Mom Enough: A Parenting Podcast

Dav Pilkey was a self-described trouble-maker in the early years of school, often ending up alone in the hallway when his teacher had had enough. Struggling with both reading and attention, Dav passed his time by drawing cartoons of the colorful characters in his imagination – a superhero named Captain Underpants was created in 2nd grade!   Dav joins Marti & Erin today to describe how he eventually became an avid reader and a highly successful author and artist whose books have engaged countless kids, including many reluctant readers. Dav’s story and his wise advice will inspire you whether or not your own children struggle as Dav did.   Does your child (or did you) struggle with reading, paying attention or other demands of school? What has helped your child (or you) build a talent or special interest that helps buffer the struggle you’ve had? How could Dav Pilkey’s teacher have handled his behavior differently, taking advantage of his imagination and love of drawing?   For fun activity sheets from Dav, click here.

Women and alcohol consumption may appear harmless – many of us enjoy a glass of wine at the end of a hard day or a celebratory mimosa at a weekend brunch. But how much alcohol is too much? When do you know if drinking has become a problem for you? And how does a woman’s risk of alcohol-related problems differ from that of a man?   Jill Seward, Executive Director of Nursing at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, joins Marti & Erin for an information-packed, research-based discussion of this important topic, with facts that are likely to surprise you. Tune in for your own sake and that of your daughters!   What new things did you learn in this Mom Enough discussion about women and alcohol? What are some of the reasons women are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol than men? Did this discussion lead you to reconsider your own use of alcohol? Or did it motivate you to help your daughters understand this important information?   For the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, click here. For an online addiction quiz, click here. To learn what to expect in rehab, click here.

Psychologist and research professor Peter Gray had spent years studying the biological foundations of emotions in rats and other mammals. But when his 9-year-old son had an angry outburst in the principal’s office, Peter was moved to tears and soon found himself shifting his research focus to studying education from a biological perspective.   Peter's conclusions about what is missing from children’s lives in terms of pretend play and exploration without adult direction are addressed in a powerful way in his book Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant and Better Students for Life. Whatever the age of your children, Peter’s conversation with Marti & Erin will lead you to careful reflection on how to support your children’s success and happiness.   Think about the past week. How much time has your child spent playing without adult direction? How about doing pretend play (dramatic play) with other children? What did you learn in this Mom Enough interview about the benefits of this kind of play? How can you create more opportunities for your child to exercise creativity through free play?   For Peter’s Psychology Today blog, click here.

Whether you are dealing with a toddler’s tantrums, an 8-year-old’s messy room or a teen’s resistance to homework, parent education and support can help you use the situation to help your child build important skills and values. Parent education also can ease your stress and build your confidence as a parent.   Faith Mianulli, lead occupational therapist at St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development, brings a gentle philosophy and proven strategies to her discussion with Marti & Erin on this week’s Mom Enough show, drawing on years of teaching parents the STEP approach (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting). Tune in for tips you can use today!   Think about a parenting dilemma you have confronted with your child in the past week. How did you respond? How is that the same as or different from the STEP approach (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) discussed in this week’s Mom Enough interview? What could you do differently the next time you face a similar challenge?   For Faith’s tips on encouragement, click here. For Faith’s tips on effective listening, click here. For more information on St. David’s Center, click here.

People across the political spectrum find common ground in advocating for investing in early childhood programs to make sure children in our communities are ready to thrive and succeed in school. But how early should those programs start? To what extent should parents be actively involved? And what return on investment can we really expect, assuming programs follow best practices?   University of Minnesota economist Dr. Art Rolnick and Executive Director of Way to Grow, Carolyn Smallwood, join forces in this Mom Enough discussion to address those questions and to highlight the importance of building strong, culturally relevant partnerships with parents even before their baby is born. (Way to Grow is a supporting partner of Mom Enough.)   What are some of the longterm benefits of effective programs for parents and very young children? How would those results benefit your whole community and, in specific, affect the quality of your own life, now and later? What did Art Rolnick say about the financial return on investment (ROI) for investing in early childhood programs and how do you think that ROI compares to other public investments in our communities?   For Is Your Young Child On Track to Succeed in School?, click here. For Art's Invest Now or Pay More Later ME show, click here. For Way to Grow, click here. For Help Me Grow, click here. For MinneMinds, click here.

