Parents of the Year

In this week's episode, Andrew and Caroline continue their talk about making the most of the holidays while staying happy and healthy during far too cold weather. If you missed it last week, be sure to check out this guide to help you make the most of your holidays: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/holidayguide/ Caroline also mentions her other podcast, Overpowering Emotions, in which she talks...

In this week's episode, Caroline and Andrew discuss how to make the most of the holidays while setting realistic family expectations, managing gift-giving, and setting up traditions. From their own experience, they discuss how they struggled with managing holiday expectations and the need to establish new ones that put the kids first. They also touch on the importance of establishing traditio...

People fight. Conflict is a normal part of any relationship. Even with the people we love the most. And especially the people we live with. We fight about little things like clearing the counter when we’re done making a sandwich to big things like who’s spending what money.  While normal, is it ok for kids to see their parents fight? Yes, fighting can be stressful for kids at any time. However, it...

This week's episode is a very free-form discussion about confrontation and how to teach kids to safely stand up for themselves and others. Especially when interacting with adults. The balance between doing good and staying safe is a tough thing to manage at times. Nonetheless, it is important for kids to understand when and how to stand up for what they think is right.  Based on a recent enco...

Poor sleep is common in the perinatal population (i.e., new- and soon-to-be-moms), which can lead to insomnia.  Chronic insomnia is extremely problematic for the mother's emotional and physical well-being, the mother-baby bonding, and the baby's social and emotional development. Worse, it can be very hard to treat and women often relapse. Unfortunately, far too many people (including our...

Get up, rush to get ready for the day, go to a full day of school, navigate friendship fires, write some tests, rush home to get ready for afterschool activities while wolfing down a bite of something – anything  - madly scramble homework in the car, get home, and fall into bed exhausted. Wake up and do it again tomorrow. While this might seem extreme so many kids have nonstop schedules. And, as t...

Caroline brings in another guest on this week's episode to help us understand a little more about the teenage brain and the effects of things like vaping on that powerful, though extremely vulnerable brain.   About Miriam: Dr. Mandel is a board-certified pediatrician. She did her internship at St Vincent’s Sisters of Charity Hospital in New York and completed her residency at Carolinas’ Medic...

To start things off the dynamic duo talk a lot about the Doctor's issues with temperature regulation, followed promptly by a quick check-in about whether she is, or is not, currently going through menopause (SPOILER ALERT! She's not) From there the topic shifts to the main discussion of whether our kids are great simply because that's who they are, or did we as parents do such a fan...

It can be a tricky, awkward subject, but we gotta talk about it.  Sex.  It's so important so that our kids can take pleasure in their bodies, love themselves without shame, and take responsibility for their sexual experiences.  Sex is not a topic we can ignore, despite how uncomfortable we or our children might feel. If we ignore it, we send all sorts of terrible shame messages.  And, to real...

Our job as parents is to protect our children as well as help guide their behaviours so they can be independent, successful adults. On the one hand, setting limits is so important to keep our kids safe, guide their behaviour, and teach self-discipline. On the other hand, restrictions could inhibit the things we want our kids to learn like taking responsibility, being accountable, and making smart...

So much to be grateful for!   Although Caroline had a specific question she wanted to ask, the conversation was quickly derailed, as it does. And she ended up asking, "Why the heck did we have kids?" This is an important question to ask ourselves (and remind ourselves!) - especially in the thick of drudgery that can sometimes come with parenting.   Send us Fan Mail Enjoying the show? Hel...

Today the Dynamic Duo discuss the things that they are judgmental of other parents about.  Every parent is human so it's tough to expect that everyone is perfect all the time, but there are certain behaviours that are just non-starters, and when they happen what do you do about it? At what point should you cross the line and become a participant instead of a silent observer, or is there ever...

After a brief recap of celebrity deaths, and sightings the Doctor and her sidekick jump into a discussion about what life is like for a (maybe) non-ADHD spouse in a family of ADHD'ers.  The discussion covers some situations that pushed Andrew to adjust how he approaches different interactions with the kids, and how he now recognizes how much different the kids think and manage daily life.  Se...

As kids get older, begin to become more independent, and take on more obligations and responsibilities, how can parents best set them up to manage their responsibilities well? Caroline and Andrew dive into whether it's better to be a helicopter parent that guides their kids through the challenges of managing their increasingly busy lives, or whether it's better to let your kid fail to le...

As parents we want our kids to enjoy school as much as possible, but what if our kids aren't getting the full experience? What if they don't love school and aren't doing anything to get involved and make the most of it?  In this week's episode, Caroline and Andrew dive into whether parents should force their kids to be more involved when it just isn't their thing.  Growing...

All parents worry about their kids. It’s inevitable.  In today’s episode, Andrew and Caroline talk about what they worry about their kids going back to school. Although Caroline initially stated she wasn’t worried about anything, upon further reflection she admitted that she did, in fact, have one worry.  What do you worry most about your kids going back to school? It’s important to acknowledge th...

With back to school just around the corner, the Doctor and her sidekick start things off by clearing up that it's the kids and not Andrew that are going back to school.  From there they dig into more important topics like who sleeps in until when, why Andrew stayed up too late, and what Caroline thought of the movie The Nice Guys.  For those that have stuck around to this point, they finally...

Teaching our kids new skills can be fun for all, but what happens when your kid doesn't want to learn that new thing, even though you think they should?  In this week's episode, Caroline and Andrew use a recent situation with one of their own children in this very situation. We talk about how we make it more about learning something new that might be fun, as opposed to getting locked int...

In this episode, we dive into the Pursuit of Happiness as parents and how we address this in our lives and our kids' lives.  The continual pursuit of being happy based on the wrong drivers is an endless pursuit and one that leaves us more unsatisfied in the end. Looking at those same drivers or motivators in regards to our kids' happiness and recognizing opportunities to be happy, we get...

How do we give corrective feedback so our kids will listen? As a parent, we are given the responsibility to protect our children and ensure we meet their needs. But, an equally important responsibility is to guide our children’s behaviour and help them learn from their behaviours. To do so, we need to offer corrective feedback.  Unfortunately, some children either anxiously and shamefully nod and...

We all know we need to take care of ourselves first before we can be effective parents. We always hear the analogy of how we need to put our oxygen masks on first in an emergency on an airplane before we put on our kids. And yet, so many parents don’t.  How come? Well, some believe it’s self-indulging or selfish. Some blame lack of energy. Or time. Time is a big one – we’re too busy taking care of...

As our eldest child enters her teenage years, we discuss the best way to handle the inevitable transition from full-time family member to independent human with her own interests and time away from us.  The importance of creating a safe space for our kids and our friends is a key piece of the discussion, as well as finding the balance between the freedom to go out on their own and staying home ins...

In this week's episode, the Doctor and Whatshisface discuss their summer so far, and focus on how to make the most of the time remaining before the rush of school and sports is upon us. Through analyzing the things we have and have not done so far this summer, it becomes apparent that, to make the most of what's left of summer, being proactive in making a plan and sticking to it offers t...

Accountability - a recurring theme on the podcast becomes the focal point of the entire episode this week. Caroline and Andrew dive into the question around when a kid should take accountability and when they should stand up for themselves. It's a balance that everyone should know, but it's an important discussion to have with kids so they know when to take ownership of their mistakes, a...

As a psychologist working with families, Caroline sees many parents get upset when their kids act rude, disrespectful, unappreciative, and even downright mean. Parents always comment, “I would never even dream of saying that to my parent when I was a kid!” and are left feeling angry, hurt, and unsure of what to do.  Unfortunately, we have created a culture of disrespect over the years and we have...