Parenting Forward

Latest Episodes:

079: Stories from THE Rebel Girl w/ Francesca Cavallo Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

It’s so important that we put real-world events into accessible language for our children so they can form their own opinions on them. Too much of mainstream media either hides hard topics from kids altogether or translates them so thoroughly that they are no longer based on facts. Francesca Cavallo is a children’s author who is on a mission to transform this part of our culture.

Francesca is the author of 7 children's books and co-creator of the compilation of 100 tales of extraordinary women. This crowdfunding project raised more than a million dollars in pre-sales and is now a bestseller in homes across the world. Her latest book, Dr. Li and The Crown Wearing Virus, tells the story of the brave doctor who exposed the spread of the coronavirus. In today’s episode, I talk with her about the process of writing this book as well as the other stories for rebel girls that she loves to tell.

Show Highlights:

Francesca’s goal of inspiring children to be who they are through the stories of heroes.
The most impactful historical and modern figures she has met.
Mainstream family entertainment and its journey towards progressivism.
Creating spaces for children to weigh in on real-life issues.
How her book gives children the space to form their own ideas about the Coronavirus and protects them from xenophobia.
Using accessible language so children can reach tough topics on their own.

Links (affiliates included):

Dr. Li and the Crown Wearing Virus - https://bit.ly/progressiveLi

Parenting Forward Conference Sessions - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com/2019-sessions

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

078: The ABC’s of Diversity w/ Carolyn Helsel & Joy Harris-Smith Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

Today, I'd like to introduce you to the authors of the upcoming book, The ABC's of Diversity: Helping Kids (And Ourselves!) Embrace Our Differences. Joining me to share some of the ABC's are Carolyn Helsel and Joy Harris-Smith.

As I was reading their book, I was struck by how compassionately Carolyn and Joy set the table to speak for these hard conversations. Their goal is to walk parents and kids through the learning process of living fully in the diversity of who we are as families and as a society. I am excited to share their work and message with you today.

Show Highlights:

Conversations about identity, gender, race, or religion are not easy.
Carolyn and Joy’s work is an attempt to put forth a balanced view about how we move forward in a world that is increasingly globalized and becoming more globalized every day.
Some of the challenges parents and children face when embracing diversity.
Conversations don't move toward action. They are the catalysts. But at some point, you have to move beyond the dinner-table conversation.
How to practice moving from dialogue to informed action.
Carolyn and Joy share some of the ABC's of Diversity from their book, including the unhelpful reactions we typically have talking about or being around people who are different.
How to address white fragility - aka exerting control over the situation as a way of dealing with your anxiety, acknowledging those automatic ABCs, and moving into a more intentional response.
"We don't want people to feel bad about being fragile. We want them to move through and past the fragility."
Helping children educate themselves about social media sources and encouraging them to embrace diversity within social spaces.
We explore the question, "Is it possible to have nuanced conversations that lead to real change?"

Links (affiliates included):

The ABCs of Diversity: Helping Kids (and Ourselves!) Embrace Our Differences - https://amzn.to/2XMifgh

Anti Racism resources for white people -

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR3JxqkXrlC15fZBsGddsO6feOsVv5WZUYUgYxLQlHZy_fWEVrVxgy_WXFg

Parenting Forward Conference Sessions - https://gumroad.com/parentingforward?sort=page_layout

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB3

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

077: Growing Sustainable Together with Shannon Brescher Shea Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

Shannon Brescher Shea is a mom who writes about parenting, social justice, and sustainability. This week she joins me on the podcast to talk about her new book, Growing Sustainable Together, and how we can guide our children to cultivate kindness, our bodies, our minds, and Earth together as a family. I hope that as we work to move through the current global pandemic, we will take the giant wake up call from Mother Earth and move into a more sustainable way of living.

