Calm and Connected Podcast

I’m so excited to welcome Dr Lynne Kenney on to the Calm & Connected Podcast this week. We chat about all things executive functioning and how sessions differ with children in comparison to teenagers. We kept the conversation on the lighter treatment side rather than all the science-lingo heavy side. I hope you enjoy it!! The topics we cover in this episode are; What actually is executive functioning? How young you can start teaching children executive function skills How slowing down for kids can make them achieve and learn more Different types of mindfulness practices How mantras can help How little questions can have a big impact How things differ from children to teenagers Teenagers are human too - they want love, affection and to feel masterful The importance of thinking about what other people need And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun! Dr. Lynne Kenney is the nation’s leading pediatric psychologist in the development of classroom cognitive-physical activity programs for students grades K-8. Dr. Kenney develops curriculum, programming, and activities to improve children’s cognition through coordinative cognitive-motor movement, executive function skill-building strategies, and social-emotional learning. Dr. Kenney is a pediatric psychologist on the Language & Cognition Team at Wellington-Alexander Center, Scottsdale, Arizona. She has advanced fellowship training in forensic psychology and developmental pediatric psychology from Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Harbor-UCLA/UCLA Medical School. Dr. Kenney holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Physical Education from the University of Southern California. In 1992, she earned her Doctorate in Psychology at Pepperdine. Dr. Kenney’s books include Brain Primers, 2020 (Kuczala & Kenney); 70 Play Activities for Better Thinking, Self-Regulation, Learning and Behavior (Kenney & Comizio, 2016); the Social-Emotional Literacy program, Bloom Your Room™; Musical Thinking™; and Bloom: 50 things to say, think and do with anxious, angry and over-the-top-kids (Kenney & Young, 2015). ​​Website - www.lynnekenney.com Twitter - @drlynnekenney Instagram - @drlynnekenney

In this episode, I invited Dr. Dawn Huebner, child psychologist and parent coach back on the show to talk about her mini book series called Mini books about mighty fears. Alongside that we learn about what phobias really are, how to combat them plus… How parents tend to react to their child's fear Why comforting and reassuring can be so damaging The brain’s alarm system The best first step to take with a new fear With fears, practice is key! The old school methods of dealing with fears Anxiety is uncomfortable but not dangerous The most common childhood fears About The Guest - Dr Dawn Huebner Dawn Huebner, PhD, is the award-winning author of 14 books for children selling over 1 million copies in 23 languages. A child psychologist, parent coach, and popular speaker, Dr. Dawn translates the latest research into actionable strategies to free young worriers from anxiety. She has been featured on a host of news and information outlets and is frequently interviewed by popular parenting magazines with the aim of helping children live happier lives.  Dawn’s Website - dawnhuebnerphd.com Dawn’s mini book series - https://www.dawnhuebnerphd.com/books-by-dawn/ Dawn’s Facebook page Mini Books about Mighty Fears Get 15% off the books until 6/30/2022 Visit us.jkp.com to use the Discount Code: MIGHTYFEARS15

In this episode I discuss resting and resetting as we all head into summer. Recently I took a business class and from that I have picked up a habit of asking myself two questions every single day; What do I get to enjoy today? And an evening question which is - If I could relive this day, what would I do differently?  I noticed I would get to the end of the day, and the tasks I wished I had completed were, call my mom or talk to my sister… the common link? Connection! I had been missing connection with those around me so I set about changing that! And I want this episode to focus on that for you. How can you and your family connect this summer? If you’re stuck for ideas then be sure to listen to this episode as I share ways you can reconnect and energize with different activities.  About the Host Janine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children and adolescents for over 15 years. She loves to create products and resources, so she started two businesses to support families and professionals who work with children and teens. ‘Coping Skills for Kids’ provides products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. It’s the home of the popular Coping Cue Cards, decks of cards designed to help kids learn and use coping skills at home or at school. Janine’s second business ‘Encourage Play’ is dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play! Encourage Play has free printables, as well as digital products focused on play and social skills. Coping Skills for Kids - https://copingskillsforkids.com Encourage Play - https://www.encourageplay.com Interested in reading my books? The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook/products/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook-digital-version Social Skills for Kids - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/encourage-play/products/social-skills-for-kids-workbook Connect with Janine on Social Media Instagram: @copingskillsforkids Facebook: facebook.com/copingskillsforkids and facebook.com/encourageplay Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JanineHalloranEncouragePlay

