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Published by Dr. Deanna Marie Mason PhD
Explore expert, judgment-free guidance on nurturing values in children within the modern family.
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Today’s topic has become a common theme in recent decades, but it’s helpful to talk about what the scientific literature is showing so we can make good choices for our families. Globally, we continue to see a rise in overweight and obese children. This information is pretty well known, but, for me, the interesting part is that children generally grew in a healthy manner, meaning their height and weight increased proportionally so they maintained a healthy weight until age 5. But during the school years, they started to either gain too much weight or too little height for healthy growth. So, the question that begs to be asked is, why does this trend start after age 5 and not before? We know that a child’s height and weight are indicators of the quality of their diet and living environment, as well as being predictive of future health and well-being. So the answer to this question reinforces the importance of promoting healthy growth across all developmental years.
I’m going to touch on a hot-button issue today that I know is very controversial - vaccines. Before I start, I want to clarify my position as an educator to avoid anyone reading anything into what I want to say about vaccines. As most of my listeners know, I base all my podcasts, books, workshops, programs, and courses on current research, best practice policies by leading health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the European Pediatric Association and a firm understanding of developmental pediatrics. I have no personal gripe with the medical establishment, holistic medicine, or scientific process. My position on vaccines as a PhD prepared researcher and certified pediatric nurse practitioner is guided by top-tier peer-reviewed scientific research and my knowledge of the dangers of childhood illnesses, such as diphtheria, polio, measles, rubella, that are prevented with vaccines. I have no agenda beyond wanting to give accurate, unbiased information so you can make the best decision for your child. So, if you have a different perspective on this issue, that is okay. A human right we all have is the right to use the information we choose to when making decisions. You may choose to use and trust different sources. The information that is going to be discussed here today is based on research that has been published in peer-reviewed journals, that has been replicated and validated multiple times. It is at your discretion to consider this information or ignore it. My goal is to share what is published in the scientific literature so you have the most up-to-date information available. With that said, I’ll continue... Research continues to confirm the findings of past studies showing that the measles, mumps, and rubella, or MMR, vaccine does not raise the risk of autism, even among children who are at increased genetic risk. These recent studies, plus miríada of multiple previous studies, have shown that there is no link between the MMR vaccine, nor any vaccine, and autism.
Today’s topic is for parents of children of every age. We are going to be talking about the exciting and controversial world of highly processed foods. Why we have them, what they are made out of, and what they do in the human body compared to unprocessed foods. So whether you have a 6 month old who you want to introduce their first solid foods, or if you’re tackling the issues of a toddler who is a picky eater, or are trying to find interesting foods to pack in your kiddo’s lunchboxes, or have teens with ravenous appetites, today’s talk will give you more information to make the right choices for your family.
In my time working with parents, a lot of parents have asked if their child is getting enough exercise. It’s a real and honest question in today’s busy life. Everyone knows exercise is great for weight management, strong bones and muscles, good posture, and heart health. Everyone also knows that exercise is good for our bodies and minds. However, it can be hard to carve out time for exercise, especially when our kids are so busy with school, clubs, and activities. It can be even more difficult to determine how much exercise a child needs to stay healthy when they have so many different activities running simultaneously. The good news is, there are resources available to help parents know how much exercise is needed as well as what type. Together, this helps families create an environment where children are entertained and having fun while getting their appropriate amount of exercise.
Sadly, marketing to children is not limited to just toys or activities anymore. Food manufactures have made children the target of heavy media advertising for nefarious foods. More than half of the foods that are advertised on television to children do not meet government nutritional guidelines. In an age where most western societies are battling to change the trend in overweight and obese children, this is a concerning issue for many reasons. First, children don’t fully understand what a balance diet consists of and therefore want the bright colored, playful food products they see. And second, the advertising is purposely placed where it will have the most impact - during children’s programming or on channels designed for children. While we as parents can’t do much about what is advertised, there are ways that we can help reduce the influence of marketing and lower our children’s demands for foods with low nutritional quality.
