98 avsnitt • Längd: 45 min • Månadsvis
Family 360 Podcast
What is a family? How do we care for one another? How do we help each other flourish and what gives us resilience in difficult times from the earliest years to our last days? How we live life together so that it shapes who we are and how we thrive? All of this happens in the context of family.
Hosts Rachel Cram and Roy Salmond
The podcast Family 360 Podcast is created by Rachel Cram and Roy Salmond. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Suddenly and sadly, this is our last family360 episode.
In this goodbye, we share ‘why we needed to end’, ‘insights from a wonderful guest whose recorded interview we can’t release’, and ‘wisdom from guests whose words will linger on with us for years to come’.
Join us for our heartfelt goodbye.
We are so grateful for all who have listened to family360!
Today’s question is probably one of the core causes of stress in young families; ‘How to manage the household mess!’
In the episode, Dr. Koh explores… how to make cleaning into a game.
How to compromise some of our standards so we can cohabit more peacefully.
Finding our own special space where we can have ‘cleanliness control’.
And supporting each other through the relentless task of tidying a home.
It’s a known fact – hobbies make life happier!
So, whether it’s music, sports, arts, or otherwise, of course, we want our kids to find passions that fuel their creativity and enjoyment.
However, when what should be ‘fun’ starts to feel like ‘work’, and our kids no longer want to practice or pursue a hobby, when do we push them to stick with it and when do we allow them to throw in the towel?
Join our guest Dr. Christine Koh for her insights on When It Is Kind To Let Kids Quit – and when is it NOT!
In this episode, we’re talking about chores.
Why do kids need them? What are fair expectations?
Do we pay our kids for help around the house?
We’re back with our keynote guest, Dr. Christine Koh. She’s describing how chores build our child’s life skills, and how to work together as partners and parents without making chores a chore!
Join us for this practical episode!
Are the efforts and actions of your days bringing you joy and contentment? Or do you feel like you’re going through meaningless motions?
In this episode, we’re talking about large and small life hacks.
Our guest is the author of Minimalist Parenting, and Harvard-trained brain scientist, Dr. Christine Koh and she is helping us look at what we do, and why we do it, and encouraging us to edit and change.
Join us!
When we feel we’re being left out, it’s tough.
When we feel our kids are being left out, it’s terrible!
This week, parenting specialist and author of Peaceful Discipline, Sarah Moore addresses a question about how to help our children when they don’t seem to be settled into the social realities of school – especially if they’re not being invited to playdates and birthday parties. Join us!
Is there a correlation between a highly sensitive temperament and mental health concerns?
Today, our guest Sarah Moore answers a question from a parent who is wondering about the intensity of her son’s emotions. She sees his emotional highs, but notices, even more, his lows and wants to know if she should be concerned.
Sarah is the director of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting and the author of her wonderful and newly released book, Peaceful Discipline
Highly sensitive kids feel the intensity of their emotions. Their highs tend to be higher and their lows tend to be lower.
This week, our guest Sarah Moore answers a question from a listener who asks, “How do you support a highly sensitive child when you feel like you have to walk on eggshells?”
Join us for her compassionate and insightful response.
‘High Sensitivity’ is a temperament trait, meaning it’s biologically based rather than learned or taught.
A highly sensitive child is a child who is very affected and often reactive to environmental influences – sounds, smells, temperatures, and even the attitudes and moods of those around them.
In this episode of family360, author and parenting specialist Sarah Moore shares the unique emotional language of a highly sensitive child and what they need from their parents in order to feel seen, loved, and validated.
Child experts agree that commenting on our daughter’s appearance may suggest we value her looks over other qualities and this inadvertently damages her self-esteem and sense of worth.
In this 3rd Q-note episode with Maggie Dent, Maggie delves into her own past problems with ‘prettiness’ and shares her well-seasoned perspectives on helping girls find their inner beauty.
‘People pleasing sounds like a positive pursuit,’ thought the parent who wrote in today’s question. It’s not! People-pleasing involves dishonoring yourself to honor someone else. Maggie Dent suggests generations of patriarchy have pushed women toward people pleasing.
She addresses this and more as she answers this great question about people pleasing and how parents unintentionally encourage their children to ‘make nice’.
A Mom’s wondering if she can bypass hosting a birthday party for her soon to be 7 year old, without alienating her daughter’s friendships at school. Her daughter attends at least one birthday party a month and she loves going, but the parties are expensive and expansive.
This Mom doesn’t want to try to keep up and feels a small family party would be preferable. Maggie responds with warmth, wisdom and some entertaining birthday stories of her own. Join us!