In this week’s episode I talk to child and adolescent psychotherapist, Katie Hurley about her brand new book ‘The Stress-Buster Workbook for Kids’ which I have absolutely loved reading and learning from. Stress and anxiety isn’t something just adults experience, children do too, so the earlier we can educate them on useful coping skills and techniques, the better! In this episode we discuss the following: The importance of fresh and engaging ideas to reel in kids The different types of stress - good stress, toxic stress, mini stress Our window of tolerance, our emotions always go up and down everyday  How picturing someone's grandma can help children understand how to be kind The ‘Take 5’ grounding technique Mindfulness and multitasking What is a dream disc? And how does it help kids at night? The truth behind creative brains having trouble at night time How to set boundaries No is a complete sentence How the pandemic made us lose our boundaries How Katie rests and recharges About The Guest: Katie Hurley, LCSW Katie Hurley, LCSW, is a child and adolescent psychotherapist and the author of five books, including her award winning No More Mean Girls and her latest release, The Stress-Buster Workbook for Kids. ​​Website - www.practicalkatie.com Twitter - @katiefhurley Instagram - @katiefhurley  And remember, don’t forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun!

In this episode, I discuss some ways you can practice problem solving using creative prompts. As we all know, social skills are key to interacting well with others - skills such as listening, working together, being kind, watching your own personal space versus others personal space and taking turns. They all need to be learned in childhood to have a successful and fulfilling adult life. I share how to use things around your office or home as a social skills building activity. You can use any items you have lying around, like paper straws, cotton balls, yarn, paper cups, clothes pins, duck tape - all lots of weird and wonderful materials. The group then goes on to choose what problems to solve. It works great with different ages of kids. If you're doing this as part of a group plan, it's good to debrief at the end, and find out what they think worked and what didn’t, etc. Take a listen to learn how to use these items to practice social skills. And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun! — About The Host - Janine Halloran Janine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children and adolescents for over 15 years. She loves to create products and resources, so she started two businesses to support families and professionals who work with children and teens. ‘Coping Skills for Kids’ provides products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. It’s the home of the popular Coping Cue Cards, decks of cards designed to help kids learn and use coping skills at home or at school. Janine’s second business ‘Encourage Play’ is dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play! Encourage Play has free printables, as well as digital products focused on play and social skills. Coping Skills for Kids - https://copingskillsforkids.com Encourage Play - https://www.encourageplay.com Interested in reading my books? The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook/products/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook-digital-version Social Skills for Kids - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/encourage-play/products/social-skills-for-kids-workbook Connect with Janine on Social Media Instagram: @copingskillsforkids Facebook: facebook.com/copingskillsforkids and facebook.com/encourageplay Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JanineHalloranEncouragePlay

In this week’s episode I talk to educator, parent and founder of FeelLinks; Marcelle Waldman. FeelLinks is a hands-on resource for kids that has plush emotion dolls and a journal. We had such a great conversation about how we can support social and emotional learning at home, through listening to what our kids are saying. The topics we cover are: Benefits of social and emotional learning How working on your own emotions helps you understand societies emotions The importance of listening to our emotions How social and emotional learning doesn’t just take place at school Listening to your kids and learning from them How to model identifying your emotions and dealing with them Making plans when emotions are calm When emotions are high, realizing why that’s not the teachable moment How journalling can be beneficial About The Guest: Marcelle Waldman Marcelle Waldman lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. She is a certified K-5 elementary educator, which means having the incredible opportunity to teach some of their youngest learners in kindergarten and preschool. She has also served as the preschool director. Marcelle has completed extensive coursework in psychology, child development, youth mental health and she is Youth Mental Health First Aid trained. Being a community educator - she is focused on children, brain development, behaviors, emotions and overall emotional intelligence. Alongside this, she is an avid community volunteer, having served on the school’s PTA board as vice president and president, contributed to many School District committees, currently sit on the Issaquah Schools Foundation programs committee, and volunteers for the Ladybug House, an end of life hospice and palliative care program. Marcelle’s company FeelLinks is a hands-on resource for children. It promotes growth in lifelong skills in emotional intelligence; self-awareness, social-awareness, self-management, and relationships skills.  ​​Website - Myfeellinks.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/myfeellinks Instagram - @myfeellinks  You can find the FeelLinks Journal and dolls here - https://myfeellinks.com And remember, don’t forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun!

