In this episode of Raising Me, political reporter and podcast host Ben Margiott discusses how he became passionate about covering politics and offers guidance on simplifying complex political topics for kids. Parenting can be confusing and frustrating, especially when dealing with topics no one prepared us for - like explaining politics to children. Adrienne and Ben talk about how politics impacts our everyday lives, from roads to schools and even the food we eat. Plus, Ben emphasizes the importance of teaching kids to verify information online. About the guest: Ben Margiott became a reporter in Reno, NV in 2016, covering diverse stories from Nevada politics to extreme weather events. He has reported live on major events, including O.J. Simpson’s parole and interviews with prominent political figures like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Margiott also tells impactful local stories and launched *Ballot Battleground: Nevada*, a podcast focusing on critical issues for Nevada voters. He’s passionate about journalism and enjoys spending weekends with his family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sigma, Skibidi, Rizz, Ohio, Aura. If you’ve heard those words around your house and thought, “Say what now?!”, you’re not alone. This week on Raising Me we’re diving into the ever-evolving slang of today with a special guest, Philip Lindsay. "Mr. Lindsay" as he’s known by his students and hundreds of thousands of social media followers, is a youth pastor turned middle school special education math teacher turned social media star who’s even appeared on the Today Show. On social media, Mr. Lindsay uses humor to help parents understand slang and what’s happening in schools, primarily middle schools, around the country. He also feels passionate about eliminating the stigma around special education. Find him on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_phlindsay_sped/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mr_lindsay_sped Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 2 of Raising Me! Sibling rivalry is a challenge nearly every parent faces. It’s the stuff that can turn a peaceful home into a battlefield, leaving parents feeling stressed and frustrated. Whether it's fighting over the last cookie, the TV remote, or just who gets the most attention, sibling rivalry can test even the most patient among us. But here’s the good news: you’re not alone, and sibling rivalry isn’t all bad. In fact, these conflicts can offer valuable opportunities for children to learn essential life skills. Together, we’ll explore what drives sibling rivalry, how to navigate those difficult moments, and how to turn conflicts into positive learning experiences. EPISODE EXPERT: Rebecca Hoffman joins us for this episode. She’s a seasoned family therapist and Director of the MaineHealth Center for Trauma, Resilience, and Innovation. Hoffman is also an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain and introducing you to the people behind this podcast—parents just like you, navigating the ups and downs of raising a family while trying to figure it all out as they go. Our team consists of three people: Megan Littlefield, Nate Eldridge, and Adrienne Stein. Together, we represent diverse parenting experiences, with children ranging from little ones just starting kindergarten to young adults finding their way in the world. The heart of this podcast is about giving voice to the often-unspoken challenges of parenting—the uncertainties, the insecurities, the moments of confusion. We’re here to share these experiences openly, leaning on experts to help us unravel the stress, anxiety, and joy that comes with raising a family today. What resonates with us from the experts varies as much as our own parenting journeys. Yet, each piece of advice is insightful and applicable in its own unique way. We invite you to listen in and discover some of our top takeaways and join us for Season 2 of Raising Me starting Tuesday, September 3rd 2024. We’ll be navigating topics from sibling rivalry, to politics, mental health, co-parenting and blended families, even some financial investing 101. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're taking another look at an earlier episode - The Sandwich Generation. Raising Me host Adrienne Stein dives into the stresses, both financially and emotionally, as well as resources available to help with LCSW Becky Hadiaris. Becky is the Manager of the Family Caregiver Support Program at Southern Maine Agency on Aging. They discuss the challenges faced by those in the sandwich generation, the resources available to help and the proactive ways to potentially mitigate the effects of caregiving responsibilities for our own children. About the guest: Becky Hadiaris is an LCSW with 20 years of experience working in the aging and disability field. She is the Manager of the Family Caregiver Support Program at Southern Maine Agency on Aging. She has a passion for helping caregivers navigate the complex healthcare system, as well as provide emotional support, education and programming to caregivers in York & Cumberland counties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, as school approaches, we take a look back at an early episode about the complicated decision whether