Runda Ebied is a mother of two children and a pediatric occupational therapist. Runda currently works with children with various needs (sensory, emotional, academic, developmental and physical) both in school settings and within their homes. Runda also has experience working with adults in need of mental health support. Runda is very passionate about maternal mental health and children’s emotional  and mental well-being. 

Key takeaways 

• What does a pediatric occupational therapist actually do?  (10:16)
• Why we need to normalize motherhood feeling really hard sometimes - it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong or are a bad parent, it’s hard because it really can be that hard (19:58) 
• What does it mean to be a highly sensitive person (HSP)? (21:17)
  • A HSP is someone who feels things on a deeper level. They are often very intuitive and it's like the volume has been turned up in their ability to feel things and notice changes in their environment and with people. Empathy and HSP often go hand in hand (21:34)
  • Once you discover you are an HSP, it’s easier to understand why you respond to certain situations differently than others.  Movies or songs for example, can really overcome you (23:56)
  • Recognizing symptoms of an HSP in younger kids: 24:30 
  • Tips for parenting a HSP - validating  children’s sensitivity and emotions. Avoiding saying things like,  "you’re too sensitive or it’s not that big of a deal”  (26:33)
• Giving our kids the skills to know that they can do hard things in life is one of the best gifts we could ever give them (33:45)
• Recommendations for how to keep your cool when your child starts melting down - so easy to become dysregulated when our children are not having a great time (40:41)

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Neily Boyd has more than a decade of experience as a math educator, working with students and teachers from kindergarten through high school. Most recently, she served as Director of Math, serving six elementary and middle schools. During her tenure, she implemented a hands-on mathematics curriculum designed to engage students in academic discussion and conceptual thinking. As a result, the schools showed some of the highest growth in Tennessee, according to several assessments. 

Seeing a need to help children start kindergarten with better numeracy skills, Boyd launched Counting With Kids in 2019. Since then, her Instagram account has grown to more than 30,000 followers and she has published two e-books on early elementary mathematics. 

Key takeaways 

• Common core teaches methods that are designed to teach kids HOW to think about math, which is a huge shift. There has been very little support for parents on how to teach it to their kids (15:26)
  
  
• Negative feelings about math are often brought to the surface when we feel like we can’t help our kids with their homework (16:43)
   
• That moment when we realize other peoples brains work differently and we see that they are understanding something we aren't. This is when negative feelings and self-doubt start and we start believing we aren't wired to be "math people" (20:30)
  
  
• It’s culturally acceptable to say I’m not a math person, but what if we said that about reading? (21:30)
  
  
• Toy recommendations (40:40)
  • Tiny Polkadot - ages 3-8,  single best game for building number sense
  • Magnetic tiles - the best for building early geometry skills 

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Thanks for listening! Please rate the show and leave a review if you liked what you heard and make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music, iHeartRADIO,  iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or TuneIn!

Holly Choi, Co-Owner/Instructor at Safe Beginnings First Aid, is a leader in childhood injury prevention education in North America. She is a nationally-certified first aid instructor, and a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician-Instructor. Holly is a member of both the International Association for Child Safety (IAFCS) and Prevent Child Injury, and has completed additional child-focused safety training in child passenger safety and childhood burn prevention. Her extensive experience and knowledge in baby and toddler safety, in addition to being a mom of 2, gives her a well-rounded and unique perspective. Holly was kind enough to offer 20% off any of the Safe Beginnings courses for Mommin’ listeners with code: MOMMIN20 

Key takeaways

• Safety isn't black and white.  Some things will be safe for some people and not others. A huge part about safety is knowing it's ok to change your mind when presented with new information (7:09)
  
  
• Car Seats are designed to protect mostly against frontal crashes. Frontal crashes cause most injuries/fatalities. In a crash, everything keeps moving toward the point that the vehicle stopped, so in a frontal crash, everything flies toward the windshield. A child in a forward facing car seat is also moving in that direction and that’s where we see head, neck, spinal injuries (13:58)
  
  
• The differences between adults and children in CPR (30:24)
  • 30 compressions, 2 breaths, doing compressions within a certain pace 
  • Adults: 1 or two hands, smaller children: likely just one hand, infant: 2 fingers or 2 thumbs
  • Pace is the same for infants and adults: aiming for 100-120 compressions per minute. The Bee Gees Stayin Alive or Baby Shark are great options 
• If you do one piece of baby proofing, anchor your furniture. It’s the most fatal risk that we have in our homes. Tip over incidents are quick and often silent because if there is a child between the item and the floor, we often won’t hear the crash. Anything that is 3 ft tall and heavy, anchor it to the wall. Most injuries around the home are survivable, this is the one that’s not. Guide to how-to anchor furniture (40:31)
  
