Dr. Katie Lingras is a multi-talented guest -- she's a child psychologist, associate professor, author of 'A Kids Book about Mental Health', and the Director of Inclusiveness and Excellence at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Today she joins us to discuss how we can introduce the topic of mental health to kids how that topic intersects with her writing and pursuit of equity. 

Today's episode answers these questions:

• What do we mean when we use the term "mental health" in the context of children?
• What are the most natural ways to start conversations about mental wellness with children?
• What can children's books do to further conversations about mental health?
• How can we help children deal with changing circumstances in their community and home environment?
• What are everyday ways to promote understanding of mental health? 
• How do we discuss mental illness within our friend and family circles? 

Below are resources Dr. Katie recommends for parents, guardians, educators and caretakers to continue their learning journey on mental health! 

• The Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health
• The University of Minnesota Early Childhood Mental Health Toolkit
• Talking to Children about Immigration Enforcement 
• Immigrant Family Resources

Order 'A Kids Book about Mental Health' here

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Thanks for listening!

Kim Hughes, a Conscious Discipline certified instructor, joins us to discuss how parents, guardians and caretakers can become better "behavior detectives". Kim demonstrates how through treating tricky behavior as a form of communication, and using emotional co-regulation as a tool to get us back to square one, we can set the children in our care up for long-term success.  

In this episode we discuss:

• Conscious Discipline as a practice
• The brain state model
• Moving from controlling to connecting (modeling)
• Naming feelings
• Seeing mistakes as future opportunities
• Arming children with alternative modes of expressing needs

Attached are links Kim recommends for furthering our education on emotional literacy:

The Brain State Model

https://consciousdiscipline.com/methodology/brain-state-model/

Cliffs notes for the skills of conscious discipline

https://consciousdiscipline.com/e-learning/webinars/parent-cliff-notes-for-the-skills-of-conscious-discipline/

'Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline' (Dr. Becky Bailey, 2001)

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/easy-to-love-difficult-to-discipline-becky-a-bailey?variant=32128336232482

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On this episode of The Parenting Pickup Podcast, Nicolette Graf, a consultant and leader in equity, joins us to discuss how we can identify and pursue more equitable solutions for early childhood caretaking, both for parents and educators. 

During this episode we discuss:
- How Nikki started her advocacy and career in equity work
- The fundamentals of pursuing cultural experiences for children and building empathy, using the metaphors of mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors
- Easy ways to incorporate mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors
- How to advocate for equity in your school and community
- How to be okay without obvious answers or solutions for children when they're encountering new cultures


Below are some resources Nikki recommends for parents and teachers to continue their learning journey about equity in and out of the classroom:

Paddington Station's DEI Family Toolkit https://www.paddingtonstation.org/dei-family-toolkit.html

CDA Council 'How to Talk to Kids Under 5 About Racial Equity'
https://www.cdacouncil.org/en/how-to-talk-to-kids-under-5-about-racial-equity/

Early Risers Podcast, featuring Dianne Haulcy and Andre Dukes
https://www.littlemomentscount.org/earlyriserspodcast

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Lindsay Morgan, a pediatric speech language pathologist with M Health Fairview, brings her expertise to discuss milestones for language development in early childhood, as well as tips, tricks and behaviors to observe for parents & guardians trying to raise a communicative child. 

During this episode, we discuss:

• An overview of the field of speech pathology and the pediatric application of this practice
• A general timeline for childhood language development
• Activities to promote learning new words and concepts
• Raising a bilingual child
• How delays might develop and when to reach out to a professional

Find Lindsay's professional profile here: Lindsay Morgan, SLP - Burnsville, MN - Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology 

Resources Lindsay recommends for families looking to gain more knowledge about childhood language development:

• Help me Grow MN -- Refer a Child - Help Me Grow MN
• Helping Your Child Develop Early Language Skills https://www.fvfiles.com/522058.pdf
• Helping Your Child to Communicate https://www.fvfiles.com/520998.pdf

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Amanda Woodward, Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, joins us this episode to discuss and explain social behavior in children younger than school age. 

During this episode, we discuss:

• Differentiating typical social behavior between age groups
• Key findings in recent research about early childhood social behavior
• Activities that foster greater social-emotional development
• Social exclusion and tools families may use to avoid antisocial patterns

Resources Amanda recommends for families looking to gain more knowledge about early childhood relationships:

Learning through Play- the Lego Foundation : https://learningthroughplay.com/ 

National Institue for Play : https://nifplay.org/ 

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When it comes to your children's picture books, do you find yourself wondering about the story behind the story? Children's book authors Megan Maynor, Lauren Gillman, Tracy Hyde and Camila Gadotti join our host Cara Johnson-Bader to go over their own journey to creating engaging picture books. 

