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The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast — Kids & Family
The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast

Wouldn’t it be great to find a podcast for the Modern Working Mom that addresses life as a mom, life as a working mom with an ambitious career and life as a mom who wants to also have time for her own life? That is what the Modern Mommy Doc podcast is all about.
We live in a world where we are supposed to raise kids as if we don’t work and work as if we don’t have kids (and don’t even mention that we may also want to fit in some time for ourselves to read a book or take a SoulCycle class.)
Everyone has an opinion on what it takes to be the perfect Working Mom in today’s society. Most of the advice is unattainable, anxiety-provoking and certainly doesn’t address how the modern working mom is supposed to make time for her own life. The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast helps working moms say “no” to unrealistic expectations for a perfectly-balanced life and say “yes” to what really matters. You’ll hear inspiring interviews with experts in each of the core areas modern working moms who parent with intention know are critical for success –dreaming big, spending time on things that matter, making space for themselves, investing in their mental and physical health, parenting in partnership, and being intentional about the way they parent their kids.
Your host is Whitney Casares, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P. She’s a Stanford-trained, board-certified pediatrician, author, speaker, blogger @modernmommydoc, mom of two and avid Peloton-er. Drawing on her own experience as a working mom in the modern world, she’s curated a group of expert guests to help you find the credible advice you’re looking for when it comes to taking care of your child, your career and yourself.
We live in an era filled with so many questions around Working Mom Life and finding balance. On the Modern Mommy Doc Podcast, you’ll find the focused answers you’ve been looking for to truly have it all.

Copyright: © Copyright 2021 Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP

Latest Episodes:

Is It Woo? Wellness Culture, Diet Myths, and Raising Kids Who Trust Their Bodies with Katy Harvey, RD Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Seed oils are toxic. Carbs are the enemy. Your newborn doesn’t need the vitamin K shot. Wellness culture is full of confident claims, and many of them are selling something. This week, Dr. Whitney sits down with Katy Harvey, the “non-diet dietitian,” intuitive eating coach, and host of Rebuilding Trust with Your Body, to sort the legit from the woo. They talk about what that means for how we feed our kids and how we talk about their bodies.

Katy breaks down the “Wellness Woo” segment from her own podcast, where listeners send in the latest diet trend or supplement claim and she checks it against the evidence. Dr. Whitney shares why she’s tired of hearing that pediatricians are in it for the money, and why doctors who used to get pushback for being on social media now need to be there.

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This episode is supported by the International Children’s Arts Network, or ICAN Radio. ICAN Radio is a free, 24-hour radio station dedicated to award-winning arts and music programming for infants, children, young people, their families, teachers, and caregivers. Now available to stream on the free ICAN Radio app, listeners of all ages will enjoy music, international dance hours, lullabies, poetry, book readings, kids telling their OWN stories, art trivia, and mindful moments that will help kids AND their adults stay centered and calm. There are no commercials, and the content is age appropriate for infants and young children. ICAN Radio is free and available to you, wherever you are. Search your favorite app store for the ICAN Radio mobile app, or you can listen and learn more at ICANradio.org.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thanks for Listening!

Forget All The Other Parenting Advice and Just Focus on This Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

There’s so much parenting advice out there, and most of it doesn’t matter nearly as much as the internet wants you to think. (Seed oils? We have bigger fish to fry.) In this solo episode, Dr. Whitney is getting back to basics and sharing the six evidence-based parenting principles she focuses on as a pediatrician, the ones she dug into with a leading child development researcher. She's also sharing how these play out in real life as a mom of two neurodivergent kids, because guidance only helps if it actually fits your family.

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Today's episode is brought to you by Sage Haus, the only nationwide service matching vetted house managers with busy families across the US and Canada. If the mental load of your household lives entirely in your head, this is your off-ramp before the holidays. Get $200 off with code MODERNMOMMYDOC at SageHaus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

Thanks for Listening!

Harvard Doesn't Care About You, Mom, with Danny Ruderman Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

Everyone focuses on the teen during the college admissions years. But moms are carrying the household, the emotions, the logistics, and the quiet fear of watching their kid leave. This week Dr. Whitney is joined by Danny Ruderman, Stanford grad, and a coach with 20+ years and 40,000 hours spent with teenagers. His new book, Harvard Doesn't Care About You, Mom, is written for the mothers.

He and Dr. Whitney talk about how to communicate with a teen who's pushing every button, when it's actually time to start thinking about college, and why "Does this look good for college?" is the wrong question. They also cover whether families without money for tutors and counselors still have a real shot. And Dr. Whitney gets honest about her own Bay Area memories and why wellness has to come first.

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

Soiling the Nest: The Weirdly Comforting Reason Kids Gets Awful Before They Leave Home with Dr. Sheryl Ziegler Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Two and a half weeks after dropping her daughter off at college, psychologist Dr. Sheryl Ziegler joins Whitney to talk about the messy, unfiltered reality of watching a kid leave the nest — including the fight at breakfast, the tissues in her purse, and the psychological reason her daughter picked their last morning together to be completely impossible.

In this episode, we get into:

"Soiling the nest": the psychological term for why sweet kids suddenly turn prickly right before a big transition (and why it's protective, not personal)
Why the 18-year-old version of pushing you away looks so different from the 14-year-old version — and what both are really doing
Why parents of neurodivergent kids may have an advantage when the teen years hit
"Future tripping": Dr. Sheryl's term for the anticipatory anxiety that steals parents' present moments, and how to catch yourself doing it
A simple gut-check for deciding which social accounts, sidelines conversations, and parenting rabbit holes to walk away from

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

Newsflash! Winning Back to School is Impossible (and Overrated) Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

In this candid, unscripted episode, Dr. Whitney reminds parents that there's no such thing as "winning" back-to-school season. Drawing on a genuinely chaotic 24 hours in her own life — a burst water pipe during a kitchen remodel, a big corporate consulting meeting, an anxious child struggling at school, and a stomach-medication mishap — she walks through what it actually looks like to choose "good enough" over perfection, and why that choice makes her a better parent, not a worse one.

