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Amanda Woodward, Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, joins us this episode to discuss and explain social behavior in children younger than school age. 

During this episode, we discuss:

• Differentiating typical social behavior between age groups
• Key findings in recent research about early childhood social behavior
• Activities that foster greater social-emotional development
• Social exclusion and tools families may use to avoid antisocial patterns

Resources Amanda recommends for families looking to gain more knowledge about early childhood relationships:

Learning through Play- the Lego Foundation : https://learningthroughplay.com/ 

National Institue for Play : https://nifplay.org/ 

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When it comes to your children's picture books, do you find yourself wondering about the story behind the story? Children's book authors Megan Maynor, Lauren Gillman, Tracy Hyde and Camila Gadotti join our host Cara Johnson-Bader to go over their own journey to creating engaging picture books. 

Book & Author links: 
'A House for Every Bird' by Megan Maynor (Insta: @megan_maynor)
https://wildrumpusbooks.com/book/9781984896483

'Tolita: The Best Bad Dog' by Lauren Gillman & Camila Gadotti (Insta: @tolitasworld)
https://www.tolitasworld.com/

'Detective Murray: Case of The Candy-Coated Books' by Tracy Hyde (Insta: @detectivemurray)
https://www.amazon.com/Detective-Murray-Case-Candy-Coated-Books/dp/1635221064

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This month, NHA's child mental health specialist, Amanda Mason, joins us to talk about the positive effects that therapeutic reading can have on children.

This episode we'll tackle subjects such as:

• The benefits of bibliotherapy
• The obstacles for parents to use bibliotherapy with their child
• Appropriate books for therapeutic reading
• How bibliotherapy can help with grief and illness  
• Signs that you should get a mental health specialist involved
• Community resources for families who wish to use bibliotherapy

Previous episodes featuring Amanda:

Season 1, Episode 2- New Siblings
Season 2, Episode 1 - Hitting

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Today's episode features three-time guest MiaLisa Millares, and it's one you're not going to want to miss. MiaLisa is the executive director at Doing Good Together, a non-profit organization that aims to connect families to different volunteer and donation opportunities. Over the course of the episode, MiaLisa will provide families with several tools to foster deeper connection with their kiddos, in regard to the serious topics that everyday life confronts us with. The topics in this episode include:

• Teaching your child how to share
• Reframing questions to support more productive affirmations and autonomy
• How to handle meltdowns
• Grief or death in the household, family, community or world
• BIG questions at bedtime
• Navigating the topic of divorce
• Interpersonal "spats" with friends
• Tackling the fear of moving

Learn more about Doing Good Together here.

Our past episodes with MiaLisa:
Season 2, Episode 2: 'Listening'
Season 1, Episode 4: 'Raising Caring Children'

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Sifting through different information to find reliable health advice for your children can be a complicated and overwhelming process for a lot of parents. That's why we reached out to Kelly Lemieux, the head of pediatrics at Ridgeview Medical Center.

 Kelly has been voted by Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine as one of the top doctors in the Twin Cities and has been a board-certified pediatrician for 29 years. This experience has given her a unique, informed and reflective perspective on pediatrics that has helped her tackle difficult topics with grace and confidence. 

The topics of her visit include:

• Childcare transitioning and readiness
• Children's exposure to noise pollution and exposure
• Internet resources on children's healthcare
• The effects of the pandemic on children's development

Listen to Kelly's interview on pediatric ADHD here:

Ridgeview Podcast: CME Series: Pediatric ADHD with Dr. Kelly Lemieux (libsyn.com)

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Research continues to conclude that children’s academic successes later in life can be attributed to the amount of talk and reading they experience from birth to age 3. They also statistically prove to be better readers later in life. We are thrilled to have Sara Reichstadt, a renowned Social and Emotional learning expert, and the Education Coordinator for Kinderberry Hill Child Development Centers back for an episode on early childhood literacy.  
 
