Positive Parenting for Military Families | Mr. Dad

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.

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.

Lucie LeBlanc, author of Ordinary Parents Raising Extraordinary Children. Topic: Unlocking your child’s inner strength to full self-expression. Issues: Understanding the human mind; programming your child for success; the six creative faculties (perception, memory, reason, will power, intuition, and imagination); common parental errors; much more. Mark Borg, author of Don’t Be a Dick. Topic: Change yourself, change your world. Issues: What does it mean to be a dick and why are some people (including ourselves) that way? The difference between internal dicks and external dicks; how to quit being a dick—and get others to quit too; how to avoid backsliding; lessons for parents; much more

James Knipp, author of Stuff Every Grandfather Should Know. Topic: Making sense of the grandfather years. Issues: When to give advice and how to take it; (re)learning how to be a parent; going from father to grandfather; building a relationship with your grandchild; things to do with the grandkids; technology and social media; grandparenting through your child’s divorce; much more. Liz Frazier, author of Beyond Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands. Topic: How to teach young kids about finance. Issues: The “right” to talk with kids about money; teaching about money in an increasingly cashless society; allowances; what is money, how do we get it, and what do we do with it? Advanced topics such as interest, lending, the economy, and more.

Dorette Noorhasan, author of Miracle Baby. Topic: A fertility doctor’s fight for motherhood. Issues: Surrogacy, insurance, and overcoming every possible obstacle on the way to becoming a mother. Leslie Schrock, author of Bumpin’. Topic: Navigating the journey from conception through birth—and beyond. Issues: Getting your bodies and your lives ready; drafting your healthcare dream team; pregnancy issues and myths (such as that having an epidural or a c-section is “failure”); difference between a birth plan and going overboard; what you don’t know about having a baby; the importance of communication between partners; dad’s important role; much more.

Pia Martin, author of Building Healthy Humans. @DrPia – Instagram doctorpiamartin Topic: A guide to a balanced pregnancy for a happy, healthy baby. Issues: Epigenetics—what it is and how you can use it to create a healthier baby; how what a woman eats and does before and during pregnancy affect her children; how dads affect their children’s genetic outcomes; the importance of healthy gut and good digestion; types of diets; much more. Jeanette Mack, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications at Navy Federal Credit Union. @NavyFederal ‏ Topic: Financial issues for military families and veterans. Issues: Ways to start saving small now for your kids’ futures, small behavior changes that can make a big difference in your finances; financial literacy tools for families; tips to building/maintaining your credit; car buying tips; budgeting tips for parents and kids; how military families can make the most of their paycheck. https://www.navyfederal.org/

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).

Kerry Goyette, author of The Non-Obvious Guide to Emotional Intelligence. Topic: Understanding emotional intelligence, empathy, and learning to put them to use. Issues: What is empathy and where does it start? What is emotional intelligence? How our brain perceives fear and threats; how courage drives emotional intelligence; how to recognize your environment; difference between problems and dilemmas; mental agility and how to build it; how we derail ourselves from success; how to motivate your team and your family; intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation; much more. Kelli Harding, author of The Rabbit Effect. Topic: Live longer, happier, and healthier with the groundbreaking science of kindness. Issues: The hidden factors of health (intimate relationships, social ties, work, finding your purpose, hobbies and recreation; fairness; compassion, the environment you live in, and more); essentials of health (mind-body link, trust, community health, and more); what kindness is and the ripple effects it creates.

Julia Bueno, author of The Brink of Being. Topic: Talking about Miscarriage. Issues: What is miscarriage and how common is it? Early miscarriage vs. late; recurrent miscarriage; what to say—and not to say—to someone who’s had a miscarriage; how society deals (or doesn’t deal) with miscarriage; the effects of miscarriage on women; effects of miscarriage on men and other family members. Leah Plunkett, author of Sharenthood. Topic: Why we should think before we talk about our kids online. Issues: Mistakes adults make with children’s private information; implications of adults’ excessive digital sharing; risks of sharenting; commercial sharenting (using your private experiences to make money); the dangers of children sharing info about their parents; much more.

