Parenting That Heals

In this episode, 26-year old Landon shares how he was able to finally heal away from anxiety and depression, into wholeness and joy.

In this interview we discuss:

How the current stressful environment affects children.

How it triggers health, mood and behavior problems.

Tools and tops for reducing and preventing the build-up of chronic stress. and its effect on physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing.   

In this episode I talk with Erin Kerry of Sparkling Wholeness about the challenges involved in parenting a sensitive child.

You will discover:

Why your child is sensitive and others are not.
How being sensitive can be a gift or a burden.
What to avoid in parenting a sensitive child.
How to build resilience and still retain that wonderful sensitivity.

This is a really important interview with Sarah Scheldt of Empower Your Parenting., if you have children grappling with anxiety and fears.

You will learn about:

What anxiety really is.
How it started.
Why it started in your child.
How to reverse this condition.
The Do's and Don'ts for Parenting an Anxious Child.

This important question on 'emotional resilience' was asked by Shannon VanderZwaag when she interviewed me for her Summit called:  Conquering the Battle Within.  This episode is an excerpt taken from that interview.  In my answer, I speak about:

1.  Exactly what is 'resilience?'
2.  Why some children are naturally resilient and others are not.
3.  What parents should avoid doing when trying to build the child's resilience.
4.   How parents can build resilience in a child that is struggling with this. 

Children experience trauma when they don't feel seen, don't feel worthy and don't feel connected to their parents.  Parents who experienced this kind of trauma, as a child,  will unintentionally repeat this with their own children.  This is an excerpt of an interview I did with Shannon VanderZwaag for her important summit: Conquering the Battle Within.

In this episode my colleague, Dr Alina Olteanu of Whole Child Texas, and I, are being interviewed by Erin Kerry of Sparking Wholeness.  Dr Olteanu and I pride ourselves in being a unique integrative team treating children's spirits, bodies and brains.  

Key topics:

- Rising anxiety epidemic in kids
- Common viruses in kids - are they still alive and well even though we’re taking more precautions?
- Effects of excessive screen time on stress hormones and the brain
- What screen time does to dopamine and the prefrontal cortex
- Long term health effects of screen addiction and potential for other future addictions
- The antidote to screen time
- Importance of nature and movement
- How the science of Interpersonal Neurobiology plays a role in how our families handle stress
- How to add meditation into your life to counteract stress

In this episode, I interview Heather Korbmacher.   Heather is the mother of a son who was diagnosed with PANDAS and who has now lost this diagnosis.  In her excellent book: What Happened to my Child?  she describes her amazing quest to find answers to what was happening  to her child and the best ways to treat this.  In this episode Heather speaks about the kind of therapeutic treatments they tried, what worked and what didn't and offers very powerful advice to parents.  If you have a child with PANDAS/PANS/AE  you should not miss this insightful and important interview. 

Having a sensitive child is a blessing for the parents as well as for the child ... provided that Moms and Dads know how to validate and support the child's sensitive nature, instead of trying to change it.

There is no parent that would ever knowingly parent in a way that keeps their child stuck and prevents them from thriving.  But what if you don't know that you are doing this?  In this video you will learn how to recognize the effect your parenting style is having.

In this episode I interview Carla Atherton, the Director of the Healthy Family Formula.  We discuss:

1.  Her new book, Family Health Revolution, and what prompted her to write this?

2.  What it means to be healthy.

3. How stress is the greatest barrier to parenting in a way that creates a healthy family

4.  The 4 cornerstones of parenting for health.

5.  The fact that being a parent is probably THE most important role a person can ever have in life. Yet it is the one role for which people are the least
    prepared – or have had the least training in. 

Children whose brains are wired differently and who have any kind of learning, behavior or mood symptoms are evolved beings who have come to teach us different ways of being, of parenting and of educating.   Like the canaries in the coal mine, they are here to  warn us of the dangers of being so stressed and pressurized and to show us that we need to make some important changes in ourselves. and our lifestyles.  

Dr Alina Olteanu, who is an Integrative Pediatrician and the founder of Whole Child Texas, joins me on this episode to talk about the fascinating relationship between health and confidence.  She discusses all the aspects of what a healthy child is and offers practical and extremely useful information and recommendations.  In addition, I speak about what it means to be a heart-focused parent and how a child's heart beat mimics the heart beat of the parent.  And how to be sure that the parent's heart rate is one of calm, peace, serenity and joy.   

I am being interviewed in this episode by Erin Kelly of Sparkling Wholeness, following a huge response to a previous interview where I spoke  on the topic of,  'What You Need to Know About Emotional Resilience.  In this interview we focus on the sensitive child and how important it is to help the child understand that being sensitive by nature is a gift and a strength, not a burden.   We speak about all things 'sensitive.'

The concept of Inflammatory parenting is a hugely important one and one that is too seldom spoken about.
In this episode learn all about what Inflammatory Parenting is and discover whether you are, unknowingly, being an inflammatory parent. 

