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Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast — Kids & Family
Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, family communication, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, etc.

The mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry. By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light.

Longtime listeners will know the show began as The ParentNormal Podcast. For nearly 100 episodes, it featured celebrity interviews, parenting fails and even a few skits. All of those episodes are still available, but the best is yet to come.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is diving deeper than ever into the crazy realities of parenthood with more stories and hilarious confessions from real parents all over the world.

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 76 Interview with platinum-selling singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb May 10, 2017

Show notes

Platinum-selling singer-songwriter and mother of two kids Lisa Loeb is this week's featured guest. In addition to her radio hits, she has multiple children's albums, specials and books, she's also created The Camp Lisa Foundation to allow kids, who wouldn't normally have the opportunity, go to summer camp.

In our conversation, we talk about her work for adults and children and about why she wants to help more kids attend summer camps. We'll also talk about how she talked Steve Martin and Ed Helms into playing on her children's albums, about the music industry for modern artists and, of course, about her #1 hit song, a song I absolutely love, called Stay (I Missed You).

Ep. 75 Parenting Fails Vol. IX featuring stories from Pinkalicious author Victoria Kann, Blossom star Jenna von Oy, Baby Einstein creator Julie Clark, City Dads co-founder Matt Schneider and ParentSpeak author Jennifer Lehr May 08, 2017

Show notes

This is the second of two parenting fail episodes I'm releasing this week in honor of my new book Perfect Parenting: A Complete History. (Spoiler Alert) There is no history of raising kids perfectly. Thus, every one of my new book's 40 chapters are empty. It is the parenting book with the fewest words but most important lesson: You aren't going to be a perfect parent. Get Perfect Parenting: A Complete History now on Amazon for only $5.

Ep. 74 Parenting Fails Vol. VIII featuring stories from Heather Armstrong, Lev Grossman, Josh Temple and Colleen O'Grady May 05, 2017

Show notes

This week, I'm releasing two editions of parenting fails in honor of my new book Perfect Parenting: A Complete History.

I did the research and (Spoiler Alert) there is no history of raising kids perfectly. Thus, every one of the book's 40 chapters are empty. It is the parenting book with the fewest words but most important lesson: You aren't going to be a perfect parent.

If you want lessons on how to be a perfect parent, DON'T buy this book. But if you or a friend needs a funny reminder on your coffee table, nightstand or both that perfect parenting is impossible, this book could be the almost-perfect book for you. At the very least, it will be the easiest book for you to finish reading this year. It's only $5 right now on Amazon, and again it's called Perfect Parenting: A Complete History.

Ep. 73 Interview with Pinkalicious and Peterrific author Victoria Kann Apr 26, 2017

Show notes

Pinkalicious author and illustrator Victoria Kann is this week's featured guest. In our conversation, we talk about how she got started writing children's books, the cool technique she uses to create her signature Pinkalicious illustrations and about the Pinkalicious musical. We also talk about her writing process and about her new book, Peteriffic, which follows the adventures of Pinkalicious' brother Peter.

Ep. 72 Interview with Jenna von Oy, star of Blossom and The Parkers and author of Situation Momedy: A Very Special Episode in Toddlerdom Apr 21, 2017

Show notes

Jenna von Oy who played Blossom's fast-talking best friend Six on the show Blossom is this week's featured guest. She's also starred in The Parkers and made several guest appearances on shows like Cold Case, 7th Heaven, Chicago Hope and Martin. She's even voiced characters on animated shows and movies like Family Guy, The Goofy Movie and Hercules.

But now she's playing the real life role of a mom and she's just released her second book called Situation Momedy: A Very Special Episode in Toddlerdom.

In our conversation, we'll talk about how she started acting at an early age and what advice she has for parents with kids who want to act. We'll talk about how the fast-talking skill she developed on Blossom has helped her as a parent. And we'll talk about how real world parenthood compares to the family sitcom.