Ellen Notbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew. Topic: Giving voice to autistic children’s inner thoughts and feelings, whether verbal or non-verbal. Issues: I’m a whole child; my senses are out of sync; the difference between “won’t” and “can’t”; I interpret language literally; I try to communicate in many ways; I’m visually oriented; focus on what I can do rather than on what I can’t; help me be social; identify what triggers my meltdowns; love me without “if.” Gail Gross, author of How to Build Your Baby’s Brain. Topic: Using new gene science to raise a smart, secure, and successful child, Issues: The science behind our secret parental power; turning your child’s shortcomings to strengths; success through trust; the curse of overstimulation; turning your home into a living lab; boosting the neurological health of your unborn child; much more.

11/15/19 Adnan Mir, MD., External Marketing Committee Chair for the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. Topic: Skin cancer and other skin conditions in children. Issues: Who is at increased risk for skin cancer? What are the types of skin cancer? How can you find skin cancer or suspicious spots on the skin? How are skin cancers treated? How can you prevent sun damage and skin cancer? Year-round sunscreen use; much more. James Gordon, author of The Transformation. Topic: Discovering wholeness and healing after trauma. Issues: What is trauma? The biology of trauma; befriending your body; breathing, movement, laughter, gratitude, forgiveness, and other proven ways to better cope with trauma;

Brett Simon, Founder and President of K9s For Warriors. @k9sforwarriors Topic: The benefits of service dogs for veterans and other servicemembers Issues: The benefits of having a service dog; difference between service dogs and therapy dogs; they type of training dogs for servicemembers receive; conditions that service dogs can help with (PTSD, anxiety issues, sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury); how you can help: https://www.k9sforwarriors.org Jamie Koufman, co-author of Acid Reflux in Children. @DrJamieKoufman – Instagram: drjamiekoufman Topic: A parent’s guide to reflux in infants, children, and teens. Issues: Understanding the symptoms of acid reflux and why they overlap with many common conditions, such as asthma, allergies, obesity, nasal congestion, cough, and croup; how to tell whether your child has reflux; important dietary changes that can fix those problems; the importance of drinking water instead of most other drinks; reducing processed meats and other common trigger foods.

Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO, Blue Star Families. @BlueStarFamily – Instagram: bluestarfamilies Topic: Strengthening military families by connecting them with their neighbors–individuals and organizations–to create vibrant communities of mutual support. Issues: Raising awareness of the unique challenges of military family life; overcoming the isolation and alienation of frequent moves, deployments, and reduced support from the government; solving specific challenges for military families, including fighting economic insecurity with resources that foster spouse career development, creating family strength with rich family programming, and providing critical peer support for caregivers. Dan Nevins, spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project. @wwp – ‏Instagram: wwp Topic: Helping veterans and servicemembers who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound while serving in the military on or after September 11, 2001. Issues: Connecting with other wounded warriors; mental health and wellness; physical health; navigating the VA system; career assistance; personal independence; resources for family members of wounded veterans. Janet Golden, author of Babies Made Us Modern. Topic: How infants brought America into the 20th century. Issues: Economics, social welfare, and progressives; the US Children’s Bureau and how it improved infant health; traditional healers, patented medicines, and local cultures; the inner lives of babies; how American parents are different from parents in other countries.

Wayne Jonas, author of How Healing Works. @DrWayneJonas Topic: Using your hidden power to heal to get well and stay well. Issues: Rethinking healing; how science misses healing; integrative health; the importance of lifestyle changes; the importance of finding meaning in life; the importance of social connections—especially as we get older; integrative and alternative medicine. Rachel Simmons, author of Enough as She Is. @RachelJSimmons ‏- Instagram: racheljsimmons Topic: Helping girls move beyond impossible standards to live healthy, happy, fulfilling lives. Issues: Stop overthinking, which is linked to depression, motivation loss, and binge eating; practice three steps of self-compassion; navigate new rules of stress culture—and self-care; stop catastrophizing (“my life is over if I fail this test”); what parents need to do to manage their own anxiety