While reading my scientific journals, I came across some interesting findings published in the MMWR by physician Bryan Stierman and colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital who used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for patients aged 19 years and younger. Their review of the data found that approximately 1/3 of children and teens are taking dietary supplements. The study sample was quite large, with 3,683 participants. So it gives us a good idea that what they found is quite typical. And in that sample the researchers noticed that 34% of the participants had taken supplements in the past 30 days with girls using supplements slightly more than boys. And whey they compared their results with the results of previous studies, it appears that dietary supplements may help to mitigate, or lessen, nutrient shortfalls from a unbalanced diet but may also lead to nutrient intake above recommended upper limits for some nutrients. So this tells us that supplements can be a good thing in certain situations but need to be used with caution. A review of literature by pharmacist Edward A. Bell notes that data supporting the use if supplements in otherwise healthy individuals is weak. So, based on this data, the question that jumps to mind is: Are nutritional supplements safe for kids?
Many of the parents I work with wonder how much sleep their child needs. And, simple said - it depends. But it’s easy to find the answer by considering a few important questions: The first is, “Does my child receive enough sleep, rest and relaxation so he or she can learn, grow, participate and complete daily activities without becoming tired?” The next is, “Does my child have a physical space, such as a bedroom, that helps them sleep, rest, and relax? And the final question is, “Does my child have a social environment, such as a family routine or day care, that helps them sleep, rest and relax? When put together, these questions answer the larger and more pressing question of whether a child’s sleep, rest and relaxation pattern is contributing to his or her health, growth, and development. Because in the end, that’s what sleep is for. Sleep supports maintaining a healthy body that is strong and resists illness. Sleep also gives the body time to rest so it can build and repair tissue for growth. And, finally, sleep is a time when the brain gets to process, organize and store all the learning that happened that day. So while sleep is a singular activity, it works on many different levels within the body.
I think one of the most difficult things we do to ourselves as parents is to make ourselves appear happy on the outside when we really feel stressed on the inside. The amount of energy it takes to put on a show of happiness is tremendous. Especially when we are already busy working on trying to solve what is making us feel stressed. The extra effort to appear happy taxes our system even more. Modern life has given us this false idea that we have to be enjoying ourselves on a moment-to-moment basis to be successful or happy. There is a trend to document all the #beautiful, #authentic, #blessings, #whatever to show everyone that we’re making it. This can be as simple as the specialty coffee that drink every morning or sweaty selfies at the gym or even an Amazon haul to show of fashion forward we are. From the outside our lives can appear to others as a fantasy or dream. Those people looking at our lives from the outside can’t see or feel the daily stress that creeps in just to get by. Jobs can be challenging, children can go through periods that test our patience as parents, illnesses can surprise us, and sometimes there is just bad luck that throws us a curveball. This dissonance between what we actually live and what we present to others to see from the outside can create a social pressure to give people what they expect. It can almost make us feel like we have an unconscious obligation to perform. There are numerous costs to us, and our families, when we pretend we are fine, even when we’re not.
Today’s topic is a hot one because it deals with video game addiction. Gaming is a big part of a lot of people’s lives and can be a wonderful source of entertainment. However, as with most things, too much of anything usually isn’t that good for us. So today we are going to look at new information about how gaming can become problematic for some children and teens. It’s important that parents know the risks and help guide their children towards a balanced use of video game engagement to avoid problems later. Prevention is the key to avoiding fights and issues related to video game playing.
Today’s topic is a sad and difficult issue to talk about, but because infant deaths related to suffocation continue to happen, I think it’s important that we discuss why it happens and what can be done to protect against it. Infant death related to accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed appears to be on the rise. In 1992, pediatric health organizations recommended that infants be placed on their back to sleep and this reduced the occurrence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) dramatically. However, at the same time, sleep-related suffocation, asphyxia, entrapment, and other unspecified causes of infant death have risen. Focusing on safe sleep environments that reduce the risk of all types of sleep-related infant deaths, including SIDS, may keep your baby safe.
