In our first Your Child Explained episode of the new year, listener Jennifer asks: "When my boys says, "that's for boys" or "girls can't do that," is there more I could do than simply replying "you know, girls can do everything boys can do…" The short answer: yes, there is lots more we can do to foster the gender identities of our sons and daughters. Go to weturnedoutokay.com/129 for show notes and key links from this episode! Also - are you feeling overwhelmed in your parenting? Check out the N...
Jan 05, 2017•23 min
Maybe you know the symptoms: tummy aches, excessive temper tantrums and stubbornness, crying over everything and over an extended period of time. If your child shows some of these elements, and it's freaking you out, how do you know what is wrong? And if you can figure that out – how do you help your son or daughter make it right? In this rebroadcasting of a great conversation from early in 2016, mom and educational facilitator Amy Anderson helps us answer these big, hairy questions. Click wetur...
Jan 03, 2017•1 hr 28 min
The story I tell today really happened. The year I was nine, we headed up to Montréal from our home in New England to spend the Christmas holidays with our extended family as usual. But this trip was anything except for "usual!" It took us more than 54 hours to complete the trip – which normally takes 8-hours – and included many harrowing moments as my mom tried desperately to get herself and us 3 kids safely to her once-a-year time with the family she loved and missed so much. Click weturnedout...
Dec 27, 2016•17 min
Today I'm asking the question: "what matters most… To your kids?" It's something I've been thinking about since speaking with Jonathan Fields, this past Tuesday's guest. Through his Good Life Project podcast, Jonathan has been a HUGE mentor of mine. Tuesday we found out who some of Jonathan's mentors are; one turns out to be Milton Glaser, a man who helped Jonathan realize the value of structuring your life so that you prioritize the things that matter most. What mattered most to Jonathan: time ...
Dec 22, 2016•13 min
I've been a huge fan of Jonathan Fields' Good Life Project podcast for over a year now; the guests, subject matter, and message have been instrumental in my life and We Turned Out Okay. So, when Jonathan accepted my invitation to come on my show, I did a happy dance! (I was already doing one anyway… Jonathan's book, How to Live A Good Life , came out right around the time of our conversation : ) If you're trying to figure out how to survive these next weeks – if you're feeling overwhelmed, and n...
Dec 20, 2016•59 min
I'm cranking up the mic for two reasons today: 1) listening back to episode 123, where Ninja Parenting Community member Sabrina shared her concerns about holiday overwhelm and helping her girls handle gift-giving, I wanted to create something to help you if you're facing those same problems… So, I did! Download the FREE 3 Principles of Kids and Gifts if you want help: – cutting through the gift giving insanity and overwhelm – finding solutions that work for your whole family – including you. – T...
Dec 15, 2016•32 min
Recently I did an episode called How to Help Kids Cope with Anxiety Over New Situations, episode 117 – and it got near-record downloads. In episode 117, we helped Melissa figure out how to help her kids handle new situations better – and even how to handle new situations better herself. (Episode 117 is a recording of a coaching call with a Ninja Parenting Community member – if you want to become a member of our community and get all your parenting questions answered, click here .) The amount of ...
Dec 13, 2016•36 min
Today, Ninja Parenting Community member Sabrina shares about the concerns she's having right now: how to manage her children's expectations, everyone's feelings of overwhelm – and balancing her own needs with the needs of her family. Recorded in early December, Sabrina has both a daughter's birthday coming up as well as the busy and overwhelming-in-and-of-itself holiday season. Sabrina got to have this conversation with me because she is a member of our Ninja Parenting Community. If you want my ...
Dec 08, 2016•27 min
Are you feeling overwhelmed in your parenting? Check out the Ninja Parenting Community, for expert advice about how to handle anything your kids throw at you! We've got training courses – like the Sanity With Kids course, about staying sane even while raising kids – exclusive members-only calls, vibrant forums, and lots of ways to feel better. Click here to check out the community, I hope to see you in the forums! You may know Jocelyn and Shane Sams from their entrepreneurial podcast, Flipped Li...
Dec 06, 2016•1 hr 2 min
On November 4 of this year, we heard our very first Christmas commercial, prompting my youngest and I to freak out a little bit. I mean, November 4! We're still eating Halloween candy on November 4, we're not ready to even think about Thanksgiving, never mind the crazy end-of-the-year extravaganza the holiday season is nowadays. So my question is: how are you feeling? Are you stressed out about the holidays? If so, you're going to love these next weeks of We Turned Out Okay. We've got conversati...