  
• Crib bumpers, even mesh ones, are always a no (44:53)
  • Parents often worry their child will get a head injury from hitting their head on the crib, but there is no data to support that. Where head injuries DO happen are when kids climb and fall out of their cribs, which they can do easily with crib bumpers 

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. Head to childlifenutrition.com to learn more!

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Jules Ong is a preschool teacher turned homeschooling mum to 3 girls under 6 - with a fourth on the way! - a play parenting coach and founder of Stories of Play. Through her online workshops, courses and membership to The Authentic Learning Experience, she helps parents tap into the magic of child-led play and turn them into learning opportunities. And as their children learn effortlessly through play, they are able to parent with more joy and less overwhelm. 

Key takeaways

• Telling parents that they need to check on their own internal beliefs when they are feeling guilty about not playing with their kid constantly. We all have certain beliefs about what it means to be a good parent, what play should look like, etc. and if we don’t understand those, we won’t be able to work on the guilt (17:08)
  
  
• What is independent play? People often believe that it is the idea that our children need to be playing in a room alone and that couldn't be further from the truth. You can be in the same room, house, etc. with them, but they are playing on their own without any direction, intervention or interaction with you (21:54)
  
  
• Is it too late to get your kids playing independently if they’re older? No! How to start with an older child (32:17):
  • Setting up a space where they have things to engage with 
  • It might be really hard to start. (33:26) Begin by modeling and if they ask for help, ask them questions and have them lead so you aren’t playing for them
  • Giving them the tools to be able to come up with ideas on their own
  • Once they have started, move to the couch and say you need to go do something like put clothes in the laundry, etc. something really fast, then work up to doing something that takes 10 minutes, and so on
• You should play with your child as little as required, but as much as you want (42:02)
  
  
• Play on its own is learning and has value. It’s on us as parents to understand and learn the value play brings to our children (43:30)
  
  
• We need to normalize mess. All we see online are gorgeous photos of children playing with no mess and it’s unrealistic and sets us up for frustration and failure (58:42)

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they're offering 20% off with code HAPPYKIDS21 on Amazon. Offer valid until 10/31/2021

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family

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Nickey Ramsey is a mother of two and the founder of Junobie, the world’s first reusable breast milk bag. After returning from her second maternity leave, she found herself unhappy with the impractical options for breast milk storage. She knew there had to be a simpler, more reliable breast milk storage option. So, the Junobie bag was born!

Growing up, Nickey had a nontraditional family, and even experienced homelessness at one point. If it had not been for the encouragement and inspiration of mentors she met along the way, she would not have graduated high school, gone on to college, and broken the cycle of poverty. Now, she hopes to use Junobie to help inspire and simplify the lives of other women and their families. 

Key takeaways 

• What it was like growing up with a single mom who worked really hard to provide. Experiencing homelessness as a teenager, sleeping in her car and an abandoned apartment and being scared. Barley graduating high school, but finding the courage to tell a counselor about her situation who helped her find a homeless shelter. Eventually going to college and graduate school (8:57)
  
  
• Her first child had epileptic seizures and how she navigated that challenging time - trying new diets, medications. Explaining how it was harder when her daughter was younger because she couldn’t articulate when she felt one coming on (14:02)
  
  
• Not finding out she was pregnant with her second until she was 18 weeks along and from that point on every part of her pregnancy felt rushed (16:17)
  
  
• Producing a ton of breast milk and having to pump even after her son was done nursing.  Having to use thousands of breastmilk storage bags. She wanted something lightweight and reusable, but wasn’t finding anything so she started working on creating her own (13:31)
  
  
• Promoting Junobie on social media and having it blow up immediately (28:40)
  
  
• Having large companies knock her product off right after she launched their pre-order and feeling like that might be a sign it wasn’t meant to be, but letting her social media community fight for her (30:50)

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they're offering 20% off with code HAPPYKIDS21 on Amazon. Offer valid until 10/31/2021

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family

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Ash Brandin (they/them) is a middle school teacher in Boulder, Colorado. After years spent playing games and the way they teach players, Ash decided to dig into what makes games such motivating teaching tools. After applying it to their classroom, Ash began presenting at gaming conferences, helping families and educators see the value video games bring to our lives and how we can utilize it.  

