Will sleep become the new kale? Or the new cancer?

Adults are shorting themselves on sleep in droves in our "always-on" culture, and I'm unfortunately leading the pack. That's why I begged sleep science coach Christine Hansen to join me for a half hour to get some important tips!!

I started implementing a new way to wake up my kids immediately, and I know being a better parent means being well-rested (i.e. not angry mommy).

If you feel like you're not getting a tight 8 in bed OR your sleep quality doesn't feel optimal, this is a must listen. We talk about:

• How adult sleep is so much more complicated than infant sleep.
• Our brain's many jobs during sleep - and why we can't catch up! :(
• Why caffeine and morning sleepiness are signs of sleep deprivation (ahem, anyone out there feel this??)
• The anatomy of sleep and how to wake up at the perfect time
• Problems for "night owls"
• The BEST way to wake up your child (hint: it's not an alarm clock)
• As a nutritional therapist, Christine has unique and powerful insights into how our food affects our sleep!
• We dig into kids: bedtimes, sleepy at school, and even how dessert affects their sleep!
• How many hours DO you need? How about teenagers?

This episode is sponsored by Just Thrive Probiotics. Check out their great, shelf-stable probiotics at kidscookrealfood.com/JustThive, and use coupon code Katie15 for 15% off! 

Resources We Mentioned on Sleep Quality

• Christine has moved on from sleep coaching, but you can now find her at Christine Means Business. Her sleep coaching site was passed on to another coach, if you still need help!
• Her book is on Amazon
• Sunlight alarm clock
• Blue blocker glasses
• Sleep is the new kale: 8 ways to improve sleep quality
• Can sleep affect picky eating?

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

Warning - sad statistic. :( The 2nd leading cause of death for kids ages 10-24 in America is...suicide.

I'm not okay with this!

Let's talk this Depression Awareness Month about prevention - there are research-based strategies that parents can use to reduce their kids' chances of being depressed. While depression isn't the only risk factor for suicide, it is certainly correlated.

If we can make these practices a part of American culture, we can save American kids!!

Today I'm expanding on these 3 things parents can do to raise depression-proof kids:

1. Control stress - in yourself and then model and teach your kids to do it for themselves
2. Boost self-esteem - through genuine purpose-driven work, not empty compliments
3. Increase resilience - by letting kids learn to cope with failure and difficulties

This episode is sponsored by Just Thrive Probiotics! Check them out at kidscookrealfood.com/JustThrive. Use code Katie15 for 15% off!

Resources We Mention About Depression Prevention

• Mayo Clinic article on teen suicide
• Mayo Clinic article on teen depression causes and prevention
• My interview with Jessica Lahey on the gift of failure
• My interview with Jess Sherman on raising resilience
• My Healthy Parenting Handbook episodes on Stress Mastery: part 1 and part 2
• My interview with Lisa Dorval on meditation for kids (includes 2 guided meditations)
• The Wellness Mama podcast episode with Margot Bisnow
• Raising kids to follow their passions with Jonathan and Renee Harris
• Life skills to teach your kids before they turn 18

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

Cas of Clutterbug describes her “young mom” self as a hot mess – house a disaster and feeling horrible that she couldn’t get organized.

She finally realized a few important pieces of her own personality and is now a Recovering Super Slob turned Organizing Expert who teaches others how to tap into their own unique organizing styles, which she says are part of a person from birth.

Cas is a wizard at explaining how people work and how we can both get our homes in order AND pass on effective decluttering and organizing skills to our kids!

Check out today's sponsor, Perfect Supplements!

Resources We Mention for Organization Styles

• Cas’s books: The Clutter Connection (Amazon, Bookshop), Real Life Organizing (Amazon, Bookshop), Cluttered Mess to Organized Success Workbook (Amazon, Bookshop)
• The Kitchen Stewardship post on macro organizing
• Here’s Cas’s free macro organizing guide
• Find Cas online 
• Follow her on social media: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

Did you know that the way your child eats can affect their speech and vice versa?

Melanie Potock is a Speech-Language Pathologist who became a pediatric feeding expert through her experience as a mom of a former picky eater. She uses her SLP expertise to help parents introduce new foods to kids, form healthy eating habits, and really lay the foundation for a lifetime of good nutrition.

I’m honored to host her here today on the Healthy Parenting Handbook! 

I know you’ll love Melanie and these tips will really make a difference in your household immediately!