to allow your children to use social media. If so, how much should they use it and which apps are appropriate? If you’ve struggled with when, or if, you should allow your kids to get social media, you are in good company. Many, if not most, parents do. Raising Me host Adrienne Stein asks Dr. Jeffery Barkin about how to know when our kids are ready, how we should monitor it, along with both the positive and negative sides of social media. About the guest: Dr Jeffery Barkin is a psychiatrist in Maine. He is a Past President of the Maine Medical Association and the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians. In addition to practicing adult and forensic psychiatry, Dr. Barkin co-hosts A Healthy Conversation, a weekly award-winning radio show, on WGAN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ready or not, back-to-school season is upon us. To help navigate this transition, we turned to experts for advice: Dr. Kristy Perkowski, a pediatrician, and Holly Lallemand, a seasoned elementary school teacher. Dr. Perkowski and Lallemand offer a blend of medical and educational perspectives. Together, they provide valuable insights on preparing children for the new school year, focusing on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Whether your child has already started school or is gearing up to return, their tips can help set the stage for a successful year ahead. About the guests: Dr Kristy Perkowski, DO, is a pediatrician with the Dr. Harry E Davis Pediatric Center in Portland, Maine. It is her goal to be an approachable, empathetic pediatrician who uses current recommendations and science to care for the children in the community. She started at the pediatrics center in 2015 after receiving her American Board of Pediatrics certification in 2013. Holly Lallemand is a long- time educator who was born, raised and now raises her own family in Southern Maine. She has been teaching second grade for 24 years and has been part of many transitions to the beginning of the school year both as a mother and a teacher. Holly enjoys teaching all content areas, but specifically enjoys teaching mindfulness to young learners. To be witness to the honest conversations young students have with one another is what fuels her commitment and desire to classroom teaching. Holly graduated with a degree in Elementary Education, has a Masters in Special Education, a Graduate Certificate in Literacy instruction and a certificate in Social Emotional Learning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Adrienne talks about parental burnout, a phenomenon that can strike at any time of the year. Perhaps you’re feeling it creep in over the summer. Despite the season's promise of sunshine, roses, and pool days, many of us are still working daily, shuttling our kids from one camp to another, trying to keep their calendars full until school resumes. Before you know it, it’s back to school and the rush to get ready. All you want is to relax on a beach or in a boat, or maybe simply time to yourself at home. The burnout is real, regardless of why or when it happens. It can show up as fatigue, a short temper, or emotional shutdown, to name a few signs. Instead of simply trying to power through, in this week’s podcast episode Parenting Coach Ayanna Allen guides us through healthier, more productive ways to cope. She also explains healthy emotional regulation in the context of burnout. About Ayanna: Ayanna Allen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development with a focus on Early Childhood Development, is a certified Parenting Coach, and began her journey as a mother 14 years ago. Ayanna equips parents with skills and tools that; activate intentional parenting, improves self-awareness, increases patience, and sets a foundation for long standing and impactful connections with their children. Her coaching business is titled ‘Go Hard Parenting’ because parenting is hard, and she believes parents must “go harder”! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're taking a second listen to one of our most downloaded episodes "A Rise of Meanness." Raising Me host Adrienne Stein has an engaging conversation about the effects of bullying behavior with Tänne Gabler, Child Therapist, LCSW, RPT. Find out how to talk to your kids about bullying - if they've been bullied or even if they've been accused of bullying behavior. Discover how to approach difficult conversations about bullying with your kids. Figure out when is the right time to step in and how to appropriately step in when there is a situation. And stay until the end to hear the research-backed strategy that can help to raise the most successful adults.