Ash believes the best way we can prepare our kids for a digital future is to give them the tools they need to have healthy, balanced lives. Ash advocates for using video games as a tool, and  playing and incorporating video games in predictable, measured ways. By doing this, we can set our children up with healthy relationships with video games as well as other activities. 

Ash lives with their spouse and child, and when not gaming or teaching, likes to bake, and hike. 

Key takeaways: 

• Being caught in a loop for years trying to reach goals they thought would make them feel good about themselves, which to them meant feeling like a woman, and the stakes kept getting higher. Feeling intense gratitude and indebtedness to their child because they never would have figured out who they were without their child (5:25)
  
  
• Gaming allows kids to have a sense of freedom and choice. There is a huge feeling of responsibility and self-determination (18:50)
  
  
• Kids want to feel validated and seen and know that their interests are seen and valued. Engaging in discussions about your kids interests to show you care (25:20)
  
  
• Whatever you decide is an appropriate amount of games for your child, it should be available on a consistent schedule (36:13). Gaming in communal spaces is associated with healthy gaming relationships (42:55)
  
  
• The criteria someone has to meet to be classified as having “Problematic Video Gaming” (PVG), diagnosis is very rare (43:45)
  
  
• If we only demonize games, we’re making parents feel guilty for letting their children play. The more we view it as part of our lives and a tool, the easier it is to facilitate (59:40)
  
  
• How to choose your child’s first game 

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they're offering 20% off with code HAPPYKIDS21 on Amazon. Offer valid until 10/31/2021

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family

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Michal started Sex Positive Mama - her background is in human sexuality and she works to empower parents to become sex positive. 

What we talked about 

• Reflecting on your own attitudes around sex
• Thinking about the attitudes we wanted our own parents to have when we asked questions
• Working on your comfort level means exposure and practice
• It’s so much less awkward to talk to a young child than a teenager - it's good to set a base
• Being raised in a sex negative culture
  • Not feeling empowered in your own body
  • Not feeling like you can ask questions
• Taking a second before responding to your child then saying, “that’s a great question." Try asking them what they think/what they already know 
• At a very young age, children explore their bodies, they aren’t necessarily eroticizing, they’re just exploring what feels good 
• We tend to wait for our kids to ask questions instead of bringing answers to them,  but in reality you need to be proactive 
• Start by looking at books to begin conversations and the earlier the better to begin these conversations 
• Teaching children that we address people how we like to be called
  • Avoiding the convo of - boys have a penis, girls have a vagina 
  • Avoiding gender stereotypes 
• There is no other part of our body that we have nicknames for or refer to as private parts, which has so much to do with our comfort level and we want to get comfortable and have our kids become empowered 
• You don’t want your child to have euphemisms so they are able to fully tell you what’s going on in their lives
• Porn is the biggest sex educator and we won’t be able to prevent our kids from seeing it, but we can get them prepared for when that happens
• The average age kids see porn is 8 years old 
• By the time kids are teenagers, they want to make sure they’re engaging in conversation with you about their opinions

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they are offering 20% off with the code IHEARTCL on Amazon.com. Offer valid until 6/30/2021, valid in the U.S. only.

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family. 

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Thanks so much for listening and for supporting our podcast! Please rate the show, leave a review if you liked what you heard and make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music, iHeartRADIO,  iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or TuneIn!

Dr. Maren Locke is a board certified dermatologist who sees patients for medical and cosmetic dermatology. She also runs a YouTube channel-The Budget Dermatologist-on how to achieve your best skin without spending a fortune. 