A lot of times, anxiety comes from feeling out of control so in today's episode I want to discuss the way I teach kids to understand what they do and don’t have control over in their lives. This is such a great skill to learn for any age to hone in the ability to keep anxiety at bay. I first learned about this strategy when I was in therapy as a teenager. It was such an eye opener for me to recognize I didn't have control over other people and their actions. And to go through life with that lens, I believe has majorly benefited my life. So take a listen to empower your child. And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun! — About The Host - Janine Halloran Janine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children and adolescents for over 15 years. She loves to create products and resources, so she started two businesses to support families and professionals who work with children and teens. ‘Coping Skills for Kids’ provides products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. It’s the home of the popular Coping Cue Cards, decks of cards designed to help kids learn and use coping skills at home or at school. Janine’s second business ‘Encourage Play’ is dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play! Encourage Play has free printables, as well as digital products focused on play and social skills. Coping Skills for Kids - https://copingskillsforkids.com Encourage Play - https://www.encourageplay.com Interested in reading my books? The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook/products/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook-digital-version Social Skills for Kids - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/encourage-play/products/social-skills-for-kids-workbook Connect with Janine on Social Media Instagram: @copingskillsforkids Facebook: facebook.com/copingskillsforkids and facebook.com/encourageplay Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JanineHalloranEncouragePlay

Please note: On this podcast episode, we mention the topic of suicidal ideation, and there are a couple of swears in this episode. I wanted you to be aware of this in case this is hard for you to listen to, or there are younger ears listening. Enjoy the interview! Music is so amazing! There’s a good chance you’ve experienced music changing your mood from being grumpy to feeling full of life. Listening to music has a range of benefits but on this episode, my guest Sophie Garner shared how creating music can be therapeutic too. In this episode we cover a range of topics such as; The power of music How music connects us all The connection between music and mental health How singing can improve your health The creative songwriting journal  Finding your target audience when writing a book Different relaxing techniques About The Guest: Sophie Garner Sophie Garner changes lives through singing and songwriting. She is an accomplished singer, performer, and an educator.  She's also an author 'The Creative Songwriting Journal' for children ages 7-12, and has published her 2nd book 'If you can't say it sing it!’. Sophie is a natural educator and full of energy, her passions and goals stem from believing in the true, holistic and deep effects of music, and sharing the gift of music, as a therapy and a life skill, to help others learn to comfortably express themselves, allowing her students to grow in confidence and develop socially. ​​Website - www.sophiegarner.com Facebook - Sophiegarnerauthor Twitter - Sophiegarner1

This week’s episode is all about recess and movement. In my opinion, we don’t value the power of movement enough; it’s so vital to help kids focus, work on social skills, be more ready to learn, and manage big emotions. In this episode of the podcast, I talk about two pieces of research that focus on the power of recess: The LiiNK project where children get 4 periods of recess per day. LiiNK students typically decrease their off-task behaviors by 25-35% in the first year, their reading and math scores go up, plus they were observed smiling and laughing more. A position paper named ‘A Research-Based Case for Recess’ which looks at the social, academic, and physical effects of having more recess. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast A research based case for recess - https://www.playworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/US-play-coalition_Research-based-case-for-recess.pdf LIINK project - https://liinkproject.tcu.edu/about Marvelous Movement Activity Book and other Movement Coping Style Resources https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/movement-coping-style

Have you ever spotted an Instagram post of smiling parents who are having the most perfect life with their child and then felt shame and guilt that you aren’t nearly as perfect as them? Well you’re definitely not alone on that one! Today’s episode is all about us… the parents. I discussed with my guest, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Parent Coach; Nicole Schwarz about what happens around the shame spiral and how we can talk to ourselves in a kinder way to be more content with being an imperfect parent. We always need to remember that real life is messy, it's not great all the time, sometimes we mess up and guess what?… That’s okay! Take some time for yourself, embrace those imperfections and take a listen to this episode.  About The Guest - Nicole Schwarz Nicole Schwarz is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Parent Coach with over fifteen years of experience working with families and children in various settings. She is the owner of Imperfect Families, LLC and author of "It Starts With You," coaching parents to use positive, respectful parenting strategies. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband and three daughters. Website & Book - https://imperfectfamilies.com/it-starts-with-you/ Facebook - facebook.com/imperfectfamilies Instagram - instagram.com/imperfectfamilies

