Mom Enough: A Parenting Podcast

The teen (and tween) years are a time of major change in our children’s bodies and brains – and in teenage behavior. Along with some of the wonderful growth in reasoning ability and independence comes a necessary challenging of parents’ ideas and authority. This often leaves parents feeling frustrated and unsure how to provide the guidance and protection our sons and daughters still need, especially in light of the risky teenage behavior that is so tempting to adolescents.   Psychologist David Walsh, author of Why Do They Act That Way?, joins Marti & Erin for an enlightening discussion of what’s happening in the adolescent brain and how that helps explain teenage behavior. And he affirms the importance of staying closely connected even when teens seem to push us away.   What did you learn in this Mom Enough discussion of the teenage brain that helped you understand the behavior of adolescents in your family or community? What creative ways can you think of to help teens find the thrills they desire in ways that are safe and positive?

Do you scramble to get out the door in the morning because you can’t find your glasses or your car keys? Do your kids miss the bus because they misplaced their homework or their mittens? Or are you afraid someone is going to recommend you for the TV show Hoarders because of the massive piles of junk in your basement or spare room? It’s time to get organized.   Sarah Cronin, owner of Simply Inspired Home Organizing, has seen it all! And she knows how to help you create simple systems that will result in a more peaceful, manageable physical environment and a less frazzled daily life.   Sarah joins Marti & Erin in this week’s Mom Enough episode for a helpful conversation about how to get started when organizing feels overwhelming, how to set inspired (and realistic) goals, how to choose what stays and what goes, and how to deal creatively with items that have sentimental value. Drawing on her background in child development, Sarah also offers wise advice on engaging children in the organizing process. Marti & Erin were inspired by Sarah’s guidance for how to get organized, and we think you will be too!   In what areas of your home or life are you most in need of organizing? Following Sarah Cronin’s advice to not bite off more than you can chew, what would be a reasonable organizing goal for your first steps to get organized? What ideas did you hear from Sarah – or come up with on your own – for handling items that have sentimental value but don’t fit your personal taste or décor?   For  NAPO Minnesota, click here. For NAPO National, click here.

The science of mindfulness is used in mind-body strategies for reducing stress and anxiety, relieving pain, increasing energy and improving mood. In the daily ups and downs of parenting, mind-body techniques can be simple, effective tools to enhance your own wellbeing while setting a healthy example for your children at the same time. You also can help your children build these same mind-body skills at any age, giving them a head start on living a rich, peaceful, joyful life.   Mom Enough co-host Dr. Erin Erickson teaches mind-body strategies and uses them in her medical practice and in her demanding life as mom of three adolescents. In a twist on the usual Mom Enough format, Erin’s mom and co-host Dr. Marti Erickson interviews Erin on this important and practical topic.   Have you done any reading or taken a class on the science of mindfulness to learn mind-body techniques to use for yourself or with your children? What simple ideas did you hear in this Mom Enough interview that you could try right now? What resources are in your community to help you learn more about this?   For the Science of Mindfulness sheet, click here. For our show on clinical hypnosis for children, click here. For our show on mindful parenting, click here. For more about meditation, click here. To find your meditation style, click here. For more about the heart-brain connection, click here.

Even if you love to cook healthy meals, the pressures of work, family and picky eaters sometimes can turn your passion to a feeling of drudgery. Siri Pinter Daly knows all about that and has made a career out of rising above the drudgery! Siri is the mother of three, author of both the blog and cookbook, Siriously Delicious, and wife of TV star Carson Daly, with whom Siri appears regularly in cooking segments on NBC’s Today Show.   But Siri made time to bring her relaxed, healthy, joyful attitude about food to this week’s free-flowing conversation with Marti & Erin. Siri and Erin find common ground in their homemade marshmallows, while Marti feels like a close friend of Siri after just reading the personal stories in her cookbook (never mind trying a few of the yummy recipes). All three women were hungry for really good mac ‘n cheese by the end of their chat -- maybe with a side of what Siri wisely calls "crispies." You’ll want to join in on the fun of this special Mom Enough episode.   What clever ways do you entice your kids to eat items from healthy meals that they are reluctant to try? What shortcuts do you use when you’re too tired to cook from scratch but want to serve a healthful meal? And what fun holiday treats might you make with your kids this year?   For Siri's blog, click here. For the Siriously Delicious cookbook, click here. For How to Keep Food Fun, click here. For Ways to Change Foods, click here.

Infant hearing loss can have a lifelong impact on learning and development, presenting particular challenges in communication and social relations. But major improvements in early diagnosis (in newborns!) and treatment are changing the life course of countless children.   Peggy Nelson, a professor of audiology at the University of Minnesota, has been doing research in this area of early intervention since 2000 and brings a wealth of information and experience to her conversation with Marti & Erin in this week’s Mom Enough show. She also addresses the impact of chronic ear infections, something Marti remembers (with chagrin) from Erin’s early childhood. In this guest appearance, Peggy is representing Mom Enough’s supporting partner, Help Me Grow, the place to turn if you have questions or concerns about your young child’s development.   What new things did you learn in this Mom Enough discussion of infant hearing loss? Why is it so crucial that hearing loss is diagnosed and treated in infancy when possible?   To learn more about Help Me Grow, click here. For infant and toddler communication and language milestones, click here. To learn about newborn hearing screening in Minnesota, click here. For BabyHearing.org resources, click here. For the Communicate With Your Child brochure, click here. For a transcript of this show, provided by Help Me Grow, click here.

