Listen to our podcast, Parenting in the First 3 Years
Ep 116: Balancing Motherhood and Self-Care: How to Stay Strong with Desi Bartlett What are some practical tips for new moms to find time for exercise and self-care while caring for a baby or toddler? Being a mom is a rewarding yet demanding journey, especially when...
Ep 115: Why We Need to Change How We Talk About Childhood with Audrey Rowland How can we better honor the current stage of childhood? In this episode, we dive into the societal rush to push children into adulthood and the often overlooked value of childhood as a...
Ep 114: What No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child with Kelley Coleman What are some practical steps parents and communities can take to shift societal perspectives and promote greater acceptance and understanding of disabled individuals in everyday...
Ep 113: How to Dodge the Flu Bugs with Dr. Joel Warsh Welcome to another episode of Parenting in the First Three Years! In this episode, we’re tackling a topic that’s on every parent's mind as the fall and winter seasons approach: how to dodge those flu bugs, colds,...
Ep 112: 3 Amazing Things About Newborns That Nobody Knows What are the key factors that contribute to the strong emotional bond formed between parents and their newborns? In this episode, I reflect on a powerful memory of caring for a tiny foster baby named Desmond...
Do you worry that your child might fall behind if they're not hitting milestones as early as possible? You're not alone. Many parents face these concerns, but what if we told you that this mindset might actually be more harmful than helpful? In this episode, we're...
What are some innovative ways to weave storytelling into daily routines to enhance my child's early literacy development? In this insightful episode, we welcome back Gabby, a regular guest and the Infant Toddler Program Coordinator at Montessori Country Day School in...
How does our internal dialogue influence our parenting journey, and what steps can we take to cultivate a more positive mindset? In this episode, we dive into a topic that affects parents on a profound level: negative self-talk. Joining us is Lenora Edwards, a TEDx...
In this episode, we explore the realities of parenting, including the myths surrounding maternal instinct, the importance of parent intuition, and how we can better understand and connect with our children through mind-mindedness. Our guest, Dr. Anya Dunham shares...
This is the story of a mom who is familiar with embracing challenges when it comes to parenting. Can you imagine being told at 25 weeks pregnant that your baby probably won't make it? And then choosing to discontinue the medication given that might help your baby (but...
How can parents effectively differentiate between positive and negative attention-seeking behaviors in their children, and what strategies can they employ to reinforce positive behaviors while addressing negative ones? What does positive parenting for toddlers look...
When do a child's gifts and passions begin to emerge? Year 2? Year 5? Year 10?? In this conversation with Andrea Ventim, we navigate the intricate dance between parenting styles and personal development. We talk about how one's approach to parenting can be profoundly...
How can parents effectively balance the inherent challenge of safeguarding their children while nurturing their autonomy, particularly in the context of risky play? In this episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Audrey Roland, the visionary founder of Green...
Have you ever paused to consider the conversations you have with yourself, and how those internal dialogues shape your mindset? In this episode we talk about how important it is to speak to yourself with positive words and how you can affirm your child in easy,...
In this episode, Christine, Catherine and I delve into a subject that is both timely and essential – the dynamics of interracial friendships and the impact of these relationships on the journey of parenting. As parents, how do you navigate the delicate balance between...
What's the one dream or goal that, if achieved, would bring you the greatest joy and fulfillment in the new year? As you think about the goals you'd like to set for the new year, remember that each step is a building block toward a more fulfilling life. Stay...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #95 Navigating Holiday Gatherings with Kids with Ann McKitrick Ever wondered how to transform holiday gatherings into a seamless experience when kids are in the mix? Let's unveil a treasure trove of tips and tricks...
Curious about the smart moves that can boost your family's finances as the year wraps up? As the year approaches its end, it's more than a season of festivities; it marks a pivotal moment to assess and plan family finances. Engaging in year-end financial planning is...
How does a good laugh become a powerful ally in the battle against postpartum stress? Motherhood is a mix of joy and stress. Embracing humor can ease postpartum stress, making the journey more enjoyable. Laughter not only relieves stress but also connects mothers...
Have you ever experienced the mixed emotions of being both motivated and disheartened by what you see on social media? How do these contrasting feelings affect you? In today's digital age, social media has become a big part of our lives. We find ourselves scrolling...
Have you ever wondered what to do or how to set up your home when you have other children over to play? In this episode, Jeanne-Marie Paynel, M.Ed, shares practical insights and tips to support your child's development. Our conversation reveals the beauty of...
