Mom Enough: A Parenting Podcast

As Marti & Erin know well, the mother-daughter relationship can offer a special kind of emotional closeness, mutual support and a lot of fun over the years. But it also can be fraught with tension and conflict (e.g. why are you giving me that look?). This week’s Mom Enough guest is very familiar with the...

Recent polls show an alarming drop in students’ enthusiasm for school as they move toward middle school. But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to this week’s Mom Enough guest, Nikhil Goyal, who has spent the last couple of years studying and visiting schools that succeed in keeping students engaged in problem-solving, creative...

Grief is a natural and dynamic response to a major loss and, for people of all ages, it demands time and understanding. But with children, grief doesn’t always look the way we expect. Children sometimes may appear irreverent or disrespectful – or they may be unbearably sad one minute and dashing out to play with...

When we become parents for the first time, we are plunged into a myriad of new experiences, with all the emotion and uncertainty that accompany such a major life change. But have you ever imagined what it is like for the baby, leaving the cozy, protected environment of the womb and confronting all the new...

We love our children and we hate to see them struggle, right? But are we harming them in the long run by making things too easy for them? Greg Lais, founding director of Wilderness Inquiry, thinks so and has spent the past 35 years taking people of all ages and abilities into nature to meet...

Marti joined Brandon Ezuck from Radio Disney and Josh Garubanda, program manager at Wilderness Inquiry, for an on-air “News You Can Use” interview about the importance of getting children connected to the outdoors. Research shows nature experience, or outdoor time, is connected to children’s health, learning and development. Exploring and playing freely, and not just structured outdoor...

Many of us believe that bullying is more rampant today than in previous decades But is that true? And how do technology and social media shape bullying behavior and its impact today? Most important, what should we be doing to support a deeper understanding of – and more effective response to – this complex problem?...

It’s hard to be “mom enough” or “dad enough” even under the best of circumstances. But when stress, frustration or exhaustion consume us, parenting can feel downright impossible. But there are strategies we can use to reduce our stress and manage our feelings – strategies that will pay off for us, our children and our...

Teaching reading is not only the school’s responsibility; we parents play a huge role in nurturing our children’s love of reading and promoting their skills. And this doesn’t mean drill and drudgery! Laura Hanson, a reading specialist in the Edina Public Schools, brings a wealth of easy, fun, effective ways to choose and use books...

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, but this is a year-round problem that needs year-round solutions. And we all can play a part. Jim Hmurovich is President of Prevent Child Abuse America and, in previous work in corrections and child welfare, he witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of abuse. This difficult topic also has been...

Research shows that children are much more likely to engage in underage drinking than parents often believe. And pretending it isn’t so just doesn’t work. But research also shows that parents are the biggest influence on children’s decisions about drinking. So, when and how should we talk with our children about alcohol? As this week’s...

Turning your teen loose with the family car is an anxious moment for most of us parents – and for good reason, given that car accidents are the number one cause of death for people 15 – 19 years of age. But the good news is we have much greater impact on our children’s driving...

April is Let’s G.O. (Get Outside) month, a great time to remind yourself why being out in nature is so important to your children’s health and well-being – and your own! This week’s Mom Enough guest, Jeff Ledermann, has spent the last 20 years working with the Minnesota Department of Education to help educators integrate...

We hear often about the achievement gap, the term used to describe wide disparities in educational outcomes among children of different ethnic backgrounds. For example, although Minnesota historically has ranked well overall on measures of educational attainment, Latino children in Minnesota rank the worst in the nation when it comes to the achievement gap and...