Resources We Mention to Raise Adventurous Eaters

• Sign up for the No More Picky Eating Challenge
• Find Melanie Potock MA, CCC-SLP online and take 10% off any of her amazing video courses using code MYMUNCHBUG10
• Melanie’s books: Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater, Adventures in Veggieland, Baby Self-Feeding, Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids
• My interview with Dina Rose
• Melanie’s New York Times article about pouches
• Squooshi pouches and carrot baby food recipe on KS
• Sippy cup info on Melanie’s site
• Our knife safety class
• Feeding toddlers and more about snacks from Edwena Kennedy
• “The cooking connection” from Melanie’s site
• Melanie’s articles on picky eating connected with autism
• Melanie’s interview on the 8 senses
• Picky Eating vs. Sensory Processing Disorder

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

Note: I mention in this interview to go to episode 38, but things got switched around and it's actually 39. Sorry!

No one has to say school lunches are good or bad, healthy or unhealthy.

That’s not my point today - although I think school lunches could use some improvement. :)

Today let’s talk about picky eating specifically - could school lunches potentially contribute to or exacerbate picky tendencies for certain kids?

I think so.

Today I’ll explore 10 reasons why school lunch might not be friendly to your picky eater. Some might apply to your family, others might not. Let me know what you think!

If you’re struggling with a child who isn’t a very adventurous eater, I’ve got just the invitation for you - please join me in the No More Picky Eating Challenge! It’s a totally free, 5-day challenge with quick video lessons and action steps each day.

Over half of the kids in the challenge try new foods in just 5 days, but that’s not even the point. The point is to create a less stressful environment at the dinner table, and that happens for 85+% of participants!!

Join here!

Check out our sponsor today, Chef Junior - the cookbook FOR kids, BY kids! Learn more at kidscookrealfood.com/chefjr

Resources We Mention for Picky Eating

• My picky eater TEDx talk
• No More Picky Eating challenge
• 10 ways to serve vegetables to encourage kids to try them
• When a child eats less than 20 foods, it's considered problem feeding rather than picky eating and this is a serious problem
• How we make homemade yogurt
• Learn more about the benefits of family dinners here
• Here is the Instagram account I mentioned, kids.eat.in.color
• Here are some of my resources on packing school lunches. I have a book, videos, and blog posts

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

If your child has ever thrown a tantrum…

If you’ve ever reacted, let’s say, “imperfectly” to that tantrum…

If you’ve ever wondered why your toddler or teen is having a meltdown over something seemingly inconsequential…

My friends, then this interview is a MUST LISTEN.

Ann is an incredible teacher - let’s learn about:

• The impact of childhood experiences on adult relationships and parenting
• How to protect our kids from being “wounded” in childhood and acting that out as adults!
• Why empathizing with a child’s big emotions is NOT the same thing as letting them get their way (with some super fun examples)
• How to play detective when your child has a meltdown (and how to soothe them faster than usual!)
• Why “mental health” probably isn’t even an accurate term to use
• How going outside to throw a ball against the wall might make you a better parent
• What to say to boys who still cry about frustrating events when you feel like they’re “too old” for that
• How eating plays into nervous system regulation - and believe me, this one is NOT what I expected but rather almost the opposite!

I couldn’t stop asking Ann questions, so this episode is a little longer than usual but SO worth it.

Resources We Mention for Nervous System Regulation

• Here are the two books Ann mentioned: The Body Keeps the Score, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
• Here's the Brene Brown video Ann mentioned
• Here is another interview on how trauma is stored in the body
• Find Ann online
• Follow her on Instagram
• Get 15% off at Pact with code KITCHENSTEWARDSHIP15

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

What are your feet doing RIGHT NOW? Are you standing on them?

If not...stand up and listen to this!

I learned so much from Juliet Starrett, founder of one of first 50 CrossFit gyms in America who got passionate about kids' mobility when she saw a HUGE problem at her daughter's field day. She launched StandUpKids.org, a nonprofit dedicated to funding standing desks for schoolchildren, and she's nearing 100,000 kids standing up all day!

Think that sounds crazy? Some parents in those schools do too, but you gotta hear why teachers <3 <3 <3 it and parents all come around eventually.

Juliet taught me how to use my standing desk much better than I was already, and we even talked about food and kids and picky eaters (and our general intolerance for short-order cooking).

Whether your kids are in school or at home all day, we challenge you to get them MOVING for their health!

Note: This podcast was recorded a few years ago. In 2024, Juliet has moved on from StandUp Kids, but you can find her on The Ready State and her podcast!

Resources We Mention About the Benefits of Standing

• How posture can change your life
• Find Julie online at the Ready State (previously MobilityWOD)
• Her books, Deskbound and Built to Move
• Find Juliet on Instagram or Facebook
• Shop for standing desks on Amazon

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

Bet you a million bucks you’ve heard people say (or said yourself):

• It’s too complicated to get healthy - everyone says something different!
• Such and such diet/strategy/exercise worked for so-and-so, why isn’t it working for me?
• I feel like I’ve tried everything and it’s so hard to figure out what works!