Our children go through developmental stages from the moment they are born, but how many of you know that parents also go through stages of development? In this episode, Ellen Galinsky, co-founder and President of Families and Work Institute discusses her book "The...
Did you know that you can often recognize the signs of autism around 18 months of age? In this episode, Diane Fleming explains what it was like seeing some developmental differences in her son Jacob around that age. Diane and I navigated the early years of parenthood...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #70: Overcoming Common Fears of Parenting In this episode of "Parenting in the First Three Years," Ann discusses the common fears and worries parents may experience. She shares a recent personal story of feeling fear and...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #69: What New Parents Need to Know About Food Allergies with Katie Larson, PA-C In this episode of "Parenting in the First Three Years," host Ann McKitrick interviews Katie Larson, a physician's assistant with personal...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #53: The Greatest Letter You'll Ever Write with Blake Brewer Blake Brewer is on a mission to help 1 million dads and moms write a lasting legacy letter for their children. His story is personal to me. When our...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #52: Mental Self-Care for New Moms with Colleen O'Grady What are the habits new moms can begin now to ensure a healthy mindset throughout the all the stages of parenting? In this episode, Colleen O'Grady explains...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #51: The Benefits of Play with Dr. Stephanie Goloway What are the benefits of play, besides entertaining your child? Our guest today says there's lots more going on when you simply play and interact with your...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #50: Mom Story: Why I Took a Break from Social Media with Priscilla Hall Do you ever feel like you just need to take a break from social media? I sure do! I love seeing what people are doing, saying and teaching me. But...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #49: What New Parents Need to Know About Babies and Music There's just something about music and babies. New parents seem to know intuitively that it will soothe their baby and will naturally rock and sway as they...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #48: Parenting with a Positive Mindset Keeping a positive mindset as a new parent is challenging because the first 3 years can be intense. First you have months of interrupted sleep and adjustments, going back to work...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #47: New Year Intentions for Every New Parent What will happen in 2023 for you? What will happen for your child? You’ve likely got some new year intentions for yourself... or maybe not. Some people love setting...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #46: The Gift of Parenting: Reflections from Parenting Experts It's a good idea to regularly reflect on your parenting journey, to step back and take a look at what you're learning, how you've changed as a...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #45: Wisdom from a Montessori Mom with Maranda Deason In this mom story, you'll meet Maranda Deason, Montessori teacher and mother of 7 children including 3 under age two! She shares her thoughts on the cultural changes...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #44: Language Development in the First Years with Lenora Edwards Language development in the first years seems to just happen on its own. But is this really true? Will babies just naturally say their first words...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #42: How Your Enneagram Type Affects Parenting with Rochelle Bridges What's your Enneagram type? I'm a 9 all the way, straight up. I have all the quirks and characteristics of this Enneagram personality type. I'm...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #41: 5 Ways to Soothe a Crying Newborn with Dympna Kennedy The sound of a crying newborn... oh my goodness. It sends shivers up our spine, creates emotional tension and we just want to do all we can to help them....
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #40: How to Organize Toys with Amanda Liford You love ‘em, your kid loves ‘em, people give you lots of them and after a while, they take over your house! How do you organize toys? Amanda Liford, has the answers. ...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #38: What to Expect in the Fourth Trimester with Meg & Carly of Fourth Trimester Foundations The "fourth trimester" is the term coined for the first 3 months after birth. Those first weeks are beautiful, memorable and...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #37: Making Holiday Plans that Work for Your Child with Prerna Richards It's time to make holiday plans, which will likely include get-togethers and parties with lots of people. What do you do when your child screams,...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #36: How COVID Changed Children's Lives with Anya Kamenetz The story of COVID and children isn't over. Because much of this unique story will unfold over time. In this episode, Anya Kamenetz, author of The Stolen Year: How...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #35: Postpartum Mental Health: Are These Feelings Normal? with Sherry Duson Postpartum mental health is often a not-talked-about-enough topic. Most new parents experience up and down emotions in the first weeks and months...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #34: What Grandparents Need to Know Grandparents, aunties, uncles, extended family all play an important role in your baby's life. Babies have a way of bringing a new dimension to families and learning what works for your...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #33: How to Break Negative Cycles in Parenting with Lorena Seidel, Joyful Parenting In this episode, we discuss parenting strategies that enable you to break free from negative cycles you may have experienced as a child....
