Digital Media Wellness for Kids & Teens: An interview with Julia Storm

Digital Media Wellness for Kids & Teens:  An interview with Julia Storm

How many times have you found yourself in a tech hole where you’ve been scrolling for what feels like an eternity yet you still can’t switch off the device? After you feel groggy and unmotivated to do anything. If it happens to us… then surely that same feeling happens to our kids and some of them don’t have the skill to recognize what’s going on. This episode is all about keeping children safe online, teaching them to look after their mind and body to use tech in a useful way without damaging their health. My guest Julia Storm is a Los Angeles-based Digital Media Wellness Specialist, the perfect person to talk to on this subject! Let’s dive in…

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Coping Skills for Adults: Processing Strategies

Coping Skills for Adults: Processing Strategies

Have you ever taken part in your own gratefulness experiment? Perhaps you have written a small list every day for a month to see how it impacts you? Studies show that practicing gratefulness can benefit your psychological well being, improve relationships, increase empathy, reduce toxic emotions and is just in general good for your wellbeing. Whether you’ve done this before or you’re a first-timer, then is there a better time to do this than in the month of Thanksgiving? I think not!

Using Music Therapy to Teach Skills at School: An Interview with Ryan Judd

Using Music Therapy to Teach Skills at School: An Interview with Ryan Judd

This episode is all about music. Have you ever felt anxious and put on your favorite calming song? Or perhaps sad and delved into a heartfelt playlist? I would guess most of us use music to fuel our tough workouts! My guest on this episode Ryan Judd is an internationally known music therapist who uses the power of song with children - mainly in the school setting. Research shows music produces Oxytocin in the brain which is the hormone associated with social bonding, a very important skill to learn as a child. Listening isn’t the only part that is beneficial, but playing music can help children bond further and release any emotions through sensory play.

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Coping Skills for Adults: Distraction Strategies

Coping Skills for Adults: Distraction Strategies

Today I want to focus on the coping style of distraction. Distraction is really focused on play and fun activities to help us manage big thoughts, emotions and feelings, but let’s focus on the adult piece of play in this episode. Play is a natural stress reliever which can have a big impact on relationships and work therefore we could all do with a little more fun and play in our lives. I want you to consider; what is fun for you? What can you do today to help relieve some stress?

Give me some space! Helping children self-regulate at school, home, and anywhere!

Give me some space! Helping children self-regulate at school, home, and anywhere!

This week I spoke to the lovely Jana York, a certified mindfulness and meditation teacher about how we can help our kids through the power of the breath. Mindfulness thankfully is everywhere these days, it may have started in the east but it’s definitely being adopted in the west. Speaking of geography, Jana York has taught children in Japan and Thailand, from her experience there she learned a lot of ways to use sensory toys and games to help children self-regulate and be more at peace with their anxiety.

Coping Skills for Adults: Relaxation Strategies

Coping Skills for Adults: Relaxation Strategies

This is the second episode in the ‘Coping Skills for Adults’ series, today I’m focusing on relaxation strategies. It’s so helpful to have a variety of coping strategies because each one will work better for different times. This episode is all about tapping into yourself, working out what works specifically for you, ignoring what you’re told should work on social media or by other people. The beauty of the human race is that we’re all different so listen to yourself and tap into what works for you…

Raising Happy Kids - An interview with Maureen Healy, Author of The Happiness Workbook for Kids

Raising Happy Kids - An interview with Maureen Healy, Author of The Happiness Workbook for Kids

Award-winning author Maureen Healy is my guest on this week’s episode to talk all about emotions. When you think that our brains aren’t fully developed until our mid-twenties, it puts into perspective how difficult it is to deal with ever-changing emotions at the age of, say, 8 years old. My guest, Maureen, talks about her book ‘The Happiness Workbook for Kids’, and how it can help you as a parent or teacher to teach kids how to deal with emotions in a healthy way….

Coping Skills for Adults: Deep Breathing Strategies

Coping Skills for Adults: Deep Breathing Strategies

It’s been a while since I recorded a solo episode so here goes! During my mini break I was thinking; what can I do to support educators, counselors, families and parents with my podcast? And from that I felt inspired to do a mini series on coping skills for adults! I thought it’s a good time of year to start this series with a new school year approaching. It’s such a stressful and overwhelming time and I want to help you with it.

Communication and Social Skills - An interview with Heidi Miller, Speech Language Pathologist

Communication and Social Skills - An interview with Heidi Miller, Speech Language Pathologist

On today’s show I speak to Speech Language Pathologist Heidi Miller about all things speech related. SLP’s help children with speech i.e. the way they articulate sounds, they help with language, so the way they put words together which also encompasses social skills so what a person says, how they say it, when they say it and picking up on others peoples cue’s which for some children can be a real challenge. It’s a big subject so we start by talking about how children’s social skills have changed since the pandemic…

The Value of Breathing and Mindfulness for Kids with Jennifer Cohen Harper

The Value of Breathing and Mindfulness for Kids with Jennifer Cohen Harper

Take a long, slow, deep breath. In… and out. Doesn’t that feel a lot better? Today’s episode is all about breathing and how to regulate your nervous system. A lot of people say it and it’s just so true, the breath is so powerful and a good way to help navigate difficult situations and emotions. My guest is an expert in this field, Jennifer Cohen Harper is a mindfulness and yoga educator and she tells me the best practices when it comes to using your breath as well as the following topics…

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