Okay, so today’s topic, spanking, may be a sensitive one for you based on your beliefs and ideas about parenting. Believe me, you’re not alone. Whether you are on the side of spanking or not, about 20% of parents admit to using physical punishment such as spanking or swatting as part of disciplining their children. Let me clarify, this is the percentage of parents who admit doing it. From what I see in my practice, it may be more common than that statistic lets on. However, among those that admit to spanking, interestingly, most also report not feeling very good about doing it. Why would the parenting world be so divided on this issue. It’s probably because nearly all parents report that parenting is their greatest joy and, simultaneously, nearly three-quarters also describe parenting as their greatest challenge. So almost all parents find joy in the task of being a parent, but nearly 75% also say it’s a big job that is hard to do. It only makes sense that parents who are frustrated or feeling challenged would consider using spanking as a way of managing their children’s behavior - it may have been used by the
Today’s episode stems from a question I received from a listener. A first-time mom of a 4-month-old infant asked me if I knew any science-based tips to help them manage air travel with an infant. She said she had traveled often for work and was frequently surprised that parents couldn’t seem to control their infants on flights. Now that she was a mother, she better understood that no one can control babies. But, she hoped that there were some suggestions on how to help parents and babies manage flights with less stress. As we know, modern life often requires plane travel for families. As this listener shared, frequent travelers know the dread when a flight is full of infants or small children. And, anyone who flies with any regularity has a story of a flight that was filled with continuous ear piercing screams of an infant or small child. This awareness can be horrifying for parents when they must fly with their infant or small children. Luckily, some basic information and a good dose of humor will help most parents navigate air travel with infants and small children successfully. I assure you, there is no need to feel overwhelmed or shamed. All you need is the right information to help make everything easier.
Have you ever wondered if there is an easy way to boost your child’s brainpower and make him or her smarter? Luckily, the research shows that one simple, practically free, activity can help your child use his or her brain more effectively. Most parents know that reading to children can have an important affect on how early kiddos learn to read independently and how well they perform in school. Reading to children from birth onwards has always been linked to better learning outcomes. However, current research shows how reading stimulates the brain and creates this change. MRI studies confirm that reading stimulates the brain to improve the way it creates meaning from language. Even more interesting is that these brain changes, from being read to, leads to improved reading skills and advanced language development.
A great thing about our kiddos getting older is that our children become exposed to many different ways of being a family. At school they mix with children from other backgrounds, other types of families, and learn that there are many different ways of being a family. This makes them tolerant, accepting, and more open, which are fabulous traits for their futures. Yet, many times our children may seek out friends who appear to be similar to them, such as speak the same language natively, look similar to them, or play the same sport. When external characteristics become the defining traits to start friendships, the more important characteristics such as honesty, compassion, or fairness may be forgotten. As a parent, this can mean that, at times, our child has invited over a friend that does not fit our ideal image of who we want our child playing with. The children may speak the same language or play the same sport, but the children are worlds apart in terms of upbringing, values, and norms of behavior. The situation may be even more complex if the problematic friend is the son or daughter of a colleague or someone seen frequently at school events or activities.
It seems today that we are constantly consuming media messaging that is meant to make us feel like we are somehow behind or lacking what others have. This phenomenon has not skipped parenting. There are parenting influencers showing us an edited, stylized version of what their families are like. Please know I am not judging what other do or how they make a living. What I am pointing out is that it has never been so easy to peek into other people’s lives and use that information as a mirror in which to judge our own capacity, ability, or success. In it’s lightest, breeziest form, TikToks, Instagram reels, and Facebook videos allow parents to see the similarities between our experiences. It creates a sense of connection that binds us in our shared lived experience trying to raise children in a certain time in history. That is a good thing. Especially for parents who are otherwise isolated - such as parents of babies or small children or parents of children with special needs. However, it’s important to give light to the darker side of this trend. Not all parenting content creators are completely transparent or honest. There are some questionable creators that are performative. They act out the role of mother or father but are actually wrapped up in their own experience rather than caring for their child. The child becomes an object or prop in which to show how wonderful the parent is.
