Family Matters

More and more child care centres are offering parents a chance to literally be a fly on the wall. They are installing cameras and letting parents livestream the day's events. Florence Ann Romano, best known as the Windy City Nanny, believes in webcams. She says your day home or daycare should have nothing to hide.  On the other hand, parenting expert Alyson Schafer is encouraging you cut the cord. She argues surveillance will only increase mom and dad’s anxiety. We debate both arguments. To find out more about Alyson, click here. To connect with Florence, visit WindyCityNanny.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why does university get all the glory? We hear from a number of students who say there’s still a stigma around attending college and reveal the pressure comes from their parents. Career coach Tonya Pomerantz says kids can make the case for college by creating a business plan for their parents and explaining exactly why they want to take this route. She also shares some important questions to ask before applying. You can find out more about Pomerantz by visiting  Puddle Jump Coaching. Today’s episode is part of our special series Failure To Launch examining the gaps in Canada’s education system.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The house was built with oil money but suddenly the kids want to save the world from climate change. We take a look at the political divide happening across the country but especially in Alberta. We hear from Calgary's Ben Laird, who makes pro-environment t-shirts and feels strongly that the federal government needs to do more to prioritize the planet over profits. His dad is retired from the oil industry, his brother is helping plan pipeline expansion and his sister works in eco tourism. How do they handle family dinners? We look for some advice from Sarah Stewart Holland (democrat) and Beth Silvers (republican). They are behind the podcast Pantsuit Politics and recently published the book “ I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening)”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are we actually preparing our children for the future? In the next few months, thousands of Canadian high school students will have to figure out what they want to do after they graduate. What these teens choose will affect the trajectory of their lives. So we ask the experts,  are students getting enough “real-life” education before graduating?

And we head inside a Regina classroom where the students are asked “What do you want to learn this year?” Aaron Warner has used held a Genius Hour with his class for the past 5 years and joins us to talk about how it all works. You can follow Warner on twitter by clicking here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do teens reach for porn? It’s believed about 93 per cent of boys and 62 per cent girls have been exposed to pornography before the age of 18. Teela was just 13 years old when she discovered porn. She joins us to talk about how it affected her perspective on sex and herself. We also hear from sexologist and relationship expert Jessica O’Relly on why parents need to join the conversation. You can find out more about Dr. Reilly by visiting SexwithDrJess.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s not just the kids feeling overscheduled. Parents are also suffering from a packed calendar. But is there a way to have it all and get to it all?  Sarah Renner is a consultant with Organized with Kids. She offers up a formula for families to follow as they begin filling out the new school calendar. One that will lead to more family dinners at the table, happy kids and still time for a date night.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time to put those bad summer sleep habits to bed. And who better to take us through a back to sleep boot camp than Dr. Lisa Medalie. She is a pediatric insomnia specialist and is the founder of Doctor Lullaby. She is urging parents to use this new school year as a chance to make sleep a priority especially with an estimated 30 per cent of children experiencing sleep issues.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growth is easy to spot when it's shoe size and vocabulary but how do you know your child is developing emotionally? Clinical counsellor Dr. Deborah MacNamara offers up three questions to ask to see if your child is thriving. You can connect with Dr. MacNamara by clicking here.  Also, we take a look at speech delay. What’s normal, what’s not and when should you reach out for help?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More and more families aren’t waiting for spring or summer break to travel the world. They are embarking upon long-term trips and letting their kids learn along the way.  Jenn Sutherland-Miller is one of those parents. In 2008, her family began a 10-year journey through more than 30 countries. She now runs the website howtoworldschool.org and has some advice for others families considering an “edventure.” 

Plus, we hear from her daughter Hannah Miller. She didn’t step inside a traditional classroom until she was 19 and on her first day of university. How hard was it to get accepted into school? And does she feel like she missed out on a school environment? We find out. You can connect with Hannah through her website.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is not our job to entertain our children. Repeat, it is not our job to entertain our children. Many parents are feeling the pressure to pull off the perfect summer but parenting expert Alyson Schafer says we need to let go of the guilt and instead, help our children learn the skill of self-entertainment. Schafer is our guest this week on Family Matters. On top of her pep-talk, she is also providing us with a script to follow the next time we hear the dreaded words “I’m bored.”

And blogger Kyla Cornish confesses that it was out of pure desperation that she launched a new tradition in her household, the Summer of Squares. She says she stands by her decision to tell the world she hates summer break, through this post on her blog Mommy’s Weird.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.