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #32: Birthday Party Planning for Babies and Toddlers with Kim Morrison, The Hygge Gathering It's an amazing milestone ~ you all made it through the first year! Now it's time to do some birthday party planning....
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #31: How New Parents Can Support Secure Attachment with Annie Brook, Therapist & Founder of the Brook Institute In this episode, Annie Brook and I explore ways to support secure attachment between parents and...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #30: 5 Things to know about starting preschool Starting preschool is an exciting milestone for your child and will build a strong foundation for kindergarten. In this episode, you'll learn what types of programs are...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #29: How Motherly Helps New Mothers with Liz Tenety, Co-Founder of Motherly Liz Tenety, co-founder of Motherly, gives behind-the-scenes insight on trends, what she sees as a big source of struggles for new mothers,...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #28: Exploring Parenting Styles: RIE with Erica Orosco Cruz Finding your own personal parenting style when you first have a baby takes time. There are so many people and approaches to glean from as you find what...
Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast #27: The 6 Stages of Parenting with Ann McKitrick Just as our children are going through phases of development throughout their lives, we too are going through stages of parenting as our kid get...
Making playdough with toddlers. We had a tray on the shelf with all the playdough ingredients and made a fresh batch about every 2 weeks. When I was a teacher, our class loved making playdough. We pull out the tray of ingredients and the kids would take turns dumping...
Tea parties. We started them early on at our house. I think it started that time I spotted Good Mood Tea at Whole Foods. I bought a box for the next time the crankies set in. Because um, that happened often with three kids under age four. I bought it for myself, then...
Do you need to sanitize your baby's toys? Um, yeah. Today I was scrolling through facebook and saw a picture of my friend's baby wearing a cute little outfit she'd made by hand. In the background their dog was licking a baby toy lying on the floor. This is why we need...
What's a lovey? It's a blanket, a teddy bear or some other object that children attached to. They use loveys to comfort themselves at bedtime and in other situations where they feel the need for something cozy and familiar. The psychological term for this is...
We've got a closet full of toys upstairs in the kids room. When the grandkids are here, they spend LOTS of time playing up there! In fact, sometimes when we're FaceTiming now, I'll walk up there and we'll "visit" the toys and they get so excited! 😂 If you were here,...
Toddlers can be picky and it’s not because they’re trying to be difficult. Eating is a developmental process, it takes time to master. Try these toddler snacks!
It’s one of those things that connects us all. We love to look at pictures of people we love! How about making some toddler books with pictures of familiar people and places?
What’s the difference between a pregnancy cookie and a regular cookie? Do labor cookies really make your labor begin?
It's one of the first things people ask, "Is he keeping you awake at night?" (Um, yes he's awake at night, he's a newborn) This week I sat down with Joanna Clark of Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching to talk about sleep patterns for newborns. I asked her what you should...
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Oh my goodness... I don’t know about you but it feels to me like unknowns of COVID are lasting a lot longer than I expected. As this all unfolds, new parents are faced with questions that weren’t even in our grid 8 months ago! Pregnancy can be filled with a lot of...
A 10-day old baby will present many different changes from when it was brought into the world. Here are some of the changes that you may want to watch out for…
Having baby feeding essentials with you before the baby comes is important. For that reason, here’s a list of items you may want to get before the big day.
Are you a new parent looking for parenting tips? Read about why the first 3 years are important for your child’s development and learn how you can help.
Are you looking for fun activities you can do at home with your toddler? Learn about how you can use shipping boxes to create fun activities for your toddler.
Is your baby teething and wanting to chew on everything in sight? Learn how you can make delicious teething sticks from banana bread.
Have you wondered why toddlers make silly decisions? Read about how this is due to them learning about the consequences to behavior and how you can help them with their behavior development.
For many new parents, the first time they hold their tiny bundle of joy triggers an instant bonding. In the early years, a baby’s brain grows rapidly making millions of neural connections, so a variety of experiences and exposure aids physical, cognitive, social and language development. Read about a few ways in which bonding and baby development in the early years can go hand-in-hand.
House rules are important, but did you know that it is also beneficial for their behavior development? Learn about why house rules promote good behavior
Curious about the speech and language development process for toddlers and babies? Learn about how electronic devices can help aid the process.
Are you looking for ways that you can organize and create fun activities for your kids while at home? Learn about some fun activities that we think will help!
Do you have a toddler that bites others and don’t understand why? Learn why biting is a part of a toddler’s development and suggestions that you can do for when it happens
Have you ever wondered how you can create fun learning activities for your kids with items around the house? Learn about how a roll of tape is all you need!
