Suddenly and sadly, this is our last family360 episode. In this goodbye, we share ‘why we needed to end’, ‘insights from a wonderful guest whose recorded interview we can’t release’, and ‘wisdom from guests whose words will linger on with us...
Today’s question is probably one of the core causes of stress in young families; ‘How to manage the household mess!’ In the episode, Dr. Koh explores… how to make cleaning into a game. How to compromise some of our standards so we can cohabit more...
It’s a known fact – hobbies make life happier! So, whether it’s music, sports, arts, or otherwise, of course, we want our kids to find passions that fuel their creativity and enjoyment. However, when what should be ‘fun’ starts to feel...
In this episode, we’re talking about chores. Why do kids need them? What are fair expectations? Do we pay our kids for help around the house? We’re back with our keynote guest, Dr. Christine Koh. She’s describing how chores build our child’s life...
Are the efforts and actions of your days bringing you joy and contentment? Or do you feel like you’re going through meaningless motions? In this episode, we’re talking about large and small life hacks. Our guest is the author of Minimalist...
When we feel we’re being left out, it’s tough. When we feel our kids are being left out, it’s terrible! This week, parenting specialist and author of Peaceful Discipline, Sarah Moore addresses a question about how to help our children when they...
Is there a correlation between a highly sensitive temperament and mental health concerns? Today, our guest Sarah Moore answers a question from a parent who is wondering about the intensity of her son’s emotions. She sees his emotional highs, but...
Highly sensitive kids feel the intensity of their emotions. Their highs tend to be higher and their lows tend to be lower. This week, our guest Sarah Moore answers a question from a listener who asks, “How do you support a highly sensitive child...
‘High Sensitivity’ is a temperament trait, meaning it’s biologically based rather than learned or taught. A highly sensitive child is a child who is very affected and often reactive to environmental influences – sounds, smells, temperatures...
Child experts agree that commenting on our daughter’s appearance may suggest we value her looks over other qualities and this inadvertently damages her self-esteem and sense of worth. In this 3rd Q-note episode with Maggie Dent, Maggie delves into...
‘People pleasing sounds like a positive pursuit,’ thought the parent who wrote in today’s question. It’s not! People-pleasing involves dishonoring yourself to honor someone else. Maggie Dent suggests generations of patriarchy have pushed women...
A Mom’s wondering if she can bypass hosting a birthday party for her soon to be 7 year old, without alienating her daughter’s friendships at school. Her daughter attends at least one birthday party a month and she loves going, but the parties are...
Raising girls is complicated. In spite of all our empowerment messages, rates of stress, anxiety, and depression are on the rise for girls. Studies indicate a girl’s confidence drops by 30% between the ages of 8 – 14. This week on...
Is it appropriate to cry in front of your children? To be angry? To show frustration? How we express our emotions in front of our kids is an important component to their emotional development and in tricky parenting moments what to do and how to...
In this episode, a parent asks, “Will our kids be confused by the difference between my partner’s and my parenting style?” It’s not uncommon when one parent leans one way in an aspect of parenting for the other parent to lean the other way...
A parent expresses concern for her 3-year-old’s constant state of aggravation and whininess. Her daughter seems to wake up out of sorts. The parent is trying to be patient but is struggling and feels she and her partner are, “At their...
Unlike IQ, EQ (emotional quotient) matures mainly through nurture – how our caregivers respond to us and role model their own emotional growth. This week on family360 we’re digging into the profound work of Dr. John Gottman and 4 common...
Dr. Kristy Goodwin believes bombarding parents with warnings about pornography, social media, and screen addiction renders us ineffective. Techno-guilting turns us off and shuts us down. And, expecting parents to stay savvy with all the newest...
This episode explores the healing power of movement with dance director and author of Bare – The Misplaced Art of Grieving and Dance, Sandy Oshiro Rosen. North American society notoriously gears us up to power-through vital messages from our...
