Zen Pop

We discuss the newly revised version of  “ Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill ” a book written by Lt. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGateano,  Founder and CEO of the Parent Coaching Institute. Originally published in 1999, the book is updated and includes even more indisputable research that demonstrates the affects of violence on the child and adolescent brain. We also talk about the “...

Robin Williams’ death prompts a discussion about mental illness and depression.  We play some clips from his most meaningful roles as well as some of his stand-up. Mental illness carries a stigma that makes asking for help difficult.  We support a group called NAMI (National Association of Mental Illness) and we discuss the importance of removing the stigma from mental illness.  A few other...

Sometimes we make decisions based on old patterns from childhood, even though they are unnecessary or unhelpful today. The first step toward understanding why we make certain decisions is to become more self aware and introspective. It also necessitates listening to other viewpoints and being conscious of our own defensiveness. Our children, spouse, and friends can all act as mirrors – allow...

The NFL and Comissioner Roger Goodell handed down a punishment to NFL player Ray Rice for allegedly knocking out his fiance in an Atlantic City Casino.  Some players have been suspended for 5 games for memorabilia violations, others 4 games for violating the league’s drug policy.  Ray Rice received a suspension of ….. wait for it ….. 2 games!  We discuss the inconsistencies of th...

Is there a difference between a happy life and a meaningful life?  We explore the subtle differences and why this understanding can change your life.  We discuss a blog by Jed Diamond (Founder of the health program “Men Alive”) titled  How the Science of a Meaningful Life Can Help Us Live Joyfully and Well : Happy people satisfy their wants and needs, but that seems largely irrelevant...

The topic of contraception and women’s rights can be so emotionally charged, it often leads to to yelling and judgment. But our listener, Charles, left us a respectful and informative message sharing his viewpoint. Can we disagree but still listen to each other in a respectful manner? It takes awareness and compassion, but it’s always possible. We also talk about listening with an &#82...

Have you ever heard of Kawasaki Disease?  Chris and Monisha Lozier’s daughter Mae was a healthy and happy 4 year old until she got swollen glands and a fever. They found themselves living in a hospital for the next 9 days and eventually discovered their daughter had Kawasaki Disease. This is is an immune disease in which the medium-sized blood vessels throughout the body become inflamed. It&...

We discuss a blog by Gayle Allen and Deborah Farmer Kris called  “Why It’s Important To Teach Empathy To Boys” .  They define empathy as the ability to sense other people’s emotions coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.  How does this relate to parenting?  We discuss three benefits of raising an empathetic child: It breeds courage- this will help your...

We discuss Hobby Lobby and the supreme court decision affecting contraception and women’s rights. Cathy gets all riled up, so watch out! We also remind you to put that bathing suit on and get in the pool – your children are watching you! Cathy explains what it means to be an empath, and we also answer a listener question about bossiness and bullying. At the end we have a conversation w...

We discuss Dr. Daniel Siegel’s new book titled “Brainstorm- The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain”. Dr. Siegel explains that adolescence has an ESSENCE that is often overlooked. ESSENCE stands for: ES: An Emotional Spark is revealed in the enhanced way emotion generated from sub-cortical areas washes over the cortical circuits of reasoning. The downsides are emotional storms...

Casserly had always been on the top tier soccer team only to find out from her coach that she was being moved down to the next level.  Her reaction to this gut punch might surprise you.  Casserly is going into 6th grade and graduated from our first “Be U Girls Club” in the fall of 2013. We asked Casserly and her mom Rita to share this story in an effort to remind us that children are h...

How do we introduce cell phones to our kids? It’s a big step into an adult world, and concerns such as these are common: Will they abuse it?, Will they turn into “phoneheads”?, What kind of phone is appropriate?, What are the expectations around use of the phone? A few years ago Janelle Hoffman wrote a blog about phone expectations that went viral. We used her blog as “bone...

In the second half of this 2 part interview, we continue the conversation between Aaron Krueger and Erin Kuhn-Krueger about their experience with multiple miscarriages and stillbirth. In this moving and inspiring interview they share their challenges, coping tools, and their strength and determination to become parents. This show is a must if you have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, or if yo...

Of course there are plenty of men who are not misogynists, but that doesn’t mean that women are not subjected to misognystic behavior. We have to take responsibility for ourselves and also recognize what we tolerate- our friends inappropriate jokes or behavior, the song lyrics we listen to, the movies we love, the people we idolize. And it’s not just men, women need to recognize how th...

We speak with Aaron Krueger and Erin Kuhn-Krueger about their experience with multiple miscarriages and stillbirth. In this moving and inspiring interview they share their challenges, coping tools, and their strength and determination to become parents. This show is a must if you have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, or if you know someone who is trying to navigate the grief associated with b...

Of course you are the parent and your role is important, but can you sometimes just drop the role and relate to your child as an individual? We break down the the role of parent to redefine what it means to support your child. When your child comes to you with a problem, do you deal with the internal or the external?  Most of us deal with the external – focus on how it looks and how to fix i...

Do you want to be happy? Guess what, you’ve got the tools to do it! Happiness can be cultivated regardless of your childhood or genes – you just need to make it a daily priority! Shawn Achor is a Harvard Professor who teaches a class on how to be happy –  research shows it comes from the INSIDE and has little to do with the external experiences. It’s not about waiting to be...

Did you know that May is Williams Syndrome Awareness Month? Williams syndrome is a genetic condition characterized by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities.  People with Williams Syndrome also tend to have enhanced verbal abilities, highly social personalities and an affinity for music.  It effects 1 in 10,000 people worldwide – an esti...

Todd and Cathy discuss their  disagreement over how “active” their kids should be in extracurricular activities. Keeping  kids “busy” is connected to our past experiences and our need for constant productivity. It is essential that we see ourselves and our motives clearly when creating expectations for our children. We also talk about some conscious parent foundational elem...

Mother do you think they’ll drop the bomb?  That’s the first line in this epic song.  We disect the lyrics and use it to help understand conscious parenting. Roger Water’s song (on the show we use the Natalie Maines version) points out that parents can have the best intentions when “protecting” their children, but if done unconsciously, or with lack of self awareness,...

In honor of Mother’s Day, we invited our moms to talk about what we were like as kids.  We also talk about the changes that have taken place from the time they were kids (a.k.a. the olden days) to  raising us in the 70’s – we also discuss how their grandchildren are being raised. We get nostalgic and we have a lot of laughs. We love our moms! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUkE9...

What’s the difference between punishment, discipline, and natural consequences?  We discuss a few different events that happened in our house that allowed for natural consequences.  Rather than using fear to punish, natural consequences help children understand and integrate a teaching. We also discuss cell phone usage – specifically: What is the correct age to give your access to a ph...

Most of us do.  Why do we sometimes feel like fakes at work, at home, in the world?  Why are we afraid that someone is going to figure out that we really don’t know what we are doing? We discuss how this feeling plays into our parenting and how we can practice feeling as “real” as possible. We play a clip (below) from Amy Cudder’s Ted Talk on self doubt and how to deal with...

Do we want our kids to be popular?  How important is this? What makes our kids popular? Is it athletic ability and physical stature or is it physical attractiveness and attention from the opposite sex? We share our perspective and discuss why parents play a role in how their children are perceived.  We also use great 80’s movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Pretty...

Typically pessimists respond to problems by believing these three things: It’s Personal – They blame themselves for an event that has occurred. It’s Permanent – They think it will never get better. It’s Pervasive – They assume failure in one area of life means failure in life as a whole and that failure is happening everywhere and can’t be stopped. Do we c...