In this episode I want to take a closer look at zones of regulation, coping skills and their relation to each other. When speaking in schools, I like to learn what strategies & techniques they use and I hear a lot about Second Step, Responsive Classroom, Open Circle and Restorative Justice, but I’ve also heard a lot of schools using something called ‘Zones of Regulation’ based on ‘The Zones Of Regulation’ book by Leah Kuypers. It’s a way to meet the social and emotional needs of their students.  For reference during the podcast; Blue rest area symbol = Sick or tired Green circle symbol = Happy / calm / ready to learn Yellow yield symbol = worried / frustrated / annoyed Red stop symbol = Stop / angry / overwhelmed  This system helps kids to label their emotions with shapes and color rather than calling them out at point blank. After a child can identify their feelings, we can start to look at coping skills to bring them back to green. We want to encourage them back to a green, calm, ready to learn space which may look different depending on what color / shape they’re coming from. 

In this episode I talk to JoAnn Crohn, former elementary school teacher and podcast host of No Guilt Mom. She is the author of Me and My Friendships, to help kids learn more about themselves and build friendships with other kids. We cover a lot of topics in the episode, including: What even is ‘too’ emotional? The social differences between middle and elementary school Finding ‘your’ people Finding yourself and not molding into a different person with different friends What are the key characteristics of a good friend? Using an outside source to help your kids learn, rather than doing it directly How making assumptions about your kids can be damaging About The Guest - JoAnn Crohn JoAnn Crohn, M. Ed is a parenting educator who helps moms feel confident in everything from raising empowered, self-sufficient kids to dropping the anxiety and guilt out of modern parenthood. She’s an accomplished writer, author, podcast host of the No Guilt Mom podcast, and speaker, appearing in national media and founder of the parenting site, NoGuiltMom.com. Her specialty is talking to both parents and kids - with her self-paced digital courses for kids and parents in handling big emotions, creating a morning routine and conquering the homework drama. JoAnn is a former elementary school teacher with a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction as well as a National Board Certified Teacher in Middle Childhood Education.  JoAnn’s free Happy Parent Checklist - https://www.noguiltmom.com/hpc Instagram: @noguiltmom Facebook: facebook.com/noguiltmom Website: www.noguiltmom.com

Have you ever thought about your body when feeling a strong emotion? Where do you feel it? Is it in your chest or tingling down the back of your legs? Some people can reach adulthood before even realizing this, even though we feel emotions throughout our lives. This episode of the podcast is about just that - where do we feel emotions and why is it important? All feelings are okay, but it's good to recognize them to intervene sooner by using coping skills so emotions don’t get out of control. Self awareness is key! This episode will explore one of my favorite techniques - using body outlines to mark where kids feel emotions.

On today’s podcast, I get a chance to speak with Natasha Daniels, the founder of AT Parenting Community about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Natasha’s expertise is anxiety and OCD, and we discuss what OCD can look like, when you should seek out more support, and different strategies that you should use when dealing with OCD. About The Guest - Natasha Daniels, Child Therapist Natasha Daniels is a child anxiety & OCD therapist, and mom to three kids with anxiety & OCD. She is the author of Anxiety Sucks: A Teen Survival Guide, How to Parent Your Anxious Toddler, Social Skills Activities for Kids and It’s Brave to Be Kind. She is the creator of ATParentingSurvival.com, the Youtube channel, Ask the Child Therapist and the host of The AT Parenting Survival Podcast.  She offers parents worldwide resources on how to help kids with anxiety or OCD through her online AT Parenting Survival school. Her work has been featured in various places including Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, PsychCentral, The Child Mind Institute and The Mighty.

Does your child gravitate towards open-ended toys? These are toys which can be used in multiple ways dependent on your child’s imagination - like LEGO® bricks for example. This nurtures their creativity and developing skills. Today I will share five amazing open ended toys. I did cover this subject last year on my podcast but since it’s holiday time, I wanted to share a few more with you. These can be a good addition to your house, therapy room or counseling office. These are all toys that I gravitate towards and the ones I always want by my side during therapy sessions. Take a listen to learn how they can benefit the kids in your life!