My guest this week is Dr. Ross Greene, a clinical psychologist, and New York Times bestselling author of the influential books The Explosive Child, Lost At School and Raising Human Beings. He is the originator of the model of care called Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS). Dr. Greene served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years and is now founding director of the nonprofit Lives in The Balance which provides a vast array of web-based resources on the CPS model. He has appeared in a wide range of media including the Oprah Show, Good Morning America, The Morning Show, National Public Radio, Mother Jones Magazine, and many more. Dr. Greene lectures and consults widely throughout the world and lives in Portland, Maine. In this episode, Dr. Greene and I discuss his method in proactive problem solving to address children’s behavior challenges at home and in school environments. By introducing his Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model (CPS), Dr. Greene thoroughly walks parents through the steps needed to help uncover underlying issues before an adverse behavioral reaction occurs. This model can be applied to toddlers and beyond, including nonverbal children. Dr. Greene encourages parents to work in a partnership with their child and to shatter the belief that authority, control, rewards, and punishments are the way to influence change.  Where to learn more about Dr. Ross Greene ... Lives in the Balance Website Dr. Greene’s Books ALSUP Worksheet Plan B Checklist Additional Resources Facebook Twitter Youtube   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.

My guest this week is Dr. Michelle Perro, a veteran pediatrician with nearly four decades of experience in acute and integrative medicine. Over fifteen years ago, Dr. Perro transformed her clinical practice to include pesticide and health advocacy. She has both directed and worked as an attending physician at New York’s Metropolitan Hospital to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Currently, Dr. Perro lectures and consults for Gordon Medical Associates, an integrative health center in Northern California. She has been a sought-after speaker nationally and internationally and co-author of the highly acclaimed book, “What’s Making Our Children Sick” as well as Executive Director of the non-profit scientific-based website, gmoscience.org. In this episode, Dr. Perro and I discuss why chronic illness is abundantly increasing in children across the U.S. and what we can do now to address this nationwide affliction in families. In this episode, Dr. Perro and I discuss why chronic illness in children is continually increasing and what we can do to address this affliction occurring in families across the U.S. Demonstrating how environmental and nutritional factors such as GMOs, water toxicity, air pollution, and electromagnetic fields have affected our children’s health, Dr. Perro raises awareness and encourages parents to become educated advocates of change for their families wellbeing.  Where to learn more about Dr. Michelle Perro ... GMO Science Website What's Making Our Children Sick Book Dr. Michelle Perro Website GMO Science Facebook GMO Science Twitter   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.

My guest this week is Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist with a lifelong fascination with how the mind reacts to and organizes information. Dr. Medina is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School" -- a provocative book that takes on the way our schools and work environments are designed. Medina's book on brain development is a must-read for parents and early-childhood educators: "Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five." His latest book in the series is "Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp." Medina is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two boys.  In this episode, Dr. Medina and I discuss brain-based rules and tools parents can use to raise happy and healthy children. Backed by evidence-based research, Dr. Medina creates an in-depth look at how children’s brains are affected in their home and school environments. Using his ‘12 brain rules’, Medina guides parents with knowledge and tangible practices they can use and address now in their families, such as exercise and sleep practices. Where to learn more about Dr. John Medina ... Brain Rules Website Brain Rules Facebook Brain Rules Book Brain Rules For Baby Book   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.  

My guest this week is Sylvia Farbstein, whose path as a mother led her to leap out of private banking and into a professional role of awareness building and advocating for children and families experiencing adversity. Sylvia’s 20-year-old son, Brandon, was diagnosed at the age of 2 with a rare form of dwarfism, metatropic dysplasia. Their experiences navigating a world not designed for his stature has forced her to seek out ways to innovate, adapt, advocate and embrace a mindset that has led to the discovery of incredible life lessons and an entrepreneurial career path. After severe cyberbullying by Brandon's high school peers, they both testified at the Virginia General Assembly to bring forth anti-bullying legislation. Brandon's book Ten Feet Tall shares life lessons he has learned in dealing with challenges and transforming them into opportunities. Both Sylvia and Brandon are working to elevate empathy and mindset, so that youth and adults widen the lens through which they see their own world.   In this episode, Sylvia and I discuss how adversity can be a catalyst for change and a way to discover your family's strengths. Sylvia particularly aids families with children who have special medical or developmental needs through the uncharted challenges that come with their disabilities.    Where to learn more about Sylvia Farbstein... Ten Feet Tall Book Farbstein Official Website Farbstein Instagram Brandon Farbstein Website   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.

My guest this week is Bettina Elias Siegel, a nationally recognized writer, and advocate on issues relating to children and food policy. Bettina’s reporting and opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Houston Chronicle, and Civil Eats, as well as her own widely read blog, The Lunch Tray. She frequently appears or is quoted in national media, including Today, ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, NPR, The Doctors, the Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Parents. In 2015, Family Circle named Siegel one of the country's "20 Most Influential Moms," and she is one of the most successful petitioners in Change.org's history. A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School, Siegel lives in Houston with her husband and two children.  In this episode, Bettina and I discuss the problems and challenges that parents face with kid food in school lunchrooms, classrooms, at home, and through constant overwhelming mass media influences. Bettina presents parents the reality of ‘kid food’ as a multi-billion dollar targeted market within the food industry that both they and their children are susceptible to. By unveiling these truths, she empowers parents with the knowledge to equip themselves and their children to be healthy eaters aware of highly processed foods and their effects on mental health, behavior, and wellbeing. Where to learn more about Bettina Siegel... Kid Food Book The Lunch Tray Website Bettina Siegel Website The Lunch Tray Facebook Page Instagram Twitter   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here. 