In this episode, we’re talking with Dr. Hillary McBride about why 90% of children, who freely run, roll, wiggle and laugh when they are young, become so unhappy with their bodies later on in life, and how they can learn to engage and delight within...
This episode is all about sex and pleasure and how we cultivate those kinds of desires after having kids. We’re with UBC professor and director of the Women’s Health Institute, Dr. Lori Brotto. Universally, sexual desire diminishes after having...
ADHD, autism, anxiety, learning disabled… neurodivergence is all around us. These are people who don’t conform and who author and activist Debbie Reber believes we need, to come up with creative solutions to see the world differently. Debbie’s...
Dr. Ken Ginsburg wants us all to know that having a teen is just as exciting as having a baby. AND that our adolescents need us as intensely as our toddlers. In this episode he passionately dispels myths about pre-teens and teens, that compromise...
We’re barraged with controversial decisions when we have a new baby; breastfeeding, childcare, co-sleeping, sleep training… and often new parents resist discussing opinions with family and friends, even between themselves, fearing unwanted feedback...
Whether it’s having a new baby, starting our kids into school, transitioning into teen years, or navigating relational realities, our life continually moves through passages. Luci Shaw is a professor, and poet with over 35 published books, including...
Starting school can be an exciting time and a scary time for children and for parents. With 12 years of education ahead, starting school with enthusiasm and energy is the launch we want for our little ones. This week on family360, host Rachel Cram...
It’s not uncommon for kids to cry about not wanting to go to school. Transitioning from home to school is tough because it requires significant shifts in focus and feeling. However, when a child’s crying continues for weeks/months, and leaving home...
In this episode, family counselor Gila Golub describes how generationally past patterns shape our present relationships and realities. Through her own story and study, Gila shares, “When we are unable to change a situation or relationship, we...
A recent study by the International Institute of Mental Health revealed one in two children will develop a mood or behaviour disorder or a substance addiction before the age of 18. In this episode, journalist and parenting specialist, Katherine...
In this episode of family360, Ranbir Puar shares the story of her birth in India as the 5th daughter to parents who longed for a son. Growing up unseen and feeling unwanted, she saw herself as a victim in her home – a narrative she redefined...
Toilet training is a significant first step on the long and winding journey of learning self-control, and it’s a step we want to celebrate with our kids. In this episode of family360 we’re with warm and humorous educator, Dr. Katie Rinald...
Insomnia affects 40% of adults and we can lie awake worrying about having it! Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia is the recommended route to restore sleep patterns for people struggling with insomnia and in this episode, sleep specialist Tony...
High-quality relationships start with high-quality connections. We’re constantly scanning our relationships for social cues on whether we belong and are valued. This week on family360 our guest is psychologist, family therapist and author Dr. Rod...
This episode is filled with engaging and enlightening stories from early childhood educator and international consultant, Tom Hobson. Through decades of study and practice with preschoolers, “Teacher Tom” understands how children ‘learn how to...
This week on family360, we’re in conversation with New York Times Bestselling author, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, talking about being present for our kids so they feel safe, seen, soothed and secure. Seeking safety is a biological instinct. Our kids will...
The phrase, “all you need is love,” rings true until all you need is sleep… then ‘love’ takes a close second. In this episode of family360, pediatric sleep specialist Tara Mitchell talks about the toll sleep deprivation takes on family functioning...
Until the 21st century, we thought skills and capacities discovered in childhood set the standard for adulthood. We assumed people grew from a ‘fixed mindset’, giving way to phrases such as “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Ongoing...
Michele Borba is an internationally renowned educational psychologist recognized for her decades of research and study on the teaching of character. She’s a dynamic and engaging writer and speaker and in this episode, you’ll hear story after story...
We’re wired for togetherness above all else. Separation is like the fire alarm that goes off in our brain crying, “Somethings wrong here! Pay attention!” In this episode of family360, clinical psychologist Dr. Deborah MacNamara describes 5 key...
In 2019, months before the beginning of the COVID pandemic, author and teen specialist Michelle Mitchell released a prescient book titled Self Harm: Why Teens Do It And What Parents Can Do To Help. Since the beginning of COVID, medical reports...
