Parents of the Year

When your kids are little, they're sort of a captive audience in terms of hanging out and doing things with you. For us, our summers for the past few years have been spent at our lake from the minute school ends, until we have to be back in town at the beginning of the next school year.  As kids get older, their interest in doing the same things with just their family might start to wain a bi...

In this week’s episode of Parents of the Year, Andrew and Caroline kick off their summer success series with a topic that resonates with parents everywhere: the pressure to constantly keep our kids busy with academics and activities. This generation of parents is the most stressed out of all the previous generations because of this pressure.  But what if we told you there's another way? Join...

In this thought-provoking episode of Parents of the Year, we delve deep into the complex dynamics of sibling relationships and explore the concept that "fair" doesn't always equate to "equal" Join us as we navigate the intricacies of sibling relationships. We know that "equal" isn't the best approach when it comes to dividing resources, responsibilities, and...

In this week's episode, we dive deep into our vast, and unquestionably correct knowledge (yeah, right) as parents to provide our take on advice all new parents need to know. When it comes to having kids, there is nothing that can truly prepare you for your life A.B. (After Baby) quite like experience can. Since you can't gain experience unless you have kids, we thought it would be nice t...

Nobody likes being put in the position of being the "bad guy" when it comes to parenting. It's those moments when we unintentionally make our partner feel like the villain, leaving us all feeling tangled in a web of emotions.  It is important to manage those tricky situations effectively, mastering the art of making judgment calls when caught off guard by our kids, creating a safe s...

The pressure on kids these days is so much more than what we parents had to deal with when we were young. From cell phones to drinking to just making the right decisions without parents there to guide them, it's important to help kids deal with peer pressure in whatever form it takes.  In this episode, we talk about how important it is to be PROACTIVE in building up your kid's ability to...

Get ready for a hilarious and eye-opening episode of Parents of the Year! The whole BuzStew family - Andrew, Caroline, and their two daughters - is in the house, and things are about to get wild.  While the episode was originally planned to poke fun at Caroline's outdated knowledge of current trends, it takes an unexpected turn when the girls expose Andrew's biggest parenting fail. But f...

Hold onto your hats, folks, because this podcast episode is a wild ride from start to finish! Join us as we delve into everything from Jam Thumbprint cookies to the intricacies of divorce settlements before we finally land on a topic that really gets us thinking: how important is it to teach our kids about the value of hard work and perseverance in a world where social media influencers seem to ac...

 In this week's podcast, Andrew and Caroline talk about the hard topic of bullying.  While they can share strategies on how to build your child's confidence, resources, and skills (which they do), Caroline also stresses the need to focus on the larger systems to better support students in the first place.  Bullying is a serious issue that affects many children, and as a parent, it's...

In this week's episode, Andrew presents a question taken from his and Caroline's own childhood, about helping kids to not be invisible.  Everyone at some point in their life feels like they're ignored or not seen, and for those kids that tend to be more quiet and easygoing, being invisible tends to happen a lot more frequently than they'd like.  Knowing what it was like when th...

This week's episode poses a very thought-provoking question to Andrew, about whether parents should teach their kids parenting skills. When we had kids, there was no manual for how to do it. Sure, there were countless books out there preaching all sorts of different approaches to parenting. None of which offered the skills parents need to manage everything the world throws at them, and someti...

In this week's episode, Andrew quizzes Caroline about what parents can do to help raise emotionally healthy and well-balanced kids.  Parents modeling positive behaviour is a critical component, as are strong communication skills and finding opportunities to challenge your kids to take on situations that offer them the chance to learn and apply new skills. BUT they're not the only thing. ...

As parents, we all want our children to be safe. But, should we tell them that the world is a dangerous place? It’s a question that many parents grapple with, and the answer is not always clear-cut. Our words are very influential and while we may be meaning well in talking about safety, we could unwittingly instill unnecessary fear. In this episode, Andrew and Caroline discuss how we can teach kid...

In today’s episode, Andrew and Caroline discuss concerns about the secret sugar-eating habits one of their girls’ engages in. They discuss how tricky it can be to get our children to make the right food choices while avoiding shaming and developing negative relationships with food.  Healthy eating habits are crucial for children's overall health, development, mental health, well-being, and op...

In today's episode, Andrew and Caroline discuss whether parents should debrief the day before bedtime.  While there are certainly some benefits, like giving parents quality time to connect with their kids, there are definitely drawbacks, like creating more stress for everyone that can disrupt our sleep quality.  Be sure to listen in to consider the pros and cons of debriefing the day before b...

Caroline starts this episode by trying to kill Andrew with chili chocolate disguised as a loving gift.  After his brush with death, Andrew admits that he's completely unprepared for today's episode but dives into a conversation about how we as parents are depriving kids of the opportunity to learn through experience.  As part of the last unsupervised generation, it's strange to see...

In today's episode, Caroline forgot to change the mic settings so only she can be clearly heard.  And, once again, Caroline takes the conversation sideways as she debriefs about her earlier conversation with one of her kids' teachers. Nonetheless, the conversation ends up getting to key takeaways we can think about as we support our children and teens on the academic journey. At the end...

This week's episode is different in that instead of discussing a single topic, Andrew gets Caroline's initial reactions to 13 suggested "best parenting" tips from an Inc.com article.  There is a lot of "advice" out in the world, and it's important that parents don't get into the habit of taking it at face value. By going through each topic, we break down wha...

As a lot of our discussions go, today's question wasn't the one that Caroline planned on asking, but the question she did ask took us down an important path of discussing how to turn those moments that might be uncomfortable for us as parents into an opportunity to teach our children to be a critical thinker. Critical thinking is important for understanding the world, including themselve...

In this episode, Caroline and Andrew discuss things they've learned over the years and what they would do differently if they could.  While it's easy to look back with regret, this week's episode is more about what learnings you can take from earlier in your life as a parent and apply at any stage.  Rather than focusing on what-ifs and whys, this discussion provided an opportunity t...

Today Caroline asks Andrew about who the most amazing parents are and why. A question neither of them could answer. Because parenting is hard and no one is perfect at it. Nor should anyone be. Even parenting experts make mistakes and have their areas of challenge.  And, what lesson are we teaching our kids if we are perfect at anything – we all need to continue learning for our own sake, as well a...

Today’s episode took a bit of a sideways turn and went into the realm of religion. Although Caroline was nervous about posting this episode, it is an important topic to consider. Although Andrew and Caroline are not religious themselves, they do see the benefits of spiritual values including the importance of community, our own humanity, and striving towards being our best Religious commitment and...

We are a few weeks into January now, and many people debate whether to make New Year's resolutions. In today’s episode, Andrew raises the question of whether we should do resolutions with our children.  January is typically a great time to celebrate a new beginning for everyone of all ages – as long as we set ourselves up for success. And this is especially true for children.   Although neith...

In this week's episode, Caroline and Andy continue to recast to reset for a positive 2023. Today the focus is on addressing the kind of relationship you have with your kids and how that lines up with the types of relationships you actually want to have with them. Understanding that gap is critical so you can start working towards filling that gap, bit by bit, a little each day. Every parent v...

Happy New Year! Andrew and Caroline decided to recast their very first episode of Parents of the Year to help parents re-examine their philosophy and values as a parent.  There is no one way to parent. Although so many of us fly by the seats of our pants when it comes to parenting, it can be really helpful to develop your own parenting philosophy, or set of guiding principles, that you follow as a...