The Art of Parenting

Could your understanding of postpartum mental health be missing a crucial piece? Listen in as my guest, Aaisha Alvi shares the realities of postpartum psychosis.

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A Mom Like That is a memoir of a woman’s journey into perinatal and postpartum mood disorders. She shares her honest and harrowing experiences with a healthcare system that does not yet take these issues seriously. A must listen to all.

• What are perinatal mood disorders

• Aaisha's personal experience with Postpartum Psychosis

• What is the biological basis of Postpartum Psychosis

• What urged Aaisha to write the book 'A Mom Like That'

• The lack of awareness among healthcare providers regarding postpartum psychosis

“Parenting with a mindset that always tries to bring out the best our children will have to offer the world.”

“Postpartum psychosis is one of the most severe psychiatric illnesses a woman can ever experience in her lifetime.”

“When it comes to postpartum psychosis, nobody knows why it occurs.”

“When you have a miscarriage, you don't have a baby to take care of, but you still have biological elements that trigger postpartum.”

“When you lose touch with reality, there is a risk to yourself and your child.”

“Nobody needs to suffer due to shame or stigma.”

- Aaisha Alvi

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What does it take to truly heal after a challenging birth? Listen in and find out in this powerful conversation with Jennifer Summerfeldt.

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Our birth experience, how we came to the world, and how, if able, we give birth to our own have a lasting impact on our overall well-being.

• Midwifery and alternative birth options

• Overcoming the fear induced by mainstream pregnancy advice

• Understand different birth paradigms

• Choosing birth based on values

• The emergence of free birth

• The difference between a disappointing birth experience and birth trauma

• How birth trauma impacts both the body and mind

• How the nervous system reacts during traumatic events like childbirth

• Identifying postpartum challenges

“Parenting is about learning how to listen to that guiding principle that resides in all of us as a human being.”

“It's important that you understand what that birth paradigm includes, that they're motivated by fear, litigation, and money, and to manage and control and take charge of your experience.”

“When you hire a professional or registered midwife, most often you have the option to give birth at home, in a birthing center or a hospital.”

“Any choice out of fear is usually a bad recipe.”

“You can have a disappointing birth experience that is not traumatic.”

“It's not about controlling the outside world. It's about knowing that there's a way for us to ride the waves of life, to ride the stressors of life and it doesn't have to be traumatic.”

“Rest in the role of motherhood.”

- Jennifer Summerfeldt

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⁠My guest, today is on a mission to bring more wellness, joy, and intentionality to parenting and beyond she shares her powerful approach that encourages us to embrace growth in a deeply intentional way.⁠

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Life is all about growing, expanding, and improving ourselves the best we can. My guest shares her framework to do just that. 

• The "Stop, Drop, Grow, and Glow" Framework

• The Five Rights of Parenting

• The Importance of Self-Reflection in Parenting

• Setting boundaries with screens and devices

• Why integrating self-care into your daily routine is crucial

“Being open to learning from your children models, learning is a lifelong process.”

“Children will teach you about yourself and the work you still need to do more than anyone in life.”

“Your voice is a tool of creation and you have the power to use it to uplift or tear down in your home.”

“Love is the cure for all that ails us, parenting and beyond.”

“Letting your child know how much you love them, and that you're there for them, will plant their spirit in deep, rich soil as they grow.”

“It's important for your child to be a child and not lose their childhood.”

“Parents need to feel more grace in terms of being able to take care of themselves.”

“Be more intentional in how you're choosing to live and parent.”

- Holly Swenson

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Wondering how to build a strong emotional bond with your child? Listen in as my guest, Eli Harwood shares some insights.

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Secure attachment is known to be the one ingredient necessary not only for our survival but also for our positive evolution as a thriving species. We are social beings and need to trust those that care for us. Today Eli shares her research and helps us create a secure bond with those we care for.