Nov 29, 2016•31 min
There are so many great reasons to help our kids give, no matter their age. Today we dig into not just why but how to help even very young children become "givers." For many years now, my two boys set aside just a little bit of money each month – an idea given to us by the mom of a friend of theirs. This particular mom also happens to be a midwife, and Max and Jay are helping fund her trip to Haiti, to train midwives and deliver babies, contributing nearly 200 dollars with this little bit of mon...
Nov 24, 2016•20 min
Today's guests, Annemarie Kelly-Harbaugh and Ken Harbaugh, did some pretty amazing stuff before they became parents. She helped troubled young people in a program that functioned mainly way out in the woods, he was a naval officer who flew reconnaissance missions and responded to disasters here at home and internationally. They had each encountered their fair share of storms, which helped them prepare for the challenges of parenthood. Just like all of us, Ken and Annemarie have seen some storms ...
Nov 22, 2016•57 min
When Ninja Parenting Community member Melissa shared about the anxiety that her kids can feel in new situations – as well as that she herself experiences this anxiety – I knew this was going to be a great Your Child Explained episode. Who among us has not felt anxiety in new situations? It's so easy for kids to feed off of our worries. I hope you learn lots as Melissa opens up about the toughest parts of the family's day, feeling overwhelmed, and lots more that you will totally identify with – I...
Nov 15, 2016•24 min
The gist of this show is, we take care of each other. It's going to be okay. This morning I woke up to pandemonium, with Canadian loved ones seriously offering their homes… Some of the calmest people that I know terrified and freaking out… My Facebook feed – like yours, I'm sure – filled with tears and panic. Because half the country was pro--her, and the other half of the country pro-him, we were all going to know some people who hate and fear the results of yesterday's presidential election. W...
Nov 09, 2016•33 min
What worries you about technology and your kids? Is it online predators? Cyber bullying? The idea that they'll disappear into their little devices and you'll never see them again? My guest today, Devorah Heitner, is an expert at helping us understand technology and our kids – and ourselves. Because like it or not, we are raising digital natives; we need to get this right! Devorah has appeared on the Today show, NPR, the Discovery Education Channel; she's been featured in Time magazine and Real S...
Nov 08, 2016•59 min
In the final chapter in our three-part series (click here for Part 1 about good sleep, and here for Part 2 about the antidote to anxiety), The Modern Parent's Guide to Surviving This Election Cycle, I share about how you can become as educated as possible on the candidates… Because knowledge IS power. I'll be voting a week from today – I share in this episode about why voting at all is so important to me, having only been able to vote in the last three presidential elections – and I hope you wil...
Nov 01, 2016•30 min
This past Tuesday, my conversation with mom and broadcast journalist Cheryl Tan ranged among many important topics, including how to talk to our kids about current events and tough stuff, and how to feel better about this election. (Go to weturnedoutokay.com/113 for my conversation with Cheryl.) One aspect of our talk resonated with me as a great subject to dive into in a Your Child Explained episode: a family schedule that works for everybody. Click weturnedoutokay.com/114 for notes from this e...
Oct 27, 2016•10 min
I knew I wanted to speak with a journalist regarding next month's presidential election, so I was thrilled when today's guest, veteran TV reporter/anchor Cheryl Tan, agreed to come on the show! Cheryl has appeared on CNN and Fox News, and currently hosts her own entrepreneurial TV show, Hampton Roads Business Weekly, the Standout podcast, and teaches entrepreneurs how to connect with journalists in her online community, PR Pro. Speaking with Cheryl helped me realize that "the mainstream media" –...
Oct 25, 2016•56 min
Here are the top 2 reasons to listen to today's episode: 1) With all the fear in the air right now, you might benefit from a story about becoming fearless – so, here it is! I told this hilarious and inspiring story last week, about becoming fearless while sitting in front of my mom's sewing machine as a young woman, and it took second place in the Massmouth Story Slam competition! I'm semifinals bound, and super excited : ) (My 4 1/2-minute story is, shall we say, not expletive-free … Grab some ...
Oct 20, 2016•8 min
According to this article last week at Vox.com , 55% of voters were "disgusted" with the campaign… back in September. I'm betting that that number has gone up a bit as this election has changed from PG to R-rated. And if we are that freaked out – how are our kids? When our fear and upset level goes up, so does theirs. You can make both you and your kids feel better by coming to my FREE online class: How to Parent Young Children in this Mixed-up, Crazy World I'll teach you how to: – Coach your ki...
