Have you ever blown up at your kid because they’re melting down?

Just wanted their bad behavior to STOP because you feel like a bad parent if it doesn’t?

Committed that you would parent differently than your parents, but see some cycles repeating you don’t like?

My guest today is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has seen a lot of hurting and struggling families in her decade-plus working with clients, and she brings some of the best scripts I’ve ever heard to this interview today.

Get answers for issues like:

• Your teen says everyone else gets to do X and it’s not fair that she doesn’t!
• Your preschooler throws an epic 45-minute tantrum
• You try to put the child in time-out but it only makes things worse
• Your child’s behavior triggers anger or resentment
• Feeling like you have to choose between being a warm, connected parent and giving your kids chores and boundaries

Plus Bryanna tells us the two most important things we can say to our teens - and they’re good ones.

I know many parents are going to have a mindset shift after this one, and I can’t wait to hear what you think!

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Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

When your podcast guest says, “Our goal as parents is to raise up these self-sufficient, independent people someday,” you know she’s in the right place!

Diane Boden and I talk all about her journey to minimalism and the intentional mindset she’s fostered over the last 14 years.

It’s not just about the “stuff” but about experiences, relationships, schedules, and even goals.

We dig into all that and more in this encouraging interview!

Resources We Mention for Living with Intention

• Diane’s book, Minimalist Moms: Living and Parenting with Simplicity, is available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or wherever you find your books. 
• The Bullet Journal System
• My stewardship philosophy 
• Building mom friendships and overcoming isolation with Heather MacFadyen
• Visit Diane at her website Minimalist Moms Podcast or on social media: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

My guest today is 17-year-old Abdullah Ansari, and listening to him talk about teen health, food, stress, tech, and purpose made my jaw drop more than once. Not because he sounded rehearsed or polished. But because he sounded awake in a way most adults are still struggling to be.

He talks about teen health like it is urgent. Because it is. He talks about food like it is power. Because it is. And he talks about freedom in a way that completely reframes how most teens think about independence.

If you are raising a teen right now, or if you will be in the next few years, I truly believe this episode is one you will want to listen to together.

Here is just a small taste of what we unpack in this conversation:

• Why ultra-processed food is designed to override a teen’s self-control
• How the gut microbiome directly affects mood, anxiety, focus, and skin
• Why scrolling is not actually a “break” for a stressed-out brain
• Two free, simple stress reset tools every teen can use today
• How Abdullah handles peer pressure when everyone else is eating junk
• Why gratitude is not just emotional but biological
• How purpose changes the way teens use their bodies and their time

Resources We Mention for the Teen Health Revolution

• Order The Teen Health Revolution: Unlocking Lifestyle Secrets for the Mind, Body, and Soul by Abdullah Ansari, Zain Ansari, Emaad Ansari, Qasim Ansari, and Madiha Saeed, MD on Amazon or Bookshop.org
• If you order the book before December 11, 2025, get the awesome bonuses from Abdullah and fam!
• Holistic Parenting with Dr. Saeed
• Getting to the Root of Chronic Inflammation and Disease in Kids with Dr. Madiha Saeed
• One Simple Stress-Busting Habit to Use Every Day
• Listen to the Holistic Kids’ Show podcast!
• Visit Abullah and brothers at their website The Holistic Kid’s Show or visit them on Facebook or Instagram

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

Coughs, Flu and School Germs, oh my!

If cold-and-flu season causes tremors in your heart but you hate the idea of using over-the-counter drugs on your kids just to get through the night, I have great news: The bees got your back.

Carly from Beekeeper’s Naturals joins us today to share about the power of nature – she will feed your science geek brain and share SO many practical ideas and uses for bee products (bet you’ve never even heard of some of them!):

• What beats coughs as effectively as OTC cough meds but with no side effects?
• Find out about a natural anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal product that you can ingest or use on the skin for coughs, rashes, scrapes, immunity boosting, allergies, and “that ominous tickle.” Amazing stuff!
• What gives queen bees the vitality to have 1500 babies a day and live 20x longer than other bees? Want some? Humans have been using it for centuries!
• Two different ways to calm anxiety and get better sleep, something we know everyone needs!
• Find incredible focus with an age-old nootropic that may help heal concussions, build new brain cells, prevent signs of aging brains and more…this stuff is so cool!!

