That's Total Mom Sense

By Evergreen PodcastsBusiness Entrepreneurship Parenting Kids & Family

That's Total Mom Sense episodes

May 22, 2021AT HOME WITH HOMER: Screen Time as Purposeful Time — with Stephanie Dua
Kanika: The last year has given us a new perspective on screen time. While it allowed for remote learning during a pandemic, we also have screen time fatigue -- and new blue light lenses : ) -- from too much of it. What are some tips, resources, and guardrails you can share regarding screen time for young learners.
Stephanie: As you mentioned, technology has saved us in so many ways this past year. We’ve been able to stay connected to the outside world -- teachers, family, friends -- because of our screens. Furthermore, The pandemic has accelerated the spread of laptops and learning apps in schools, they say, normalizing digital education tools for millions of teachers, students and their families.” -NYT
While those are 2 examples of beneficial screen time, we are fatigued by it and for early learnings especially, not all screen time is created equal
Kanika: So how do we as parents and caregivers determine what is good screen time?
Stephanie: For starters, recommend embracing Mindful Media. Rather than using the amount of time our kids are spending on screen as the only consideration, we came up with the P-L-A-Y Framework: a quick and easy guide to help you make smart media decisions for your children.
P - Purpose
There are so many reasons to hand your child a screen -- It could be to keep them entertained, to give them an opportunity to connect with family and friends, to assist in their schoolwork, to help them wind down at night, or to keep them safely occupied while you cook dinner.
Whatever the purpose might be, think about whether the type of media you are putting on that device matches up with the intended purpose. For example, in the evening if you’re winding your kids down, you want to make sure the content is calming.
Additionally, experts estimate that 65% of kids will have jobs that don’t currently exist. So even if the purpose of giving your child a screen doesn’t have direct learning value, you can feel good that your child is learning 21st-century skills that will set them up for 21st-century jobs.
L - Learning Value
Understand the learning value: There are so many rich, entertaining apps and digital experiences that you can find for your children
Common Sense Media is a great resource that has done a lot of the legwork for parents—I personally found them to be a lifesaver with my kids.
A - Appropriateness
Deciding whether an app or digital experience is appropriate for your child can seem daunting, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. Here are a couple of things to think about:
Is it appropriate for their age?
Will they engage with it? For example, will it make them giggle? Get up and dance? Try out a new word?
Is it personalized to them? Does it appeal to their individual interests and learning needs, or encourage them to look at the world in a new way?
Is it going to be a positive experience? Keep in mind what makes them feel confident, and what might make them feel scared or upset.
Y - YES!
Yes, you can use screens - Parents should feel empowered to use screens in a way that is mindful for themselves and for their family. They aren’t designed to ruin your child’s future, but rather when used appropriately, will give children the skills to thrive in the 21st century.
Episode Links:
WEBSITE: LearnWithHomer.com
INSTAGRAM: @learnwithhomer
FACEBOOK: /learnwithhomer

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7 min
May 20, 2021098: Natalie Morales — Celebrating Motherhood
As a longtime news anchor, former host of “Access Hollywood” and co-host of “Access Hollywood Live,” current West Coast Anchor of the TODAY Show and correspondent of Dateline NBC and NBC Nightly News, Natalie Morales is a beloved household name. So it's only natural that she released a bestselling cookbook called At Home With Natalie: Simple Recipes for Healthy Living from My Kitchen to Yours.

Natalie was born in Taiwan, to a Brazilian mother, Penelope, and a Puerto Rican father, Lieutenant Colonel Mario Morales, Jr. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese and spent the first eighteen years of her life living in America and overseas in Panama, Brazil, and Spain as a "U.S. Air Force brat."

Her multicultural experience led her to pursuing a career in broadcast journalism where she and the TODAY Show team won three Daytime Emmy Awards as best morning news program. Natalie has contributed to major breaking news stories including coverage of the royal wedding in 2011, presidential inaugurations, Hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II, and the network’s coverage of the Winter and Summer Olympics since 2004. She landed many exclusive celebrity interviews including Angelina Jolie, Caitlyn Jenner on her life after transition, and Jennifer Lopez on her career and family. Hispanic Magazine named her one of the “Top Hispanics to Watch” in 2005 and one of the “Top Trendsetters” of 2003.

Her childhood as a global citizen and traveling the world with her work fed her appreciation for good food, but it's her experience as a working mom that taught her how to cook on the run and keep her recipes nutritious too. Her book features 125 recipes Natalie makes at home for her family including chicken croquettes, pesto shrimp with lemon-pepper fettuccine, and a 3-minute peanut butter and banana protein shake.

