Parenting Understood

In this episode, we discuss a situation in which kindergarten children were denied recess time as a consequence of a few children. We talk about what taking away recess time can mean for young children, as well as the implications of relying on children's reports of incidents that occur at school. We also discuss the potential implications of imposing a "punishment" on an entire class based on the behavior of a few students.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Damour about the emotional lives of teenagers. We pay especial attention to the pressures that both genders feel yet how those may be manifested differently across genders, at times. Dr. Damour unpacks parent-child relationships, especially the mother-daughter relationship, and the role of identification in that relationship as girls mature. We also discuss how research methods may not always allow for the identification of areas of concern for boys.

Dr. Lisa Damour is the author of three New York Times best sellers: Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers. She co-hosts the Ask Lisa podcast, works in collaboration with UNICEF, and is recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Damour is also a regular contributor to The New York Times and CBS News.

Dr. Damour serves as a Senior Advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University and has written numerous academic papers, chapters, and books related to education and child development. She maintains a clinical practice and also speaks to schools, professional organizations, and corporate groups around the world on the topics of child and adolescent development, family mental health, and adult well-being.

Dr. Damour graduated with honors from Yale University and worked for the Yale Child Study Center before earning her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan. She has been a fellow at Yale's Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and the University of Michigan's Power Foundation. She and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters.

To learn more about Dr. Damour and her work please visit https://drlisadamour.com/ and follow her on instagram @lisa.damour

We are thrilled to be re-airing our episode with Emily Oster on making parenting decisions through data. Emily is a Professor of Economics at Brown University and the author of Expecting Better, Cribsheet, and The Family Firm. She holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard. Prior to being at Brown she was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Emily's books analyze the data behind choices on parenting and pregnancy. She is also founder and CEO of Parent Data, which provides information for parents, people who want to be parents, or anyone who likes to do their research before making a decision. In this episode, Emilly discussed with us her most recent book, The Family Firm, which takes a data driven approach to help parents think more deliberately about key issues in the elementary school years including sleep, school, health, extra curricular activities and more. Emily presented to us how you can immediately apply frameworks and concepts to utilize the date in your life for making best decisions for your children.

You can find more information on Emily Oster, her books and research, and join her bi-weekly mailing list at emilyoster.net or parentdata.org. You can also connect with Emily via Twitter and Instagram @ProfEmilyOster. To hear Emily and my recent conversation on data driven decision making please visit this link Emily Oster Video. In this video, we discuss how data can (and can't) help us make parenting decisions, and take audience questions.

In this episode, we speak with Mariel Benjamin, LCSW, about how parenting is currently based in a feeling of fear - fear of messing up one's children, fear of being judged by others, and fear of failing in helping children reach their full potential. As we speak about, this fear can be detrimental for many reasons. When in a state of fear, we make decisions based on limited information and lots of emotion. This fear-based parenting can have a number of negative consequences for ourselves and our children. We further discuss how to avoid fear-based parenting.

Mariel is DIrector of Groups at Cooper, DIrector of Programs at The Mount Sinai Parenting Center and on faculty at the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount SInai. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of experience at Mount Sinai Medical Center working with families and children. She received her B.A. and B.S. summa cum laude from Northwestern University and her Master's Degree in Social Work from New York University. She is also a trained facilitator of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs.

For more information on Mariel and Cooper please visit @your_cooper on instagram and yourcooper.com

In this compelling episode, we sit down with the co-authors and partners, Alex Ritter and Alex Kenworthy, to delve into their groundbreaking book, "Your Baby Girl Likes Girls." This invaluable resource offers crucial insights and advice for parents and their queer daughters navigating the often challenging journey of coming out. We emphasize the vital need for an open, accepting environment for children to express their thoughts and feelings, whether they embrace their true selves at a young age or later in adulthood. Our discussion revolves around essential tips for parents, encouraging curiosity, patience, and understanding. We underscore the significance of letting the child determine when to share their identity, and the detrimental effects of being closeted on individuals and relationships. Tune in to learn more about fostering a supportive, loving family environment that embraces authenticity and promotes understanding.

