The Mom Hour

Helping kids navigate friendships and social dynamics is one of the most commonly-requested topics from our listeners. That’s why we’re so thrilled to welcome Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, an author, psychologist, and expert on children’s friendships, to this special episode of The Mom Hour Voices series.

Sarah asks Dr. Eileen about helping kids who feel left out a school, how to handle the emotional ups and downs of elementary school friendships, and why playdates are so much more important than we might think. Dr. Eileen also talks about the new book she co-authored, Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide To Making And Keeping Friends, and even answers questions submitted by our listener community. Enjoy!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Dr. Eileen’s website
• Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends 
• The Growing Friendships blog on Psychology Today
• When Your Child Says, “Nobody Likes Me!” (Growing Friendships blog, Psychology Today)
• Can You Be Too Supportive of Your Child’s Negative Feelings? (Growing Friendships blog, Psychology Today)
• Dr. Friendtastic, Dr. Eileen’s site geared toward kids

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

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Closely spaced babies, tips on room-sharing, helping siblings get along, and dealing with super-shy toddlers. These are the topics we cover in this week’s episode–all of which are inspired by listeners’ real lives and kids. Join us as we hear from YOU and then offer our advice (which is as usual, mostly “hang in there…it gets better…that’s totally normal…you’re doing great”). Enjoy!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Facebook thread about closely spaced babies

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sarah’s the Type-A, detailed one; Meagan’s the free spirit who’s super laid-back. Right? Or is there more? In Episode 121 we share the ways in which we break type from our typical molds–go figure! we’re not two-dimensional!–and challenge the idea that any one mom is either totally chill or totally stressed. Join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• CTFD? Dear Parents: it’s OK to care. (Meagan on The Happiest Home)
• Sometimes It’s OK To Be A Control Freak (Meagan on The Happiest Home)

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How much do we pay our babysitters? (Yes, we get real about numbers.) Do we expect sitters to do the dishes? (One of us gets super weird about this.) And what’s the best way to get the potentially awkward conversations out of the way and start building great relationships with the people caring for your kids? (Early, often, and as clearly as possible.) Join Meagan and Sarah for Part 2 in our discussion about sitters and caregivers (Part 1 aired September 12 and you can listen right here).

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Last week’s episode, Sitters & Caregivers, Part 1
• Choosing The Right School (Not As Scary As It Seems) (which may be helpful for those of you looking for a full-time daycare or childcare center)
• 4 tips for creating a social media policy for your babysitter, nanny, or childcare provider (Cool Mom Tech)

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’ve learned a lot from our own mistakes over the years about finding, hiring, and building relationships with non-family caregivers. In Episodes 119 and 120 we’ll go on a deep dive into this topic, starting with general tips today for finding great sitters and making sure your childcare needs are covered–even if you’re the primary parent at home. Next week we’ll get into the details of the parent-caregiver relationship–everything from how much we pay to how to communicate expectations. Check back for that episode on 9/19! PLUS Katie is back to talk with Sarah about a struggle, a success and a discovery in her life as a mom of two little ones. Join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• What Fresh Hell, Episode 24: Finding Good Babysitters
• The Founder movie on Netflix (mentioned by Katie)

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.