When we think about kids and money, most of us probably know a young adult who has maxed out credit cards, failed to live within a budget, been blindsided by unexpected expenses and gone running home to Mom and Dad for a bailout. And most of us probably hope (or swear) that our kids won’t make those same bad decisions. So, what can we do right now, whatever the ages of our children?   Dr. Joyce Serido, from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Family Social Science, has focused her career on studying how families interact around financial matters and helping parents build effective skills and practices in what she calls “financial parenting.” Tune into this lively and informative discussion about raising kids who are financially competent. Even if you have an adult child who already is overly dependent on you for financial assistance, you will get ideas about how to begin to turn that around!   How are you doing “financial parenting” with your children? Based on what you heard in this Mom Enough discussion about kids and money, what would you like to do differently? How will you begin?   For Nathan Dungan’s show about teaching children about money, click here. For Marti's advice on getting a child's spending under control, click here.

Young children are very physical beings and have great fun rolling around in the grass, jumping, wrestling, chasing and tickling each other. As parents, that roughhousing sometimes makes us uneasy, bringing out worries that someone will get hurt or the kids will get so riled up that they won’t be able to sleep for a week.   But early childhood educator Mike Huber, a supervisor at St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development (a supporting partner of Mom Enough), understands how valuable rough and tumble play is to children’s learning and development. Mike joins Marti & Erin in this week’s show for a lively discussion of this often overlooked aspect of children’s experience, prompting funny memories for Marti & Erin and inspiring them to do a little roughhousing themselves.   To what extent do your kids engage in rough and tumble play? How do you encourage or discourage roughhousing? After listening to this Mom Enough podcast, what things might you try to do differently?   For St. David's Center, click here. For 6 Signs Your Child Could Benefit from Rough and Tumble Play, click here. For Mike's Importance of Social Skills article, click here. For the Rough and Tumble Play sheet, click here. For The Importance of Play to Children’s Learning sheet, click here. For Mike's author page, click here.

It’s a big change for parents when children begin college. Parenting college students is a new phase of parenting!   If our kids go away to school, we may wonder what is really going on in their lives. How often should we or the kids phone or text or email each other? How will we know if our kids are keeping up with their coursework or building positive friendships? Or, most important, how will we know if they are healthy, both physically and emotionally? If our kids are attending a local school and living at home, how do we figure out new boundaries and house rules to accommodate our students’ growing autonomy and maturity?   Jodi Dworkin and Marjorie Savage, from Family Social Science in the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), are familiar with all of these concerns related to parenting college students. They know the challenges can be even greater for parents of international students or parents who didn’t attend college themselves.   Jodi and Marjorie have put their knowledge and experience to work in developing a rich new website, Parenting College Students, to help parents of college students wherever they are. Marti & Erin are glad to know this website will be here for them when the next generation in their family head to college! (CEHD is a supporting partner of Mom Enough.)   When you went to college – left home for work or other life experiences – how did you and your parents redefine your relationship? What are the issues you expect to be most challenging for you and your kids when they move on to higher education?   For the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development, click here. For more information about Jodi & Marjorie's website, click here. For the Parenting College Students website, click here. For  Frequently Asked Questions from Parents of New Students, click here.

Many of us parents cringe at the thought of having “the talk” with our young adolescent kids. But the whole notion of having a single sex education session on the so-called birds and bees, let alone waiting until your child is an adolescent, ought to be thrown out entirely!   Author Bonnie Rough discovered some surprising lessons about this while living in the Netherlands when her children were very young. That experience led her to several years of research for her latest book, Beyond Birds and Bees: Bringing Home a New Message to Our Kids about Sex, Love and Equality.   Bonnie joins Marti & Erin for a thought-provoking discussion in this week’s Mom Enough episode. All three agree that teaching our children about sex begins when they are infants, in the verbal and nonverbal messages we give them about their bodies. Sex education continues as we teach young children the importance of consent and respect for their own bodies and others’. Ultimately, sex education is about much more than sex; it is about healthy relationships, grounded in love, respect and equality.   What messages did your parents give you about your body and sex? How did they connect those concepts to larger ideas about gender roles and relationships? In what ways do you want to do things the same or differently with your children?   For the National Sexuality Education Standards, click here. For Bonnie's article on teaching young children about boundaries and consent, click here.

