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Ever feel like your collaborating or empathizing with your child isn't helping them, or you? How do you empathize with your child's feelings without giving your child more control than is healthy for them? Think about how you would feel if a plane you're flying on seems to be in trouble, but the pilot comes out and asks you what to do. You'd be terrified, right?? You need to know the pilot is in control, and has a plan. Parenting coach Mary Willcox Smith joins us on the podcast to share insights and practical, effective approaches that will help you face parenting challenges with empathy while also retaining your parenting role.

It's not uncommon to believe "I would never do...", from a posture of pride, while judging our spouse's actions. Or, "Okay. I'll lower myself to your point of view", which also finds its source in pride. Leaning into self-awareness is not an easy journey, but uncovering your blind spots is one step toward transforming your relationship. Jada Edwards, one of the teaching pastors at One Community Church in Plano, Texas shares a wealth of wisdom on marriage. She and her husband went through a rough season in their marriage, out of which Jada gleaned deep and practical insights that we discuss in this episode. "Do you think you have a PhD in your spouse? If you've been married for 5 years, you basically have a kindergarten level of that knowing." When you realize that your level of understanding of your partner is quite a bit less mature than you think, let that be motivation for you to ask more curious questions.

Certified financial planners interact daily with adults who have a relationship with money that is shaped by their experiences in childhood. Often these can be negative experiences that are tied to shame. Yet money is a part of our world and a tool for accomplishing pretty well everything and anything in life. So how do we help our kids develop a healthy relationship around money? How do we talk to our kids about earning it, spending it wisely, saving it and giving it away? What are some practical tools for teaching these valuable lessons to our children? When should we start? Ben Hockema is a certified financial planner and a dad who strongly believes that parents are the best people to talk to kids about money. In this episode he shares wisdom on this topic so that your kids (and parents!) can be wiser about money. Check it out.

'Just because it says "fruit" or "natural" on the product label doesn't mean the snack is healthy, especially for teeth.' That's just one snippet of wisdom from today's guest, Dr. Teresa Yang, professional dentist and author of the book, Nothing But the Tooth. Dr. Yang shares from her deep well of dentristy knowledge and experience to answer questions such as, "Does a baby tooth really need to be filled? Won't it just fall out?" and "It's an ordeal to get my child to see a dentist. What can I do?" and "How do I clean my baby's teeth?" and "What age should I start taking my child to a dentist?" Dr. Yang surveys a broad sweep of the questions she hears from parents over and over, to help you keep your family's smiles healthy and bright!

When we heard that the average child today spends 4-7 minutes outside per day and 4-7 hours on screens, we felt compelled to explore this further and consider what we could do about this. Ginny Yurich is a mom, author, speaker and founder of 1000 Hours Outside - an organization designed to challenge and equip families with the knowledge and tools they need to make outside time a transformative time for children and families. We were born to be outside, with friends and family, learning and playing. Ginny explains how this can be a realistic goal for any family and why it should be a priority for healthy development.

You want to instill confidence and resilience in your child, but sometimes it seems life has another agenda, doesn't it?! Today's expert William Vanderbloemen translates what he's learned through working with thousands of young adults about character traits and soft skills that set kids up for success in their chosen life pursuit. The good news is, your child doesn't need to be born with the habits and soft skills that will help them succeed. They are all learnable, and today's discussion focuses on how to influence your child to learn these skills. We also focus on how critical self-awareness is in our current culture, and how to get this message across. William Vanderbloemen's new book, Be the Unicorn, is a deep dive into the soft sklls that he, as a seasoned expert in recruiting, looks for in top talent.

Today Dr Rob Meeder shares his insights on children's mental health in an interview with Jeff Brodie. This is pretty well children's mental health in a nutshell... in 25 minutes. Dr Rob talks about everything from common mental health issues; what is stress (really); how behaviour, communication and mental health are connected; medications; how mental health starts in infancy and more. This was part of a 5 part series by Jeff Brodie at Connexus Community Church. Enjoy!

Today's marriage expert Chris Bruno knows from experience that one of the primary issues couples face over the long term is feeling disconnected. Maybe this resonates with you now, or has in the past. The question is, once you feel like the love is gone, is there still a future for your relationship? How can you rebuild your intimacy, from drifting apart to growing closer again? Chris shares invaluable advice about the power of kindness, in telling each other your stories and so much more. Find out more about Thrive Marriage Labs by checking out the shownotes on the Smart Family Podcast website.

Trauma can take on various forms and how children experience trauma will vary from child to child. Similarly, how to talk to children about this will vary. It is important to know how the brain is impacted by trauma and what that means for therapists, parents, teachers etc as they seek to help and nurture children who need to heal. Jessica Sinarski is a certified adoption therapist and now dedicates her work to helping the helpers. She creates resources for families and caregivers who seek to do this work well, informed by an ever-growing body of knowledge about how trauma impacts the developing brain. Today she shares her very practical wisdom on this topic - so helpful!

Do you have a child who shows signs of having heightened sensitivity to certain senses - bright lights, loud sounds, certain smells or tastes or textures? Will your child not only try to avoid the sensation, but even have a meltdown over the exposure? Perhaps there's a sensory processing disorder ("SPD") involved. Our guests, Rachel Harrington and Jessica Hill have years of practical experience helping children and their families to not only cope with SPD, but to find creative ways to 'grow into' the needs of their own nervous system. While SPD is more common in children on the autism spectrum or those with developmental disabilities, it also develops for other reasons, such as brain injury or prematurity. What's the difference between a sensory quirk and an actual sensory processing disorder? Tune into this episode for valuable info on this relevant and emerging field.

(FULL EPISODE] In this episode we learn how recent neuroscience meets the very practical world of parenting your baby. The early months and years of a child's life are the most important because those experiences become the foundation for an entire lifetime of mental health (and physical health). When your parent instinct tells you to reach out and nurture and connect with your baby - that is exactly what you need to do. In this episode neuroscientist and doula (aka baby expert!) Greer Kirshenbaum PhD, author of The Nurture Revolution talks with Dr Rob Meeder and explains how all of this works. No matter what stage of caregiving you are at you will feel so empowered yourself and encouraged by the nurture revolution that is moving in our communities! Enjoy! I guarantee you will never look at a baby the same way again, and your own mom or dad heart will thank you for it.

"Our world has become far more connected. The violence around us feels more personal..." says anxiety counselling expert Sissy Goff. This is only one of the reasons that parental worry has become a pressing, almost universal issue for all of us who are raising kids. How does a parent's anxiety and worry impact a child? What are some of the steps parents can take even today to bring the level of worry down? Working to gain more mastery over anxiety and worry will reap dividends in your family in the form of stronger bonds and more joy. Sissy is one of our fav's around here - third episode!!! - because she shares our heartbeat, aiming to help you to 'love being home'!!