Book & Author links: 
'A House for Every Bird' by Megan Maynor (Insta: @megan_maynor)
https://wildrumpusbooks.com/book/9781984896483

'Tolita: The Best Bad Dog' by Lauren Gillman & Camila Gadotti (Insta: @tolitasworld)
https://www.tolitasworld.com/

'Detective Murray: Case of The Candy-Coated Books' by Tracy Hyde (Insta: @detectivemurray)
https://www.amazon.com/Detective-Murray-Case-Candy-Coated-Books/dp/1635221064

Contact New Horizon Academy 

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Thanks for listening!

This month, NHA's child mental health specialist, Amanda Mason, joins us to talk about the positive effects that therapeutic reading can have on children.

This episode we'll tackle subjects such as:

• The benefits of bibliotherapy
• The obstacles for parents to use bibliotherapy with their child
• Appropriate books for therapeutic reading
• How bibliotherapy can help with grief and illness  
• Signs that you should get a mental health specialist involved
• Community resources for families who wish to use bibliotherapy

Previous episodes featuring Amanda:

Season 1, Episode 2- New Siblings
Season 2, Episode 1 - Hitting

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Thanks for listening!

Today's episode features three-time guest MiaLisa Millares, and it's one you're not going to want to miss. MiaLisa is the executive director at Doing Good Together, a non-profit organization that aims to connect families to different volunteer and donation opportunities. Over the course of the episode, MiaLisa will provide families with several tools to foster deeper connection with their kiddos, in regard to the serious topics that everyday life confronts us with. The topics in this episode include:

• Teaching your child how to share
• Reframing questions to support more productive affirmations and autonomy
• How to handle meltdowns
• Grief or death in the household, family, community or world
• BIG questions at bedtime
• Navigating the topic of divorce
• Interpersonal "spats" with friends
• Tackling the fear of moving

Learn more about Doing Good Together here.

Our past episodes with MiaLisa:
Season 2, Episode 2: 'Listening'
Season 1, Episode 4: 'Raising Caring Children'

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Thanks for listening!

Sifting through different information to find reliable health advice for your children can be a complicated and overwhelming process for a lot of parents. That's why we reached out to Kelly Lemieux, the head of pediatrics at Ridgeview Medical Center.

 Kelly has been voted by Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine as one of the top doctors in the Twin Cities and has been a board-certified pediatrician for 29 years. This experience has given her a unique, informed and reflective perspective on pediatrics that has helped her tackle difficult topics with grace and confidence. 

The topics of her visit include:

• Childcare transitioning and readiness
• Children's exposure to noise pollution and exposure
• Internet resources on children's healthcare
• The effects of the pandemic on children's development

Listen to Kelly's interview on pediatric ADHD here:

Ridgeview Podcast: CME Series: Pediatric ADHD with Dr. Kelly Lemieux (libsyn.com)

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Thanks for listening!

Research continues to conclude that children’s academic successes later in life can be attributed to the amount of talk and reading they experience from birth to age 3. They also statistically prove to be better readers later in life. We are thrilled to have Sara Reichstadt, a renowned Social and Emotional learning expert, and the Education Coordinator for Kinderberry Hill Child Development Centers back for an episode on early childhood literacy.  
 
These days, in everchanging, fast-paced, information dense environments, it's more important than ever that our children can "read between the lines", and Sara will provide guardians, who are shorter for time than ever, with tools to make that task less daunting. 
 
This episode contains topics like: 

• The proven benefits of teaching reading at a young age 
• The diversity of reading options that children can participate in 
• Discussing how understanding the Reggio Emilia approach to social & emotional learning can boost childhood literacy 
• Reading as a form of play 
• Community resources available for families that want to make childhood reading more accessible 
• Handling educating your child while dealing with adult burnout 

Resources:
https://reachoutandread.org/what-we-do/resources-2/

Listen to our previous episode interviewing Sara about ‘The Importance of Play’ here: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/season-2-episode-3-importance-of-play/id1610354963?i=1000615739373 

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Thanks for listening!

Nowadays, it is impossible to get away from a screen since everyone has a phone, restaurants have TVs mounted everywhere, and children are on tablets at school, so it's more important than ever that we make sure that what they are watching is appropriate content. 