Connect with Alex and Alex on Instagram @yourbabygirllikesgirls and don't miss the opportunity to order their enlightening book, "Your Baby Girl Likes Girls."

In this episode, Dr. Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel, discusses the importance of emotional self-awareness, and explains that emotional self-awareness is the ability to identify and label our emotions. This skill is essential for understanding our own emotional states and making informed decisions. He explains that it can lead to improved mental health, stronger relationships, and better decision-making. Emotionally self-aware individuals are better able to manage their emotions, resolve conflict, and build trust with others.

He further describes how the How We Feel app helps users develop emotional self-awareness. The app prompts users to label their emotions and provides feedback on their accuracy. This process helps users to become more aware of their emotional responses to different situations.

Marc is founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and professor in the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine at Yale University. As a researcher for over 20 years, Marc has focused on the role of emotions and emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, creativity, relationships, health, and performance. Most recently, with Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann, Marc and his team co-created the Apple award-winning app, HowWeFeel, that was designed to teach emotion skills and enhance well-being.

Marc is the lead developer of RULER, a systemic, evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by over 4,500 schools across the United States and in other countries, including Australia, China, England, Italy, Mexico, and Spain. RULER, which has reached over 4 million children, infuses social and emotion learning into the immune system of schools by enhancing how school administrators lead, educators teach, students learn, and families parent.Marc is also the co-founder of Oji Life Lab, a corporate learning firm that develops innovative digital learning systems for emotional intelligence.

For more information on Dr. Brackett please visit:

https://www.marcbrackett.com/

For additional information on the How We Feel app please visit

https://howwefeel.org/

In this episode, we conclude our series on school readiness with a conversation with Claire Marie about school lockdown drills. Claire is a school safety and emergency management expert who works with schools to develop and implement safety plans. She emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed practices when teaching students about safety procedures, such as lockdown drills. Claire talks about the importance of providing students with opportunities to practice the procedure in a safe and controlled environment. She also provides recommendations for parents on how to prepare children for drills. Further, she discusses how to talk to children after they have experienced a lockdown drill. For more information about Marie Clare and her book to help parents prepare their children visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-marie-a6241aa4/ and https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sammy-the-sasquatch-welcome-to-crittertopia-claire-marie/1143283995

We are thrilled to be re-releasing our episode with Dr. Clancy Blair as part of our four week back to school series before our reflection on the past 100 plus episodes in two weeks. Dr. Blair is a developmental psychologist and Professor at New York University, who studies self-regulation in young children. His primary interest concerns the development of cognitive abilities, referred to as executive functions, and the ways in which these aspects of cognition are important for school readiness and early school achievement. He is also interested in the development and evaluation of preschool and elementary school curricula designed to promote executive functions as a means of preventing school failure. Prior to coming to NYU, Blair spent ten years as an Assistant and then Associate Professor in the department of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State.

Dr. Blair spoke with us regarding self-regulation, and the different stages that can be expected in children as they age from infants to adolescents. We also explored the ways in which the environment can impact self-regulation, and how parents can utilize different strategies for trying to best promote positive self-regulation.

If you would like to learn more about the work of Dr. Blair, you can visit his Google Scholar page at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=duCRaqgAAAAJ&hl=en

In this episode, we are thrilled to be joined by Dr. Ashleigh Collins, Dean of Academic Programs at Relay Graduate School Education. Dr. Collins discusses how to form a positive relationship with your child's teacher where you act as partners in scaffolding your child. Research shows that a strong predictor of children's academic and social well-being, especially in earlier childhood, is related to the parent-teacher connection. Dr. Collins speaks to the special importance of keeping lines of communication open between parents and teachers, and provides ideas as to how to do this. Further, Dr. Collins speaks about the benefit of establishing connections with other parents and caregivers in your child's class. In addition, we discuss the state of education and teaching as related to the pandemic and post-pandemic. Please tune in next week for a new episode on separation anxiety at the start of the school year. We have postponed our discussion around our first 100 episodes to bring these important topics related to back to school to our audience. Please celebrate with us though in three weeks as we reflect on the past 2.5 years!

To learn more about Dr. Collins please visit her website and her Linkedin profile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleigh-collins-ph-d-07b73610