Curious Neuron
By Cindy Hovington, Ph.D.
Curious NeuronJun 11, 2020
Positive parenting with Yehudis Smith: What is the best way to discipline my child?
(missing intro from previous version has been added!)
When we think of disciplining our children, we often think of punishing them for their bad behavior. However, this doesn't teach our child what to do when they are frustrated or which behaviour is appropriate when they are mad. My guest today, Yehudis Smith (Author of Rethinking Discipline) teaches us about conscious parenting. Learn how we should discipline our child according to conscious parenting. If you are enjoying this podcast please rate this podcast and leave a review. Thanks for listening! For more info visit curiousneuron.com
How does a father nurture their child’s development?
Why are rules important for my child's development?
School readiness is not about ABC's and 123's
Is your child about to start Kindergarten? Have you ever wondered if they are ready to begin school? Which skills do they need to succeed not only in Kindergarten, but throughout their academic life? This week’s guest is Rebecca Weiner. She is an educational consultant and specializes in play-based learning. Rebecca and I discuss important brain skills that have been suggested, according to research, to be pivotal to a child’s academic success. Executive functions, self-regulation, resilience, problem solving skills, emotional and social skills and more. What is the best way to develop these skills? Through play!
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Motor milestones in babies 0-12 months
In today’s episode, we are talking about motor milestones in babies! Why is tummy time important? Why is it important for a baby not to skip crawling? What are some head-shape abnormalities? When should a baby start turning, crawling, or walking? What is W-sitting?
Visit us at curiousneuron.com for more info about child development and learning! Join us on Instagram @curious_neuron to quizzes about brain development, Live interviews with experts in pediatrics, summaries of research studies, play ideas, and more!
Benefits of play for child development
In today’s episode, we talk about play! There are so many opportunities for play with items around our home and Emma from @play_at_home_mummy has an Instagram account that beautifully illustrates this. We chat about setting up a playroom, different types of play, what to do when siblings argue, sensory bins, risky play, development, and more!
What new parents should know about baby development and the brain
Understanding childhood anxiety before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic
In this episode, we discuss childhood anxiety. How do we differentiate between worry and symptoms of anxiety in a child? Symptoms of childhood anxiety can often manifest as challenging behavior or tantrums in young children. Dr. Yee explains the importance of providing children with a safe space to talk and express their emotions. Given that most of us are experiencing some level of stress giving the current COVID-19 pandemic, she also discusses stress in adults and children during a crisis.
Effective Use of Positive Reinforcement
When we hear the term “positive reinforcement” we might get an image of giving a child candy or chocolate to get them to do what we want them to. However, in this episode, Courtney, a behavior analyst, explains that there is a lot more to it.
She explains that praise and positive reinforcement are not the same. She describes how we need to assess our child’s behavior and determine why this behavior is happening. This will help us provide our children with an alternative and help them modify their behavior.
When and how can a parent use positive reinforcement? All these questions and more are answered in this episode!
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Dealing with our emotions when we feel triggered by our children
As parents, we can feel triggered by our baby crying for long periods of time, by our toddler acting out or by our 5-year-old ignoring us. We can’t control if and when a trigger will happen, but we can control how we react to triggers. My conversation with Bryana, Director of South Bay Mommy and me, is all about how we regulate ourselves. We discuss what you can do to learn more about “why” you are responding a certain way to triggers, how certain ways of responding to a trigger can impact a child’s behavior, how you can bring yourself back down to a state of calm when you are triggered and how our past/upbringing can play into the way in which we respond to triggers.
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ADHD and Students: Understanding the symptoms in and out of the classroom
In episode 5, we focused on understanding when it might be the right time to have your child evaluated for ADHD. In this episode, we focus on "after the diagnosis". How can a child better manage their symptoms in the classroom, at home during homework and with friends? Also, we discuss various treatments and hoe ADHD symptoms can be similar to learning disorders and anxiety.
ADHD and Students: When to get evaluated
Part 1: Please note that this episode on ADHD has 2 parts. In today's episode, I discuss ADHD with my guest, Dr. Audrey Benoit. Is your child showing signs of ADHD or do they simply struggle with inattention? What are some signs that you should get evaluated? Can children with ADHD be misdiagnosed? What are some aids provided in the classroom? Lastly, we discuss medications for ADHD, how they work and when it might be the right time for a child to start taking medication. For more info visit www.curiousneuron.com and follow us on Instagram!
Helping children learn to play independently
Bilingualism and babies
Can learning more than 1 language cause delays in a baby's first words? Will raising a bilingual child help them when they start school? What are some myths around bilingualism? In today’s episode, we will chat with a speech-language pathologist to learn more about bilingualism in babies.
Minimizing emotional outbursts
According to science, what are some strategies we can implement when it comes to helping our children learn to control their emotions (emotion regulation) and minimize their emotional outbursts/tantrums? Follow us on Instagram to see next week's post about a calming corner or visit our website (podcast page) to get full details.
Benefits of reducing a toddler’s screen time
Introducing Curious Neuron
The Curious Neuron podcast is an extension of our website. We provide science-backed information related to child development and education.