Make It a Great One with Dr. Dan: #1 Podcast for Inspiring Conversations to Live and Lead On Purpose

Dr. Dan welcomes author Elizabeth Segran to episode 93 to discuss her book THE ROCKET YEARS: How Your Twenties Launch the Rest of Your Life. In her encouraging new book, Elizabeth arms young people and their concerned parents with the tools to confront uncertain times and to make the most of the critical “twenties” years to create a “dream” life. We tend to think of our twenties as a playground for life: a time for low-consequence experimentation and delaying big decisions.  Elizabeth’s book (and the data shows), the choices we make (or put off!) during this critical decade about our career, marriage, health, friends, even downtime, have the greatest impact on how our lives play out.  Today’s episode invites listeners (parents and young adults) to think critically and holistically about the life they want to build and why the choices we make in our twenties matter.   Dr. Dan and Elizabeth talk about how the twenties can be a launchpad for a bright and successful future.  Topics related to the decisions we make in our twenties include:  Career Marriage Kids and Family Politics Fitness Friends Hobbies The show ends with Elizabeth’s unique Parent Footprint moment about her own parents.  Elizabeth Segran attended Columbia University and received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in women’s studies and Indian literature. She is a senior staff writer at the business magazine Fast Company and her work has been published in The Atlantic, The Nation, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and The New Republic.  She lives in Boston with her husband and daughter.  For more information visit: http://www.elizabethsegran.com/ Watch this free video to learn more about Dr. Dan and Parent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan welcomes esteemed author and journalist KJ Dell'Antonia to the podcast to discuss her parenting, her writing career and her newest book, a debut novel THE CHICKEN SISTERS and how to find happiness in everyday parenting experiences.  KJ is also the author HOW TO BE A HAPPIER PARENT and the writer of the viral New York Times parenting essay “Why I Didn’t Answer Your Email.”   KJ Dell’Antonia is also the former editor of the NYTimes’ Motherlode blog and a co-host of the #AmWriting podcast. Through her writing, KJ focuses on the societal, policy and personal factors that make finding family happiness is more relevant today than ever before. Weaving together KJ’s writing career with Dr. Dan’s expertise, KJ and Dr. Dan discuss many parenting topics in this episode including: The four things that happy parents do well and how you can do them, too  How important it is to change your “parenting narrative” so that you can improve your family’s happiness How to put sports and activities in their proper place so these things fit around your family and adult lives, and not the other way around How to structure your time in the kitchen so that it can become a happiness ritual for you and your kids Finding that balance between the big dreams and the day to day joys, and making choices that make us happy KJ’s new novel Episode 92 wraps up with KJ’s Parent Footprint moment where she explains how a broken leg helped her learn one of her biggest parenting lessons. For more information visit: https://kjdellantonia.com/ Watch this free video to learn more about Dr. Dan and Parent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan welcomes Sarah Andersen a personal development coach and founder of The Real Girl Lifestyle. Sarah is also the Director of The GRACED BY GRIT foundation which provides opportunities for girls to discover and develop their GRIT through empowerment events and a student-athlete scholarship fund.  Sarah Andersen is a Certified Personal Development and Life Coach for Teen Girls and Young Women. She lives in San Diego, California and coaches girls all over the country.  Sarah focuses on teen girls and young women however her advice on today’s episode is for all teens and is filled with empowering messages. Sarah works one-one-one, leads small groups, and speaks nationally about girl empowerment. In her coaching sessions, Sarah focuses on developing the teens' strengths and using creative tools and strategies to help them face challenges and obstacles with confidence.  Today’s podcast discussion includes these topics and questions:  How would you define authenticity? Why is it so important for teenagers to develop authenticity? With a culture that values perfection and success more than anything else it can be difficult to show our true colors, what are some ways parents can help their teens understand this?  How can parents themselves model what living authentically looks like? Tell us about the 3 I’s that you believe are contributing factors to a teenager’s journey of authenticity.  How does the fear of rejection influence and impact being our real selves? What are some of the obstacles that prevent us from being authentic? Sarah talks about her own parents during her Parent Footprint moment and her personal story links generations of Sarah’s family in what was a big moment of revelation for her and her Dad. Sarah Anderson is certified through Teen Wisdom Life Coaching, Institute for Integrated Nutrition, and the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute.  For more information about Sarah and her work visit:  The REAL Girl Lifestyle https://www.therealgirllifestyle.com/ . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today Dr. Dan welcomes Occupational Therapist and author Kelly Beins to the Parent Footprint podcast. Kelly Beins is an Occupational Therapist certified in sensory integration.  She has over 22 years of clinical experience.  Through her Ovis the Sheep book series, she uses characters and a love of reading to help children make challenging real-life experiences easier for families.  