• Creating a secure environment for children

• Understanding the attachment theory

• Eli’s personal experiences with attachment

• The Importance of Parental Self-awareness

• The power of apologizing to children

• Recognizing and respecting the unique needs & love languages of each child

“Parenting is a process, there is no final product.”

“Our relationships with our children are all unique.”

“The parent-child relationship affects the development process.”

“When we bring our presence to our children in a way that connotes delight. There's medicine that gets wired between us.”

“Create an experience for your children where they sense that you are a safe place to open up.”

“Messing up and conflicts are part of a relationship that we can repair without shame or self-contempt.”

“Maturity is a relational process.”

“Do the best you can and then trust that when the mess up is acknowledged, there is power in just saying, I'm so sorry.”

- Eli Harwood

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What’s your secret formula to happiness? Listen to my guest, Stella Grizont, and find out what science has to say about it.

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Ah, happiness… such a profound emotion. Did you know there was a science to it? Today we are learning how to nurture those happy vibes at home and work for both ourselves and our children. 

• Creating emotional safety for children

• The importance of clarity and setting boundaries

• The 8 Inner Skills from the Work Happiness Method

• Clarity in your goals and decisions, both as a parent and in your career

• Why tuning into your own needs is essential

“Create freedom for your children to be themselves and to know themselves better.”

“Emotion is always in motion. It's just information.”

“Parenting is harder than any job you could do.”

“Our boundaries are there to make it easier  for us to be who we want to be.”

“When you're in your play mindset, you're setting yourself up to be more curious and open to possibilities.”

“The people-pleasing tendency is a trauma response. It's a trauma response called fawning.”

“Tending to our own needs is a way of caring better for others.”

“Boundaries are less about no and more about saying yes to what matters.”

“Boundaries are one way we can support ourselves in being who we want to be with greater ease.”

- Stella Grizont

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Has your child rejected you? Listen in and learn how to handle it with Cathy Himlin.

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It can be tough when you feel rejected by your child, especially when you are going through a separation. Today's guest, a Marriage and Family Therapist helps us understand why and how to manage these situations.

• The complexities of high-conflict divorces and how they impact children

• The underlying reasons why children may reject a parent

• Recurring patterns observed in children during custody disputes

• How attachment-based methods can help repair strained relationships between children and parents

• Practical advice for parents considering divorce

• How power struggles within couples can impact parenting

• The difference between litigation and mediation

“Parenting is getting into the child's world.”

“The ideal for children from separated homes, to not be pulled or pushed from either home is to have both parents work together and try to have similar items.”

“You can't go into divorce and figure out what you want unless you understand your options.”

“Trying to make it work is best, because it may just be relationship ruptures or injuries that never got healed.”

“Try to have that lens on what's in the best interest of your child.”

“Have some respite care. Take time in between having children to focus on the marriage.”

“Controlling usually means anxiety.”

“There's no book for each child. Every child is different and we don't know what they're going to turn out to be.”

“All the parenting tools and techniques out there are just tools. It's the relationship that matters.”

“The Family Court system needs to shift focus away from litigation and toward the children and their developmental, psychological, and emotional needs.”

- Cathy Himlin

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How can we prepare our children to be impactful citizens? Listen in and find out why it is important to start young.

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As parents we’re not only raising children we are raising future citizens. My guest today, a professor in Political Science, shares why it is up to us to do so and shares some actionable steps to guide us along. 

• How to start having informative political conversations early on 

• Simple strategies for introducing politics at home

• How to nurture critical thinking with our children

• The importance of creating a supportive civic environment

• Why Lindsey felt the need to write “Raising Citizen”

“Parenting is trying to do a little bit better than our parents did for us.”

“Politics is going to happen to us whether we like it or not so it's better if we understand the process.”

“Everyone has a different version of what the good life is and how to get there.”

“Our kids don't need us to be politics or government experts, they need us to model the behavior of learning more.”

“When we're raising a citizen, we're not necessarily trying to raise a partisan.”