To give us some guidance, Momo Hayakawa joins us to discuss what that looks like. She is the Director and Development Researcher at Twin Cities PBS and TPT, and has had shows play on PBS Kids! Today she'll explain to us what "quality screen time" looks like, and how we can make sure our little ones are getting it. 

This episode, we'll go over:

• What research at TPT and Twin Cities PBS looks like for Momo
• What the creative process behind quality content looks like
• The connections between screen time and behavior in children
• Assessing the appropriateness of content depending on your child's age
• Resources for quality screen time

Below are helpful resources for assessing the media our children are interacting with:

https://pbskids.org/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/

https://medium.com/@brycebecker_30628/foregrounding-equity-and-representation-in-childrens-media-34eb98397b3f

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Thanks for listening!

Welcome to a new season of Parenting Pickup!

Today's episode features Dianne Haulcy, the host of Minnesota Public Radio's Early Riser's podcast, and CEO of The Family Partnership, a non-profit organization that provides holistic structures and resources for families and children within cycles of poverty.  Dianne explores ways in which early childhood is an essential period of life to educate our young ones about racism, bias, culture, diversity and inclusion. We go over:

• Overview of the Early Risers podcast
• Environmental conditioning 
• Educating ourselves, and identifying our own implicit bias through things like body language
• What families can do at home to ensure their children grow up to be more welcoming and inclusive 
• Understanding why "color blindness" is not a good method of cultural appreciation
• How to have and promote conversations with young children about race
• Resources for families wanting to promote an anti-racist education 

Additional resources from Little Moments Count:

Video: Teaching Anti-Racism: Making Sense of Race and Racism for Young Children

From Little Moments Count: Racial Justice Resources

From NAEYC: Teaching and Learning about Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families

PDF: Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn About Race

Think Small Institute: Additional Resources

Online discussions: MPR News Raising Kids in Minnesota group on Facebook.

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Thanks for listening!

On this episode of Parenting Pickup, we are grateful to talk to our partner at MacPhail Center for Music, Dianna Babcock, Director of Sing Play Learn, to learn why music is essential in a child's life. Dianna talks about the program's mission for each child's specific stage of development. 

With each class, children are encouraged to explore musical concepts and experiment with new instruments, which helps develop school-readiness skills in an active learning environment that feels like playtime!

MacPhail Website: https://www.macphail.org/

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In this insightful podcast episode, we are all treated to a wealth of knowledge on pediatric oral health with an engaging conversation with Dr. Matt Scribbins from Maple Grove Pediatric Dentistry, a seasoned dentist with a passion for children's dental care. 

Dr. Scribbins shares his expertise on age-appropriate oral hygiene practices, the importance of regular dental check-ups, and common challenges faced in pediatric dental care. Followers can expect to gain valuable insights that empower them to prioritize and safeguard the oral health of their young ones. 

Dr. Scribbins' enthusiasm for his field shines through, making this podcast episode informative and engaging for anyone interested in ensuring the well-being of children's smiles.

Maple Grove Pediatric Dentistry: https://www.maplegrovepediatricdentistry.com/

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We brought back a special guest, Kate Wessinger, to share her wealth of knowledge and expertise on the importance of open and honest communication with grieving children. 

Throughout the episode, she offers practical tips on creating a safe space for children to express their emotions, understand the concept of death, and navigate the stages of grief. She also discusses age-appropriate ways to help children memorialize and remember their loved ones, fostering resilience and emotional healing during grieving. 

Doctor Bruce Berry Resource: https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/tu117-resilience-trauma-and-the-brain-w-guest-bruce-perry-md-phd/

How to Talk to Your Children Resource: https://www.newhorizonacademy.net/talking-to-your-children-during-uncertain-times/

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Thanks for listening!

Potty training can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be! In this podcast episode, we discuss potty training your child with Steph Schmidt, a New Horizon Academy District Curriculum Coordinator. We'll cover everything from introducing the potty to dealing with accidents.

Whether you're just starting the training process or feeling stuck, we've got you covered. Join us on this journey and learn how to master potty training with ease!