Show Highlights:

We discuss green guilt, the pressure to raise kids with self-awareness, and awareness about the world we live in.
What it means to help our kids get closer to the food system.
Introducing children to our food resources is not just about going and buying a tomato from the grocery store. It's about all the people and all of the environmental aspects that made that tomato.
How a close connection to our food system helps our children grow up to be happy and healthy.
Some of the ways families can stay in touch with their local community.
How to listen and engage with children in environmental activism, including modeling social activism for younger children, and then inviting them in, if they're interested.
A reminder to be engaged with your children, your community, and the food system in a sustainable way.

Links (affiliates included):

Barbara Brown Taylor’s session: https://www.parentingforwardconference.com/2020-sessions

Shannon’s website: https://welleatyouupweloveyouso.com

Growing Sustainable Together: https://amzn.to/2zu6FOF

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB3

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

076: Parenting After Purity Culture with Erica Smith May 25, 2020

Show notes

Today we're talking about how to raise children with healthy sexuality. I've hosted a couple of episodes in the past about sex and parenting. I've also done an episode on breaking free from purity culture. In this episode, we're going to combine those two topics and discuss parenting after purity culture. Joining me to explore this topic is expert, Erica Smith. Erica is an award-winning sexuality educator. She has been providing sex education, HIV prevention, and support services to young women, LGBTQ, youth, and families since 2000. I'm excited to share our conversation with you.

Show Highlights:

Why dropping out of purity culture is not at all like dropping an actual class.
Some of the biggest challenges Erica sees in her students and clients as they navigate this messy path out of purity culture.
Advice for parents who are trying to deal with their purity culture and raise kids with sex-positivity.
There can't be any sex-positive parenting without examining your feelings and beliefs about sex.
Confusion is common, and not knowing what to say is normal. Parents need to understand that they're not alone, and being uncomfortable is typical for these conversations.
What to do if your child comes across sexually explicit material online.
We work through a lot of reframing for those of us who grew up in purity culture and evangelicalism; to change our minds about this idea that we have a right to pleasure. Erica offers some best practices for people to successfully execute these reframes.
The beautiful thing about raising kids in sex positivity is that they won't have to do the difficult work of reframing as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
Overcoming purity culture may mean rejecting a particular set of values, but it doesn't mean entering into a vacuum of ethics.
Recommendations for parents and families to help determine their sexual ethics.

Links (affiliates included):

Erica Smith’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericasmith.sex.ed/?hl=en

Sex Positive Families: https://sexpositivefamilies.com

Cath Hakanson, Sex Ed Rescue: https://transactions.sendowl.com/stores/9866/125275

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB3

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

075: Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt May 18, 2020

Show notes

Today, I am sharing some of my own stories and reflections to hold witness to this unique moment in history - the COVID-19 crisis. I wanted to provide five pandemic parenting lessons I've learned so far. As we make our way through this crisis, I am sure there will be more lessons to uncover. I hope this episode inspires you, encourages you, and offers you support in some way.

Show Highlights:

The importance of giving transparent information to our kids.
Some ways in which we can raise our kids to not buy into conspiracy theories.
Our children can be a resource for us just as much as we are for them.
How to capitalize on heightened spirituality.
How to have a conversation with our children about privilege, equity. And how our well-being is intricately connected to the well-being of those around us in our neighborhoods, states, and even across the world.
Why we should be raising our children to be storytellers.

Links (affiliates included):

Why did Jesus make the coronavirus? - https://mailchi.mp/21b30be69120/why-did-jesus-make-the-corona-virus?e=[UNIQID]

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB3

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

074: Highlights of the Parenting Forward Conference May 11, 2020

Show notes

A couple of weeks ago, we wrapped up the Parenting Forward conference. Today, I’m going to air some highlights from the conference so that you can experience some of the best parts of the speakers too.

It may feel hyperbolic to say the conference changed my life, but in many ways, it did. Not only were the conversations I had with the speakers so incredibly life-giving, but the experience of going live with the attendees and engaging with them more intimately reminded me powerfully of how listeners of this podcast are full, powerful human beings with families, jobs, and hobbies.

Please go check out each of the speakers’ work: follow them on Twitter, buy their books, and let’s continue to be in conversation about parenting with healthy spirituality.

Show Highlights:

Barbara Brown Taylor shared six different ideas parents can help to re-enchant the world with our children.
Next up, Casper ter Kuile shared the problem we all are facing as a culture of loneliness, and how we can begin to address it with ritual and belonging.
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg talked about how we find theology and profound spirituality in the act of parenting.
Lauren Duca discussed the different ways that young people have been boxed out of connection to a sense of agency.
Next up, we had Danny Cortez, who talked about parenting and the patriarchy.
Rev. Jacqui Lewis helped parents to tell a better story for their children. Our job is to be story weavers or to midwife a story to help a child midwife a story, to own an account, to change a story, and to be transformed.
Micky Scottbey Jones discussed Enneagram and Parenting. Sometimes Enneagram spaces can feel very white and evangelical, so I appreciated having Micky’s perspective as a certified Enneagram instructor.
Jessica Taft goes through five different assumptions, how to become aware of these assumptions, examine them, and disrupt them.
Rachel Goble and Matthew Paul Turner talked about the ethics of telling children’s stories.
Last, but certainly not least, Science Mike shared with us what it’s like to parent after faith deconstruction.

Links (affiliates included):

Parenting Forward Conference 2020 Sessions - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com/2020-sessions

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB3

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

073: When Our Parents have a Faith Crisis with Diana Butler Bass May 04, 2020

Show notes

As the world is going through major growing pains, some days, it seems impossible to extricate the pandemic from the conversation about religion and spirituality. If you are a parent going through a rocky ride when it comes to your faith, or maybe you are watching your parents maneuver a faith crisis of their own, this episode is for you.

There is something unique about the way people are handling their faith crisis because of how public and loud it is. And I wonder how that impacts the process of raising kids. To help me explore what to do when parents have a faith crisis, Diana Butler Bass joins me.

Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. What I appreciate most about her knowledge is how she frames her analysis of pop culture and religious events through the lens of the history of the church and how it has shifted and transformed. Her perspective is so valuable. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Show Highlights:

Diana answers the question, "Are parents of today facing a faith crisis more tumultuous than their parents and their parents' parents?"
People going through a faith crisis right now are doing it in a very public way.
Public sharing has created permission for people to talk about things they hadn't talked about before.
What can we draw from the differences between our faith crisis and that of our parents' experiences?
A reminder for parents: Children have their journey as well. They're going to see things differently than you do. For one, they're not privy to your inner thoughts and your faith unless you communicate it to them.
Children are active faith agents themselves.
The role adults should play when they see children in a youth activist or spiritual capacity.

Links (affiliates included):

Diana Butler Bass - http://dianabutlerbass.com

Parenting Forward Conference - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB3

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

072: This One is for the Kids with Brad Montague, Anna Skates, & Noah Glenn Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

Calling all kids! Today's episode is just for you. Check this out: usually, I talk to your parents about how to raise you with healthy spirituality. You know how doctors, nurses, and scientists can help you to stay physically healthy (like help you when you have a sore throat or stomach ache)? Well, there's another way of staying healthy too, and that's through spiritual wellness. Helping your parents and you stay healthy, spirituality, that's my job.

I've invited my friends Brad Montague, Anna Skates, and Noah Glenn to the show. They're really good grownups who wanted to share a bit about themselves, about YouTube, and about how your parents can be better grownups. Plus, they want to remind you that you matter, you're fantastic, and even though the world is big and sometimes scary, there are little things we can all do to make it better. I hope you'll listen!

Show Highlights:

Brad asks you to consider this question: Where's your power?
Things can be challenging. But there are little things we can do every single day to help.
We talk about how the world is big, but you sometimes feel insignificant, like you can't do anything at all. But there are things you can do. What are they?
Know the world can be better, and you'll be the cause. Keep going.
Anna reminds you that you matter just as much as anyone else.
We discuss big feelings too. How to talk about them and what to do. And we share a reminder: you're not alone.
Finally, Noah helps us make some wishes for grownups listening and takes us through a mindfulness practice known as loving-kindness meditation.

Links (affiliates included):

Be a Better Grownup: BeABetterGrownup.com

Anna Skates’ weekly zoom chats: https://www.wearekidco.com

Noah’s Like You Podcast: https://likeyoupodcast.com

Parenting Forward Conference - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team -https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB9

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

071: How to Find Community in a Post Religious World w/ Casper ter Kuile Apr 20, 2020

Show notes

One of the biggest concerns I see among parents undergoing faith deconstruction is the desire or need to find a meaningful community. This week, Casper ter Kuile joins me to discuss how parents can find community in a post-religious world. Casper is the co-host of the popular podcast, Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. He's also the author of The Power of Ritual. Casper serves as a consultant to individuals who are exploring and interpreting the changing landscape of community and spiritual life.

If you are asking questions like, "How do I gather with others, so my children have a solid community?" Or "How can I feel a sense of belonging if I no longer hold to my previously held religious convictions?" These are real concerns for many people, as spiritual demographics change drastically within this generation. Casper offers an insightful and helpful perspective on these topics. He's such a dynamic person, and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Show Highlights:

We discuss the true definition of community and why we crave it so much.
Community is a conveyor of belonging.
Casper offers why it's easier to connect when we're vulnerable.
We talk about the podcasting community and how it is changing how people gather.
The fluidity and freedom in relationships in today’s world is ever-changing.
We can cultivate a sense of commitment and connection in our children's' lives; one way to do that is to be committed and to be there for them.
We are living in a golden age of myth-making where these epic stories of good and evil are being played for us on big screens with ever-increasing frequency. So if we look at that as religious behavior, you know, religion is all around us. We don't call it that.
We talk about rituals and ask, "What ritual would you like to have had in your childhood?"

Links (affiliates included):

Casper’s book, The Power of Ritual - https://amzn.to/2V0T3T8

Parenting Forward Conference - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB9

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

070: Parenting Decentering Whiteness - Untigering w/ Iris Chen Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

Throughout the series, Parenting Decentering Whiteness, my special co-host, Leslie Arreola Hillenbrand, and I have been interviewing parenting influencers of color. Parenting spaces are majority white, which is a massive distortion of the actual world in which we live. If we want to raise our children into developing meaningful relationships with those around them, we have to start listening to voices that reflect the actual life experiences of our world.

Today, we are joined by Iris Chen. Iris is a Chinese American known for her work with unlearning and detoxing from tiger parenting, aka untigering. She is a deconstructing tiger mother who is trying to become a gentle and respectful parent. We are so happy to have her with us to talk about her work and her perspective on parenting.

Show Highlights:

Tiger parenting, what it is and the practice of untigering
Iris shares her own experience with tiger parenting and how she began to question what she was doing; and recognized the ways it was hurting her son and hurting their relationship.
How Iris said she leaned on coercion, domination, and oppression over children and how she wants to encourage all of us to change and transform from those patterns and those strategies to anti-oppressive ways of relating with children.
Perspectives on the orientation of undoing or dismantling - is it too negative?
Some gaps that need to be filled in the Asian parenting community and what we wish would be talked about more.
Speaking on ethnic identity, we discuss whether or not there are nonviolent or liberating parenting practices that are particular to the Asian American story.
Whatever our culture is, we don't want to be wasteful. The idea of the shared plate in Asian culture and allowing a child to choose how much to put on their plate; acknowledging there are ways to practice not being wasteful yet also honor our kids' autonomy.

Links (affiliates included):

Iris Chen Untigering - https://untigering.com

Gene Luen Yang - https://amzn.to/39Nb7UK

Parenting Forward Conference - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team - https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB9

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com