Raising girls is complicated.
In spite of all our empowerment messages, rates of stress, anxiety, and depression are on the rise for girls. Studies indicate a girl’s confidence drops by 30% between the ages of 8 – 14.
This week on family360 we’re with the wonderful Maggie Dent, talking about femininity, feelings, and friends. Maggie believes we raise mighty women by raising mighty girls – and that starts right from birth with how we encourage our daughters ‘to be’ – to value others and enjoy who they are – whether they want to purr or roar. Join us!
Is it appropriate to cry in front of your children? To be angry? To show frustration? How we express our emotions in front of our kids is an important component to their emotional development and in tricky parenting moments what to do and how to respond is not always obvious.
In this episode, we’re looking at two separate questions asked by listeners on this topic. Join us!
In this episode, a parent asks, “Will our kids be confused by the difference between my partner’s and my parenting style?”
It’s not uncommon when one parent leans one way in an aspect of parenting for the other parent to lean the other way. Our kids can handle that best when we can handle that best.
Join us as we dig into this great question!
A parent expresses concern for her 3-year-old’s constant state of aggravation and whininess. Her daughter seems to wake up out of sorts. The parent is trying to be patient but is struggling and feels she and her partner are, “At their wit’s end.” Rachel suggests a point of view for understanding and supporting children when they whine. She also looks at the mom’s question and gives possible cues for why this little girl is whining.
Join us!
Unlike IQ, EQ (emotional quotient) matures mainly through nurture – how our caregivers respond to us and role model their own emotional growth.
This week on family360 we’re digging into the profound work of Dr. John Gottman and 4 common parenting styles he noticed manifesting when children become emotionally dysregulated. He says there is no such thing as unacceptable emotion, but there are unacceptable behaviors. So, how does a parent hold boundaries while still accepting all emotions, and nurture their child’s emotional growth?
Join us and find out!
Dr. Kristy Goodwin believes bombarding parents with warnings about pornography, social media, and screen addiction renders us ineffective. Techno-guilting turns us off and shuts us down. And, expecting parents to stay savvy with all the newest online options is unrealistic.
In this episode, Kristy introduces an easy-to-understand guide for creating a meaningful tech plan with our kids, and an explanation for why and how we help them buy into the plan.
Join us!
This episode explores the healing power of movement with dance director and author of Bare – The Misplaced Art of Grieving and Dance, Sandy Oshiro Rosen.
North American society notoriously gears us up to power-through vital messages from our bodies – sensations that should signal the need for our attention, but we ignore. When these messages are left unaddressed for prolonged periods, chronic ailments and mental illness can result.
Movement is a powerful method for paying attention, discovering the messages, and finding rest and healing.
Join us for this thought and movement-provoking conversation.
In this episode, we’re talking with Dr. Hillary McBride about why 90% of children, who freely run, roll, wiggle and laugh when they are young, become so unhappy with their bodies later on in life, and how they can learn to engage and delight within their bodies once again. Most of us have complicated relationships with our bodies. When we discover how to be in our bodies in a way that protects us from body shame we’re more capable of supporting our children on their own journey. Join us!
This episode is all about sex and pleasure and how we cultivate those kinds of desires after having kids. We’re with UBC professor and director of the Women’s Health Institute, Dr. Lori Brotto.
Universally, sexual desire diminishes after having kids, but even at other times, female sexual dysfunction is extremely common, affecting up to half of women at some point in their lives.
Dr. Brotto’s work brings the issue of low sexual desire in women into the open so that women feel less shame and are empowered to cultivate their feelings of sexual desire if that is what they wish.
All about this and more in this episode. Join us!
ADHD, autism, anxiety, learning disabled… neurodivergence is all around us. These are people who don’t conform and who author and activist Debbie Reber believes we need, to come up with creative solutions to see the world differently.
Debbie’s mission is to change the way difference is perceived and experienced. As Debbie describes in this conversation, being differently wired isn’t a deficit — it’s a difference.
Dr. Ken Ginsburg wants us all to know that having a teen is just as exciting as having a baby. AND that our adolescents need us as intensely as our toddlers.
In this episode he passionately dispels myths about pre-teens and teens, that compromise our care and connection with our kids.
We’re barraged with controversial decisions when we have a new baby; breastfeeding, childcare, co-sleeping, sleep training… and often new parents resist discussing opinions with family and friends, even between themselves, fearing unwanted feedback and division.