Are you tired of your toddler constantly demanding that they get their way ? Learn about how offering choices can help reduce the amount of arguing.
Social distancing is easier for some of us than others. Especially our children. For those on the more introverted side, they're delighted to stay home and hang with the family. They are content! For your children who are extroverted, it’s a little like torture not...
You have new coworkers. As we navigate the challenges of coronavirus and its implications to daily life, it’s important to keep something, or rather someone in mind. And that’s your kid. It’s a big adjustment for you, moving from everyday go-to-work life to figuring...
I was recently in Minneapolis, hanging out with the grandkids. I get up there a couple of times of year - usually once in the dead of winter and once to enjoy their beautiful summertime. One way I cement a long distance relationship with them is to have consistent...
You are really, really important to your child. You see it in the way your baby gazes at you, prefers you over others and cries when you leave. We know we’re important in our child’s life but do we truly understand this? Attachment researchers tell us that we become...
Love on your baby. Then they'll be really smart. Love is in the air. Even though Valentine's day focuses on romantic love, it’s a great time to hone in on the love connection between you and your child. It’s amazing to realize that your child’s brain...
When I became pregnant with my first I quickly realized how few friends I had in the same boat. The handful of friends I had with kids lived in different states and I found myself scrambling to find friends undergoing the same life transition. Having a community full...
5 tips for new parents Anytime you begin a new job there’s a period of orientation. And depending on the complexity of the work you’ll be doing, you might have months of training before you’re on your own with full responsibility. When you become a parent, while...
We really can't help ourselves. Something inside us kind of melts. Have you ever noticed the feeling you get when you see little tiny puppies or kittens, or even a baby elephant at the zoo? Or had complete strangers stop to talk to you as you walk your puppy? We...
Recently I had the privilege of presenting a training to over 150 Head Start teachers in Houston. The topic was understanding autism and we covered lots of information about neurological development that happens in the first several years of life. One of the word...
I love new beginnings. Today we not only ring in a new year, but a new decade. Your baby will be doing all kinds of things in 10 years! As we begin the new year there are so many things to think about. Goals, intentions, dreams and visions. I don't know about you,...
Holidays are often a full of excitement and a fun break from the hum drum of daily life. But as fun as they can be, they can also be a stressful time for kids and parents alike. Here are a few tips to help holidays...
Holiday shopping can be one of the most stressful parts of the year as we look for ways to stretch budgets a little further to buy the gifts we really want to give. If you need to save money but have a long list of people to buy for, it’s a good idea to check online...
I was surprised at the amount of downtime I had with a new baby. I remember the first few months of staying home with my first baby. I assumed I’d be swamped with my new tasks of parenthood: nursing around the clock, diaper changes, rocking baby to sleep, etc....
This year while my daughter goes to morning preschool, I’ve been looking forward to exercising for a bit at the gym. The only problem? My two year old. My darling, highly-attached, cries-if-I’m-gone-for-two-minutes two year old. I knew dropping off my kiddo at the gym...
We all want to teach kids to be kind and compassionate with others. When does this begin? When they start playing with others? When they have the cognitive capacity to share? Does it happen naturally or do you have to 'teach' it? Recent research tells us that infants...
The adults in a child’s world must protect them from too much information and from too much emotion that they can’t understand or process.
How does time go slow and fast at the same time? I love the Slow Food Fast recipe column in the Wall Street Journal. It features recipes from notable chefs across the country representing traditional and regional cuisines - recipes simple enough to cook at home...
Odds are, someone else will care for your baby at some time in the first year. The average length of maternity/paternity leave in US is 12 weeks (often unpaid) with many moms returning to work when the baby is 6 weeks of age. In fact, of the 12 million infants and...
We had 3 babies in four years. Then when those 3 were teens, we started fostering babies. And while I may have thought I was ready to be a parent with that first pregnancy, I was not. No matter what you think you already know going in, the experience of being a parent...
Your baby is constantly growing and learning. At 6-9 months, you baby has a whole host of new skills! Learn 20 developmentally appropriate activities for you and your 6-9 month old to enjoy together.
Racking your brain for how to play with your 3-6 month old? Learn 12 fun activities to do with your baby!
I’m a child development specialist, parent coach and teacher trainer. I’ve cared for countless babies in child development programs, plus 3 kids, 3 grand babies and 5 foster babies! I LOVE babies and would come hold yours if I could. ❤️
