Reflective Parenting Podcast

Send us Fan Mail This past week, we hit the 1-year mark for the pandemic. It has been a long and difficult year for many parents. Many are exhausted and overwhelmed with having to balance so much every single day without getting a break. This level of stress for prolonged periods of time can lead to burnout. This is a relatively new topic in the field of parenting. In today’s episode, I chat with...

Send us Fan Mail Our automatic response to our child acting out or having a tantrum might be to yell. Then, we fall into a cycle of guilt and tell ourselves that we won’t do it again. Hello spilled milk and cue yelling! Sound familiar?  There are ways to work on ourselves to help regulate our own emotions and according to research, regulating ourselves is one of the best ways to help our children...

Send us Fan Mail If we want to learn more about people we share this planet with, we need to start listening to each other. Whether it is mental health or Autism, our journey to reduce stigma around these starts by listening to those who are living with these conditions. I wanted to interview an Autism person for the topic of neurodiversity so that we could begin to listen and learn. What is neuro...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered, “How do I know if I am providing secure attachment?”.  This episode is for you if you have ever asked yourself, “Why does my child cry when I leave?” or “Am I giving her too much attention?”. Does this mean you do not have a good attachment?  Dr. Tina Payne Bryson and I dig deep into this topic and dispel the misconceptions of attachment. We also highlight...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode we discuss the connection between our brain and our gut. Have you ever had a “gut feeling” or butterflies in your stomach? Ever had an upset stomach when you were nervous? There really is a connection between our gut and our brain. In this episode we discuss whether probiotics are helpful to boost our gut health, how our microbiota is formed as infants, the link...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Suzanne King, a scientific researcher from McGill University in Montreal. We discussed stress during pregnancy. Given the pandemic, many expecting moms might be going through lots of stress. Although it might be worrisome to think of what this stress can lead to, the take-home message of this episode is that we need to lo...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I chat with Jen about homeschooling. Many of us have been homeschooling our children because of Covid. We might have the idea that homeschooling means sitting at a desk for hours and hours on end. We might feel that a child doesn’t socialize enough if they are homeschooling. Jen and I chat about some of these misconceptions around homeschooling and we dive into...

Send us Fan Mail (missing intro from previous version has been added!) When we think of disciplining our children, we often think of punishing them for their bad behavior. However, this doesn't teach our child what to do when they are frustrated or which behaviour is appropriate when they are mad. My guest today, Yehudis Smith (Author of Rethinking Discipline) teaches us about conscious paren...

Send us Fan Mail Fathers play an important role in a child’s development. Some are similar to a mother’s such that research shows that when a father is sensitive to their child’s needs, it helps a child build their emotional skills and even helps them with academics later on. The roles are different such that when a father plays in a more risky way with their child. it helps build their confidence...

Send us Fan Mail Boundaries (also called limits or rules) are more important than we might think. They give children a sense of security, even if might think so given that they love to push boundaries! In today’s episode, I chat with Jess, a therapist and founder of Our Mama Village. She provides examples of boundaries, how to set them, reinforce them and how to control our own emotions when bound...

Send us Fan Mail Is your child about to start Kindergarten? Have you ever wondered if they are ready to begin school? Which skills do they need to succeed not only in Kindergarten, but throughout their academic life? This week’s guest is Rebecca Weiner. She is an educational consultant and specializes in play-based learning. Rebecca and I discuss important brain skills that have been suggested, ac...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we are talking about motor milestones in babies! Why is tummy time important? Why is it important for a baby not to skip crawling? What are some head-shape abnormalities? When should a baby start turning, crawling, or walking? What is W-sitting? Visit us at curiousneuron.com for more info about child development and learning! Join us on Instagram @curious_neuro...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we talk about play!  There are so many opportunities for play with items around our home and Emma from @play_ at_home_ mummy has an Instagram account that beautifully illustrates this. We chat about setting up a playroom, different types of play, what to do when siblings argue, sensory bins, risky play, development, and more! Support the show More ways to becom...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I chat with Jenny and Carrie about their advice to new parents. We talk about the importance of a stimulating environment, which doesn’t mean having a lot around your baby, but rather being present, getting down on the floor with them during tummy time, and having zero screen time. We might not realize the importance of tummy time, skin-to-skin and the environm...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we discuss childhood anxiety. How do we differentiate between worry and symptoms of anxiety in a child? Symptoms of childhood anxiety can often manifest as challenging behavior or tantrums in young children. Dr. Yee explains the importance of providing children with a safe space to talk and express their emotions. Given that most of us are experiencing some level...

Send us Fan Mail When we hear the term “positive reinforcement” we might get an image of giving a child candy or chocolate to get them to do what we want them to. However, in this episode, Courtney, a behavior analyst, explains that there is a lot more to it. She explains that praise and positive reinforcement are not the same. She describes how we need to assess our child’s behavior and determine...

Send us Fan Mail As parents, we can feel triggered by our baby crying for long periods of time, by our toddler acting out or by our 5-year-old ignoring us. We can’t control if and when a trigger will happen, but we can control how we react to triggers. My conversation with Bryana, Director of South Bay Mommy and me, is all about how we regulate ourselves. We discuss what you can do to learn more a...

Send us Fan Mail In episode 5, we focused on understanding when it might be the right time to have your child evaluated for ADHD. In this episode, we focus on "after the diagnosis". How can a child better manage their symptoms in the classroom, at home during homework and with friends? Also, we discuss various treatments and hoe ADHD symptoms can be similar to learning disorders and anxi...

Send us Fan Mail Part 1: Please note that this episode on ADHD has 2 parts. In today's episode, I discuss ADHD with my guest, Dr. Audrey Benoit. Is your child showing signs of ADHD or do they simply struggle with inattention? What are some signs that you should get evaluated? Can children with ADHD be misdiagnosed? What are some aids provided in the classroom? Lastly, we discuss medications f...

Send us Fan Mail If your child struggles with playing on their own, this episode will guide you on how to teach them this skill. Thank you to Jacinth, a parenting coach from Singapore and the founder of https://ourlittleplaynest.com/ and @ourlittleplaynest on Instagram for chatting with me! Support the show More ways to become a Reflective Parent with Curious Neuron: Join our NEW book club for onl...

Send us Fan Mail Can learning more than 1 language cause delays in a baby's first words? Will raising a bilingual child help them when they start school? What are some myths around bilingualism? In today’s episode, we will chat with a speech-language pathologist to learn more about bilingualism in babies. Support the show More ways to become a Reflective Parent with Curious Neuron: Join our N...

Send us Fan Mail According to science, what are some strategies we can implement when it comes to helping our children learn to control their emotions (emotion regulation) and minimize their emotional outbursts/tantrums? Follow us on Instagram to see next week's post about a calming corner or visit our website (podcast page) to get full details.  Support the show More ways to become a Reflect...

Send us Fan Mail Why is it important (according to science) to minimize screen time in children under the age of 5 and what can we do to replace screen time? In this episode, Dr. Kennedy and I chat about screen time and brain development in young children and I talk to the mother of a 2 1/2-year-old who completely stopped all screen time for one week. For links and more info visit the podcast page...

Send us Fan Mail The Curious Neuron podcast is an extension of our website. We provide science-backed information related to child development and education.  Support the show More ways to become a Reflective Parent with Curious Neuron: Join our NEW book club for only $9.99! https://reflectiveparentclub.circle.so/checkout/reflective-parenting-podcast-book-club Learn about the next books we will be...