Natalie lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband Joe Rhodes and their two sons, Luke Hudson and Josh.
Meet My Guest:

INSTAGRAM: @nmoralesnbc
TWITTER: @nmoralesnbc

FACEBOOK: /nataliemorales919

LINKEDIN: Natalie Morales

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47 min
May 15, 2021AT HOME WITH HOMER: Summer of Play — with Stephanie Dua
Kanika: Summer is here, but it feels different from any other summer. Typically summer break is a time to travel, enjoy the sunshine, spend time with friends and family, however this year, how we spend our summer isn’t as clear -- Is it safe to travel? Should we use this time to catch up on school? Take summer school classes? Or is this a time for play? A time to recover and recharge?
Stephanie: Absolutely, I think all families can relate to what you just described. I know I certainly can. On the heels of the pandemic, everything looks a bit different and this certainly applies to summer break.
Kanika: What advice do you have for families when it comes to making the most of this summer break?
Stephanie Tips: School offers kids that needed sense of structure. When summer comes around it’s important to give kids the freedom to play, while offering some structure. The key is finding a nice balance!
Get into nature. Nature has the ability to heal us, so whether that’s a walk around the neighborhood, hike or a day trip to a nearby national park with your family.
Create a scavenger hunt together. Before you head out, make a list of things you might see on your walk
Encourage independence and a bit of downtime
Start a project that can be worked on a bit everyday
Studies have shown the importance of having jobs around the house. It’s important to make sure your kids feel like they’re part of the team but contributing with certain chores. This also gives them structure and a sense of accomplishment.
Encourage play, not academic learning because the good news is that Play is Learning! Like our friend Fred Rogers once said: “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” So think of this as your SUMMER OF PLAY!
Play is so powerful because kids don’t realize just how much they’re learning while playing. It’s like “sneaking” vegetables into the muffin or smoothie recipe to get some greens in there.
Episode Links:
WEBSITE: LearnWithHomer.com
INSTAGRAM: @learnwithhomer
FACEBOOK: /learnwithhomer

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7 min
May 13, 2021097: Sheetal Sheth — Breaking Barriers in Communities, Film, and Life
Sheetal Sheth is an acclaimed actress, producer, author, and activist. She is known for her provocative performances in a wide range of memorable roles on film and television. She has starred in over 20 feature films and many TV shows and is a favorite in the independent film world, having won five best actress awards on the film festival circuit. She has earned a loyal, international following. Sheetal began her career at a time when few South Asians were making their living as actors. Despite being told she'd have to change her name to work, her successful career has trail-blazed paths for other women of color across media. Sheetal supports marginalized communities not only through her own pioneering work as an actor, but by also appearing at workshops and panels and speaking directly to issues facing those communities. She is known as an outspoken advocate and has delivered talks and keynotes at festivals and charity galas.
She's had op-eds published on CNN, The Daily Beast, and Thrive Global. She served in President Clinton's AmeriCorps and is currently on the advisory board of Equality Now and an ambassador for CA First Partner, Jennifer Newsom's, The Representation Project. Her first children's book, Always Anjali was published in 2018 to wide acclaim. It won the 2019 Purple Dragonfly Storybook Grand Prize (voted on by teachers and librarians) and is set to be a series, the first and only in this age group featuring an Indian American hero.
Meet My Guest:
WEBSITE: SheetalSheth.com
INSTAGRAM: @beneaththesheetz
TWITTER: @sheetalsheth
FACEBOOK: /OfficialSheetalSheth
LINKEDIN: Sheetal Sheth
Press
NYTIMES.COM: A Pakistani-American Tale Upends Expectations Onscreen and in Life
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49 min
May 08, 2021AT HOME WITH HOMER: Mental Health & Social Emotional Learning — with Stephanie Dua
Kanika: My kids are having a really hard time being cut off from their friends and dealing with COVID. How do I help them navigate through these times?
Stephanie / Statistics:
Most notably, the low-income, Black and Hispanic communities that urban districts more often serve have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. Their students are expected to have some of the greatest academic, social and emotional learning losses coming out of the pandemic (USNews).
Even before the coronavirus hit, mental health problems such as depression and anxiety were on the rise in children ages 6 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows social isolation can worsen these symptoms.
Based on prior research on isolation and loneliness, children and adolescents are more likely to have high rates of depression, and, probably, anxiety, even after the enforced isolation resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic ends, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (source).
A national survey of 3,300 high school students conducted in the Spring of 2020 found nearly a third reporting they were unhappy and depressed "much more than usual" in the past month. Almost 51% said they felt a lot more uncertainty about the future as well. (source) ADHD, behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children (CDC).
Overseas, in a survey of 1,143 parents measuring the effects of the lockdowns in Italy and Spain, nearly 86% reported changes in their children such as difficulty concentrating and spending more time online and asleep, and less time engaging in physical activity.
A study of 2,330 schoolchildren in China found both anxiety and depression rose in comparison to rates seen in previous investigations.
Stephanie / Tips:
Make sure you have a daily check-in, something I do with my child:
Rose, thorn and bud
Mindfulness corner, walk and belly breathwork (CMI)
For younger kids ages 3-6 who might not be as verbal, HOMER has this great activity kit called Explore Feelings, and you do just that. Kids learn self expression and to identify feelings, through hands-on activities and prompts.
Color-in Feelings Forest Map
Conversation Prompts + Bag
Social-emotional Matching Cards
Feelings Activity Book & Crayons
Episode Links:
WEBSITE: LearnWithHomer.com
INSTAGRAM: @learnwithhomer
FACEBOOK: /learnwithhomer