Learn More

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Introducing The New Book: Raising Body-Confident Kids! Ever said something about your own body in front of your kids and instantly regretted it? Wondered if you can even comment on your kid's appearance without doing damage? Googled whether intuitive eating actually works when your child seems to live on Oreos? Dr. Whitney's new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids: A Balanced Approach to Breaking the Cycle of Body Shame and Diet Culture, is for you. Pulled from the questions she hears most in her pediatric practice and on this podcast, it skips the all-or-nothing advice and walks parents through where their own body image baggage comes from, how to talk to kids about food and movement without the shame spiral, and how to hold the line when social media, coaches, and well-meaning grandparents push back — plus 30 real activities to put it into practice with your family. 📖 Raising Body-Confident Kids is available now wherever books are sold or at www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

The Ritz-Carlton Secret to Raising Great Kids with Nancy and Steven Shapiro Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Every great sports team has a culture. Every great company has one too. So why don't we ever talk about our families that way? This week, Dr. Whitney sits down with siblings Nancy Shapiro and Steven Shapiro — combined, 68 years in public education as a middle school counselor and a high school teacher/program director — who co-founded Our Family Culture after watching, year after year, which kids thrived under pressure and which ones got swept up by achievement culture, social media, and influencers competing for their attention. Hint: their method relies on the same principle The Ritz Carlton uses every single day.

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

You're Not Less Ambitious. You're Just Done Wasting Time with Dr. Anne Welsh Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Does becoming a mom have to mean giving up your ambition? Dr. Anne Welsh — psychologist, Fair Play facilitator, and author of Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home — joins Dr. Whitney Casares to make the case that motherhood doesn't kill ambition, it clarifies it.

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

Back to School, Back to the Lunchbox: A No-Stress Guide to School Meals with Shira Sussi, RD Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Summer's relaxed, grab-and-go eating is about to collide with the structure of a new school year. For a lot of parents, that transition brings a fresh wave of food-related stress. In this episode, Dr. Whitney Casares sits down with registered dietitian and mom of three Shira Sussi (founder of Shira Sussi Nutrition) to talk about how families can move into the school year without the mealtime anxiety. They cover everything from starting solids with baby to breaking the "picky eater" spiral to building lunchbox and dinner routines that actually hold up past week two.

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

The Business Behind the Books: Lessons From Writing 5 of Them Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my journey from aspiring writer to published author (five books now!) to sought-after media expert...and sharing the real financial and strategic lessons I've learned along the way.

I break down how my early blog posts for Modern Mommy Doc evolved into my first two books, The Newborn Baby Blueprint and The Working Mom Blueprint, which I wrote as a package deal with the American Academy of Pediatrics. I get candid about book advances (spoiler: they're a lot smaller than people assume), the value — and limits — of publisher-funded PR, and why saying yes to every media request early on wasn't necessarily the growth strategy I once thought it was.

I also talk about the turning point with my book Doing It All, when I started funding my own publicity and became far more selective about which opportunities were actually worth my time. I share the exact litmus test I now use to decide which podcasts, articles, or interviews to say yes to. I'm also sharing how that shift led to bigger opportunities finding me, including NPR, KQED, and The New York Times.

In this episode, I cover:

What book advances actually look like for most authors (and why the book itself isn't where the money is)
The pros and cons of publisher-paid vs. self-funded PR
Why chasing every media mention isn't the same as building thought leadership
The two-question litmus test I now use to decide which opportunities to pursue
How narrowing my focus led to bigger, more aligned press opportunities finding me

Mentioned in this episode:

New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

Your Neurodivergent Kid Deserves a Vacation (And So Do You): 7 Tips That Actually Work Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

Vacation sounds dreamy...until you're the parent of a neurodivergent child navigating airports, new hotels, unfamiliar foods, and a completely blown-up routine. I see this in my practice all the time, and I've lived it myself. In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how to make family travel not just survivable, but genuinely good for your child and for you.

I'm walking you through seven practical, real-world strategies for vacationing with neurodivergent kids, whether your child has ADHD, autism, dyslexia, sensory processing differences, or any combination of the above. From building visual itineraries to packing a sensory toolkit to giving yourself permission to ditch the perfect-trip fantasy. This is the travel prep conversation I wish someone had given me sooner.

Here's my reminder to you before we dive in: messy doesn't equal failure. And your family absolutely deserves to make memories.

In This Episode, I Cover:

Why neurodivergent kids struggle with travel, plus what's really happening in their brains when routines break down

How I recommend building a visual itinerary that actually reduces your child's anxiety before the trip even starts

What I always put in a sensory toolkit (and why it's non-negotiable carry-on luggage)

How to choose accommodations that set your whole family up for success

The honest conversation I think every parent needs to have with their child before you leave and why overpromising a perfect trip backfires

How to recognize early dysregulation and use exit strategies without guilt

Why self-care isn't selfish on a family vacation and how I actually make it happen

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Learn More About NovaFerrum

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New Book! Raising Body-Confident Kids

You want your kids to love their bodies. You're still trying to do both. My new book, Raising Body-Confident Kids, helps you do both. Releases Sept 1, 2026. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books

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