Oct 18, 2016•41 min
I start out today by speaking a little bit more about homework for young kids and the remarks that American Academy of Pediatrics president Dr. Benard Dreyer made regarding this in episode 107 . After hearing episode 106 (the homework backlash episode), a mom got in touch with me to share about the heaps of homework her first grader receives each night, and the fact that three missed homework assignments earns this six-year-old after school detention. After school detention! For a six-year-old! ...
Oct 13, 2016•20 min
If you are nervous about the sense of unrest in the air, about the upcoming contentious election, about the threats of violence from all quarters; if you're feeling a little powerless as to how to protect your home and family in the midst of the toxic vibes, you are going to LOVE this show. Beloved children's television host Fred Rogers famously said: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are ...
Oct 11, 2016•38 min
How bad is the vague sense of fear, of atmospheric worry, in your life? Because if you feel it, you can bet that your child is getting those vibes from you (and now she's worrying, too.) It's very difficult to escape the news and mudslinging around this contentious election. That's what started me thinking about how to help you feel better during this time of year when it always seems to feel a bit more "serious" than just a few weeks ago – but this year seems amplified by an order of magnitude....
Oct 04, 2016•33 min
About episode 108: During my recent conversation with American Academy of Pediatrics president Dr. Benard Dreyer, about the key role that parents play in preventing their kids from getting something scary called toxic stress, different parenting styles came up. Today, in this Your Child Explained episode where we are always figuring out what's going on inside our kids heads, we take a closer look at the different parenting styles and what each looks like from our children's perspective. We also ...
Sep 29, 2016•27 min
Welcome! To listen to today's episode , school on down to the bottom of this post and hit the triangular "play" button. About today's episode: With the school year starting, a contentious election giving the feeling of continual hate and negativity in the air, and reports of yet another thing for parents to be worried about – toxic stress in their young children – I knew we needed some voices of reason in our lives. This conversation marks the beginning of a series of interviews I'm offering thi...
Sep 27, 2016•55 min
Do you worry that your child is getting too much homework for his or her young age? Do you stress out over the nightly fits as said homework is being accomplished? Then, you're going to love today's episode – it turns out that homework and young children do not mix, and this fall people are standing up and saying "I'm protecting my kid from the scourge of homework!" For key links and expanded show notes about how to join the revolution, click weturnedoutokay.com/106 ! This is a public episode. I...
Sep 20, 2016•20 min
Today, Ninja Parenting Community member Sabrina Rizk – the very same Sabrina from Tuesday's guest interview #104 – gets help solving a problem that plagues many parents: when your child's first reaction to something negative is to scream. When I asked Sabrina what aspect of parenting she wanted our parent-coaching call to be about, she said "I want to talk about how to get my six-year-old to have different strategies beside screaming as her first response." Young Amy struggles when her cereal bo...
Sep 15, 2016•24 min
What if your child, while perfectly capable of speech, simply can't speak in certain situations, like at preschool, school or daycare? That's the situation that Sabrina Rizk and her husband, Anthony, found themselves with their now-nine-year-old daughter Hannah was entering preschool. My conversation with Sabrina starts off in another really cool direction: we get to talk about the round-the-world trip Sabrina, her husband, and their two daughters took during the 2015 academic year! Sabrina shar...
Sep 13, 2016•48 min
When our oldest, Max, started kindergarten, he morphed from the enthusiastic, curious, good-natured boy we had known since the day he was born, and into a truly anxious child with frequent night terrors; in first grade he even sustained the loss of 20% of his body weight and was diagnosed with migraine at age 6. Do you have an anxious kid, who's worried about starting preschool or kindergarten, or a higher grade? Have you been told all about the dangers of "summer slide," the idea that it's more...
Sep 06, 2016•26 min
In today's last Summer Camp episode, we talk about how to get kids the musical and sensory experiences they need – and why they need these experiences so much. My first job out of college, I worked in the infant room of a day care center with kids age about 6 months old to about 1-year-old. Each week, the center brought in a guitarist to sing and play to the babies, and I was absolutely amazed at how they responded: no matter where they were in our room, they crawled over to the guitarist, danci...
Aug 30, 2016•18 min