Resources We Mention About Health Benefits of Honey

• Shop Beekeepers Naturals (use code KITCHEN20 for 20% off!)
• Pre-order Carly’s picture book, Little Bee and the Bloom (releasing August 2026) on Amazon or Bookshop.org
• How to Bake with Honey
• My interview with Carly about bee population decline
• More ways to improve sleep
• Health benefits of honey
• More natural ways to combat coughs and colds
• Find Beekeeper’s Naturals on Instagram or Facebook

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

We’re lonely!

It’s hurting us!

And we’re not very good at connecting with other humans.

Heather MacFadyen is here to help. Author and podcaster of Don’t Mom Alone, she’s all about building connection to help moms do their jobs better.

“Loneliness can be when you’re with others but not feeling truly known,” she said in this encouraging interview. We talk about the 3 kinds of relationships moms need to nurture, how to shed the unattainable standards society is trying to place on us, and how to antidote loneliness in the most practical of ways.

We hit on anger, lies and truths, podcast clubs and more.

If you’ve ever felt the vulnerability of making a new friend or wish you were brave enough to take the risk and make a coffee date or go for a walk with a new friend…you need this interview.

Grab Heather’s book at your local library or bookshop and be sure to subscribe to the Don’t Mom Alone podcast (along with of course The Healthy Parenting Handbook)!

Resources We Mention for Building Mom Friendships

• Heather's books: Don't Mom Alone (Amazon/Bookshop.org) and Right Where You Belong (Amazon/Bookshop.org)
• Subscribe to Heather's podcast, Don't Mom Alone
• Mel Robbins podcast episode: Why Making Friends as an Adult Feels Impossible
• The Science of Friendship with Dr. Marisa G. Franco
• People Fuel by John Townsend
• Good and Angry by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller 
• Emotional Regulation for Moms with Emily Hamblin
• Visit Heather on her website HeatherMacFadyen.com or on social media: Instagram, Facebook

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

If you’ve ever felt that homeschooling can slip into a checklist of math pages and grammar drills, you’ll love this conversation. Pam Barnhill, a veteran homeschooling mom of over 15 years, reminds us what education can truly be: a chance to connect deeply with our kids and nurture a lifelong love of learning.

Resources We Mention for Homeschool Routines 

• Get Pam’s free Advent Morning Time Plans
• Check out her books: Gather; Better Together (Amazon/Bookshop.org); Plan Your Year (Amazon/Bookshop.org); The Confident Homeschooler 
• Is homeschooling right for me? 
• What is a morning basket
• Nurturing Young Skeptics
• Get on the wailist for Teens Cook Real Food
• Visit Pam on her website Homeschool Better Together, and follow her on social media: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

The very morning I did this interview, my husband was complaining about how badly he felt because of a certain number...and when I heard Heidi's final "practical" challenge to parents, I knew we had to do it. This interview was a HUGE paradigm shift for me, and you will alternately want to turn it off as it gets challenging and find yourself cheering out loud!

Heidi Schauster, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S is an expert on eating disorders and talks with me today about how we as parents can foster a healthy relationship with food for our kids. We cover risk factors for eating disorders, mindful eating, how to handle treats at school and elsewhere, what "rules" parents should (and should not!) have for food in the home, the quickest way to make your child into a binge eater, how we should talk about weight and body image with our kids, and so much more.

This is a MUST WATCH interview because our entire culture is disordered in how to think and talk about body image, so we have a LOT of work to do to make positive change! 

Heidi and I continued to talk after I ended the recording and I kept catching myself using the wrong language about food. She said, "This is great - you're creating new neural pathways right in front of my eyes!" 

Resources We Mentioned for Healthy Relationships with Food:

• Heidi's books: Nourish: How to Heal Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Self (Amazon/Bookshop.org) and Nurture: How to Raise Kids Who Love Food, Their Bodies, and Themselves (Amazon/Bookshop.org)
• More on Ellyn Satter's division of responsibility in feeding
• Health at Every Size
• The No More Picky Eating Challenge
• What happened when the 8-year-old sneaked Halloween candy?
• Visit Heidi's website here or follow her on the socials: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

The holidays can be the most wonderful time of the year ... or the most overwhelming. Between the excitement, the sugar, the schedule changes, and the constant stimulation, even the calmest kids can start to unravel. And let’s be honest, parents can too!