Maybe, just maybe… everyone is different?

Years ago the term “bio-individuality” began to be a buzzword, and I thought it would be the “next big thing.” It is, sort of.

It might not be big enough.

But it still should be!

What if your genes could give you a pathway to your OWN optimal health? Not your friend’s success, not the next influencer’s advice, and not even current research?

Using genetics to make a personalized health plan sounds cutting edge, and it is - but it’s also reality.

My guest Brenda Wollenberg and I talk about gene-based holistic wellness programs today, and even more exciting, the promise and hope of epigenetics.

Epigenetics is the theory that through what we do and what happens to us - our environment - we can change our genes, basically toggle certain ones on or off. Your genes are not your destiny!

Listen in to find out how this works and even how you can apply epigenetics and gene personalization to your parenting and keeping kids healthy, even if you never get your kids' genes tested.

Resources We Mention

• Reduce toxic exposures in your home
• What kids should eat, according to a pediatrician
• Finding nutrient balance for busy families
• Find Brenda online here
• Follow her on social media: Facebook, Instagram
• Brenda's new book Metabolic Health Roadmap
• Chef Junior cookbook

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

We know that anxiety is affecting both kids and adults at alarming rates.

We’ve discussed anxiety busters before on The Healthy Parenting Handbook, and today we’re completing the trifecta of experts with an MD who practices integrative medicine.

Dr. Wiggy Saunders joins me to dive into anxiety once again because we can’t give parents enough strategies to help their kids (and themselves) dig out of their anxious lives. We’re focusing specifically on how anxiety is affecting kids’ school performance.

Your mind will be blown with how closely anxiety and focus/attention are connected, and how certain strategies may help reduce your kids’ struggles in both areas!

We’ll talk about:

• Dr. Wiggy’s favorite Bible verse
• How different types of anxiety can escalate one to the other
• The impact of parental anxiety on our kids
• The role of adrenals in stress and how to support them with the nutrients they’re consuming like a ravenous teenager
• What magnesium in particular “says” to the adrenals to calm them down, and how that may impact kids’ school performance
• The 4 vitamins and minerals most important to boost your immune system

Resources We Mentioned for Anxiety in Kids

• Raise Them Well
• Find Raise Them Well on social media: Facebook, Instagram
• Dr. Wiggy's supplement line, Health As It Ought To Be
• Health As It Ought To Be on Facebook
• Dr. Wiggy on Facebook
• Raise Them Well supplements: Magnesium roll-on, magnesium balm, Mag-Focus, immune booster
• Anxiety in teens
• Tips for managing your child's anxiety
• What is the best form of magnesium
• More on kids and magnesium
• More immune-boosting tips

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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

I learned today that I still have a lot of internal tendencies from middle school. 😮

Middle school can be a foreign land and a tumultuous time, and figuring out how to parent middle schoolers is hard on parents. We want our kids to be happy, resilient, and thriving, not wilting, crying, and worrying.

As we head back to school, stresses are always high, and our kids need us to help them stay balanced and continue growing and developing. Middle school is particularly tough, but it turns out it’s very navigable with the right perspective.

Whether you have a tween in middle school now or a child who will someday be there, these parenting tools are incredible, insightful, and some will take some time to practice. Start early by parenting your tween when they’re about 5!

You’ll learn:

• Why middle schoolers are SO different from other age groups
• The many crises of pre-adolescence and WHY they all pile up at once
• The shocking difference between girls’ and boys’ confidence and interaction with the world in middle school
• Simple stories parents can tell to improve mental well-being for their kids
• The bane of the “imaginary audience,” particularly for girls 
• A game you can play to help reframe tween drama (and tone down its deleterious effects)
• How to gradually release responsibility to your pre-teen (and the disastrous impact if you ever take it back!)
• The 2 best ways to start every conversation with a tween (or teen)
• Why learning to cook can help kids try new things at school too
• Why it’s nearly impossible to teach a middle schooler to “be yourself” (this one kind of breaks my heart)
• One practical way to help your kids choose the right friends (this is seriously gold because we all know how powerful friends are in how our kids turn out!!)
• A resilience coping tool that I used the very day I recorded this interview so I wouldn’t forget how to do it…

Resources We Mention for Parenting Middle Schoolers

• Get Phyllis’ books: Middle School Matters and Middle School Superpowers
• How beneficial risk is necessary for raising confident kids
• How to build authentic confidence in kids
• Follow Phyllis on X, Facebook, and Instagram

Get the one-page summaries of each podcast at www.kidscookrealfood.com/Handbook!

Take control of your stress with the Stress Mastery Challenge today!

Get four free workshops now at https://kidscookrealfood.com/skills

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• 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 kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

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