Today we’re going to talk about getting little ones to eat, but not too much, and the right things. There are so many theories about how to get our kiddos to eat veggies, fruits, fish, beans, but the answer to how to get kids to eat healthy foods is really naturally built into them. All we have to do as parents is to let the natural process do it’s thing. And what is that natural process? Simply put, it’s hunger.
Today’s topic is a hot-button one and I know I am going to get a lot of feedback from listeners. Yet, the research and scientific evidence is imploring me to cover this topic again because it is really important to your child’s health and well-being. Yep, I’m talking about the importance of free play Just about every parent I have worked with for the last 10 years has had a love-hate relationship with screens and their children. Almost all the parents I work with know that too much screen time is not a good thing. And almost all of them feel guilty about how much time their kiddos are in front of screens while simultaneously feeling that screens are necessary to calm, soothe, distract, and manage children today. Those are a lot of emotions to have about a tool that is meant to improve our lives. So let’s take a look at what the research is telling us and try to find that equilibrium that meets the needs of the modern family while simultaneously supporting the proper growth and development of our little ones with free play.
Recently, while reading my pediatric professional journals, I came across an interesting article. The article was about helping parents understand food trends and decipher food labels to make truly healthy choices for their toddlers. While the paper was focused on very young children, the information they shared is really applicable to children and teens of all ages. For this reason, I thought I would use this article as a basis for todays show. Understanding nutrition is not as easy as it may appear. Everyday on commercials, on television, on Instagram, on Facebook, on the radio, just about everywhere, we hear nutrition information about calories, fat, sugar, carbohydrates, macros, eating for your body type, veganism, vegetarianism, keto, intermittent fasting, etc., etc., etc. Everyone seems to be an expert and has cracked the code on how to eat well and stay lean. Yet, obesity rates continue to climb, especially in our youth population. Diseases related to poor nutrition are claiming more lives every year. And people are feeling less and less confident about how to manage their own diet and nutrition within the constraints of modern life. Then, adding the responsibility of choosing meals and snacks for our little ones can feel overwhelming. So, let’s start talking about how to navigate food trends and food labels to make sound, scientifically based decisions for your modern family while providing the best nutrition for your kiddos.
Today I want to talk about that sweetest of age, the early school age years. Depending on where you are listening from, school may start for your little one at age 3, as in Western Europe, or age 5-6, as is common in the Americas. Regardless of where and when your kidlet is attending school, you can take advantage of the power of routines to help at home and at school. These years of early education are a remarkable time of transition for your child. Your little one will move from completely focusing on themselves to engaging with other children and adults. This is a huge opportunity for you, as a parent, to use this natural developmental stage to guide them towards behaviors that will help them understand their place in the larger context of the family, other children, and be in the classroom. The key to guiding your child successfully during this stage is to set up an environment that supports this growing confidence to maximize their new skills and abilities while keeping them safe and avoiding accidental parenting. The best and easiest way to do this is by having clear, age-appropriate limits to protect their safety and building family routines so everyone can participate and feel good about being independent and successful contributing to family unit.
It’s hard to be a parent these days. There seems to be so much information out there in formats that are easily accessible, but try to remember that all the information you may see or read online is not what it appears to be. As a community, we need to start looking at what is happening and how we can help our kiddos thrive. Being self-compassionate is a big part of being a parent who raises happy and healthy children. Being kind to ourselves, knowing that other parents are dealing with the same issues, and taking a mindful moment to recognize what is happening let’s us make better decisions.
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