In the early months of life, a child grows and learns by leaps and bounds, making sense of language, emotions, social interactions and countless other aspects of the world around them. Between six months and one year there is a particular burst of development that is a veritable “social revolution.” But, as groundbreaking research is showing, children later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show observable differences from their typically developing peers by one year of age. Yet far too often these children don’t receive intervention until years later.   Professor Jed Elison from the U of M’s Institute of Child Development is one of the researchers leading the charge to improve the lives of children with ASD through early identification of autism and early intervention. In this week’s Mom Enough show, he calls us all to become informed, advocate for services and reduce the stigma of ASD.   What new information did you hear in this Mom Enough discussion about early identification of autism? If signs of ASD are observable as early as 12 months, why do you think the average age at which Minnesota children with ASD get service is 4.9 years? What can you do to help change that?   For the Elison Lab, click here. For autism resources, click here.

Young children develop speech and language at varying rates, so how do you know when children are learning at their own pace or when there might be speech problems that need further assessment or intervention? If there is a problem with articulation or fluency, how might that influence other aspects of your child’s learning? And what is the most supportive and helpful way to respond?   Katie Adler, speech and language therapist at St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development, brings years of experience to her discussion of this important topic in this week’s Mom Enough show.   Have you or someone in your family had speech problems (e.g. stuttering, pronouncing certain sounds incorrectly)? Why and how can that affect other aspects of a child’s social development? Literacy? Confidence? What ideas or tips did you get from this Mom Enough show?   For our fluency and stuttering in preschool tip sheet, click here. For 5 possible signs of stuttering from St. David’s Center, click here. For St. David’s Center’s speech-language therapy information page, click here. For Help Me Grow, click here. For early childhood developmental milestones from Help Me Grow, click here.

In the current political climate, with disrespect and divisiveness being the norm, it may be hard to imagine why our children would want to become good citizens involved in civic activities. But our future depends on it!   Dr. Anne Klaeysen, head of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, brings many years of experience to this week’s timely Mom Enough show, offering clear and helpful ways to help our children discover their own values, learn what it means to be kind and fair on a large scale and recognize what they can contribute toward building a humane, ethical society, as children and throughout their lives.   What were some of the questions Dr. Klaeysen suggested asking your children to help them discover their own values? Whatever the ages of your children, ask them some of those questions in language appropriate to their age. What did you learn by listening to your children’s answers and to what extent were you surprised by what they said? Where are opportunities for you and your children to participate with other families to strengthen your own community and become good citizens?   For Dr. Klaeysen's blog, click here. For NYSEC Youth and Family Programs, click here.

Many of us parents worry about the impact of technology and the ever-present devices that are such a huge force in today’s world. Indeed, we should consider carefully both the potential benefits and dangers of screen time. But we also should be open to research that challenges some of our assumptions and expectations about kids today.   Stephanie Carlson, Distinguished McKnight Professor in the Institute of Child Development (within the U of M’s College of Education & Human Development*), joins Mart & Erin to talk about a fascinating new Marshmallow Test study that challenges popular beliefs about children’s ability to delay gratification, and she proposes ideas about what might account for her encouraging findings. (Thanks to CEHD* for being a supporting partner of Mom Enough.)   What was your reaction to Dr. Carlson’s Marshmallow Test findings (i.e. was this different than you would have expected?)? Stephanie said she thought increased public awareness about the importance of “executive function” might be having a positive effect on children’s development. What do you know about executive function and where did you learn it?   For the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development, click here. To read a brief about Dr. Carlson's study, click here. For our executive function show with Dr. Carlson, click here. For Dr. Carlson's lab, click here.

Have you watched a confident, rambunctious little girl begin to pull back when she approaches adolescence? This week’s Mom Enough guest has, and she is committed to empowering girls and preventing that decline in confidence that so often happens with girls after they peak at about age 9.   Longtime educator and founder of aWe, Inc. (Academy for Women’s Empowerment), Kristi Hemmer joins Marti & Erin for an important and provocative discussion of the ways girls and women give away their power through speech, body language and attributions that dismiss their own talent and hard work. Listen with a friend and then consider how you can claim your own power and raise your daughters to do the same.   What have you noticed in your own life about the things Kristi Hemmer pointed out about the ways females “give away their power”? What would you like to change in your own speech and body language? What ideas for empowering girls do you have to help your daughter(s) keep their confidence as they get older?   To learn more about the International Day of the Girl, click here. To register for the October 7 International Day of the Girl Festival in St. Paul, click here. For Amy Cuddy's TED Talk on body language, click here.  

We’ve all heard the question, “What kind of world are we leaving for our children?” But Dr. Shilagh Mirgain, a health and sport psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, turns that question on its head and asks, “What kind of children are we leaving for our world?”   Whatever the ages of your children, don’t miss this inspiring and practical discussion of how to help your children develop compassion for themselves and others, recognizing the common humanity, vulnerability and imperfection we all share. Learn concrete steps you can take today to help your children be more grateful, kind and mindful in their daily lives.     This week’s Mom Enough guest talks about the importance of “showing up for yourself as you would for a dear friend.” Give examples of what that would look like in your life. What concrete steps could you take to help your children treat themselves with such compassion?   For Dr. Mirgain’s self-compassion article that Marti mentioned, click here. For more of Dr. Mirgain’s blog articles, click here. For our sheet on Fostering Compassionate Children, click here.