These days, in everchanging, fast-paced, information dense environments, it's more important than ever that our children can "read between the lines", and Sara will provide guardians, who are shorter for time than ever, with tools to make that task less daunting. 
 
This episode contains topics like: 

• The proven benefits of teaching reading at a young age 
• The diversity of reading options that children can participate in 
• Discussing how understanding the Reggio Emilia approach to social & emotional learning can boost childhood literacy 
• Reading as a form of play 
• Community resources available for families that want to make childhood reading more accessible 
• Handling educating your child while dealing with adult burnout 

Resources:
https://reachoutandread.org/what-we-do/resources-2/

Listen to our previous episode interviewing Sara about ‘The Importance of Play’ here: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/season-2-episode-3-importance-of-play/id1610354963?i=1000615739373 

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Nowadays, it is impossible to get away from a screen since everyone has a phone, restaurants have TVs mounted everywhere, and children are on tablets at school, so it's more important than ever that we make sure that what they are watching is appropriate content. 

To give us some guidance, Momo Hayakawa joins us to discuss what that looks like. She is the Director and Development Researcher at Twin Cities PBS and TPT, and has had shows play on PBS Kids! Today she'll explain to us what "quality screen time" looks like, and how we can make sure our little ones are getting it. 

This episode, we'll go over:

• What research at TPT and Twin Cities PBS looks like for Momo
• What the creative process behind quality content looks like
• The connections between screen time and behavior in children
• Assessing the appropriateness of content depending on your child's age
• Resources for quality screen time

Below are helpful resources for assessing the media our children are interacting with:

https://pbskids.org/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/

https://medium.com/@brycebecker_30628/foregrounding-equity-and-representation-in-childrens-media-34eb98397b3f

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Welcome to a new season of Parenting Pickup!

Today's episode features Dianne Haulcy, the host of Minnesota Public Radio's Early Riser's podcast, and CEO of The Family Partnership, a non-profit organization that provides holistic structures and resources for families and children within cycles of poverty.  Dianne explores ways in which early childhood is an essential period of life to educate our young ones about racism, bias, culture, diversity and inclusion. We go over:

• Overview of the Early Risers podcast
• Environmental conditioning 
• Educating ourselves, and identifying our own implicit bias through things like body language
• What families can do at home to ensure their children grow up to be more welcoming and inclusive 
• Understanding why "color blindness" is not a good method of cultural appreciation
• How to have and promote conversations with young children about race
• Resources for families wanting to promote an anti-racist education 

Additional resources from Little Moments Count:

Video: Teaching Anti-Racism: Making Sense of Race and Racism for Young Children

From Little Moments Count: Racial Justice Resources

From NAEYC: Teaching and Learning about Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families

PDF: Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn About Race

Think Small Institute: Additional Resources

Online discussions: MPR News Raising Kids in Minnesota group on Facebook.

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On this episode of Parenting Pickup, we are grateful to talk to our partner at MacPhail Center for Music, Dianna Babcock, Director of Sing Play Learn, to learn why music is essential in a child's life. Dianna talks about the program's mission for each child's specific stage of development. 

With each class, children are encouraged to explore musical concepts and experiment with new instruments, which helps develop school-readiness skills in an active learning environment that feels like playtime!

MacPhail Website: https://www.macphail.org/

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In this insightful podcast episode, we are all treated to a wealth of knowledge on pediatric oral health with an engaging conversation with Dr. Matt Scribbins from Maple Grove Pediatric Dentistry, a seasoned dentist with a passion for children's dental care. 

Dr. Scribbins shares his expertise on age-appropriate oral hygiene practices, the importance of regular dental check-ups, and common challenges faced in pediatric dental care. Followers can expect to gain valuable insights that empower them to prioritize and safeguard the oral health of their young ones. 

Dr. Scribbins' enthusiasm for his field shines through, making this podcast episode informative and engaging for anyone interested in ensuring the well-being of children's smiles.

Maple Grove Pediatric Dentistry: https://www.maplegrovepediatricdentistry.com/

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Thanks for listening!