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6 min
May 06, 2021096: Bobbi Brown — Motherhood, Makeup, and Making an Impact
Hello listeners. How are you at this present moment? I want you to really to take a second to think about that. I know we’re overworked and tired because we’re managing a ton - overseeing our businesses whether we’re taking on new ventures or growing empires, taking care of our families and entertaining and teaching our kids at home as best we can, running our households, and doing it all over again the next day. Things are not getting any easier, but my guest today is a woman who chooses to lead her life with conviction and manage it all with finesse. She recently gave a commencement speech to the class of 2020 where she rallied, “Get over it, get over yourself and get out there!” And I think that slogan applies to adults and parents too, especially during these challenging times. We’ve got this and need to believe it.
Bobbi Brown is a beauty industry titan, world renowned makeup artist, best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and serial entrepreneur. As a professional makeup artist, Bobbi created 10 simple lipsticks that evolved into a global beauty empire. She has written nine beauty and wellness books and is a New York Times bestselling author. Since leaving her billion-dollar company Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in October 2016, she has launched Beauty Evolution, LLC and was certified as a health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Bobbi has returned to her roots as an entrepreneur. Her latest endeavor is EVOLUTION_18, a line of beauty-inspired wellness products. Driven by Bobbi's insatiable curiosity for all things lifestyle, she also curates the editorial website, justBOBBI.com. In addition, she and her husband, Steven Plofker, lovingly reimagined The George, a 32-room design-inspired boutique hotel located in Montclair, N.J. They have 3 sons Dylan, Dakota, and Duke.
Meet My Guest:
WEBSITE: JustBobbi.com
WEBSITE: Evolution18.com
INSTAGRAM: @evolution_18
FACEBOOK: /JustBobbiBrown
LINKEDIN: Bobbi Brown

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50 min
May 01, 2021AT HOME WITH HOMER: Raising a Reader — with Stephanie Dua
Kanika: Reading to me is one of my favorite things to do and I want so badly for my children to enjoy it, but it can be scary. HOMER’s reading program is proven to increase early learning scores by 74%, so clearly you’re the pro here.
Stephanie (HOMER origin story): I was working at the fund for public schools and my daughter Anya was struggling with reading. I had access to the greatest minds in education and no one could recommend a product they trusted, so I set out to create one.
Kanika: I love that and with Mother’s Day coming up, I just want to celebrate that for a second. There is real power in women starting business to solve parent pain points. What advice do you have for parents listening whose children might be struggling with reading?
Stephanie / Stats:
Reading is the foundation of a strong education, however it’s not intuitive or natural.
We also know that if you’re not at reading level by grade 4.
Stephanie / Tips:
Make your home a reading rich environment
Subtitles on TV shows
Leave books all around
Lead by example
Create Reading Routine
The value of bedtime stories - an oldie but a goodie. Proven to help develop literacy skills and bond parents with their children.
Car time is book time - pick a book before the ride or make the car into a mini library with a small box of books on the back seat
Weekly library visit
20 min / day
Create a book exchange with your weekly playdate. Each week your child picks out one book to give to their playdate, who borrows it for the week.
Episode Links:
WEBSITE: LearnWithHomer.com
INSTAGRAM: @learnwithhomer
FACEBOOK: /learnwithhomer

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9 min
April 29, 2021095: Stephanie Powell Dua — Teaching Your Kids Life Lessons
With over 25 years experience in education, Stephanie Dua committed to developing better education opportunities and life outcomes for our children. As co-founder and president of HOMER, an early learning brand that builds personalized learning experiences for kids, she’s passionate about crafting products that support children - and parents - on the profoundly personal journey to reading. HOMER rejects a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Instead, the learning app taps into a child’s unique passions, teaching them the skills they need to be confident readers who love to learn.
Prior to founding HOMER, Stephanie served as CEO of the NYC Fund for Public Schools, raising more than $165 million to support literacy and teacher training efforts in the country’s largest school district, was Senior Advisor to the Common Core Standards effort and worked with the Robin Hood Foundation, helping build 50 award-winning new school libraries across New York. In a modern environment where parents are inundated with information, she seeks to simplify what and who matters most in helping your child reach their potential.
She currently lives in Coconut Grove, FL with her husband and three daughters. Stephanie’s hero is her mother, and her values are alive in Stephanie today, and thriving further still in her daughters, Anya (16), Siona (14), and Isla (11).
Meet My Guest:
WEBSITE: LearnWithHomer.com
INSTAGRAM: @learnwithhomer
FACEBOOK: /learnwithhomer
Press
REUTERS: Learning in a pandemic: An online education executive shares tips
BLOOMBERG: Education Tool HOMER Has Seen Explosion in Growth, Says Co-founder and President Stephanie Dua