What we talked about

• The bare minimum of healthy skincare
  • Cleanser-remove environmental toxins at the end of the day 
  • Sunscreen-need it on your face each and every day, year round, even if you’re inside 
• Sunscreen with moisturizer-is it enough?
  • If it has SPF 30 and IF you get enough of it on your skin, which almost nobody ever does! She recommends using a separate sunscreen with SPF 30 or above, and reapply every couple hours
• Sunscreen powder can be helpful especially for reapplying over makeup 
  • Brush it on like you would makeup powder, but again, probably not getting AS much coverage as you would a lotion. Try Supergoop powder
• Example of a routine for a 30yr woman:
  • Morning
    • Cleanse with a brightening exfoliating cleanser: L’oreal Glycolic Acid Cleanser
    • Vitamin C serum: Vichy Liftactiv
    • Moisturize: one that containers niacinamide 
    • Sunscreen
  • Night: 
    • Gentle cleanser: Cerave Hydrating Cleanser or Vanicream Facial Cleanser 
    • Collagen building product like a retinoid
    • Moisturizer 
• Skin care products for pregnant or breastfeeding moms:
  • Ask your provider about anything you’re putting on your skin or taking orally
  • Look at the ingredients label to get a full picture of what you’re using
  • No retinoids during pregnancy/breastfeeding 
• Overlooked areas on the body to target for anti aging 
  • Neck/chest-use anti aging products there as well 
  • Hands-try Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair cream on the hands each night and keep a pair of driving gloves to block sun exposure 
• Favorite eye cream: Aveen RetinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream 
• Do more expensive products work better or faster? We don’t know

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they are offering 20% off with the code IHEARTCL on Amazon.com. Offer valid until 6/30/2021, valid in the U.S. only.

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family. 

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Jordan is a private practice therapist and mom of 2 kiddos who lives in Canada. Jordan works to support people to deepen their understanding of themselves and affirm their needs, wants, and desires as valid and deserving of respect.

What we talked about

• How boundaries encompass everything 
• Paying attention to the body is so important to recognizing your boundaries 
• When we set boundaries, it allows us to feel closer to other people because there is a mutual care and respect
• For those of us who aren’t used to setting boundaries, we can swing in the opposite direction and get too firm on setting them 
• Some boundaries will always make us feel awkward and uncomfortable 
• Physical boundaries for our kids-making it clear to family and friends that our children have the choice whether or not to give hugs and kisses 
• Think about where you are feeling resentful and irritated and which relationships are causing that
• Having simple and clear statements can be really helpful 
• How do we recognize when someone else is trying to set their boundary?
  • It’s ok to sit in the discomfort and feelings we have about it, but need to respect their boundary 
• Honoring our kids boundaries and determining when things feel unreasonable 
  • Telling our kids that their feelings, wants and needs are important even if they can’t always be met  
• Our kids are sometimes looking to us to set the boundaries for them 

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they are offering 20% off with the code IHEARTCL on Amazon.com. Offer valid until 6/30/2021, valid in the U.S. only.

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family. 

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Jasmine Tillery is the founder & CEO of Money and Momming. She is a mom, wife, and works full-time as an engineer. She loves personal finance and has developed systems and plans to help other moms gain control of their finances. 

What we talked about

• Talking about taboo topics so others don’t feel alone in what they are going through 
• It’s not how much you make, but how you manage it 
• Starting a budget
  • How to prioritize 
  • Setting spending limits 
  • Having a balanced budget so you don’t hurt your quality of life 
  • Trying out different plans if one doesn’t work for you
• Having an emergency fund
• Sinking fund
  • Smaller savings accounts for known upcoming expenses
• Having monthly money dates
  • Sending the kids away or wait until they’re in bed
  • Have some good food and drinks 
  • Lay out the budget for the month and discuss goals 
  • Come at it from what you both what, not as individuals 
  • Talk to each other, but don’t make it so business oriented 
• Don’t put managing all of your finances on one person in the relationship 
• Doing regular check ins vs once a year because so much can change 
• Establish who is better at grocery shopping and sticking to the list and the budget 
  • Setting a realistic limit for food budget 
  • If you like takeout, plan for it and put it in your budget 
• Tackling debt 
  • Add up every single dollar you owe and then deciding how you want to pay it off 
• Figuring out how much of an emergency fund you want
  • 6-12 months is ideal 
  • 1 month of expenses is vital 
• Make sure your 4 walls are covered: these are most important first
  • Home/shelter 
  • Food 
  • Transportation
  • Clothing
• Preparing for maternity leave 
• Not letting debt stop you from growing your family
• Focus on your debt and don’t worry about what other people are doing

Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years and they are offering 20% off with the code IHEARTCL on Amazon.com. Offer valid until 6/30/2021, valid in the U.S. only.

*Talk to your healthcare provider about what supplements are right for your family. 

Follow Jasmine on Instagram or her website.

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Thanks so much for listening and for supporting our podcast! Please rate the show, leave a review if you liked what you heard and make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music, iHeartRADIO,  iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or TuneIn!