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The New Family Podcast

The New Family Podcast is the show that explores what families really look like today and the issues that matter to us most. Twice a week we interview some of the most compelling people whose stories represent the many forms family can take today. And we chat with top parenting experts with great insights on the challenges of raising kids in these interesting times. This podcast comes from the creators of the popular website, thenewfamily.com, which explores and celebrates modern family life. Our series, the 1,000 Families Project, tells the first-person stories of people with families of every shape and size. In this show we interview some of the most interesting people who contribute to the #1000families series, as well as authors, family therapists, parent educators and other experts with practical advice to share that's relevant to families of every kind.
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Now displaying: December, 2015
Dec 31, 2015

In this episode we’re tackling a topic that most of us struggle with at one time or another—procrastination. Most of us do it, most of us know we complicate our lives when we put off tasks, but we put them off anyway for reasons explained to us today by our guest Dr. Timothy Pychyl. Tim is a professor in the department of psychology at Carleton University and author of Solving the Procrastination Puzzle and the host of The iProcrastinate Podcast. He’s an expert in goal setting and on the connection between procrastination and well-being. He’s also a father of two, and as Tim says, it’s not always easy having Dr. Procrastination as your dad. He’s going to talk to us about how we can teach our children to avoid procrastination, what we can all learn about procrastination and how we might keep these principles in mind as we make New Year's Resolutions that will really work.

Show Notes

Dec 28, 2015


Child and adolescent psychotherapist Katie Hurley joins me for this episode. She’s the author The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World. Katie encourages us not to get caught up researching every hiccup, cough and tear. Instead we should get back to the basics of a taking the time to connect and get to know our kids so we can tailor our parenting to their individual personalities, she says. Katie makes the incredibly good point that we all experience up and downs throughout our days, but that as adults we’ve simply had the chance to learn how to manage. Since children don’t come into the world with a kit full of coping skills, our job as parents is to teach them the vital lesson that they are in control of their own happiness. Katie defines happiness as knowing that you can handle everything that comes your way, and that if you have a rotten day, you always get a chance to start over again the next day.

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Show notes

Dec 24, 2015

What if the best gifts we could give a child were a chance to fail, plus a big pile of housework on the side? In this episode we’re joined by Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. Jessica is an educator, speak and writer. She’s taught middle and high school for over a decade and she writes a column called “Parent-Teacher Conference” for The New York Times. When her article for the Atlantic—“Why Parents Need to Let Their Children Fail”—went viral, it had clearly struck a chord with parents who have begun to realize that we’re doing too much to sweep challenges out of our children’s way. Jessica’s got some great advice on how we can step back from our kids’ homework and make consequences more logical. And she explains why it’s critical that we let kids build competence by getting them involved in domestic duties around the house.

Show Notes

 

Dec 21, 2015

Kelly Bos and her husband are living what for many of us is our wildest dream. Ever gone on a tropical vacation and thought, “We should move here?” Well, as Kelly shared in her 1,000 Families Post on thenewfamily.com, she and her husband had those thoughts and actually made it happen—even with a baby in tow. She now lives in the British Virgin Island with her husband and two kids. Kelly shares the ups and downs—yes there are actual downs—of living in the tropics. Plus, since Kelly is a psychotherapist, she shares a little wisdom about dealing with some of those complicated emotions we have around the holidays.

Show Notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

Dec 17, 2015

The evidence is overwhelming. Grateful people—especially those who make practising gratitude an everyday habit—lead happier and more contented lives.  Taking the time to express gratitude regularly boosts happiness and optimism. That said, it’s not always easy to keep gratitude front of mind. My guest in this episode is Kevin Clayson, who likes to go by the moniker, chief officer of awesome. Kevin is an international professional speaker who has shared his simple formula for unlimited joy and fulfillment with everyone from elementary school students to business leaders. Kevin is also one of the founders of a very successful investment and personal development company called Strongbrook, and the father of three adorable kids. But I asked him to be here today because he’s also the author of a book called Flipping the Gratitude Switch: Four Easy Steps to Increase Your Happiness, Accelerate Your Success and Change the Trajectory of Your Life. Kevin and I chat about what it takes to raise grateful kids in an environment where they don’t want for much.

Show Notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

Dec 14, 2015

Dr. Kay MacPhee, a former principal and teacher, spent 25 years developing techniques that enable the hearing impaired to form language skills and learn how to read. You’ll recognize the name of her company, Ooka Island, as the inaugural sponsor and huge supporter of this podcast. But I asked Dr. Kay to come on the show today because her own personal journey as a parent is quite remarkable, starting with the discovery that her son was born profoundly deaf. It truly is an inspiring story of stopping at nothing to advocate for a child and in so doing, for the children of thousands of others (a journey that’s even taken her to the White House). But there’s also a really valuable message about raising our children to be able to face adversity and carry on stronger because of it.

Show notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

Dec 12, 2015

In this special bonus holiday episode, I share some of my best advice for managing stress this hectic time of year. Learn how to embrace doing less so you can enjoy your holidays more.

Show Notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

 

Dec 10, 2015

Lawyer-turned-family mediator Rosanna Breitman has gained unique insight into the reasons marriages fail through her work with people navigating separation and divorce. Rosanna helps people who are dealing with the intense sadness, anger and pain of marriage breakdown by using positive, conflict resolutions skills so they can co-parent well moving forward. But being in this line of work has taught her so much about the common problems that lead to divorce. In fact, she writes a great blog called “A Fly On The Wall” offering the inside scoop on relationship problems and practical advice on how to avoid those marriage-ending patterns. Rosanna and I chat about the recurring themes of discontent and broken communication that cause marriages to end. And she shares the little things people can do better to benefit their marriages and avoid a trip to an office like hers, or worse, family court.

Show Notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

 

Dec 7, 2015

This episode's guest shines some light into a world that we don’t hear that much about—the world of infertility and the industry that has sprung up around it. Therapist Erica Berman does fertility counselling for people who are seeking to become parents, as well as for the gestational carriers (often referred to as surrogates) who help their families come to be. In talking to Erica I’ve come to understand that Canada has become a medical tourism destination for would-be parents who come here from countries where all all forms of surrogacy are illegal. Erica also shares about how her own difficult infertility journey led her to choose this area of therapy. Today she helps families of all kinds, including couples struggling with infertility, same-sex couples and single women embarking on parenthood with the help of a sperm donor. She explains some of the ignorant attitudes and crazy assumptions intended parents encounter on their journeys to start a family, and provides insight into what motivates women to give complete strangers such a tremendous gift by acting as gestational carriers.

Show Notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

Dec 3, 2015

For this fun episode, The New Family’s food editor, Michael Forbes, is on to share his fantastic meal-planning secrets! Mike’s a father of two and an avid cook who has always managed to make the family dinner a priority. Hear all about his unique—and very manly, I’ll add—weekend menu-planning routine, plus the shortcuts he uses to make the family dinner happen despite having two kids with busy extra-curricular schedules. Mike and I get into some of our favourite dinner rituals, the value of routine (even if it means you’re repeating some favourite meals) and how to expand your definition of what qualifies as dinner (Croque-Monsieur, anyone?). We talk about the way family meals allow us to connect, and Mike points out why we might need to adjust our thinking about our kids’ table manners a little so we can enjoy our time together.

Show Notes

Sponsor:

Ooka Island

This episode of The New Family Podcast is brought to you by Ooka Island, a reading program so fun your kids won't even realize they're learning at all. To get an exclusive 20% discount for listeners of The New Family podcast only at ookaisland.com/newfamily.

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