Ep. 71 Interview with Julie Clark, creator of Baby Einstein, bestselling author and CEO of WeeSchool Apr 14, 2017

Show notes

Julie Clark, the creator of Baby Einstein, CEO of WeeSchool and author of more than 30 bestselling children's books, is this week's featured guest.

In our conversation, Julie tells her awesome story of how she turned her idea for a baby video into a company that Disney would eventually buy. We also talk about how she balances the roles of entrepreneur and stay-at-home mom. She even gives advice to other parents about how to start their own company. And finally, we talk about her new innovative company, WeeSchool, which features an all-in-one app for parents and babies.

Ep. 70 Interview with Jay Chandrasekhar, director of Super Troopers, Beerfest, Arrested Development, Community, New Girl and more Apr 04, 2017

Show notes

Super Troopers director Jay Chandrasakhar is this week's featured guest. In addition to Super Troopers, Jay has directed the movies Beerfest, Club Dread and Dukes of Hazard. He's also directed some amazing TV shows like Arrested Development, Community, Chuck, New Girl, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Human Giant, Psych and others.

Jay has a brand new book out called Mustache Shenanigans: Making Super Troopers and other Adventures in Comedy. So I ask him about the book, Super Troopers and his work with the Broken Lizard Comedy Troupe. We also talk about being a dad and the upcoming Super Troopers 2 movie.

Ep. 69 Interview with City Dads Group co-founder Matt Schneider Mar 28, 2017

Show notes

City Dads Group co-founder Matt Schneider is the featured podcast guest this week. In our conversation, Matt and I talk about how he and Lance Somerfeld started City Dads Group in New York City after finding a lack of opportunities for dads to hang out together and learn from each other. We also talk about how quickly City Dads Group has grown across the country and how to be a part of the group.

Because City Dads Group was started by two stay-at-home dads, I also ask Matt about being a stay-at-home dad, about how dads can maintain their identity if they choose to stay at home and how they can continue to be encouraging to their spouses.

Ep. 68 Interview with Family Therapist Colleen O'Grady, author of Dial Down the Drama Mar 18, 2017

Show notes

Family therapist Colleen O'Grady, author of Dial down the Drama: Reducing Conflict and Reconnecting with Your Teenage Daughter, is the featured guest this week.

In our conversation, Colleen gives me a preview of what I have to look forward to when my kids become teenagers. We'll talk about the differences between parenting young kids and teenagers. And since Colleen is the first family therapist to appear on the show, I ask her about how to know when you should actually see a family therapist. Because who hasn't thought they could use a therapist at one time or another?

Ep. 67 Interview with Marc Webb, director of The Amazing Spider-Man, 500 Days of Summer and Gifted starring Chris Evans Mar 08, 2017

Show notes

Marc Webb, director of The Amazing Spider-Man movies and 500 Days of Summer (also amazing) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel is the featured guest this week.

On April 7, Marc has his next movie coming out titled Gifted. The movie stars Chris Evans (Captain America) who plays a single man raising his child prodigy niece. So in our conversation, I asked Marc about what he learned from researching this movie about how to help a gifted child fulfill their potential without pushing them too far. I also asked Marc how he gets the best performances out of child actors, which can be a very hard thing to do. I know I struggle to get my kids to say please, so I can't imagine what it would be like to try to get them to say a memorized monologue. I will say, however, that Mckenna Grace, the girl who plays Chris Evans' niece in the movie, is a very gifted actress. I know she helped make Marc's job easier.

And finally, I asked Marc about directing Spiderman, because that's kind of a big deal. According to IMDB, The Amazing Spiderman 2 had a 200 million dollar budget. That's a lot of responsibility for a director. But Marc did awesome, just like he did this interview.

Behind the Scenes: When I interviewed Marc, we were both at the Dad 2.0 Conference in San Diego, so there is a little bit more noise in the background than usual. My interview last week with HGTV's Josh Temple was at the same conference.

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