important to honor homefront warriors for their service. KJ Del’Antonia, author of How to Be a Happier Parent. @KJDellAntonia Topic: Raising a family, having a life, and loving almost every minute. Issues: Why you child should do chores; siblings—bringing fun and taking it away; sports and activities—fun except when they’re not; homework; screens are fun but limiting them isn’t; discipline and why it sometimes hurts parents more than the kids; finding time for food, fun, and family time.

John Pray, President and CEO of Operation Homefront. @Op_Homefront – IG: operationhomefront Topic: Building strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive—not simply struggle to get by—in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Issues: This non-profit has served more than 40,000 military families and provided nearly $25 million in relief (for basic necessities, rent/mortgage); programs include housing, educational scholarships, parent support, school supplies, and more. Heather Miller, author of Prime Time Parenting. @PrimeTimeBook – Instagram: primetimeparenting Topic: The two-hour-a-day secret to raising great kids. Issues: The importance of reducing screen time—for kids and adults; setting up your two hours of focused parenting; homework, dinner, more homework, and off to bed; how prime time parenting will give you more “me” time; other benefits (physical, mental, and emotional).

Ashley Broadway-Mack, founding board member and president, American Military Partner Association. @LGBTMilPartners Topic: Spouses and family of LGBTQ servicemembers. Issues: The American Military Partner Association is the nation’s largest resource and support network for the partners, spouses, families, and allies of America’s LGBTQ servicemembers and veterans. AMPA has over 50,000 members and supporters and leads the nation in education, advocacy, and support for our modern military families. Barbara Oakley, author of Learning How to Learn. @barbaraoakley Topic: How to succeed in school without spending all your time studying. Issues: The problem with passion; why trying too hard can make things worse; using a tomato to beat procrastination; learning while you sleep and how to wake up smarter; school bags, lockers, and attention; tricks to build memory; learning alone vs in groups; should you listen to music while you’re studying? how your worst traits can be your best.