Let’s face it; some children have us walking on eggshells. They get rattled when something interferes with their usual routine. If we try to rush them out the door in the morning – or if they’ve missed a couple hours of sleep – they may go into a complete meltdown.   Parent educator and author Mary Sheedy Kurcinka calls these children “spirited” and, in her popular book, Raising Your Spirited Child (now in its 3rd edition), helps us understand what’s going on in the brains and bodies of these children. In her interview in this week’s Mom Enough show, Mary offers practical, concrete tips for helping spirited children adapt and thrive. Marti & Erin have some stories and insights about the spirited children in their own family too!   How does this week’s guest, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, define what she calls the “spirited child”? Do you have or know a child who fits that profile? What in this Mom Enough discussion helped you better understand that child’s behavior and think about what you can do to help that child (and those around him or her) be more comfortable and adaptable?   For Mary’s resources, click here.

Whatever the age of your children, reading aloud to them will improve vocabulary, language development, reading skills and the love of reading for information and pleasure.   This week’s Mom Enough guest, Lynette Guastaferro, CEO of Teaching Matters, challenges us to take reading to our kids to a new level, whether they are preschoolers or teens. With practical examples and tips, she highlights how reading aloud from books, newspapers and other advanced sources – and discussing the material with your children – will improve vocabulary, reading comprehension and overall critical thinking. Listen carefully and put these ideas to work in your own household!   Have you tried reading advanced books or articles to your child? What has been your child’s response? What have you discovered about your child’s understanding of complex material and ability to think about it?   For age-leveled book lists (birth to 12 years), click here. For Early Reading Matters (program to develop teachers to improve K - 2 reading), click here. For 10 Tips for Supporting Your Child in Reading and Writing, click here. For Book Lists for Read-Alouds and Independent Reading, click here.

Nancy Carlson understands children’s feelings and turns that understanding into delightful picture books that help children confront some of life’s most embarrassing experiences.   In this lively, free-wheeling discussion with Marti & Erin, Nancy highlights two of her books: the self-explanatory Sometimes You Barf! and It’s OK to Ask, a wonderful story about how to help your children connect with and respond to children with visible disabilities (a collaboration with Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare). Tune in so you and your children can benefit from the insights and humor in this special Mom Enough show.   What embarrassing experiences do you remember from your childhood? What could adults have done to make it less embarrassing for you? How can you make it easier for your children when they encounter something similar?   For Nancy’s daily doodles, click here. For Nancy’s blog, click here. For the mother’s open letter about reacting to her daughter’s genetic syndrome, click here. For the Anderson Center, click here.

From the time kids enter high school, thoughts of “What's next?” become increasingly important. How do I find the right college for me? Do I want a large university or small college? Close to home or far away? How can I look beyond big name schools to discover a gem I might not have heard of? What do I need to do now to increase my odds of getting in and getting a scholarship or financial aid? How do I prepare an application that stands out from the crowd?   Mary Hill, Director of College Counseling and Academic Planning at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, takes on these question and more in this informative and important discussion. With two kids starting high school this fall, Erin (and Grandma Marti) were soaking up everything this guest had to offer!   What do you and your children know or think about college or other higher ed options that might work? What practical tips and resources did you learn about in this Mom Enough discussion that could help you and your kids find the right college match for them?   For College Counseling Resources, click here. For Questions to Ask on College Tours, click here. For BigFuture, click here. For the Colleges That Change Lives website, click here. For the Colleges That Change Lives book by Loren Pope, click here. For the Net Price Calculator Center, click here.

Dr. John Tauer is a big believer in the benefits of sports and the potential of youth sports to build character, discipline, teamwork and conflict resolution skills. John is in a relatively unique position as both a coach of one of the winningest basketball teams in the country and a psychology professor who studies motivation at the University of St. Thomas. He doesn’t always like what he sees in youth sports and coined the acronym “WOSP” (well-intentioned, overinvolved sports parents) for his recent book, Why Less Is More for WOSPS: How to Be the Best Sports Parent You Can Be.   John challenges the extreme and unrealistic ways too many of us parents approach our children’s athletic involvement. He offers tips for healthier ways to help our kids build a more balanced set of skills and interests that will serve them throughout life, while still celebrating the joys and benefits of sports.   For John’s blog on sports and motivation, click here. For John’s basketball camp, click here. For John’s book, click here. For a related sport parent show with Nicole LaVoi, click here.

