Episode description not available.

Episode description not available.

Episode description not available.

Episode description not available.

Episode description not available.

Are the apps on your phone "sticky?" Do you find yourself going back to a certain app again and again every waking hour? when did you last have an actual conversation on your phone? Our guest today is here to help us unpack some of these questions and introduce us to a phone that us making tech human again. Joe Hollier is the  co founder of the Light phone. From their website it is a phone to be used as little as possible.Things we discuss on the podcast : Making tech humane again with the Light phoneThe stickiness of an app – how many hours a day does someone spend on your website /appThe Light Phone – drawing the line in the sand as far as what apps are necessary and what will never be on the phone Gaining control back over your dayWhat a smart-phone free school felt and looked like for a yearPurchase a light phone : https://www.thelightphone.com/

Lynn Mcloughlin brings years of experience in various roles within the school system including serving as a superintendent. She is a lifelong educator, author, podcast host and motivational speaker. Her vision is to cultivate confidence, empathy, responsibility, and self-awareness in children, equipping them with the skills to regulate their emotions in a positive way. Things we discuss in the podcast: Ø  Taking a proactive versus reactive approach to children’s emotional wellbeingØ  Navigating wellbeing within the school systemØ  Promoting children’s wellbeing in the early yearsØ  The power of story telling and mental wellbeingØ  Through her book series the Power of Thought – how to teach kids emotional vocabulary – Really answer the question - what am I feeling?Resources to find Guest : https://lynnmclaughlin.com/Order her Book Series - The Power of Thought https://www.amazon.ca/What-Thinking-True-Power-Thought/dp/1775001784/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1J3HXWW6Y9T0P&keywords=Lynn+McLaughlin&qid=1683219955&sprefix=lynn+mclaughlin%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-2

To honor Autism awareness month which is marked in April ; today we get to hear from Natalie Pelto. When her son was 3, he was non-verbal and like any reasonable parent she begun seeking all kinds of support to rule out/ rule in among other things -  autism. From speech therapy to OT -  This finally  led her to a personal journey of lifestyle modification for about 4 years - which included diet, time outdoors and reducing inputs that cause inflammation including environmental toxins, problematic screen time etc. The results are in. He begun speaking, he is thriving in school and has an active social life which Natalie shares about.  Things we talk about in the podcast : 1.)    Lifestyle modifications – what makes it hard to change our lifestyle 2.)    Broad definition of autism - the role of environment, diet, toxins etc3.)    Nutrition and the role of inflammation in increasing toxin levels4.)    The microbiome – what is it and why does it matter?5.)    The role of inflammation in increasing toxin levels in our systemResources to reach Natalie: The website is www.blueliferx.comMy Instagram is www.instagram.com/rebellespectrumwww.blueliferx.com/autismwebinar to sign up for free education on how we supported autism + access to all the free challenges I run throughout the year through email.

Our guest today, Melissa Nobbs, was gracious and so kind to share her son Aidan's story.  Things we discussed in this podcast: -          The evolution of challenges – how online challenges are different from the simple truth or dare from the 80s and 90s-          The human desire to be seen to be heard and accepted how it plays into online challenges-          Demographics behind online challenges and why middle school is a high risk time -          Aidan Nobbs beautiful story-          How kids are always pinging and dropping us breadcrumbs into their lives.-          Why it is important to allow kids to make mistakes, make them early and make them oftenResources and parent resources around online challenges : Eric's Cause - https://www.erikscause.org/ Mason's Message - https://www.facebook.com/masonsmessage/

Our guest today, Jen Hardy is a mum of seven who brings years of experience adn clarity to the parenting scene. Things we talk about in the podcast : -          Navigating homeschooling for 20+ years -          Tips and tricks for managing a home- even with a chronic illness-          Navigating the family dinner table - answering the persistent question, “what is for dinner?”, making the family dinner engaging-          Setting and holding boundaries when it is easy to be a “slot machine.”-          Thriving as a parent in your fifties-          Raising a child with special needs and what it means for their learning journey-          Finding your tribe - Creating a support system / “a village” to help in parentingResources : The Hardy Mom -  https://hardymom.com/