Confidence' is a term that has been used loosely forever.  Find out in this episode what confidence really is.  

I also speak about:
Why some children have low self confidence and others don't.
Why and how parents may unintentionally separate children from their natural-born confidence.
How a child's confidence is a mirror of the parent's confidence.
How the parent-child relationship determines the confidence level of the child.
What parents can do to prevent or reverse low self-confidence.
How to ignite a child's confidence.

It is very difficult watching a child struggle, day after day, with anxiety, seeing how it holds them back from reaching their true potential and not knowing what to do to take that anxiety away.

In this episode I speak about:

What anxiety is.
Why some children are anxious.
3 Ways to replace the neurochemistry of anxiety with the neurochemistry of emotional resilience.

Defiant, depressed, withdrawn, unmotivated children are not defiant, depressed, withdrawn, unmotivated.  These are the behaviors that are caused by being in fight, flight or freeze survival mode.  

In this episode you can find out:
How defiance, depression, withdrawal and other behaviors are being misdiagnosed.
How to recognize the underlying root cause of these and other problem behaviors.
How a parent can unintentionally trigger fight, flight or freeze.
Why children get stuck in fight, flight or freeze.
What parents can do to avoid this.

In this episode I speak about the fact that one of the least understood and yet most powerful tools for the mental, emotional and physical health of our children (and ourselves) is the ability to engage in REAL Connection. When we are truly Connecting with our children, their (and our), body and brain chemistry get a biological and neurological upgrade. And the more we do this, the healthier we all get.   Discover how you can use the ability to be truly present as a way of making real Connection with your children. 

In this episode I am being interviewed by Wade Bergner of Real U Academy.   The topic we address is the fact that too many children believe that, 'I Am Not Enough.'   It is a hugely important topic.  This 'not enough' feeling has been called low self-belief, low self-esteem, low self-worth but I believe this 'not good enough/not enough' feeling that some children grapple with,  goes deeper than that.  

In this interview I talk about:
Why would a child develop a belief that, 'I am not enough.'
How does this happen.
How can parents avoid triggering this belief in a child.
What can parents do to rewire the "I am Not Enough' to, 'I am SO Enough. 

In this episode I am interviewed by Sonali Vongchusiri, host of the Summit: Raising Your Strong-Willed Child: How to Give Up the Guilt, Step Out of Overwhelm, and Rediscover the Joy in Parenting.  

In this interview we cover every aspect of strong-willed children:

Why this happens
What the underlying root cause of this is
How parents unintentionally trigger this in their children
That strong-willed children are not the same as confident children
the best way for parents to engage and communicate with strong-willed children

In this episode I am being interviewed by Erin Kerry of Sparkling Wholeness.   We cover the following aspects of building emotional resilience in children:

Underlying root cause of low emotional resilience.

Emotional resilience = healthy neurotransmitters.

How parents can stimulate resilience through the way they engage and communicate with the child.

Interpersonal Neurobiology – what is happening in the parent is happening in the child.

How parents shape the child’s brain.

The role that stress plays in low emotional resilience.

The dangers of diagnostic labels.

Emotional resilience is something that all parents want for their children. Traditional parenting approaches to building resilience are not effective because these approaches teach parents how to manage this problem, instead of how to heal it.  This is a band-aid approach.  If you are managing your children's problems, this means the problem still exists.  In this episode  I explain how parents can build a child's emotional resilience 'from the inside-out.' as opposed to trying to achieve this from 'the outside-in.'  My approach is rooted in neuroscience. and uses the tools of neuroplasticity. 

Children are not born with low self-esteem. They cannot be born feeling that they are not good enough, In this episode I will offer a different way of understanding what low self-esteem is, how  to recognize it as soon as possible, why it happens with some children and not with others, and how parents can reverse the negative self-beliefs that children have.

For children, the feeling of anxiety makes their lives such a struggle.  For the parent, it is heartbreaking to watch a child struggle with anxiety.  In this podcast I will discuss what is at the root of a child's  anxiety.   Learn why children become anxious and what to do to help them overcome this.  I explain that it is not possible to convince a child to stop being anxious. and why trying to do this creates even more anxiety.  You will discover a different way of parenting an anxious child.  

Defiance in children is a deeply misunderstood problem and, unfortunately, often handled in a way that simply increases the defiance.  Defiant children don't choose to be defiant.  They cannot stop themselves. Something is happening inside them that is driving them to behave that way. Listen to Dr. sandy explain what this is and what parents can do to shift the child from defiant to delightful

Sensitive children need sensitive and special parenting.   With the best intentions and love,  a parent may  unintentionally cause a sensitive child to feel stressed and anxious.  This parenting trap is understandable because parents want their sensitive children to become more emotionally robust but trying to change the child's sensitive nature with advice and too much talking, does not work.  it can increase the problem.  In this video you will learn what to do and what never to do with children who have a sensitive nature.

In their desire to help their children, parents may engage and communicate with their children in ways that sends the child the message that...'the way you are is not enough'.