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Tis the season for summer jobs and many first-time jobs for kids. In this episode of Raising Me, we reflect on some of the key takeaways from our Money Mindset series – from teaching our kids about money to what allowance should look like and even understanding that we don’t have to be a financial expert to have a lot to offer our children when it comes to money lessons. About the guest: Mary is the Financial Education Program Manager at the Finance Authority of Maine, also known as FAME. Mary has served as President of the Maine Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. She’s also navigated these same challenges with her two boys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Tech neck" is a potentially serious and peculiar topic that many of us might not be fully aware of yet: the physical issues caused by screen use. Imagine bodies growing tails due to prolonged screen time – weird, right? But it's a reality. This phenomenon is known as "tech neck" or "text neck" and it’s leading to pain and other ailments. In some cases, even tail-like physical changes in people. The long term consequences are unknown. Dr. Allyson Coffin sheds light on this issue. Dr. Coffin has more than a decade of experience as a chiropractor, working in both New York and Maine. Her practice, Align with Allyson, is based in Maine. As a mom of two, she shares her insights into this new phenomenon, discussing why it's happening, what we know and don’t know about it, and offering advice on protecting our kids from these physical changes.   About the Guest: Dr. Allyson Coffin graduated Cum Laude from New York Chiropractic College obtaining her doctorate in chiropractic through the study of anatomy, physiology, and neuroscience. She worked in a multidisciplinary practice in New York with internists, orthopedists, physical therapists, and chiropractors, then moved to Maine—and opened Align with Wellness thirteen years ago. Dr. Coffin lives in Cumberland with her husband, two children and dog. She is a competitive swimmer and her whole family loves all of the outdoor activities Maine has to offer. Dr. Coffin is a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (I.C.P.A) and Maine Chiropractic Association (M.C.A). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the summer months, we'll be taking a look back at previous episodes, while sprinkling in new episodes every so often. We'll be back to a new episode every week in September. This week we take a look back at one of our most downloaded episodes - Anxiety Epidemic. Anxiety among kids is on the rise since the pandemic, which can heartbreaking - especially when parents don’t know how to best help their children. Raising Me host Adrienne Stein has an impactful conversation with Rebecca Hoffman, Director of MaineHealth’s Center for Trauma, Resilience, and Innovation. Rebecca shares early signs to watch out for, sheds light on why anxiety rates are skyrocketing, and explains why this topic matters for all of us, even those who don’t have kids dealing with anxiety. Plus, a look back at how we were raised when anxiety may not have been talked about as a disorder.  About the guest: Rebecca Hoffmann is the Director of the MaineHealth Center for Trauma, Resilience, and Innovation and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. By training, Rebecca is a family therapist and has worked clinically for 25 years with children, families and communities. Rebecca’s primary work is in the fields of trauma, violence, resilience, and wellbeing. She has overseen large federally-funded behavioral health research and service grants that focus on providing care and treatment for children and families that have been exposed to trauma. These programs focus on prevention of childhood exposure to violence, implementation of evidence-based trauma treatment, and fostering professional resiliency. In addition, Rebecca has overseen programs in disaster mental health, and in helping communities heal after trauma. Rebecca has extensive training and practice in the fields of childhood trauma, wellbeing and resilience, community coalition building, and collective healing. She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and other resources in this field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parenting in the digital age is a struggle for many parents, from navigating screen time to social media and figuring out healthy boundaries on all the devices and platforms. In this episode, we highlight a few of our best guests on the topic, from a long-time child therapist who recently went viral for her video called “Modern Children are Not Okay,” to the Chief Parenting Officer of Bark Technologies, to Dr. Michael Rich who is a world-renowned expert on the topic and the creator and director of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. They share their insight and expertise on navigating it all because, as one of our guests puts it, “We are the first generation of parents parenting like this, and we’ve got to figure it out together." About the guests: Catherine Knibbs is a clinician, author, researcher, and writer around the digital world and the impact they all have on young people. Titania Jordan is a leading authority on digital parenting and has contributed to publications like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Huffington Post and more. She also wrote "Parenting in a Tech World" (2020) and was featured in the documentary "Childhood 2.0." She’s also a frequent guest on national programs such as TODAY Show and Good Morning America. Michael Rich, MD, MPH practices adolescent medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and is an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rich is the founder and director of the Digital Wellness Lab and the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID), the