“Let's make sure our kids are equipped and capable of getting through the world in a better way than we are.”

- Lindsey Cormack

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Curious about the benefits of parenting at your child's pace? Listen in as my guest, Dr. Joel Warsh shares insights you won't want to miss! Click here for the show notes and extra resources. Our children’s well-being and health are among the biggest responsibilities we take on as parents.. Yet today it has become complex to navigate the does and don’ts of our health let alone that of our children. Today I’m speaking with Dr.Joel Warsh an integrative pediatrician on the importance of parenting at your child’s pace. 

• Deciphering the abundance of parenting information

• The benefits of Integrative Medicine for family health

• The rise of chronic diseases in children

• The critical role nutrition & preventive care plays in maintaining your family's health

• The impacts social media has on parental expectations

• The benefits of homeopathic remedies and other integrative medicine practices in pediatric care

“Parenting is figuring out what are the best ways to create a healthy, happy home and create healthy, happy, resilient kids.”

“The internet can make you scared about things that  you don't really have to worry that much about.”

“If we aren't mindful of what we're doing, then then our children are going to be sick and we're going to be sick.”

“Little changes make a huge difference.”

“Just because you have one symptom does not necessarily mean that you have the scary thing. Most scary things have all the basic symptoms, but the scary things have a lot more to it.”

“If you have a prescription in the first six months to a year, that increases your risk for every disease.”

“It's okay to be a little nervous, but don't be overly stressed.”

- Dr. Joel Warsh

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Do you think we should dedicate a month to celebrate families? Listen in to find out what  Anne Doherty's plan to do just that.

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Families are the backbone of our societies and they have evolved over time. Today my guest wants us to have a whole month every year to celebrate all families. 

• What the concept of Family Month is

• Understanding the impacts birth order has

• Navigating between biological and chosen families

• Integrating our personal challenges into parenting

• How early experiences affects a child’s behavior and attachment style 

• Managing sibling rivalry, especially when introducing a new sibling

• How to balance our guilt with the need for self-care and personal growth

“Parenting is like meditation. It’s an active, moving meditation where you’re focused on the children, the family, and it’s all outside of you.”

“Being human means that you’re part of the family. ”

“Doing something positive is good.”

“Many people want their children to fill a need that they never had filled when they were little.”

“Respect means that you acknowledge them for who they are. You respect their boundaries, and respect your own boundaries.”

“If you keep expecting it to change, you’re never going to be happy.”

“It’s hard to have compassion for yourself until you have compassion for others.”

- Anne Doherty

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How can you teach your child to be financially smart? Listen in as my guest, Anthony Delauney, shares his essential advice.

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You would not necessarily think of financial literacy as something a child should know, yet my guest today shares the importance of learning about finances early so we can have money smart children.

• How Anthony's extensive knowledge in financial planning has influenced his parenting

• Introducing financial concepts to children in an engaging and age-appropriate manner

• The do’s and don'ts of implementing allowances

• Developing healthy financial habits early on

• Making the complexity of financial literacy simple

• The impact emotions have on financial decisions

“Parenting is trying to get a sense of how best we can relate to our children.”

“It's hard enough to figure out your own situation, but when you start to incorporate a spouse and children into the mix, it makes the planning process a lot more fun, but also a lot more complex.”

“You can have two children and you can raise them the exact same way and they can become totally different individuals.”

“When children receive the money,  it's very important that they maintain some sense of ownership in terms of how it's distributed.”

“Fear of judgment is the number one thing that prevents people from achieving success.”

“The best part about being a child is you can fail in a safe environment.”

“When a child does fail, we want to give them the opportunity to do it, but we need to be extremely mindful of how we react to their failure.”

“Emotion and money do not go well together.”

“Do not introduce certain concepts that your children may not be emotionally prepared to absorb  or relate to.”

“As a parent, make sure that you're mindful of how you react.”

“It's not so much what we tell our children. It's what we show them.”

- Anthony Delauney

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