Proactive Parenting with Deanna Marie Mason PhD

Today’s topic has become a common theme in recent decades, but it’s helpful to talk about what the scientific literature is showing so we can make good choices for our families. Globally, we continue to see a rise in overweight and obese children. This information is pretty well known, but, for me, the interesting part is that children generally grew in a healthy manner, meaning their height and w...

I’m going to touch on a hot-button issue today that I know is very controversial - vaccines. Before I start, I want to clarify my position as an educator to avoid anyone reading anything into what I want to say about vaccines. As most of my listeners know, I base all my podcasts, books, workshops, programs, and courses on current research, best practice policies by leading health organizations suc...

Today’s topic is for parents of children of every age. We are going to be talking about the exciting and controversial world of highly processed foods. Why we have them, what they are made out of, and what they do in the human body compared to unprocessed foods. So whether you have a 6 month old who you want to introduce their first solid foods, or if you’re tackling the issues of a toddler who is...

In my time working with parents, a lot of parents have asked if their child is getting enough exercise.  It’s a real and honest question in today’s busy life. Everyone knows exercise is great for weight management, strong bones and muscles, good posture, and heart health. Everyone also knows that exercise is good for our bodies and minds. However, it can be hard to carve out time for exercise, esp...

Sadly, marketing to children is not limited to just toys or activities anymore. Food manufactures have made children the target of heavy media advertising for nefarious foods. More than half of the foods that are advertised on television to children do not meet government nutritional guidelines.  In an age where most western societies are battling to change the trend in overweight and obese childr...

While reading my scientific journals, I came across some interesting findings published in the MMWR by physician Bryan Stierman and colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital who used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for patients aged 19 years and younger. Their review of the data found that approximately 1/3 of children and teens are taking dietary supplements. The stu...

Many of the parents I work with wonder how much sleep their child needs. And, simple said - it depends. But it’s easy to find the answer by considering a few important questions:  The first is, “Does my child receive enough sleep, rest and relaxation so he or she can learn, grow, participate and complete daily activities without becoming tired?”  The next is, “Does my child have a physical space,...

I think one of the most difficult things we do to ourselves as parents is to make ourselves appear happy on the outside when we really feel stressed on the inside. The amount of energy it takes to put on a show of happiness is tremendous. Especially when we are already busy working on trying to solve what is making us feel stressed. The extra effort to appear happy taxes our system even more.  Mod...

Today’s topic is a hot one because it deals with video game addiction. Gaming is a big part of a lot of people’s lives and can be a wonderful source of entertainment. However, as with most things, too much of anything usually isn’t that good for us. So today we are going to look at new information about how gaming can become problematic for some children and teens. It’s important that parents know...

Today’s topic is a sad and difficult issue to talk about, but because infant deaths related to suffocation continue to happen, I think it’s important that we discuss why it happens and what can be done to protect against it.  Infant death related to accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed appears to be on the rise. In 1992, pediatric health organizations recommended that infants be placed o...

Okay, so today’s topic, spanking, may be a sensitive one for you based on your beliefs and ideas about parenting. Believe me, you’re not alone. Whether you are on the side of spanking or not, about 20% of parents admit to using physical punishment such as spanking or swatting as part of disciplining their children. Let me clarify, this is the percentage of parents who admit doing it. From what I s...

Today’s episode stems from a question I received from a listener. A first-time mom of a 4-month-old infant asked me if I knew any science-based tips to help them manage air travel with an infant. She said she had traveled often for work and was frequently surprised that parents couldn’t seem to control their infants on flights. Now that she was a mother, she better understood that no one can contr...

Have you ever wondered if there is an easy way to boost your child’s brainpower and make him or her smarter? Luckily, the research shows that one simple, practically free, activity can help your child use his or her brain more effectively.  Most parents know that reading to children can have an important affect on how early kiddos learn to read independently and how well they perform in school. Re...

A great thing about our kiddos getting older is that our children become exposed to many different ways of being a family. At school they mix with children from other backgrounds, other types of families, and learn that there are many different ways of being a family. This makes them tolerant, accepting, and more open, which are fabulous traits for their futures. Yet, many times our children may s...

It seems today that we are constantly consuming media messaging that is meant to make us feel like we are somehow behind or lacking what others have. This phenomenon has not skipped parenting. There are parenting influencers showing us an edited, stylized version of what their families are like. Please know I am not judging what other do or how they make a living. What I am pointing out is that it...

Today we’re going to talk about getting little ones to eat, but not too much, and the right things. There are so many theories about how to get our kiddos to eat veggies, fruits, fish, beans, but the answer to how to get kids to eat healthy foods is really naturally built into them. All we have to do as parents is to let the natural process do it’s thing. And what is that natural process? Simply p...

Today’s topic is a hot-button one and I know I am going to get a lot of feedback from listeners. Yet, the research and scientific evidence is imploring me to cover this topic again because it is really important to your child’s health and well-being. Yep, I’m talking about the importance of free play  Just about every parent I have worked with for the last 10 years has had a love-hate relationship...

Recently, while reading my pediatric professional journals, I came across an interesting article. The article was about helping parents understand food trends and decipher food labels to make truly healthy choices for their toddlers. While the paper was focused on very young children, the information they shared is really applicable to children and teens of all ages. For this reason, I thought I w...

Today I want to talk about that sweetest of age, the early school age years. Depending on where you are listening from, school may start for your little one at age 3, as in Western Europe, or age 5-6, as is common in the Americas. Regardless of where and when your kidlet is attending school, you can take advantage of the power of routines to help at home and at school.  These years of early educat...

It’s hard to be a parent these days. There seems to be so much information out there in formats that are easily accessible, but try to remember that all the information you may see or read online is not what it appears to be. As a community, we need to start looking at what is happening and how we can help our kiddos thrive.  Being self-compassionate is a big part of being a parent who raises happ...

Everyone knows that social media is highly edited. Only the best photos make the cut and normally only positive status updates are shared. Displaying overly-perfect images alerts people that it’s just too good to be true. This can cause feelings of distrust, envy or aggression if people feel you are creating separation, which is the opposite of what we should be doing with social media. We should...

This episode concentrates on how families can use traditions to strengthen family bonds while communicating values to children. Traditions, both the big ones as well as the day-to-day ones, teach our children about what family looks and behaves like. Both types are useful because they mark different times circuits. Holiday traditions mark the calendar year while day-to-day traditions create a rout...

Most parents are familiar with spending a lot of time and money searching for gifts that after being unwrapped and briefly explored, end up in the back of a closet, tucked into a toy box, or simply discarded.  Most of the highly advertised, “top toys,” or “must have gifts” are  just marketing successes sold to children and parents rather than meeting anyone’s real desires or needs.  It's hard...

When we talk about new parents, there is a tendency to focus on the moms and babies. Dads often get dismissed or pushed to the sidelines. But today, dads are more involved with their children than in previous generations.  New research is showing that dads do better psychologically and are more confident in their role function if they get involved right away, during the first year of their baby’s...

In this episode, we explore the data and research being conducted on when solid foods should be introduced to infants as well as how and when foods are introduced influence food allergy development. The information  covered draws heavily from the American Academy of Pediatrics and  Centers for Disease Control as well as the European Paediatric Association.  Additionally, discussion of two new rese...