This was such a short, practical conversation which is what I feel so many of us need when there is so much information out there as far as navigating media and screentime. Brenee Brown has a quote I love, 'to be clear is to be kind." Alex is clear with her media management tips and was so kind and gentle in sharing it through this conversation. Some things we discussed : 1.)    Hiding like counts on your profile – how to do it and the benefits.2.)    A 4-step process of interacting with media in a more mindful way3.)    The impulse behind phone checking and what to do about it4.)    Navigating the newborn days when there is a lot of time spent “just sitting.”5.)    Understanding screentime research – how to sift through the dataAlex website -https://mindfulwithmedia.com/ Blogpost - 30 Productive things to do while holding a baby instead of social media - https://mindfulwithmedia.com/30-productive-things-to-do-while-holding-a-baby-instead-of-social-media/Hiding the number of likes on your social media - How to hide the number of likes - https://mindfulwithmedia.com/how-to-hide-the-number-of-likes-on-instagram-2022/

Today on the podcast it was an honor to chat with Keeana Saxon, founder of kidogo productions - an online platform that is geared towards curating content that promotes diversity and representation in children's media. "Kidogo" is a Swahili word that means "small" and Keeana is someone who always goes after the small people, those in the margins. From her years as a lawyer, to teaching piano, completing the Boston Marathon, Keeana is multi-talented and multi passionate mum who keep representation at the heart of all she does.Some things we talked about in the podcast :  - Diversity in media and what is means for children's content  - The A.I.R acronym A - uthentic I - Inclusive and R - epresentation  - Explicit and Implicit biases of depiction of characters in children's shows. Website - kidogotv.comInstagram @kidogoproductions

Emily Cherkin also known in the digital sphere as "The screen time consultant," shared her insight from her years as a teacher and now parent educator and digital wellness educator with parents, mental health professionals etc. Some of the things we discussed in this episode: -          The role of relationships in fostering kids tech use-          The power of “living life out loud” while using technology-          Technology in schools – the idea of “skills before screens.”-          Parental controls : why strong parent-child relationships are a better option-          The role of big-tech and what needs to happen at a macro-levelEmily article on parental controls : https://www.thescreentimeconsultant.com/which-parental-controls-do-i-recommend-none-d83c77309120sourcerss-43e8070c4854------2To gain more resources from Emily website you can visit it here - https://www.thescreentimeconsultant.com/

Things we discussed in this episode -       What Niksen is and what it is not -       Cultivating Niksen in our home space and day to day lives : How our environments play a huge role-       How can we gove kids the space and gift of unstructured play to have limitless moments of Niksen-       How do we Niksen in a time when we are constantly inundated with external input -       Making Niksen a reality with parenting-       Mental illness and Niksen -

Lenore Skenazy is the co-founder of the organization - Let Go and Let Grow. A movement that is making it easy, normal and legal to give kids the independence they need to grow into capable, confident, and happy adults.Lenore was named, "America's worst mom" after she let her then 9 year old son Izzy take the subway home alone from midtown Manhattan. We went deep with Lenore ranging from :  - The skills children develop during play – conflict resolution, empathy etc  - Why talking and doing less serves kids better than talking and doing more - How we are robbing our kids (especially boys) of their "Heroes journey" when we constantly rescue, solve and problemshoot. - Creating a Let Grow club and project within your home / communityTo reach Lenore and start a Let Go after school club you can visit their website at www.letgrow.org. You can purchase her book Free Range Kids here

This was a great conversation with Amy Tyson, co-founder alongside Blythe Winslow of Everyschool.org Ed-tech in schools is one of those things that has left parents with more questions than answers. Is it necessary? what is meaningful use what is not? Is 4 hours of homework on a device really beneficial? She was so knowledgeable and kind. Some things we discussed : Ø  What is the digital dilemma that schools are being faced with in introducing tech in schoolsØ  weUnpack the Ed-Tech Triangle and how schools can implement it Ø  Using “tech for techs sake” and what it means for childrens academic outcomesØ  Relevance of tech on learning, educational apps and kids with special needs.  - Forming local parent of every school in your communityIf you know an educator or parent who may benefit from this please do share so we can get the information in the hands of more people. xoxoxo Penny

Michael McLeod shared great insight  behind Attention Deficit Disorder. His work and research behind executive functioning is really a game changer on how we view ADHD and really at a basic level what it means for that kid just waking up and trying to make it to the bus on time. Lots of great nuggets here. Some things we discussed :  What ADHD is & what it is notThe value of play and varied experiences in fostering Executive function skillsPreferred versus non-preferred tasks The art of delayed gratification, self-soothing and motivationWhy using less language is actually more with executive function challengesTo learn more about the work Michael and his team is doing  - visit his page on Instagram @grownowADHDIf you know a parent who may benefit from the information here - share and also leave a review wherever you get your podcasts to help us reach more people with the information. Thank you!xoxox Penny

Arlene Pellicane is the host of the Happy Home university and Podcast. She is the author of several books including Screen Kids which she co-authored alongside Dr. Gary Chapman of the acclaimed 5 love language series. She is a wife, mum of three and just all round hilarious, knowledgeable and kind person. In this episode we discuss: -  Recognizing the difference between Digital Candy and digital vegetables as relates to tech use within the home - Creating tech free zones within the home  -   Depositing into their love cup while they are still young and how it impacts the teenage years -   How to navigate living as a screen free / screen lite familyIf you would like more of Arlene's wisdom head over to  https://www.happyhomeuniversity.com/. The link to purchasing a copy of her book Screen Kids is here

Chukwu Emeka is a lawyer and university instructor who joins us from Lagos Nigeria. He is passionate about all things digital safety that pertain to children rights, protecting children online and shares the importance of why having a solid parent-child relationship goes a long way in empowering kids in navigating the digital sphere. He shared tips on what to look out for that make kids low lying fruit in the minds of online groomers and how as parents we can safeguard from this. Some of my takeaways from this conversation: A prepared child is less of a target : have those difficult conversations and have them early. Child predators capitalize on children's curiosity, innocence and desire to please parents  As a parent, connect, connect connect before you disconnectResources Wise and Harmless - http://www.wiseandharmless.ng #lagosmums#digitalsafety#childrenonline#onlinepredators#connectbeforeyoudisconnect#

Our guest on the podcast - Meghan Cox Gurdon  is an essayist, book critic, and former foreign correspondent who has been the Wall Street Journal’s children’s book reviewer since  2005. Her work has appeared widely, in publications such as the Washington Examiner, the Daily Telegraph and the Washington Post.Meghan shows how reading out loud offers a refreshing, fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families, and unfulfilling distractions of the tech era. From a thrilling look at what happens in a toddler’s brain when a grownup reads a story, to the way shared books are keeping far-flung military families connected; from the imaginative transport of classic novels, to the rejuvenating late-life consolations of the spoken word: the evidence is clear and the benefits irrefutable.To purchase the book https://www.amazon.ca/Enchanted-Hour-Miraculous-Reading-Distraction/dp/0062562819 Quotes from the book"The sight of a parent or teacher sitting down with a book attracts young children like iron fillings to a magnet." Meghab Cox GurdonWhen we read with a child, we are doing so much more than teaching him to read or instilling in her a love of language. We are doing something that I believe is just as powerful..we are teaching that child to be human.” Anna DewdneyIf you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. Albert Einstein“When a child asks for the same story again and again, he is telling us something important, though we may never find out what the important thing is. The book may be helping him perform quiet interior work having to do with fear or sadness he cannot articulate.”"Please read to your kids. Its not the schools job to get our kids reading, its our job – and it’s a wonderful, magical act of love and caring. James Patterson“There is no genius in Silicon Valley who has yet devised a machine half as effective for teching and There is one thing the purveyors of electronic toys and child-oriented tech would rather not say. They are no match for us nurturing the young mind as a flawed, fallible, physically present human being.” Meghan Cox"Picture books enhance the time parents and children spend together. Its like adding an extra shot of espresso to a café latte."Human beings need to feel competent at what they do, they need to feel authentic in their lives and they need to feel connected to others.  Sebastian Junger Bookstagram#Raisingreaders#Emergentliteracy#Theenchantedhour#MomsofIG#Readaloudrevival#Readaloudfamily#reading#homeschooling#Literacy#Kidsbooks#Childrensbookillustration#Diversebooks#Hereweread#Literacymatters#Readtoyourkids#Parenting#Dadswhoread#The30millionwordgap#Blackbabybooks#Storytime#vocabulary#Bedtimestories#Goodnightmoon#Read#JKRowlings