Reflective Parenting Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Please Note: Today's podcast covers childhood trauma that may be difficult for some listeners. For today's episode, we are joined by Claudia Belliveau, a Ph. D. candidate, and researcher at McGill University in Montreal. She is conducting research on the physical changes to the brain after it has undergone trauma. We will discuss the observations that Ms. Belliveau has d...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Monday friends! In today's episode, I am offering you my best advice to help you manage your child's difficult behaviours. Whether it is hitting, biting, screaming, tantrums etc, my "Zoom out before zooming in" method will help you out!" Tune in to learn how you can apply this method to all behaviours and offer your child the right tools. To get a vi...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, Dr. Mark Sabbagh joins us to discuss the Theory of Mind. He breaks down the Theory of Mind for parents and how we can see it develop within younger children. Dr. Sabbagh explains false beliefs and how our children's minds develop an understanding of others' beliefs and feelings. We also discuss dopamine levels, executive functioning, and neurodiv...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Monday! Let's try something new today. Cindy unedited. I am not adding an intro song, not editing anything I say, and just chatting with you. In today's episode, I wanted to share my mental health journey after I stopped breastfeeding. I shared it on Instagram a year ago (@curious_neuron) but I wanted to share it with all of you.  If you are about to stop nursing o...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, Dr. Nicole Beurkens joins us to chat about our children's nutrition and how it can influence their behavior. She reminds us about the importance of balance. We might worry about what our children will eat when they are at their grandparent's house but she reminds us that we need to take a broad perspective. She offers advice to help us assess our...

Send us Fan Mail Does your child have meltdowns or struggles with getting dressed? Are they picky eaters or does their behavior change when they had too much screen time? In today's episode, we are talking with Laura Petix, an occupational therapist that specializes in sensory sensitivity. She describes what some of these sensitivities look like, how to seek help and how to support your child...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, we speak with neuroscientist Dr. Jodi Pawluski and chat about parental changes in the brain. Society uses the term "mom brain" to signify negative aspects of brain functioning, however, you will be surprised at which changes happen to a mom's brain and why they happen.  Do these changes also happen in dads, same-sex couples, or couples that...

Send us Fan Mail Marion and Cindy are back and chatting about toys and play again!  What does play look like in their homes? What do they bring with them during long car rides and at the doctor's office to keep their 3 kids busy? Which toys and apps do they recommend (you might be surprised at their answers). Lastly, are singing and flashing toys really educational, and do they support sensor...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we are giving you TONS of tips to help you teach your child how to manage their emotions. Get ready to take some notes and to listen to this episode more than once! Dr. Tina Montreuil, psychologist and McGill University professor discusses her research around emotion regulation skills in children. We discuss the importance of regulating yourself first (as well...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I chat with Emmanuel, the founder of the Bronch Club and a dad of 2. He shares with us the trauma from his past and how this was having an impact on his life as a husband and a father. He discusses the importance of therapy and of creating a safe space where men can be vulnerable and open up about their experiences. “By creating a safe space for men to be vulne...

Send us Fan Mail Social skills take time to develop and children need our guidance. In today’s episode, Dr. Cara Goodwin explains how a child develops social skills as well as what to look for in children who might have social anxiety. Dr. Goodwin also explains shyness and offers us tips to help our children if they are shy. We discuss the opposite case when a child isn’t shy at all and is very ou...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we chat with Ashleigh, a new mom that struggled with connecting with her baby. She walks us through her difficult pregnancy and sheds light on how we can support our partners and our friends after they had a baby. Please note that this episode may have some triggers for parents that experienced a difficult pregnancy or who struggled with bonding with their baby...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we discuss how to see, guide and trust our child with Mr. Chazz , an educator, and parent coach. We begin our conversation by discussing spanking and how we could be more mindful of these generational cycles. We then get into a beautiful conversation about behavior and discipline. What does it mean to discipline? How should we discipline a child that is hitting...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, we chat with 2 moms who experienced trauma during pregnancy and during delivery. This is a new series we are launching called "Am I the only one?". Please note that this episode might be a trigger. Katherine opens up about her emergency c-section when her epidural was no longer effective and Christine talks about her serious health issues during...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we chat with actor, director, producer, father, and author of Man Enough to discuss masculinity and fatherhood. We need to make it ok for our boys to express emotions and to be vulnerable. This starts with us, in our home. We need to do the work so that dads can express themselves and feel that they are man enough. Join the conversation and comment on our websi...

Send us Fan Mail Your child doesn't need all the best "educational toys" for their development and wellbeing. In fact, in this episode, we argue that you, the parent, are the best educational toy. Being present with our babies and responding to them when they coo or babble. Going for walks with our newborns and stimulating their senses. Teaching them about the world they live in. Ho...

Send us Fan Mail What questions should I ask myself to raise a more conscious human being? What if a family member is teaching my child values that I don't agree with? My child is older, is it too late to start having such conversations? What if the conversation is uncomfortable to me? What are the gender stereotypes in my home? Where is the line between pushing an agenda and raising an open-...

Send us Fan Mail Does anybody have an inner voice? What to do when your inner voice becomes a source of anxiety, rumination, and negativity? What strategies can we use to calm the negative inner chatter when we are in distress?  How does a child's inner voice develop, and how can parents help them to develop a positive inner voice? Join us as we chat about inner voice, chatter, and self-regul...

Send us Fan Mail What are executive functions skills, and how can parents support their child's executive skills development? How to identify a problem in your child's executive skills development? How can you help them overcome challenging skills if they are struggling? How can parent's own challenges with executive functions affect their child? Does becoming a parent affect your e...

Send us Fan Mail How do we teach body safety and consent to young children? How soon should we start? How to find the balance between teaching socially expected physical interactions while respecting the child's right to consent? How do we talk about private parts? What are the best terms to use? How to decide who is part of the safety network in which a child can trust to tell if abuse happe...

Send us Fan Mail Have you asked yourself how you are doing today? Have your doctor asked about your mental health during your baby check-ups? How do you know if your mood is being affected by the pregnancy/postpartum hormone changes, or if what you're feeling are symptoms of depression or anxiety? Can dads have postpartum depression? How does self-care look like as a new parent? Join us as we...

Send us Fan Mail What does "eat well" during pregnancy really mean? What is the difference between micro and macronutrients, and how to make sure my body is getting everything it needs to make sure my baby is developing well? What are the best foods, and what to avoid, according to recent research? Can I trust the conventional prenatal guidelines when it comes to nutrition? I am getting...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Marion shares what it’s like to be a neuroscientist studying developmental neuroplasticity.  She obtained her Ph. D. in Neurophysiology from McGill University and is currently a postdoc researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where she studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying developmental neuroplasticity. She studies how external factor...

Send us Fan Mail We are re-launching the Curious Neuron Podcast! New episodes every Friday! We will keep them short and sweet because we know you are short on time. We will return our focus to summarizing research focused on parenting and child development.  I have never taken the time to chat about myself and how Curious Neuron was created. Today, my new co-host, Marion Van Horn, interviews me! W...

Send us Fan Mail Which type of parenting do you follow? Positive parenting, conscious parenting, attachment parenting, authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting...is your head spinning yet? There are many types of parenting described on social media but what do they mean? Are they backed by science? Which one should we be following? Join us as we chat with the psychologists behind Helping F...