Kelly owns the private practice About Occupational Therapy Consulting, LLC in Frederick, Maryland.  The organization’s mission is to make life easier for children and families living with sensory processing disorder (SPD).  Kelly’s children's book series and her course for parents of kids with sensory processing challenges ("Sensory Parenting: An EASIER Way") as well as all of her work teaches parents to learn positive co-regulation. Kelly works through the many daily challenges so many families face (sleeping, eating, toileting, dressing), and explores the many overlaps between SPD and other existing conditions like ADHD, anxiety, and autism,  The world of sensory processing can be a confusing place. One in fifteen school-aged children experience sensory differences. Despite an advancing body of research and a quickly expanding body of knowledge, those children and families living with sensory differences often feel misunderstood, and at a loss for how to communicate to others what they are going through and what they need. Kelly’s work and her books are lighting the way for families to see everyday challenges more clearly and work through them. Dr. Dan and Kelly discuss the many types of sensory disorders, other diagnoses related to sensory processing disorder, mental health, parent survival tips, the importance of parent intuition, how kids mirror parental regulation/dysregulation, and many other important sensory related topics. At the end of today’s episode, Kelly shares two enlightening Parent Footprint moments that will surely resonate with listeners as she describes the intersection of her work and her parenting. Originally from Canada, Kelly lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters. For more information about Kelly and her books go to:  https://www.otc-frederick.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today Dr. Dan welcomes author Bethany Saltman to discuss her new book STRANGE SITUATION: A Mother’s Journey into the Science of Attachment.  Her fascinating discussion with Dr. Dan about parenting, attachment, love, and the current pandemic is riveting and revealing. In her 2016 New York Magazine feature that went viral, writer Bethany Saltman asked: “Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships?”.  She wrote about how surprised she was by her anger and frustration as a new mother, and her desire to find out what attachment (or a lack of secure attachment) might have to do with it all, ultimately discovering that attachment isn’t a checklist of behaviors developed by physical closeness but the product of secure relationships from one’s own past. While attachment science describes how we relate to others, it also shows us how truly entwined the success of our relationships is with our deepest sense of who we are.  Bethany’s book STRANGE SITUATION grew out of this article;  the book is a memoir hinging on science, biography, psychology and spiritual practice, and an indirect look at parenting, and how we are all interconnected by the feelings of attachment, but not by what experts and others typically suggest, or by co-sleeping or  baby slings but instead.  Dr. Dan and Bethany unravel what attachment is and how it happens. The good news:  the actual science of attachment makes it clear: every single one of us is attached, though some more securely than others. Dr. Dan and Bethany agree that who we are -- and our own self-awareness -- is enough for attachment.    “At the heart of the attachment system is a primitive kind of call and response that keeps the species alive.” And that’s what we all do—keep our kids alive, even those of us who work outside the home and supplement with formula.  Bethany’s book shifts paradigms by demonstrating that from an attachment point of view, self-awareness is other-awareness. Self-care is childcare and therefore we’re all attachment parents. There’s no other kind. Dr. Dan and Bethany also explain and explore: Being “Attachment Aware” Shame and Guilt Self-Care Adult Attachment  Experts (Mary Aisnworth) Myths (Dr. Sears) Delight as the “North Star” Bethany’s Parent Footprint Moment In addition to being an author, Bethany Saltman is also an award-winning editor, mindfulness mentor, and researcher. Her work has appeared in magazines including the New Yorker, New York Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Parents, and many others. Bethany graduated from Antioch College where she was one of the architects of the nation’s first Affirmative Consent Policy. She went on to receive her M.F.A in poetry from Brooklyn College, where she studied with Allen Ginsberg. A longtime Zen student, Bethany is devoted to the fine art and game-changing effects of paying attention. She lives in a small town in the Catskills with her family. For more information:  visit https://www.bethanysaltman.com/ Watch this free video to learn more about Dr. Dan and Parent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan welcomes back his colleague and friend Debbie Reber, founder of TILT Parenting and host of the TILT Parenting Podcast (which just hit two million downloads!).  Debbie created TILT to support parents raising “differently-wired” kids and her work has shifted the conversation around how neurodiversity is perceived and experienced in the world.  She emphasises parenting with joy and acceptance for all children.  Her book Differently Wired was recently released in paperback. Today Dr. Dan and Debbie talk about their own intimate and personal stories about raising their differently wired kids. The episode includes advice about navigating the stages of a diagnosis from a “fix it stage” mindset to frustration and fear and finally to reframing and acting -- and ultimately shifting to what will work for your individual child. Debbie explains why her favorite quote (“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”) can successfully lead parents and families to a successful future.  