My guest this week is Claudia M. Gold MD, a pediatrician, and writer who has practiced general and behavioral pediatrics for 25 years and currently specializes in early childhood mental health. Dr. Gold is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Boston Infant-Parent Mental Health program, the Brazelton Institute, and the Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute. Her new book The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust co-authored with developmental psychologist Ed Tronick, released this month. She is also the author of The Silenced Child: From Labels, Medications, and Quick-Fix Solutions to Listening, Growth, and Lifelong Resilience and Keeping Your Child in Mind: Overcoming Defiance, Tantrums, and other Everyday Behavior Problems by Seeing the World through Your Child’s Eyes. In this episode, Dr. Gold and I discuss how breakdowns and miscommunication can lead to relationship repair and growth in families. Dr. Gold challenges the pursuit of ‘perfect parenting’ and the ever-present ‘parent guilt’ experienced with raising children. She teaches parents to open up to the mishaps in parenting and to use them as learning opportunities to look within instead of succumbing to the feeling of failure or experiencing anxiety and depression.   Where to learn more about Dr. Claudia Gold... The Power of Discord Book Claudia Gold's Website Claudia’s Books Child In Mind Facebook Page     Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.

My guest this week is Robert Whitaker, an award-winning American journalist, and author of four books, three of which tell of the history of psychiatry. In 2010, his Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness won the U.S. Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism. Prior to writing books, he worked as a science reporter at the Albany Times Union newspaper in New York for a number of years. He is the founder of madinamerica.com, a website that features research news and blogs by an international group of writers interested in “rethinking psychiatry.” In this episode, Robert and I discuss the history behind the psychiatric medication market, what parents need to know about psychiatric drugs, and how they can affect their children’s health and future. Sharing decades of investigative research, Robert reveals the systemic market behind psychiatric medication and how it has influenced research and use in both children and adults. Evidence shows that children who are medicated at an early age have shown early signs of onset dementia. Antidepressant side effects have also shown an increase in chronification, bipolar disorder, and risks of cognitive and social problems.   Where to learn more about Robert Whitaker ... Books by Robert Whitaker Mad In America Mad In America Classes International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Twitter Facebook Youtube Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.     

My guest this week is Dr. Mark Durand, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and author. Dr. Durand has received over $4 million in federal funding to study the nature, assessment, and treatment of behavior problems in children with disabilities. Before moving to Florida he served in a variety of leadership positions at the University at Albany, where he established the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University at Albany, SUNY. He serves on a number of editorial boards, reviews for dozens of journals, and has over 100 publications on functional communication, educational programming, and behavior therapy. Dr. Durand has authored several books on addressing behavior challenges in children, including sleep issues. Dr. Durand developed a unique treatment for severe behavior problems that is currently mandated by states across the country and is used worldwide.  In this episode, Dr. Durand and I discuss optimistic parenting strategies for parents looking for help caring for their challenging children. Dr. Durand guides the audience through research-based evidence and techniques to help parents understand how impactful their thoughts and emotions are when parenting. Using his tools, parents learn to disrupt their negative thoughts and create positive ones geared to their needs and the needs of their children.  Where to learn more about Dr. Mark Durand ... Optimistic Parenting Book Sleep Better Book Positive Family Intervention Guide (For Professionals) Full List of Dr. Durand’s Books On Amazon   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.

My guest this week is, Dr. BJ Fogg, founder of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and researcher who teaches industry innovators how human behavior really works. BJ leads a Behavior Design Boot Camp and has authored a New York Times bestseller, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything. In this episode, BJ and I discuss how his ‘Tiny Habits’ method can help children and adults implement small habits in order to create lasting change. The Tiny Habits method is simple and powerful having helped many make positive transformations in fitness, health, work, and family relationships. BJ guides the audience to take their very first tiny step forward in implementing new habits into their daily routine with success. Parents struggling to help their children with behavioral issues can greatly benefit from learning this method and practicing it with their families.  Where to learn more about BJ Fogg... Tiny Habits Book BJ Fogg Site Twitter Instagram       Facebook Page   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.

My guest this week is Alex Ortner, the Chief Marketing Officer, and co-owner, along with his brother Nick and sister Jessica, of The Tapping Solution, a company on a mission to bring into the mainstream a simple, life-changing, technique known as EFT or Tapping. Alex is a speaker, author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert who has produced first-of-their-kind online programs such as The Tapping World Summit, the longest-running online summit which has been attended by over 3 million people over the last 12 years and The Tapping Solution App, which features easy to follow Tapping Meditations and has over 130,000 active monthly users and over 1.8 million meditation plays. Alex is the co-founder of The Tapping Solution Foundation, which aids trauma survivors such as genocide survivors in Rwanda, war veterans, and those effected by school shootings, such as the one in his home town of Sandy Hook, CT.  He is a father of 3 and the author of the children’s book “Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs: A Tapping Solution Children’s Story” and speaks to teachers and students through his foundation on how to use Tapping to create balance, relieve stress and get better results in the classroom. In this episode, Alex and I discuss how the Emotional Freedom Technique, tapping, can help parents and children relieve stress and anxiety. Tapping techniques are well-known for their ability to activate the body and rewire the brain by sending calming signals to the brain's amygdala. Tapping benefits have been seen to not only reduce stress and anxiety but also to address weight loss struggles, body confidence issues, financial and parenting stress, and PTSD. Alex walks the audience through a live tapping session and provides essential resources and tools for parents to learn more about tapping and how to incorporate it into their family's routine for the greatest results. Where to learn more about Alex Ortner... The Tapping Solution The Tapping Solution App Gorilla Thumps & Bear Hugs The Tapping Solution Instagram Alex’s Instagram       Facebook Page   Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook Drbeurkens.com   Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally?  My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more.  Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior.  Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.