Conscious Discipline Podcast Episode: https://consciousdiscipline.com/e-learning/podcasts/podcast-episode-79/

Potty Training Resources: https://www.newhorizonacademy.net/tried-true-potty-training-tips/

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Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we talk to Theresa Gunderson, owner and language learning expert at O'Neill Language Academy, about the importance of early learning of a second language. Theresa discusses the many benefits of bilingualism, including improved cognitive function, academic success, and career opportunities. She also shares tips on best supporting your child's language learning journey. Theresa Gunderson is a language learning expert with over 20 years of experience. Theresa is passionate about helping people learn new languages and believes that bilingualism is a valuable asset for everyone.

O'Neill Language Academy: https://www.oneilllanguage.com/
Resources: https://www.oneilllanguage.com/store-787485.html

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Most families are unaware that unstructured play is significant for children. Play fosters cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. More specifically, it helps creativity, imagination, problem-solving, and social skills! Sara Reichstadt from Kinderberry Hill discusses why children must explore, create and discover without predetermined rules or guidelines.

Read Why Play is Important: https://www.newhorizonacademy.net/why-unstructured-play-is-important-to-child-development/
Kinderberry Hill Website: https://www.kinderberryhill.com/

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Being distracted while your child is talking to you can be a big problem when communicating. We have all been there, listening while holding a phone or not making eye contact. MiaLisa from Doing Good Together is a special guest on this episode to talk about how and why it is critical to be listening fully.

Doing Good Together: https://www.doinggoodtogether.org/
Doing Good Together - Power of Listening: https://www.doinggoodtogether.org/dgt-newsletter/listen-with-heart
Doing Good Together: Making Room to Listen: https://www.doinggoodtogether.org/bhf/blog/making-room-to-listen

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Getting hit by your child or having your child hit others can be embarrassing and infuriating. Many families worry that their child's aggression toward them and others is a bad sign and reflects on their parenting. But, what Amanda Mason explains, it's all about how you react to the hitting and what you do moving forward that makes the difference.

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In this episode of the Parenting Pickup Podcast, Anna Paulson, current Program Coordinator for Help Me Grow, a licensed teacher in the areas of Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Elementary Education, and a certified Early Childhood Education advocate, talks about helpful information and practical steps to take for families to understand and support your child's early childhood development.

Help Me Grow: https://helpmegrowmn.org/HMG/index.htm
Learn the Signs - Act Early: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html
CDC’s Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones-app.html
Help Me Connect: https://helpmeconnect.web.health.state.mn.us/HelpMeConnect/
Reach Out and Read: https://reachoutandreadmn.org/

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Thuba Nguyen is an early childhood education advocate and teacher who is passionate about celebrating cultural diversity and multiculturism and is the author of the book My Daddy Tells Me. Her children's book is about a life-changing love between fathers and daughters, immigration, self-esteem, and positive affirmations.

With over twelve years of experience in the field, Thuba talks about how vital it is to have multiracial representation in all creative markets and education. Her work inspires future generations to break cycles of intergenerational trauma and oppression.

Buy Book: https://www.mnchildrensbookauthor.com/
List of Resources: https://adobe.ly/3ThWX51

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You want to ensure your children are ready for kindergarten regarding academic, social, and emotional skills. We chatted with Bev Bauman, New Horizon Academy's Vice President of Staff Development and Education, about the different skill sets children should or are expected to have before they start kindergarten. 

More Information: https://www.newhorizonacademy.net/

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It happens in every family. Your child bites, has been bitten, or both! So, what do you do? Kate Wessinger, our Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist, dives into why biting is happening, how to prevent it, and what to do.

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We met with Jill Weldon, New Horizon Academy's food and nutrition expert, to talk about one of the most asked questions, how to help children who are selective eaters.

My Plate: https://www.myplate.gov/
Solid Starts: https://solidstarts.com/

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MiaLisa from 'Doing Good Together' explains how important it is to instill caring and kindness in your child as character traits and values. She provides crucial facts, tips, and shares helpful resources on how to raise children to be kind.

Doing Good Together Website: https://www.doinggoodtogether.org/

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Jessi Grittner, a Conscious Discipline Coordinator, shares how teachers, parents, and children can utilize conscious discipline every day to better understand the brain stages, feelings, communication, and intelligence through a self-regulation program that involves social and emotional learning and discipline.

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Amanda Mason, New Horizon Academy's Mental Health Specialist, talks about the steps to take to get your child ready for a new sibling and what to do once the new addition has made its appearance. 

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Children of all ages have meltdowns. There is no surprise there. But, many parents aren’t sure how to help their children when they have a tantrum or a meltdown. We sat down with Kate Wessinger, an expert on behavior and mental health, to give up beneficial advice. 

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Thanks for listening!