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1 hr 12 min
April 22, 2021094 Meghan Hurley — Providing Ready-Made Healthy Meals Around the Country
On average, families have to prepare 21 meals a week, and when you factor in kids’ age groups, picky eaters, cuisine preferences, it can be really overwhelming for parents.
During the pandemic, prodege.com surveyed 502 parents with children under 18. They found that 52% are spending more on groceries and 41% have stocked up on meal staples that’s easy enough for kids to prepare themselves.
Which brings me to today’s episode where I’ll be interviewing the Head of Marketing of Farmer’s Fridge.
Farmer’s Fridge has set out to remove the roadblocks to eating wholesome, delicious food. Their automated smart Fridges put chef-curated meals and snacks in the customers hands, in seconds. And to ensure we’re getting the very best, the company is dedicated to packing jars full of quality ingredients and delivering meals fresh to Fridges.
Somehow, a Fridge full of tasty finds just seems to be there when you’re craving it most. Even better? Unpurchased food is regularly donated to community members in need. They say their jars may be little, but we hope all the goodness we put in them gives you a big smile.
With over 400 automated smart Fridges across Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Indianapolis, Farmer’s Fridge provides fresh, chef curated, delicious and accessible food. Farmer’s Fridge made a HUGE pivot when the pandemic hit and now offers home delivery. Behind that giant shift and all things marketing at Farmer’s Fridge, is super mom, Meghan Hurley.
Meghan Hurley leads a multi-functional team and drives the company’s narrative through a rapidly evolving business model. She previously worked as a senior marketing manager at Trunk Club, leading brand strategy.
Earlier in her career, Meghan worked in marketing across a number of food and retail companies. She has a diverse food category background including retail, CPG and wholesale with a specific focus on premium brands, including Whole Foods Market. Within those roles Meghan developed extensive knowledge in brand strategy, market expansion, and product development and innovation.
She graduated from the University of Illinois and earned an MBA from Loyola University. She’s based in Chicago where she and her husband have 2 kids - Wylder and Lincoln.
Meet My Guest:
WEBSITE: FarmersFridge.com
INSTAGRAM: @farmersfridge
FACEBOOK: /farmersfridge
LINKEDIN: Meghan Hurley
Promo Code:
FARMER'S FRIDGE: Use my exclusive code (momsense) to receive $10 off your first delivery order from Farmer's Fridge
Press
PIX11: Farmer’s Fridge providing fresh, healthy meals to New Yorkers and beyond
Mom Haul:
AMAZON: Kindle Paperwhite – Now Waterproof with 2x the Storage
AMAZON: OXO Good Grips No-Spill Silicone Ice Stick Tray for Water Bottles

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32 min
April 15, 2021093: Farnoosh Torabi — Let’s Talk Money: Knowing Your Value + Net Worth
Farnoosh Torabi is one of America’s leading personal finance authorities — hooked on helping you live your richest, happiest life.
As Contributing Editor to Oprah Magazine and NextAdvisor, host of a primetime series for CNBC and creator of the Webby-nominated podcast So Money, Farnoosh has become our favorite go-to money expert and financial friend.
The New York Times calls her advice, “perfectly practical.”
Farnoosh’s award-winning and critically-acclaimed podcast, So Money, has surpassed 17 million downloads with listeners in over 200 countries, thanks to its one-of-a-kind interviews and deep conversations about money. On the show she spotlights leading experts, authors and influencers – from Arianna Huffington to Margaret Cho, Queen Latifah and Tim Gunn – about their financial perspectives, money failures and habits. She also answers listeners’ personal financial questions each week.
Meet My Guest:
WEBSITE: SoMoneyPodcast.com
INSTAGRAM: @farnooshtorabi
FACEBOOK: /FarnooshTorabi
Press
TIME.COM: Contributing Editor
BUSINESSINSIDER.COM: Contributing Editor
Mom Haul:
PERSONAL CAPITAL APP: Financial Planning and Wealth Management
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52 min

About That's Total Mom Sense

From the publisher's feed

Kanika Chadda Gupta, a seasoned CNN television journalist, podcaster, and mother of three (including twins), aims to give credit where it's often overlooked - the lasting impact of living your purpose…