In this episode, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson offers science based encouragement to new and expectant parents – and its all rooted in what your children need the very most…YOU!
Whether it’s having a new baby, starting our kids into school, transitioning into teen years, or navigating relational realities, our life continually moves through passages.
Luci Shaw is a professor, and poet with over 35 published books, including 3 co-written with A Wrinkle In Time author/friend Madeleine L’Engle.
Luci is 93 years old with a wealth of wisdom from decades of courageous living. In this updated interview, she speaks against protecting and guarding our children with ‘safe things,’ describing how that creates a dry and uninteresting way to live.
Starting school can be an exciting time and a scary time for children and for parents. With 12 years of education ahead, starting school with enthusiasm and energy is the launch we want for our little ones.
This week on family360, host Rachel Cram and Wind & Tide Educator Bev Bailey team up to talk about practical tips for helping kids start school. Join us!
It’s not uncommon for kids to cry about not wanting to go to school. Transitioning from home to school is tough because it requires significant shifts in focus and feeling. However, when a child’s crying continues for weeks/months, and leaving home is a continual source of stress, there’s more to be explored.
This episode is the story of a Mom who discovered she was a trigger for her child’s school tears and the counselor who helped their family find release and resolve their struggle.
In this episode, family counselor Gila Golub describes how generationally past patterns shape our present relationships and realities. Through her own story and study, Gila shares, “When we are unable to change a situation or relationship, we need to change ourselves. And often the insight for that change is gained when we are willing to tolerate the discomfort of delving into our past.”
We hope you enjoy this repeat episode from Season 1, with an additional new 20-minute conversation to augment the original interview.
A recent study by the International Institute of Mental Health revealed one in two children will develop a mood or behaviour disorder or a substance addiction before the age of 18.
In this episode, journalist and parenting specialist, Katherine Reynolds Lewis explains how childhood has changed and what gives our kids the skills they need to manage their thoughts, behaviours and emotions.
In this episode of family360, Ranbir Puar shares the story of her birth in India as the 5th daughter to parents who longed for a son. Growing up unseen and feeling unwanted, she saw herself as a victim in her home – a narrative she redefined in order to grow and flourish in her adult life.
In this conversation, Ranbir explores what contributes to a victim mentality, and how we can mitigate its effects by auditing our thoughts for a clearer understanding of what directs our inner life.
Toilet training is a significant first step on the long and winding journey of learning self-control, and it’s a step we want to celebrate with our kids.
In this episode of family360 we’re with warm and humorous educator, Dr. Katie Rinald, discussing ways to lose diapers without losing dignity – your child’s or your own. If you’re about to undergo an adventure into underwear, listen in for some great tips and encouragement.
Insomnia affects 40% of adults and we can lie awake worrying about having it!
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia is the recommended route to restore sleep patterns for people struggling with insomnia and in this episode, sleep specialist Tony Ho describes how CBTI can realign our relationship with sleep.
Tony is the director of Quadra Wellness & Counselling Centre in Vancouver Canada and a mental health specialist. Join us!
High-quality relationships start with high-quality connections. We’re constantly scanning our relationships for social cues on whether we belong and are valued.
This week on family360 our guest is psychologist, family therapist and author Dr. Rod Wilson who writes about ancient traditions and teachings central to building authentic and trusting relationships.
This episode is filled with engaging and enlightening stories from early childhood educator and international consultant, Tom Hobson.
Through decades of study and practice with preschoolers, “Teacher Tom” understands how children ‘learn how to learn’ through play.
He writes, “Time and again, when I’ve had faith in children, when I’ve held them as competent, for more often than not, they show me they are.”
He now shares that knowledge around the world, describing how we create classroom environments that let kids learn.
This week on family360, we’re in conversation with New York Times Bestselling author, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, talking about being present for our kids so they feel safe, seen, soothed and secure.
Seeking safety is a biological instinct. Our kids will naturally head for our harbour as long as they feel welcome, regardless of the storm. Listen to our conversation to learn more about the power of showing up.
The phrase, “all you need is love,” rings true until all you need is sleep… then ‘love’ takes a close second.
In this episode of family360, pediatric sleep specialist Tara Mitchell talks about the toll sleep deprivation takes on family functioning and offers counsel for sorting out sleep in a way that allows our children to rest in our care.
Check in to hear her personal story and how she’s helping put the joy back into parenthood, one good sleep at a time.
Until the 21st century, we thought skills and capacities discovered in childhood set the standard for adulthood. We assumed people grew from a ‘fixed mindset’, giving way to phrases such as “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Ongoing discoveries in neuroscience reveal that not only can we teach old dogs, but that the new tricks are the ongoing path to brain growth.
In this episode, Stanford professor and author Dr. Jo Boaler talks about our limitless minds and how our brains and our lives are highly adaptable when we welcome a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.
Michele Borba is an internationally renowned educational psychologist recognized for her decades of research and study on the teaching of character.
She’s a dynamic and engaging writer and speaker and in this episode, you’ll hear story after story from her years of experience working with educators around the world, discovering why it is, that in the midst of calm or crisis, some kids struggle and others shine.
We’re wired for togetherness above all else.
Separation is like the fire alarm that goes off in our brain crying, “Somethings wrong here! Pay attention!”
In this episode of family360, clinical psychologist Dr. Deborah MacNamara describes 5 key things to know about ATTACHMENT and how to repair it when there is rupture.
Deborah writes, “The secret to developing secure adult/child relationships is helping a child see that it’s not their job to strive to hold on to us but to take for granted that we won’t let go of them.”
Hear more about how we “hold on,” as you listen to our engaging conversation with Dr. MacNamara.
In 2019, months before the beginning of the COVID pandemic, author and teen specialist Michelle Mitchell released a prescient book titled Self Harm: Why Teens Do It And What Parents Can Do To Help.
Since the beginning of COVID, medical reports indicate an alarming rise in self-harm behaviours in teens. Self harm is the act of deliberately harming your own body to cope with emotional pain, frustration or uncertainty.
In this episode, Michelle weaves stories and strategies that help parents care for kids when they’re struggling to cope with the intensity of their feelings and experiences.
If life and death occur in the natural order of our expectations, our parents pass away when we are well into our adulthood, but even when we’ve anticipated this loss, we’re often not prepared for our grief.
There is no right or wrong way to grieve the death of a parent. Grief is as unique and different as we are from each other. Yet sometimes it’s helpful to have hints. We hope this episode offers some insight into what will inevitably happen for all of us and some solace for those to whom it already has.
Did you know there are 4 communication habits that ruin relationships? Criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. We often engage in these without knowing.
Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart is a pediatric specialist, a writer for The Gottman Institute, a parenting coach, and our guest this week on family360. She describes each habit and the antidotes to their ruinous reign in our relationships.
Social development starts at home and continues when our kids start school.
Do you remember the scene from Lion King where Rafiki stands on Pride Rock, holding Simba for all to see? As parents, we can relate! We want to hold our children up for all to adore and admire.
However, when we all arrive at schools with our little Simbas in tow, socialization becomes complicated with all our kids who ‘Just can’t wait to be King!’
The parental plan when our child is hit, hurt or not invited to a birthday party, sets the stage for their social development; their perceptions of who they are and how they relate to others.
We’re talking about all this, this week on family360!
Join us now, for our first episode of Season Three!
In this episode, Dr. Shahana Alibhai shares the story of her lifelong struggle with OCD, how it intensified with the birth of her child, and how she eventually sought help and healing.
Content note: Please be aware suicide is mentioned briefly in this episode.
Everyone of us is covered in trillions of microbes, some of which make us sick. Antibiotics and vaccines save us from diseases these devastating microbes deliver. Unfortunately, they also kill many other microbes that would host our health and healing.
Dr. Brett Finlay is a world-renowned microbiologist who is passionate about the well being of children and families.
He is the co-author of the best selling book, Let Them Eat Dirt, and in this episode offers insight on saving our children from an overly sanitized world.
In his mid teens, Cal and Suzie Warneke’s son Josh started to struggle with his mental health. This episode is the story of their family’s journey.
1 in 5 children experience a severe mental health condition sometime between the ages of 13-18. For parents, distinguishing mental health concerns from teenager temperament is complicated, yet early diagnosis is key to care. The Warneke’s story sheds light on what parents can look for and how, when and why to seek help. Join us!
In her newest book, Parenting Right From The Start, Dr. Vanessa writes, “to believe that your thoughts are your concrete reality is probably one of the most torturous misconceptions humans experience.”
In this episode, Vanessa describes how the practice of ‘thinking about our thinking’ allows us to select narratives that will best serve ourselves and our children.
Every moment of every day our subconscious mind runs stories that perpetuate our perspectives and practices that affect our parenting. We all do this!
In this episode, the insightful and vivacious Dr. Vanessa Lapointe shares from her newest book, Parenting Right From The Start, exploring the implications of the stories we tell ourselves, and how “Conscious Parenting” is about bringing those stories to the surface so that we become consciously aware of our narratives that serve us or no longer serve us, and how we are showing up for our children.
What’s the biology behind our child’s tantrums and meltdowns? How do we navigate ‘screen time’?
When to give our kids control?
Why do we want a guinea pig!?!
Accompanied by Maggie’s humor and warm heart, this episode covers a wonderful and wide sample of topics from Maggie’s newly released book, Parental As Anything.
Join us for a conversation packed with practical takeaways, stories and encouragement for parents.
In her newest children’s book, Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith writes, “When we are kind we remember we are all related.”
Monique’s celebrated works on Truth and Reconciliation offer a doorway into discovering our shared humanity – and kindness is the key. In this episode, she describes simple everyday ways that kindness unleashes our ‘littlest citizens’, and us as adults, to talk, listen, trust and love.
In this episode of family360, award-winning creator of Easy Daysies, and mom of 3, Elaine Tan Comeau, tells the story of her stroke; how it happened, how she coped and how it changed her perspectives on caring for herself and her ‘running the show,’ at home and at work.
Picky eaters. Slow eaters. Messy eaters. Overeaters.
With young children, mealtimes can feel more like endurance than enjoyment. Providing a healthy diet is one thing. Getting our kids to eat it is another.
In this episode, Dr. Natasha Beck (aka Dr. Organic Mommy) offers 10 creative tips for healthy eating, that you can start implementing right away.
Ninety percent of our values, attitudes, and beliefs are shaped before we are 7 years old – shaped but not set in stone. Where needed, we can re-parent ourselves and grow ourselves up to be the people and the parents we want to be. In this episode of family360, family therapist David Loyst shares how his childhood shaped his adult perspectives, and how he didn’t recognize this until his own marriage and family were in jeopardy. David describes how we can revisit our childhoods to revitalize our perceptions and our parenting.
This episode is a popular repeat from season one of family360 and our first interview (of two so far) with Dr. Gordon Neufeld. In this episode, he identifies the six stages of attachment upon which a child builds their ongoing capacity for caring and for relationships. Dr. Neufeld is a world leader in child growth and development and attachment theory. He is also the author of the international best-selling book, Hold Onto Your Kids.
This episode is from our 2019 conversation with Family Therapist Ted Leavitt. Ted describes his adult diagnosis of ADHD as a discovery that changed everything, including his personal perspectives and professional practices. Ted now focuses on removing distinctions between behavior problems and mental health problems, recognizing that children do well if they can, and when they can’t, there is more to explore than them just being ‘naughty, lazy or rude’.
In this episode, Australian author, educator and host of ABC’s Parental As Anything podcast Maggie Dent, generously and humorously shares from her 3 decades as a parenting specialist.
Maggie specializes in resilience training, particularly in the adolescent and early years. In this episode she explains, “Resilience isn’t a trait we are born with,” so when parents start to embrace adversity as a powerful teacher for their children, disappointments become the road to inner strengths that will sustain their child for the years to come.
In this episode, physician and author Dr. Bal Pawa is the author of the bestseller, The Mind-Body Cure – how we heal our pain, anxiety, and fatigue by controlling chronic stress.
Dr. Pawa describes that when we learn to name, tame and reframe the thoughts in our minds, we gain agency over much of our mental and physical health.
In this episode, mental health specialist Dr. John Swinton shares from his many years as a psychiatric nurse and advocate for community care and inclusion.
He says, “When you spend time with people who see the world differently, you begin to see the world differently,” and until we spend that time, we will continue to struggle with difference and diversity.
In this episode, Child Psychologist Dr. Deborah MacNamara unpacks the myriad reasons and motives as to why our kids fight, and has great perspectives to offer.
From everyday questions to complex problems, her strategies for making headway with our child or teen is grounded in a rich developmental framework to give constructive hope for parents immersed in their child’s sibling conflict.
In this episode, adolescent specialist Michelle Mitchell explains why maintaining a solid connection with teens is essential but not easy, especially when they’re grumpy! Through her books and speaking, Michelle Mitchell offers compassion, knowledge, and practical tools for keeping connections and conversations positive and strong between tweens and teens, and the adults who love them. Michelle is an award-winning author and speaker and her resources are used by psychologists, social workers, and parents around the world.
Through her study and work with children in trauma, Dr. Lacy Finn Borgo sees the importance of trusted adults engaging in spiritual conversation with children, and describes BOW (an acronym for Body, Openness and Wonder) that avails children to encounter deeper connection with themselves, others and the natural and supernatural world.