This episode is one parents will return to again and again. The enlightening interview ends with Debbie’s Parent Footprint moment about ange, which will resonate with many listeners. Debbie Reber is the New York Times bestselling author of Differently Wired, podcast host, life coach, and speaker.  Before creating Tilt, she spent over ten years writing inspiring books for women and teens and speaking about issues including media literacy, self-esteem, and confidence.  In 2016 when she founded TiLT Parenting, a website, top parenting podcast, and social media community for parents like her who are raising differently-wired children.  Debbie Reber lives with her son and husband in the Netherlands. For more information visit  www.tiltparenting.com.   Watchthis free videoto learn more about Dr. Dan andParent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan welcomes bestselling author and parent Laura Zigman to discuss her new novel SEPARATION ANXIETY as well as her popular essays in publications including The New York Times, Parade, and The Washington Post. among others. Recently, SEPARATION ANXIETY was named a “Most Anticipated Winter 2020 Book” by Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, USA Today, Real Simple, Parade, BuzzFeed, and The Millions. Laura Zigman is also the author of Animal Husbandry (which was later made into the movie Someone Like You, starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird, Piece of Work, and Her.  Laura’s fiction always draws on her own personal experiences as a parent, daughter, wife, writer, and friend.  Her books and essays resonate with readers everywhere because of her honesty and her poignant observations about life and family. Today Dr. Dan and Laura discuss several timely topics including:  Laura’s recent essay in Parade magazine “Your Child's 'Firsts' Are Special, So Why Are We Focusing on the 'Lasts'?” Sandwich generation issues of care-taking for older parents and raising your own children  How our own experiences as a child influence our parenting  Dealing with life’s challenges - the death of our parents, illness, job loss, addiction, more The ability to embrace our personal journey as our “story” unfolds -- even its unexpected twists and turns Shame: stop self-shaming (and shaming others); fight shame! Laura’s Parent Footprint Moment about hope is deeply honest and heart-breaking -- and ultimately inspiring. Laura Zigman lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband, son, and deeply human Sheltie.  For more information about Laura’s books and her other writing please visit:  https://www.laurazigman.com/ Watch this free video to learn more about Dr. Dan and Parent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just in time for Mother’s Day and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Dan interviews health journalist and author Amy Klein about her new book THE TRYING GAME: Get Through Fertility Treatment and Get Pregnant Without Losing Your Mind. Amy Klein wrote the “Fertility Diary” column for The New York Times’s Motherlode blog for three years. Her former NYTimes editor KJ Dell’Antonia recently wrote, “Amy Klein’s writing on fertility is candid, warm, and honest. She pulls no punches, and the result isn’t just informative—it’s empowering. If you’re struggling to create the family you imagined, Amy’s is the voice you want in your head, and your heart.”  Today, Amy writes frequently about health and fertility for publications such as Newsweek, Slate, The Washington Post, and other national media. When Amy Klein wrote THE TRYING GAME, she never dreamed it would be published during a pandemic.  Now more than ever, Amy’s personal story as well as her advice about struggling with infertility and the challenges of treatment will hopefully change the conversation about infertility in 2020 and move it forward. Today’s episode opens with Amy sharing how she finally became a mother after nine rounds of IVF, four miscarriages, three acupuncturists, two rabbis and one reproductive immunologist. Amy wrote THE TRYING GAME because it is the book she wishes she’d had when she was trying (and trying and trying) to get and stay pregnant. Every year “National Infertility Awareness Week” shines a light on the many individuals and couples struggling with infertility.  As Amy’s book reveals every single story is emotional, even harrowing.  During today’s episode, Dr. Dan and Amy Klein discuss relevant topics and explore key chapters from THE TRYING GAME including: Why young women need to take control of their fertility early How do I deal with Mother’s Day envy? Baby jealousy - it’s a real thing online and in real life How to talk to other people with infertility Keeping your marriage intact during infertility The importance of accepting your all of feelings - this is hard What motherhood is like after infertility and miscarriage Amy shares a very honest and personal Parent Footprint Moment at the end of the show about being a daughter and a mother.  It will inspire listeners today and on Mother’s Day. Empowering, compassionate, and down-to-earth, The Trying Game: Get Through Fertility Treatment and Get Pregnant Without Losing Your Mind shows you what to expect when you’re not expecting with heart, humor, and humanity when you need it the most.  For more information about Amy Klein and her book visit:  http://thetryinggamebook.com/ Watch this free video to learn more about Dr. Dan and Parent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan interviews lawyer, divorce expert, and author Jacqueline Newman about her new book THE NEW RULES OF DIVORCE: 12 Secrets to Protecting Your Wealth, Health, and Happiness. Jacqueline Newman is the managing partner at the matrimonial law firm Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein LLP in New York City. Jacqueline has appeared as an expert commentator on various television and radio shows and an expert on  NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, The New York Times, Fox Business, Woman's Day, Glamour, the New York Post, Reuters.com, Crain's New York Business, U.S. News and World Report, Business Insider, Time.com, USA Today, Yahoo Parenting, Woman's Day, CNBC.com and The Huffington Post.  