Ep. 58 – Grief: When A Parent Dies – Dr. Carson and Kristin Pue, Dr. Scott Cairns and Carolyn Arends
If life and death occur in the natural order of our expectations, our parents pass away when we are well into our adulthood, but even when we’ve anticipated this loss, we’re often not prepared for our grief. There is no right or wrong way to grieve...
Did you know there are 4 communication habits that ruin relationships? Criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. We often engage in these without knowing. Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart is a pediatric specialist, a writer for The Gottman...
Social development starts at home and continues when our kids start school. Do you remember the scene from Lion King where Rafiki stands on Pride Rock, holding Simba for all to see? As parents, we can relate! We want to hold our children up for all...
In this episode, Dr. Shahana Alibhai shares the story of her lifelong struggle with OCD, how it intensified with the birth of her child, and how she eventually sought help and healing. Content note: Please be aware suicide is mentioned briefly in...
Everyone of us is covered in trillions of microbes, some of which make us sick. Antibiotics and vaccines save us from diseases these devastating microbes deliver. Unfortunately, they also kill many other microbes that would host our health and...
In his mid teens, Cal and Suzie Warneke’s son Josh started to struggle with his mental health. This episode is the story of their family’s journey. 1 in 5 children experience a severe mental health condition sometime between the ages of 13-18. For...
In her newest book, Parenting Right From The Start, Dr. Vanessa writes, “to believe that your thoughts are your concrete reality is probably one of the most torturous misconceptions humans experience.” In this episode, Vanessa describes how the...
Every moment of every day our subconscious mind runs stories that perpetuate our perspectives and practices that affect our parenting. We all do this! In this episode, the insightful and vivacious Dr. Vanessa Lapointe shares from her newest book...
What’s the biology behind our child’s tantrums and meltdowns? How do we navigate ‘screen time’? When to give our kids control? Why do we want a guinea pig!?! Accompanied by Maggie’s humor and warm heart, this episode covers a wonderful and wide...
In her newest children’s book, Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith writes, “When we are kind we remember we are all related.” Monique’s celebrated works on Truth and Reconciliation offer a doorway into discovering our shared humanity – and...
In this episode of family360, award-winning creator of Easy Daysies, and mom of 3, Elaine Tan Comeau, tells the story of her stroke; how it happened, how she coped and how it changed her perspectives on caring for herself and her ‘running the show,’...
Picky eaters. Slow eaters. Messy eaters. Overeaters. With young children, mealtimes can feel more like endurance than enjoyment. Providing a healthy diet is one thing. Getting our kids to eat it is another. In this episode, Dr. Natasha Beck (aka Dr...
Ninety percent of our values, attitudes, and beliefs are shaped before we are 7 years old – shaped but not set in stone. Where needed, we can re-parent ourselves and grow ourselves up to be the people and the parents we want to be. In this...
This episode is a popular repeat from season one of family360 and our first interview (of two so far) with Dr. Gordon Neufeld. In this episode, he identifies the six stages of attachment upon which a child builds their ongoing capacity for caring...
This episode is from our 2019 conversation with Family Therapist Ted Leavitt. Ted describes his adult diagnosis of ADHD as a discovery that changed everything, including his personal perspectives and professional practices. Ted now focuses on...
In this episode, Australian author, educator and host of ABC’s Parental As Anything podcast Maggie Dent, generously and humorously shares from her 3 decades as a parenting specialist. Maggie specializes in resilience training, particularly in the...
In this episode, physician and author Dr. Bal Pawa is the author of the bestseller, The Mind-Body Cure – how we heal our pain, anxiety, and fatigue by controlling chronic stress. Dr. Pawa describes that when we learn to name, tame and reframe...
In this episode, mental health specialist Dr. John Swinton shares from his many years as a psychiatric nurse and advocate for community care and inclusion. He says, “When you spend time with people who see the world differently, you begin to see the...
In this episode, Child Psychologist Dr. Deborah MacNamara unpacks the myriad reasons and motives as to why our kids fight, and has great perspectives to offer. From everyday questions to complex problems, her strategies for making headway with our...
In this episode, adolescent specialist Michelle Mitchell explains why maintaining a solid connection with teens is essential but not easy, especially when they’re grumpy! Through her books and speaking, Michelle Mitchell offers compassion...
Through her study and work with children in trauma, Dr. Lacy Finn Borgo sees the importance of trusted adults engaging in spiritual conversation with children, and describes BOW (an acronym for Body, Openness and Wonder) that avails children to...
In this episode, author and social justice activist Tim Huff discusses compassion through the lens of his three decades serving the homeless on the streets of Toronto. Tim believes bringing children into conversations on social concern is key to how...
In this episode, neurologic music therapist Allison Davies describes MUSIC as, “the mother tongue of the brain” and an antidote to the bombardment of sensory information flooding our world. This interview is filled with accessible ideas for a...
Kim Zeglinski grew up “pretending to be normal”. Her young son’s diagnosis of autism offered Kim insight, not only for her son but also for herself. At 43 years of age, Kim too was diagnosed on the spectrum. In this episode, Kim shares her...
In this episode, sexual health educator and author Saleema Noon shares with a candor, humor and humility that have earned her multiple awards and national acclaim. “All children have a right to scientific understanding about their bodies,” says...
In this episode of Family360, pediatrician and adolescent specialist, Dr. Dzung Vo, describes ‘stress’ as a root cause of mental and physical health during teen years. “Adolescence is a time when our kids need us the most,” says Dr. Vo...
In this episode, author and developmental theorist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, describes the 7 properties of true play. He identifies play as a basic human drive that starts at birth and remains essential throughout all of life. Globally, psychologists...
In this episode, author and parenting specialist Janet Lansbury explains why boundaries are one of the highest forms of love. Many parents are uncomfortable being large and in charge, even though their children desperately need and want them to be...
In this episode mental health specialist and Vicar, Dr. Sharon Smith, explains how we infuse protection and preventative care into our mental health by the giving and receiving of friendship. Whether or not we’re diagnosed with a mental health...
Mahatma Gandhi said, “If we want to reach peace in the world, we must begin with the children.” His words are foundational to the mission of family 360 podcast. In this episode we’re sharing a collection of excerpts from our first season of guests...
In this second of her two part episode, author and parenting specialist Ann Douglas continues her discussion on mental health with a focus on self compassion. Through her own journey with Bipolar disorder, and as parent to four (now adult) children...
In this episode, author and parenting specialist Ann Douglas describes the inescapable whirlwind of a mental health crisis. Through personal experience, Ann recognizes the challenge of finding harbours of safety when these winds of challenge blow...
In this episode of Family 360, we continue our discussion with Family Therapist Ted Leavitt on the effects of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD on a person’s potential, productivity and self esteem. Diagnosed with ADHD in his thirties, Ted describes...
In this episode, Family Therapist Ted Leavitt describes his diagnosis of ADHD as a discovery that changed everything, including his personal perspectives and professional practice. For the last decade, in addition to his counselling work, Ted...
This is the second of a two part series with Dr. Malcolm Guite. In this episode, Dr. Guite reflects on how leaps of imagination can free us for innovative thinking. Imagination, he says, fuels our understanding of ourselves, our relationships and...
This is part one of a two part conversation with Dr. Malcolm Guite. In this episode, Dr. Guite describes his vibrant childhood journey from Nigeria to Cambridge and his parent’s presentation of ‘life’ as a stage for wonder, poetry and imagination...
In this episode, Family Therapist Carolynn Turner describes how, in the process of living, our emotions can detach from our experience. When this happens, we deny our body its voice and erode our sense of self. Over time, this can leave us feeling...
In this episode, counselor and teacher Gila Golub describes how generationally past patterns shape our present relationships and realities. Through her own story and study, Gila shares; ‘when we are unable to change a situation or relationship, we...
In this episode Author and Life Strategies Coach Ranbir Puar shares the story of her birth in India as the 5th daughter to parents who longed for a son. Growing up unseen and unheard, she saw herself as a victim in her home – a narrative she...
In this episode of Family 360, family therapist David Loyst shares how reflections of his childhood shaped perspectives he didn’t recognize until his own marriage and family was in jeopardy. David describes how we can revisit our childhoods to...
In this episode, Brian and Joyce Doerksen describe their lament, learning and shifting expectations as they journey through the unanticipated diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome upon their six children. Fragile X is the #1 inherited mental disorder with...
In this episode, musician and producer Marcus Mosely shares his deep understanding of music as a wonderfully vibrant source of connection to our inner selves and to others. He shares from his 4 prolific decades as a performer, advocating for mutual...
In this episode, author and parenting educator Maggie Dent explains, “Resilience isn’t a trait you are born with, it is determined by the systems we live within.” These systems include family, school and faith systems alongside a capacity to help...
Maggie Dent is an Australian parenting author, educator and speaker as well as the host of ABC’s Parental As Anything podcast. Known in Australia as the “Queen Of Common Sense”, Maggie specializes in resilience training, particularly in the early...
In this episode, Dr. Ken Ginsburg describes our current world crisis as a generation defining moment. The loss of school, sports, activities and experience outside of home all cause unique levels of stress for teens. As well, it can be an...
In this episode, author and educator Muriel Endersby shares from her five decades as a literacy specialist. Literacy is a basic currency for knowledge and the gateway to human progress. Alongside education, literacy is deemed the right of a child...
In this episode, environmental educator David Anderson describes his work with international environmental organization A Rocha, inspiring communities to practically engage and steward their neighbourhoods. He describes risk as a human necessity for...
In this episode, poet, publisher and author Luci Shaw describes what she calls, “The crime of living cautiously.” Luci loves the idea that we can say to a child, “Look this way! There is something fresh to enter into your life,” rather than...
This episode walks the uprooted and unsettled ground of our world health pandemic. Life is disrupted and stress and anxiety are natural responses in the midst of health, financial and family concern. Child Psychologist Dr. Vanessa Lapointe and...
In this episode, beloved children’s troubadour, environmental activist, and author Raffi, offers his holistic vision for honouring children and respecting the earth. He says,“If we are serious in our desire to give our best to the young, we need to...
In this episode, Jill Alexander shares the story of giving her child up for adoption. Her journey through loss, co-dependency and discovery shines light on the complex weight of shame and the hope of reconciliation and connection with her past...
In this episode, family therapist and nonviolent communication specialist, Jamil Popatia, discusses a paradigm for mitigating conflict through the understanding of universal needs. Drawing on the work of Victor Frankl (Man’s Search For...
In this episode, Child Psychologist, Author and Developmental Theorist, Dr Neufeld describes play as the “elixir” to healthy growth and development in all relationships including marriage. He explains The Pyramid of Potential; describing potential...
In this episode, Child Psychologist, Author, and Developmental Theorist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, outlines 6 stages of growth and development for building ‘capacity for relationship’ within ourselves and with others. He describes ‘togetherness’ as a...
In this episode, musician and activist, Steve Bell, describes the trauma of his childhood in the face of his mother’s mental illness. His story twists and turns through his childhood to a top security prison, where inmates offered his family a haven...
In this episode, award-winning athlete, Rolande, tells the story of her adoption from Haiti and the implications of early separation on her mental health and well being. Through therapy and family support, Rolande’s story demonstrates the power of...
In this episode, child psychologist and best selling author, Dr Lapointe, explains the process of neuroplasticity. She describes how confident, capable, caring parents and caregivers act as a brain bridge for self regulation within a growing child...
Welcome to the pilot episode of the Family 360 Podcast! Educator Rachel Cram and Music Producer Roy Salmond bring their diverse decades of expertise and experience to bring you Family 360, a podcast to encourage and explore the many angles of life...