In this episode, I sat down with JoAnn Crohn, a former school teacher who’s now on a mission to help overwhelmed moms rediscover joy and raise healthier, happier families. She has a gentle, realistic way of helping moms shift from chaos to calm, especially during high-stress seasons like the holidays. You might recognize JoAnn, as she's been a camp leader in all four seasons of #LifeSkillsNow!

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How JoAnn helps overwhelmed moms find joy and balance again
• Why self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential to being an effective parent
• What holiday overstimulation does to kids (and how to help them recover)
• Simple ways to validate your child’s emotions without giving in to every whim
• How to prepare kids for the changes and disappointments that come with the holidays
• Why calm-down strategies work best when practiced before the meltdowns
• The easiest ways to bring your kids into holiday traditions so everyone feels connected

You’ll walk away with practical tools and a fresh mindset to make this holiday season feel more joyful and a lot less stressful.

Resources We Mention for Helping Kids Manage Holiday Emotions

• Register for the Happy Holidays, Happier Kids Challenge that starts November 9!
• My interview with Tina Payne Bryson, and her book The Whole-Brain Child (Amazon/Bookshop.org)
• My Reasons I Think the Grinch Was a Highly Sensitive Person
• My favorite Christmas cookie ever: Kifli
• Visit JoAnn Crohn on her website No Guilt Mom, or follow her on social media: Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

Our digestion happens every day and REALLY can impact how we feel, think, and treat others!

So let’s talk all about poop. :)

My guest today is brimming over with practical tips about assessing your digestive output (aka poo) and solving issues in gut health based on what you see.

Genevieve is a wealth of knowledge on gut health and poop and so generous with her time and practical tips. If you’re a fan of healthy living without being too complicated or spending too much money, this is the interview for you!

Resources We Mention for Gut Health for Families

• Purchase The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth (Amazon/Bookshop.org)
• If you’re expecting, check out the Mama Natural Birth Course
• Chickpea Pizza Crust that is a favorite in our house.
• Morning sunlight for busy moms
• Quick Change Tastebuds, Gut Health, and Picky Eating with Elissa Arnheim
• Products Genevieve Recommends: Mama Natural probiotics, Northwest Wild Foods berry powders, Garden of Life Turmeric gummies, Eden foods canned beans, Psyllium husk powder, Standard Process Betafood, Betaine HCl tablets, Digestive bitters, Mother Earth Minerals magnesium
• Visit Genevieve on her website MamaNatural.com, or on social media: Instagram, YouTube, Facebook

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

Let’s talk toddlers.

If you’ve ever thought, “What on earth is happening in that tiny human’s brain?”—this episode is for you.

Here’s a taste of what we explored:

• Why “all behavior is communication” might be the most important parenting mantra you’ll ever adopt
• What really happens when you distract your toddler—and how to do it well
• The surprising power dynamic at play in your home (hint: it’s not what you think)
• How setting boundaries doesn’t stifle toddlers; it sets them free
• What it looks like to parent through a lens of development, not discipline
• Why your toddler’s big feelings are not your job to fix
• The secret sauce for turning chaos into connection (and it might just be curiosity)

Devon helped me see toddlerhood not as a survival zone, but a golden window to build trust, independence, and yes – life skills. And if we get it right, this season can be magical.

You’ll leave this episode feeling a little more confident, a little less alone, and with a few new tools to navigate your toddler’s big emotions (and your own).

Resources We Mention for Understanding Toddler Behavior

• Find Devon’s book Transforming Toddlerhood on Amazon or Bookshop.org
• Grab the one-page “cheat sheets” for each podcast episode of the Healthy Parenting Handbook
• Diagnosing the Root Cause of Meltdowns & How to Calm Tantrums with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
• Why Teaching Children to Cook Before Age 5 is Vital for Parenting
• The Top 5 Reasons for Toddler Tantrums
• Teaching Social and Emotional Learning Skills During Mealtimes
• Join the No More Picky Eating Challenge for free!
• Connect with Devon on her website Transforming Toddlerhood or on social:

Shop Wholestix and eat your organ meats here!

Get 4 life skills workshops now for free!

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Raising Healthy Families
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!