Newman’s book THE NEW RULES OF DIVORCE: 12 Secrets to Protecting Your Wealth, Health, and Happiness, was recognized by Oprah Magazine as one of  "the best divorce books to help you heal during every stage of the process."  Today, with the pandemic, it is predicted that divorce in the US will be going through an unprecedented and historic transformation according to Jacqueline. Marriages on a brink of breaking up are usually pushed over to the side of divorce when extenuating circumstances take over...some marriages will grow stronger and others will unravel. How will COVID-19 impact divorce?  According to Jacqueline, everything from child custody hearings to how legal papers are filed to ending marriages is going to change. The first statistic that we are likely to observe is the divorce rate increasing in the US as a result of stress, financial strain, and other challenges exaggerated during the pandemic.  For example, when one parent feels their ex-spouse is putting their children at risk by not adhering to shelter-in-place mandates or refusing to practice social distancing -- this will be a new challenge that could potentially change custody.  Dr. Dan and Jacqueline discuss modern divorce including: The roles of Dads requesting shared and equal custody The importance of self-care for both parents during the stress of divorce Why both parents need to keep their marriage’s intimacy problems away from children -- even adult children There really are some benefits of divorce for children  How to talk to kids about divorce Jacqueline’s Parent Footprint Moment is about honesty and transparency -- and demonstrates how telling the truth about our mistakes (and owning them) is one of the most important lessons for our children. For more information visit: https://nycdivorcelawyer.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Dr. Dan interviews Andrew Campanella, President of National School Choice Week, the largest public awareness effort in the U.S. focusing on opportunity in K-12 education. Recorded in real time during the COVID-19 pandemic, today’s episode will help parents and families everywhere recently thrust into educating their students at home.   In addition to his role as President of the nation's largest celebration of education choice, Andrew is the author of The School Choice Roadmap, a workbook for parents to understand education options.  Andrew is passionate about school choice, education reform, and empowering parents. Today’s episode will enlighten parents and educators everywhere while also providing relief for the 40 million experiencing education at home during the 2020 pandemic.   Dr. Dan and Andrew open the show with a powerful discussion about virtual and distance learning: During the pandemic, this does not look like “normal school”  -- but Andrew reminds us that our students are learning, are great with technology, and yes our kids can still thrive during this challenging time. Parents and educators can embrace the new schooling and lean in to this dramatic change with confidence. Free resources are plentiful - especially right now - for parents, educators, and students; everyone can seek out for instant help ALL parents should have confidence in their educational abilities - parents really do know their students best. Later in the episode, Dr. Dan and Andrew discuss Andrew’s new book, The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps to Finding the Right School for Your Child, a guidebook to help parents identify education environments that meet their children’s needs.  With the goal of informing parents of their school choice options, Andrew and the NSCW team work with more than 21,000 schools annually—along with thousands of organizations and homeschooling groups. Under Andrew’s leadership, NSCW has experienced remarkable growth, from 150 events and activities in 2011 to more than 40,000 in 2019.  All students learn differently.  And many students need a different match for their educational needs.  The new book will teach parents how to find the right fit for their student.  Topics include: What is “school choice”  and why do parents really need an in-depth book like this one? How can parents find out what their educational options are? Once a parent starts searching for schools, how do they navigate evaluating their options? What are some of the most common misconceptions about some of the less common forms of schooling, like charters, magnets, or online? Andrew’s Parent Footprint Moment about education, learning, and his own family is honest, refreshing, and uplifting. Andrew Campanella regularly speaks at education and parent empowerment events nationally. His education expertise has been quoted in or featured on CNN, C-SPAN, FOX Business, FoxNews.com, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the Houston Chronicle, the Orlando Sentinel, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, along with thousands of local and regional newspapers, radio stations, television programs, and parenting blogs. In recognition of his work, Andrew was named by PRNews magazine as the Event Marketer of the Year for 2015. Prior to joining NSCW, Andrew served in senior-level positions at the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice. He grew up in southern New Jersey, graduated from American University in Washington, DC, and lives in Florida.  Listeners can learn more by visiting www.andrewrcamp.com and www.schoolchoiceroadmap.com Watch this free video to learn more about Dr. Dan and Parent Footprint Awareness Training®. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices