Positive Parenting for Military Families | Mr. Dad

Amy Tuteur, author of Push Back. Topic: Guilt in the age of natural parenting. Issues: Why there’s no reason to feel guilty about childbirth interventions (epidurals, fetal monitoring, c-sections, etc.)—in fact, childbirth is now safer for mothers and babies because of those interventions; why there’s no reason to feel guilty about epidurals (there’s no such thing as “good pain”); the truth about breastfeeding and the benefits. Janet Lintala, author of The Un-Prescription for Autism. Topic: A natural approach for a calmer, happier, and more focused child. Issues: The connection between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and gastro-intestinal problems; the importance of enzymes and probiotics; the benefits of a complete GI protocol.

Stephen Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu, coauthors of Geek Parenting. Topic: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys teach us about raising a family. Issues: Lessons from (mostly fictional) pop culture icons about creating a positive parenting environment, keeping communications channels open, keeping kids safe, helping kids grow and evolve into advanced beings, and preparing them for a life of adventures. Deborah Heisz, author of Live Happy. Topic: Ten practices for choosing joy. Issues: The truth about happiness; the science behind having a positive attitude, building positive connections and relationships, nurturing creativity, mindfulness, resilience, gratitude, giving back, and even spirituality.

Vanessa Lapointe, author of Discipline without Damage. Topic: How to get your kids to behave without messing them up. Issues: Why most of what parents learn about discipline is either wrong, damaging, or both; basic child development and brain science info to help you better discipine your child; a way to instinctively navigage challanging moments with ease. Harold Pollack, coauthor of The Index Card. Topic: Why personal finance doesn’t have to be complicated. Issues: Ten simple, no-nonsense, jargon-free, easy-to-follow, pieces of advice to follow to create a financial plan that will work if good times and bad.

Heather Mac Donald, author of The Diversity Delusion. Topic: How race and gender pandering corrupt the university and undermine our culture. Issues: They hysterical campus; the disaster of affirmative action; the myth of microaggressions; the campus rape myth; the diversity bureaucracy; how identity politics is harming the sciences. Anthony Rostain, co-author of The Stressed Years of Their Lives. Topic: Helping your kid survive and thrive during their college years. Issues: Learn how to develop social and emotional readiness along with academic skills; identify the most common mindset barriers to success (feelings of not belonging, fear of not making it, not reaching out for help when it’s needed); what to expect on campus or back home if your child seeks mental health counseling; and 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.

Mary Reckmeyer, author of Strengths Based Parenting. Topic: Developing your children’s innate talents. Issues: Setting kids up for success; finding out what your parenting strengths are; understanding your children’s strengths; creating a parent-child partnership based on your and your children’s strengths. Mike Berland, author of Become a Fat-Burning Machine. Topic: Overcoming metabolic syndrome. Issues: How to lose the belly fat, end sugar cravings, and gain energy; identifying foods that store fat vs. those that burn it; a new workout strategy that burns fat more effectively than whatever you’re doing right now; diet and fitness myths that are sabotaging your success; implementing these fat burning and fitness strategies with your family.

Robert Weiss, author of Prodependence. Topic: Moving beyond codependence. Issues: Addiction, empathy, and psychotherapy; what is codependence? Our need to connect; defining and understanding pro-dependence; addiction is an intimacy disorder; creating and living co-dependent relationships. Kurt Newman, author of Healing Children. Topic: Stories from the frontiers of pediatric medicine. Issues: A longtime pediatric surgeon talks about the story of his career and some of the hundreds of children he’s treated; the triumphs and tragedies he’s seen; the revolution taking place in children’s medicine; what children need to thrive in today’s world.

Jennifer Weeks, author of The New Age of Sex Education. Topic: How to talk to your teen about cybersex and pornography in the digital age. Issues: Why pornography isn’t always a bad thing; how a parent’s beliefs about sex and sexuality influence how they do or don’t talk to their child about sex; connection between texting and sexting; how to know whether your child is having a problem with sexual identity. Devorah Heitner, author of Screenwise. Topic: Helping kids thrive and survive in their digital world. Issues: The differences between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants,” assessing your own digital literacy; becoming a tech-positive parent; friendship and dating in the digital age; how much screen time do kids really have? the “forever” nature of the Internet; where do we go from here?

Eric Jensen, coauthor of Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain. Topic: Helping underperforming students become lifelong learners. Issues: Research-based, classroom-tested strategies to strengthen students’ mind, body, and help them become exceptional lifelong learners; how and when to use workarounds; how the brain changes; how increase your student’s effort, build a better attitude, and improve behavior. Lauren Sandler, author of One and Only. Topic: The freedom of having an only child, and the joy of being one. Issues: What are only children really like? Debunking stereotypes and myths about “onlies”; the benefits to children, relationships, and society of having–and being–an only child.

William Levin, author of Parenting without Fear. Topic: Raising balanced children in a healing world Issues: Recognizing the guiding signals from our children’s nature in their early years; how we can move into natural partnership with our children’s nature and our own; recognizing and disengaging from the shamed and fearful beliefs that obstruct those natural partnerships. Jessica Lamb-Shapiro, author of Promise Land. Topic: One woman’s journey through America’s self-help culture. Issues: Overcoming phobias and fears; walking on hot coals; coping with grief at the saddest camp in the world; the trouble with the Law of Attraction; the best and the worst of the self-help gurus.

Michele Lilyanna, coauthor of Awakening Joy for Kids. Topic: How grown-ups can nourish themselves and raise mindful, happy children. Issues: Understanding intention setting with children; mindfulness matters for grown-ups and how we can teach them to our children; mindfulness in schools and how it helps kids cope with pressures large and small; the power of gratitude. George Lynn and Cynthia Johnson, coauthors of Breaking the Trance. Topic: Parenting the screen-dependent child. Issues: The difference between dependence and addiction; how to tell whether your child is screen dependent; what screen dependence does to children’s mind, nervous system, and body; effects on boys of screen dependence; regaining control.

Melissa Atkins Wardy, author of Redefining Girly. Topic: How parents can fight the stereotyping and sexualizing of girlhood. Issues: How to redefine girly in your home; getting friends and family on board; navigating kids’ play; how to avoid stereotyping girls and boys; saying no to sexed-up toys and too-sexy-too-soon parties. Jennifer Hanin, author of What to Do When You Can’t Get Pregnant. Topic: Options for couples facing fertility issues. Issues: Advances in natural products for women; new supplements, medications, and treatment protocols; the latest in egg freezing, vitrification, gender selection, and genetic testing. Overcoming

Daniel Siegel, co-author of The Yes Brain. Topic: How to cultivate courage, curiosity, and resilience in your child. Issues: Defining the Yes Brain and why it’s so important; The four fundamentals of the Yes Brain and how to strengthen them; the key to knowing when kids need a gentle push out of their comfort zone vs. needing the cushion of safety and familiarity; strategies for navigating away from negative behavior and expanding your child’s capacity for positivity. Terri Apter, author of Passing Judgment. Topic: Praise and blame in everyday life. Issues: The important role that praise and blame play in relationships (whether between adults or between parents and children); the “magic ratio” or praise to blame and how it correlates to a couple’s probability of staying together; the damage done by insincere praise; how social media has made it easier to gossip and blame others.

William Marsiglio, author of Dads, Kids, & Fitness. Topic: A father’s guide to family health. Issues: More and more dads are taking on an active role as caregivers, but men are also disproportionately likely to neglect their own healthcare, diets, and exercise routines. This book explains why dads need to be involved in their children’s health—and how to do it. Sam Weinman, author of Win at Losing. Topic: How our biggest setbacks can lead to our greatest gains. Issues: How we win from losing (and sometimes lose from winning); inspirational stories from famous people on how they coped with loss and use it to propel them to even greater success.

Rupert Isaacson, author of The Long Ride Home. Topic: The extraordinary journey of healing that changed a child’s life. Issues: The remarkable story of a boy, a horse, overcoming autism, and a revolutionary approach that has changed the life of thousands of children and their family. Catherine Price, author of Vitamania. Topic: How vitamins revolutionized the way we think about food. Issues: How vitamins were discovered and named; the surprising story of America’s blind devotion to vitamins at the expense of our health; why so much we “know” about vitamins is actually wrong; what vitamins actually do (and don’t do).