You probably know how important attachment is in the early months and years of your child’s life. But according to attachment research, how does the quality of that attachment relate to your child’s behavior and competence as a teen or even an adult?   This week’s Mom Enough guest, Dr. Glenn Roisman, has focused his career on studying how early relationships with parents and others are the starting point for social, cognitive and biological development throughout a person’s life. Representing the University of Minnesota’s College of Education & Human Development (a supporting partner of Mom Enough), he joins Marti & Erin for a rich discussion of recent research findings on attachment, childcare and other factors that shape development. And he highlights new research trying to untangle both genetic and environmental influences and the ways they interact.   In what ways is the quality of a baby’s relationship with parents and other caregivers important to lifelong development? What, if anything, was surprising to you in this Mom Enough discussion of attachment research?   For the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development, click here. For Separating Fact from Fiction about Parent‐Child Attachment, click here. To learn more about STEEP, click here.

“Who is interested in shaping your child’s attitudes around money?” That is the first question posed by this week’s Mom Enough children and money guest, Nathan Dungan, financial advisor and founder of Share, Save, Spend.   The answer to that question – and examples of how our culture lures our kids to spend, spend, spend – should make us all sit up and take notice! But we do not need to be powerless; from 5-minute family money meetings to teachable moments at the grocery store, restaurant or ATM, this Mom Enough episode is packed with ways to clarify your own values about money, instill those values in your children and give your kids voice and choice in family money decisions.   What practical ideas did you get from this Mom Enough discussion about children and money? How are these tips different from what you currently do and what next steps could you take to build your children’s money wisdom?   For tips for igniting money conversations, click here. For the Share Save Spend blog, click here. For Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, click here.  

Many of us parents feel intimidated by how early children are moving into relatively advanced mathematics – and how much we already have forgotten of the math we learned in school. Or, as Mom Enough host Erin observed from her kids’ experience, we may not understand the specific ways math is taught these days.   Nonetheless, as guest Lesa Clarkson describes, there are many fun and interesting activities we can do with our kids at every age to get them excited about math in everyday life and possibly inspire them to love math!   What are some of the fun ways Dr. Clarkson suggested supporting children’s math learning at home? Thinking of the ages and interests of your own children, name two or three specific math-related activities you can (and will!) try with them.   For the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development, click here. For Preventing Summer Learning Loss, click here.

There are many legal and financial pieces to consider in estate planning for young families. Do you have a will in place? Have you filed documents specifying who would care for your children if something happened to you? And what about putting money in a trust for your children with clear conditions for when and how they can access it?   This week’s Mom Enough guest, attorney Gretchen Baker, answers these questions and more in this very informative discussion about a topic that is crucial to a family’s security and well-being. Marti & Erin learned a lot and you will too!   What new things did you learn about estate planning for young families? To what extent have you made an adequate plan for your family in case something happened to you? What further steps should you consider?

Clinical hypnosis for children can sound strange or even scary to many of us. But University of Minnesota pediatrician Andy Barnes finds hypnosis for children to be an effective, child-friendly way to help his young patients (tots to teens) use play and imagination to strengthen self-regulation skills and manage their behavior in situations that challenge them.   In concrete, practical terms, Andy discusses how he uses hypnosis and biofeedback in his practice and also mentions books and inexpensive devices that can help parents and children enhance their self-regulation skills beyond the doctor’s office.   In talking about his use of clinical hypnosis for children, Dr. Barnes stated, “It’s always self-hypnosis.” What did he mean by that? Give an example of ways he engages his young patients in self-hypnosis.   For the Be the Boss of Your Body series, click here. For Conquering Your Child's Chronic Pain, click here. For HeartMath, click here. For the National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute (NPHTI), click here. For Andy's show on habits like nail-biting, nose-picking and thumb-sucking, click here. For Andy's show on potty training, click here.