In this episode, author and social justice activist Tim Huff discusses compassion through the lens of his three decades serving the homeless on the streets of Toronto. Tim believes bringing children into conversations on social concern is key to how we develop and build our cultural capacity for compassion. Tim speaks internationally to students and school boards using a program called The Compassion Series.
In this episode, neurologic music therapist Allison Davies describes MUSIC as, “the mother tongue of the brain” and an antidote to the bombardment of sensory information flooding our world. This interview is filled with accessible ideas for a practice Allison calls “musical parenting” – using music to ease and support the dysregulation of our children’s brains and bodies.
Kim Zeglinski grew up “pretending to be normal”. Her young son’s diagnosis of autism offered Kim insight, not only for her son but also for herself. At 43 years of age, Kim too was diagnosed on the spectrum.
In this episode, Kim shares her story, one that is common to many adults who remain undiagnosed throughout childhood and adolescence.
In this episode, sexual health educator and author Saleema Noon shares with a candor, humor and humility that have earned her multiple awards and national acclaim. “All children have a right to scientific understanding about their bodies,” says Saleema, “however, parents are the ones who explain values around sex because those will differ in every family.”
Through her book Talk Sex Today, and her online courses and workshops, Saleema warmly and wisely helps children and parents navigate these potentially complicated conversations.
In this episode of Family360, pediatrician and adolescent specialist, Dr. Dzung Vo, describes ‘stress’ as a root cause of mental and physical health during teen years.
“Adolescence is a time when our kids need us the most,” says Dr. Vo, yet, while we try to help them manage stress, it can feel like they resist our care. In this interview, Dr. Vo explains the delicate dance between parents and teens; how we can take the lead without stepping on their toes. He also shares from his impactful book The Mindful Teen (impactful for all ages!) with principles and practices that welcome stress to fuel our resilience rather than rule our reality.
In this episode, author and developmental theorist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, describes the 7 properties of true play. He identifies play as a basic human drive that starts at birth and remains essential throughout all of life. Globally, psychologists pinpoint loss of play as central to the rise in anxiety, depression and mental suffering in children and adults.
“True play,” says Dr Neufeld, “takes care of our emotions, opens the door to our potential, and is nature’s way of taking care of us.”
In this episode, author and parenting specialist Janet Lansbury explains why boundaries are one of the highest forms of love.
Many parents are uncomfortable being large and in charge, even though their children desperately need and want them to be so. Janet says, “It’s next to impossible for children to accept our limits if we are anything but sure of ourselves.” Recognizing boundaries as evidence of our love and respect for our children gives confidence for that needed parental surety.
In this episode mental health specialist and Vicar, Dr. Sharon Smith, explains how we infuse protection and preventative care into our mental health by the giving and receiving of friendship. Whether or not we’re diagnosed with a mental health concern, all of us move between emotional flourishing and languishing. When we are “known” by another, a quality of relationship Dr.Smith describes in her conversation, our patterns of thinking can be safely and lovingly challenged. And this can make the difference in how we thrive.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “If we want to reach peace in the world, we must begin with the children.” His words are foundational to the mission of family 360 podcast. In this episode we’re sharing a collection of excerpts from our first season of guests. Each guest uniquely describes how we, “begin with the children,” and Gandhi’s implied necessity of starting with ourselves.
For this Season One finale to Family360, we’ve divided the excerpts from our guests into four key conversations; The science of family. The philosophy of family. The heartache of family, and the potential of family. Thanks for following us at Family360! We are excited to jump into Season Two, continuing our conversations exploring all the ways we are family to each other.
In this second of her two part episode, author and parenting specialist Ann Douglas continues her discussion on mental health with a focus on self compassion. Through her own journey with Bipolar disorder, and as parent to four (now adult) children with their own mental health needs, Ann speaks from both practice and wisdom on Parenting Through the Storm (her recent book). She says, “When you treat yourself with self compassion, that spills over and allows you to treat others with compassion; to feel connected rather than separate from the rest of society.”
In this episode, author and parenting specialist Ann Douglas describes the inescapable whirlwind of a mental health crisis. Through personal experience, Ann recognizes the challenge of finding harbours of safety when these winds of challenge blow through family life. Her 2015 bestseller Parenting Through The Storm is a compass for finding well placed harbours as we navigate our way through chaos to calmer waters. Join our conversation, as Ann shares with candor, kindness and compassion.
In this episode of Family 360, we continue our discussion with Family Therapist Ted Leavitt on the effects of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD on a person’s potential, productivity and self esteem. Diagnosed with ADHD in his thirties, Ted describes the life changing effect of therapy and medication, which, upon reflection, still makes him ask, “How did I live like this for 30 years?!”
In this episode, Family Therapist Ted Leavitt describes his diagnosis of ADHD as a discovery that changed everything, including his personal perspectives and professional practice. For the last decade, in addition to his counselling work, Ted focuses now on removing distinctions between problem behaviour and mental health problems. His work and study support the understanding that people, “Do well if they can.”
This is the second of a two part series with Dr. Malcolm Guite. In this episode, Dr. Guite reflects on how leaps of imagination can free us for innovative thinking. Imagination, he says, fuels our understanding of ourselves, our relationships and our social systems. Without imagination we will not progress from “the world known to the world unknown.”
This is part one of a two part conversation with Dr. Malcolm Guite. In this episode, Dr. Guite describes his vibrant childhood journey from Nigeria to Cambridge and his parent’s presentation of ‘life’ as a stage for wonder, poetry and imagination. Dr.Guite sees creativity as essential to our health. He says, “Starving and repressing a person’s imagination is just as bad as starving and repressing their body. Possibly worse.”
In this episode, Family Therapist Carolynn Turner describes how, in the process of living, our emotions can detach from our experience. When this happens, we deny our body its voice and erode our sense of self. Over time, this can leave us feeling emotionally flat; disconnected from ourselves, and from others. Carolynn offers practices and perspectives toward emotional wholeness, discovered and developed throughout her two decades of leadership in family therapy.
In this episode, counselor and teacher Gila Golub describes how generationally past patterns shape our present relationships and realities. Through her own story and study, Gila shares; ‘when we are unable to change a situation or relationship, we need to change ourselves and often the insight for that change is gained when we are willing to tolerate the discomfort of delving into our past.’
In this episode Author and Life Strategies Coach Ranbir Puar shares the story of her birth in India as the 5th daughter to parents who longed for a son. Growing up unseen and unheard, she saw herself as a victim in her home – a narrative she redefined in order to grow and flourish in her adult life. Ranbir’s work with clients of all ages, encourages self discovery, realizing “… relationships with others will be difficult until you have a good one with yourself.”
In this episode of Family 360, family therapist David Loyst shares how reflections of his childhood shaped perspectives he didn’t recognize until his own marriage and family was in jeopardy. David describes how we can revisit our childhoods to revitalize our perceptions and our parenting. Ninety percent of our values, attitudes and beliefs are shaped before we are 7 years old – shaped – but not set . Where needed, “…we can re-parent ourselves and grow ourselves up to be the people and the parents we want to be.”
In this episode, Brian and Joyce Doerksen describe their lament, learning and shifting expectations as they journey through the unanticipated diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome upon their six children. Fragile X is the #1 inherited mental disorder with mild to acute effects on brain development. With their children now adults, the Doerksens reflect on what sustains their family, their marriage and their joy.
In this episode, musician and producer Marcus Mosely shares his deep understanding of music as a wonderfully vibrant source of connection to our inner selves and to others. He shares from his 4 prolific decades as a performer, advocating for mutual respect and inclusiveness for all that is common between us.
In this episode, author and parenting educator Maggie Dent explains, “Resilience isn’t a trait you are born with, it is determined by the systems we live within.” These systems include family, school and faith systems alongside a capacity to help others and ask for help ourselves. Maggie is an advocate for the simple things in life, believing nothing replaces human connection in building children and adults who thrive.
Maggie Dent is an Australian parenting author, educator and speaker as well as the host of ABC’s Parental As Anything podcast. Known in Australia as the “Queen Of Common Sense”, Maggie specializes in resilience training, particularly in the early and adolescent years. In this 2 part episode, Maggie Dent explains, “Resilience isn’t a trait you’re born with. It’s cultivated and determined by the systems we live within.”
In this episode, Dr. Ken Ginsburg describes our current world crisis as a generation defining moment. The loss of school, sports, activities and experience outside of home all cause unique levels of stress for teens. As well, it can be an opportunity for emotional growth. Dr. Ginsburg says, “Children need to learn to fill their own time, manage their own emotions, and solve their own problems. We should be like lighthouses – ever present, available for guidance – but clear we are not steering the boat.”
In this episode, author and educator Muriel Endersby shares from her five decades as a literacy specialist. Literacy is a basic currency for knowledge and the gateway to human progress. Alongside education, literacy is deemed the right of a child, yet many children and adults struggle to read. Muriel describes environments and practices that open the door for expanded learning and growth, through nurturing a love and capacity for reading.
In this episode, environmental educator David Anderson describes his work with international environmental organization A Rocha, inspiring communities to practically engage and steward their neighbourhoods.
He describes risk as a human necessity for engagement with nature, sharing a personal story of loss, that provides a resonant example of what it means to lean into nature, life and love.
In this episode, poet, publisher and author Luci Shaw describes what she calls, “The crime of living cautiously.” Luci loves the idea that we can say to a child, “Look this way! There is something fresh to enter into your life,” rather than following the “well worn ruts of civilization.”
Luci reflects on childhood, faith, and friendship, from her 9 decades of beautifully articulated perspective.
This episode walks the uprooted and unsettled ground of our world health pandemic. Life is disrupted and stress and anxiety are natural responses in the midst of health, financial and family concern. Child Psychologist Dr. Vanessa Lapointe and Family Therapist David Loyst, share their personal and professional understanding of finding balance when life seismically shifts beneath our feet.
In this episode, beloved children’s troubadour, environmental activist, and author Raffi, offers his holistic vision for honouring children and respecting the earth. He says,“If we are serious in our desire to give our best to the young, we need to know the interconnected world they live in, the connection between person, culture and planet.” Woven together with his enduring music, Raffi reflects on his past while boldly speaking to our future.
In this episode, Jill Alexander shares the story of giving her child up for adoption. Her journey through loss, co-dependency and discovery shines light on the complex weight of shame and the hope of reconciliation and connection with her past. Together, Jill and her husband, Brian Fraser, speak to the potential and the joy of blended family.
In this episode, family therapist and nonviolent communication specialist, Jamil Popatia, discusses a paradigm for mitigating conflict through the understanding of universal needs. Drawing on the work of Victor Frankl (Man’s Search For Meaning) and Marshall Rosenberg (Nonviolent Communication: A Language Of Life), Jamil explores tolerance and difference through dignified dialogue.
In this episode, Child Psychologist, Author and Developmental Theorist, Dr Neufeld describes play as the “elixir” to healthy growth and development in all relationships including marriage. He explains The Pyramid of Potential; describing potential as a reality, fostered through attachment, emotional expression, rest and play. Dr Neufeld calls this, ‘the irreducible needs of a child’.
In this episode, Child Psychologist, Author, and Developmental Theorist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, outlines 6 stages of growth and development for building ‘capacity for relationship’ within ourselves and with others. He describes ‘togetherness’ as a human instinct, paramount to even survival instinct, augmenting current scientific discovery on the necessity of enduring attachment, in both children and adults.
In this episode, musician and activist, Steve Bell, describes the trauma of his childhood in the face of his mother’s mental illness. His story twists and turns through his childhood to a top security prison, where inmates offered his family a haven for belonging and fired his passion for music and meaning.
In this episode, award-winning athlete, Rolande, tells the story of her adoption from Haiti and the implications of early separation on her mental health and well being. Through therapy and family support, Rolande’s story demonstrates the power of perseverance and practice, in learning to thrive in the midst of challenge and loss
In this episode, child psychologist and best selling author, Dr Lapointe, explains the process of neuroplasticity. She describes how confident, capable, caring parents and caregivers act as a brain bridge for self regulation within a growing child. Interaction between a parent and a child directly affect the way a child’s brain wires and fires the pathways laid down in their developing mind.
Welcome to the pilot episode of the Family 360 Podcast!
Educator Rachel Cram and Music Producer Roy Salmond bring their diverse decades of expertise and experience to bring you Family 360, a podcast to encourage and explore the many angles of life together. Family 360 hosts in-depth conversations with Specialists, Artists and Storytellers.
ABOUT OUR HOSTS
Rachel Cram
Rachel Cram is Founding Director of Wind & Tide Schools, a flourishing early childhood education community with 40 campus locations, 160 staff, family life programming and a wide scope of educational resources. Learn more about Rachel here…
Roy Salmond
Roy Salmond is a 30-year seasoned music producer, engineer, composer, studio owner, and blog writer. His award-winning productions have taken him to top studios in the world, recording throughout Canada, the United States and the UK. Learn more about Roy here…
IN THIS EPISODE…
Every Family 360 episode ends with an original piece of music, created and performed by Producer Roy Salmond. The pilot is no exception.
Enjoy one of the theme songs created for Family 360 at the completion of this pilot episode.
Thanks for your interest! Enjoy.
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.