Smart Parenting Podcast

Nadine Ghawi, MScPT is the founder of Bloom Pelvic Health and is a Registered Orthopedic and Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist. We talk about urinary incontinence and prolapses. We discuss why they happen in women after having a baby (and later in life), and what women can do to treat and prevent them. 

Dr. Chaya Kulkarni is the director of Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion at the Hospital for Sick Kids. We discuss some the most important ways to promote infant and child wellbeing during the pandemic. 

***CORRECTION: It is recommended that women have less than 10 drinks per week, not 15.***
Ann Dowsett Johnston is the bestselling author of DRINK: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, named one of the top 10 books of 2013 by the Washington Post. Her TED X talk on Women and Alcohol has more than 1.2 million views. An award-winning journalist with seven National Magazine Awards to her name, Ann spent the lion’s share of her career at Maclean’s magazine, where she is best known as the chief architect of the Maclean’s University Ranking project. Now a psychotherapist specializing in women and transition, she splits her time between Toronto and California. We have an honest conversation about women, moms, and alcohol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqtZjpI1oVQ&feature=emb_logo

Summer Haddad is a Neonatal Intensive Care Registered Nurse and Ph.D. candidate. Her research focuses on postpartum sleep and depression. We talk about sleep, or lack of sleep, in new moms, its connection to postpartum depression, and what moms can do to promote health and wellbeing. 

Michelle Stern is a certified dog behaviour consultant and trainer. She is also a mom. We discuss the reasons for dogs acting up after a new baby is brought home, and some strategies for handling dogs with babies and children in order to promote both canine and infant wellbeing. 

Resources:  

• On-Demand Workshop: Your First Week Home with Baby and Dog https://poochparenting.thrivecart.com/first-week-home-baby-dog/
• Self-paced online class, Preparing Dog for New Baby: https://poochparenting.thrivecart.com/preparing-dog-for-new-baby
• Self-paced online class, Parenting Toddlers and Dogs: https://poochparenting.thrivecart.com/parenting-toddlers-and-dogs/
• Thriving Parents of Kids and Dogs membership: simple bite-sized training and bonding activities to help your kids and dogs to live safely and happily together http://safekidsanddogs.com/
• Facebook Group:Parenting Kids and Dogs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ParentingKidsandDogs/
• Michelle's favorite Products:
• https://www.amazon.com/shop/poochparenting

Tricia D'Amata is former All-American and Canadian Olympic athlete. She is also a teacher and mother of two seemingly happy and content kids. Her children don’t seem materialistic. We talk about what parents can do to help their kids avoid becoming materialistic and how to help promote self-confidence. 

Resources: 

https://www.search-institute.org/our-research/development-assets/developmental-assets-framework/

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn is an esteemed medical doctor, with numerous significant scientific publications. He is also author of the book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease", and was featured in the film "Forks Over Knives". We discuss the benefits of a plant-based diet and address some of the major concerns of a plant-based diet in infants and children. 

Hanna Paju is a mother of two boys in Finland, which was rated the happiest country in the world for the past two years. We talk about parenting practices in Finland like putting babies to sleep outside and allowing children as young as seven to walk to school alone. We discuss these parenting practices and their benefits to child wellbeing. 

Adriana Rodriguez de Valentini is a Registered Midwife in Toronto. She speaks with me about the advantages of having a midwife instead of an obstetrician, the benefits of having a home birth and breastfeeding, and strategies for successfully breastfeeding. 

Catherine West is the Pedagogy Leader at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and Dr. Sean Hutchins is the Director of Research at the Royal Conservatory of Music. We discuss music and music education in infants and children, including the benefits of music and music classes for children, why it's helpful, and how parents can incorporate music learning at home.