first evidence-based medical program addressing physical, mental, and social health issues associated with digital technology use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pediatrician Dr. Kristy Perkowski helps navigate the summer with ways to keep our kids physically and mentally engaged, without feeling like we need to become a cruise ship director with big ideas and plans to fill every day. Plus, we’ll learn why downtime is just as important. As wonderful as summer can be, it can also be stressful finding ways to fill the days, keep the kids active, all while many of us figure out childcare. Dr. Perkowski shares her pro advice on balancing play, learning, and resting this summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Navigating the tween and teen years can be difficult for several reasons, from the attitude to pressures from friends and then all the hormones. On top of that, parents may also feel a sense of sadness, mourning the quickly changing relationship. They’re quickly becoming more independent, and perhaps more embarrassed by you every day. While we may on the surface brush it off or play it cool, being sad about this change in relationship is important to acknowledge. Adrienne talks with Certified Parenting Coach Ayanna Allen about the trials of parenting a tween and/or teen. Allen explains this sense of loss, helps us look within for some hard truths, and will identify ways to improve your relationship with your teen and tween. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Raising Me podcast, host Adrienne Stein speaks with longtime Speech Language Pathologist, Margie Childs. Speech delays and speech disorders among children are on the rise, while at the same time the number of those trained to help is declining, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They discuss why more children are diagnosed with speech disorders and delays, how to identify them, and what you can do as a parent to help your child.   About The Guest: Margie Childs has worked as an SLP in Maine schools for 34 years. She has served for 15 years as the secretary of the Maine Speech Language Hearing Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Adrienne interviews Anne Adams about the importance of play in children - especially unstructured play outdoors. Learn about why fresh air and play is so important to developing minds, and how to encourage more outdoor adventures for your family! About the guest: Anne Adams is an early childhood professional specializing in play and nature based pedagogy. Her work is with children, birth to eight, and those who care for them. Anne has dedicated her adult life towards improving the care and education that young children receive. Her experience has been spread far and wide from Childcare Administrator to Policy Advocate to Teacher to Volunteer to Consultant and Coach. She has also found herself working across ages and stages in a variety of care and education settings. She has weaved together these diverse experiences and uses them as inspiration for her continued work in the field. Currently, she leads the Maine Early Childhood Outdoors (MaineECO) Network by uniting the many people and organizations already supporting and practicing outdoor nature-based learning. She continues to work as an outdoor learning coach and consultant as well. Anne lives in Rockport Maine with her husband and two young boys, she is an avid long distant runner and enjoys being out on the ocean with her family. Maine Early Childhood Outdoors www.maineeco.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescent mental health continues to worsen, with more than 40% of students regularly feeling sad or hopeless and around 30% experiencing poor mental health. In this week’s episode of Raising Me, Adrienne gets an insider perspective on what’s really happening in high schools, from constantly being plugged in to the pressure of social media. You’ll hear from a guidance counselor with more than 20 years of experience and two high school students who candidly discuss what high schoolers are actually experiencing. They're working with an organization, KyleCares, that helps students connect other students with mental health resources and intervention. They’ll share the remarkable mission they are on to try to make sure no one at their school suffers in silence. For more information on the Kyle Cares Foundation: https://kylecaresinc.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s podcast episode of Raising Me, Adrienne speaks with Sara Porter, LCSW, a clinical supervisor at Northern Light Acadia Hospital. They discuss eating disorders and disordered eating - how they differ, what to look out for when it comes to your children and the things that you can do to help prevent it at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Raising Me we’re discussing navigating video games in a healthy way at home. Our expert – Catherine Knibb, a longtime child therapist - has a unique take on how parents should think about games that can create a much more balanced experience at home... Without a battle. What about violence in video games and whether they encourage more aggressive behavior? She’ll dive into that, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices