Brainy Moms
Dr. Amy Moore
Brainy Moms is a parenting podcast with smart ideas to help moms and kids thrive! Hosted by cognitive psychologist Dr. Amy Moore along with rotating co-hosts Sandy Zamalis, Teri Miller, and Dr. Jody Jedlicka, this weekly show features conversations and guest experts in parenting, psychology, child development, education, and medicine with practical tips to help moms navigate the ups and downs of parenthood. We're smart moms helping make moms smarter...one episode at a time!
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Top 10 Brainy Moms Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Brainy Moms episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Brainy Moms for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Brainy Moms episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
05/28/24 • 51 min
On this fascinating episode with Dr. Amy and Sandy, psychotherapist and certified brain professional Mindy Haukedahl shares details from her successes using neurofeedback to improve brain functionality in kids, teens, and adults. From depression, anxiety, and ADHD to creativity, sleep, and misophonia, her work with non-invasive in-person and remote neurotherapy has significantly improved her clients’ lives by using real-time brainwave activity to help diagnose and treat a variety of conditions. Mindy’s use of brain mapping, grounding and meditative techniques, and psychological interviews have helped her patients understand and regulate their emotions, sleep, and cognition to improve their overall well-being and performance. Whether you’re looking for a new science-backed intervention to help yourself or someone you love regain control of your life or you’re just curious about the many applications of neurofeedback, you won’t want to miss this episode.
ABOUT MINDY HAUKEDAHL:
Mindy is a licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed school counselor, licensed school principal. She is certified in neurofeedback through BCIA and a certified brain professional through Amen clinics. She has worked in the field of mental health for 18 years and is a full-time Director of Counseling at a private K-12 school and owner/psychotherapist/neurotherapist at Afton Therapy. Her areas of specialty are working with teens and adults who experience unwanted symptoms associated with anxiety, depression, ADHD, sleep disturbances and relational issues. She’s a leading specialist in the diagnostic assessment and treatment of ADHD, as well as in paving the way in overcoming troublesome symptoms by improving brain functionality through neurofeedback.
ABOUT US:
Brainy Moms is a parenting podcast hosted by cognitive psychologist Dr. Amy Moore. Dr. Amy and her rotating co-hosts bring listeners conversations with experts on topics in parenting, child development, education, psychology, mental health, and neuroscience. Listeners leave with tips and helpful advice for helping moms and kids thrive in life, learning, and relationships.
CONNECT WITH US
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
Sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
We learned so much about potty training from Mary Vaughn that we’ve asked her back for “Part 2: Number 2.” That’s right, on this episode of the Brainy Moms podcast, Dr. Amy and Teri talk with Mary about potty training for bowel movements. If you’re struggling to find answers about sensory issues, constipation, wiping, or simply why some kids don’t want to poop in the potty, check out this episode. It’s a mix of light-hearted joking, funny stories from our own potty-training vaults, and plenty of useful tips and take-aways to get your little one ready to make the transition from diapers or pull-ups.
About Mary Vaughn: Mary is a certified PCI Parent Coach©, sleep consultant, and potty training coach. She helps moms escape survival mode induced by lack of sleep, desperate need for more time in the day, and the chaos of having young kids at home. Her mom-to-mom life coaching (pregnancy through early elementary school) was designed to help women find more joy, hope, and fulfillment in motherhood. On her website, MotherTogether.com, you can book a free 20-minute call with Mary, read her blogs, get a free potty-training assessment, or download her workbook, “Managing the Mental Load.”
Connect with Mary Vaughn:
Website: www.mothertogether.com
Instagram: @letsmothertogether
Facebook: @letsmothertogether
LinkedIn: @letsmothertogether
“Managing the Mental Load” workbook: www.mothertogether.com/blog/mental-load
“My Child Won’t Poop” (a 2-part blog):https://www.mothertogether.com/blog/my-child-wont-poop-explanations
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
11/18/24 • 49 min
What if you could navigate holiday stress with a little more ease? This episode of the Brainy Moms podcast promises to equip you with insightful strategies for beating those seasonal pressures.
Holiday family dynamics can be a minefield, but Dr. Amy and Sandy have got you covered with thoughtful approaches to a little more harmony. As families expand and evolve, coordinating plans can become more challenging, especially when loved ones are absent. We talk about fostering meaningful connections, managing grief, and ensuring everyone feels included. Plus, we tackle the topic of holiday indulgences, offering tips for moderation and meeting dietary needs to keep celebrations joyful and stress-free.
We share our personal experiences and solutions, from the practical benefits of a Christmas share account to the art of mindful budgeting, ensuring you minimize the dreaded post-holiday debt. Discover cost-saving ideas such as gift exchanges and the three-gift rule, and learn how to strategically use Black Friday and Cyber Monday to your advantage without losing sight of what truly matters.
Embracing intentional holiday planning can transform how you experience this festive season. We explore how balancing activities and downtime can enrich children's school vacations. Redefining traditions to reflect personal desires allows for a more authentic celebration filled with gratitude and kindness. By prioritizing what truly brings joy, you can shape a holiday season that strengthens relationships even amidst inevitable challenges. Join us!
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
Have you ever tried a diet and lost weight, only to put the weight back on a few months or a year later? Research shows that as many as 80% of overweight people who manage to slim down noticeably after a diet gain some or all of the weight back within one year. That staggering figure can be overwhelming and discouraging when we’re trying to lose weight.
Dr. Amy sat down with Matty Lansdown, founder of the Healthy Mums Collective, to discuss why so many diets leave us feeling frustrated and why the weight often comes back on, even with careful changes and restrictions. It was a fascinating conversation about our relationship with food and our inner child-inner parent relationship!
If you are looking for a gentle approach to healthy living—regardless of your current size—Matty takes an innovative approach to food, nutrition, and lifestyle that might get you started on a journey to self-love and caring for your body. These are tough topics, especially if you struggle with an eating disorder or body issues. But this is a no-shame conversation. Matty is an encourager and educates us on some different ways to think about and understand our ongoing relationship with food. As a yo-yo dieter, Dr. Amy appreciated Matty’s tip to just make “one tweak a week” to our eating habits. That seemed manageable to her. Our hope is that you’ll hear a tip that resonates with you as well. It’s a food-for-thought episode without judgement for anyone who wants to dig in a little to the topic of eating for better health.
A quick note: Here at the Brainy Moms, we are covering many of the hardest and most important topics related to motherhood, mental health, and the human experience, and today’s episode may be a complicated one for some of our listeners. We know that this topic can be difficult, but we urge our listeners to press in with openness whenever possible. Because that’s how we grow—it’s why we created this podcast in the first place! However, if you find that any of our episodes are more than you are comfortable with, we understand. You need to take care of your heart, mind, and body in the best way you can—and we are supporting you from afar.
About Matty
Matty Lansdown is a scientist, nutritionist and health coach that specializes in weight loss and self-confidence for women and busy mothers. Starting out in the field of nutritional epigenetics and spending several years working in hospitals as part of a disease research team, Matty believes that most disease and illness is not due to bad luck but as a result of poor nutrition and lifestyle choices. Matty’s extensive experience allowed him to uncover the deeper challenge people have with health which isn’t about calories or kale, but in fact mindset and behavior change. Having been on his own personal development journey, Matty is now super-passionate about showing people how to level up their health so that healthy habits and the best food choices are easy and natural. Likewise, Matty’s weekly podcast How to NOT Get Sick and Die provides his followers and clients with a deep dive into nutrition and how to develop healthy habits that last.
CONNECT WTH MATTY
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattylansdown
Website: https://mattylansdown.com/
CONNECT WITH US
Website: www.BrainyMoms.co
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
Community college? Gap year? Four-year private university? Today’s teens are facing overwhelming pressure to follow a traditional path from high school to college, often with little regard for their readiness, motivation, or interest. Cindy Muchnik, co-author of “The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness & Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World” joined the Brainy Moms podcast to share some advice on how to preserve your relationship with your teen while navigating a competitive academic environment. If you’re looking for insights on how to foster grit, resilience, and independence in your teen while also learning to listen to their feelings and fears, this episode will hit the spot! Combining her years of experience as a college admissions expert, high school teacher, and mother of four, Cindy offered some concrete strategies to help you navigate these crucial years and help guide your teen to THEIR preferred experience after high school.
About Cindy Muchnik
Cindy Muchnick, MA, is a graduate of Stanford University and has been working in education for more than 25 years as a former Assistant Director of College Admission, high school teacher, educational consultant, and author. She is also an experienced and always-learning mother of three sons and a daughter, ranging in age from 16-24. Cindy speaks to parents, students, teachers, and business groups on topics such as study skills, the adolescent journey, college admission, and now the parent compass movement. She’s the co-author of the book, “The Parent Compass; Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness & Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World.”
Connect with Cindy Muchnick
Twitter: @ParentCompass1
Instagram: @ParentCompass
Facebook: @TheParentCompass
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindymuchnick/
Website: www.cynthiamuchnick.com
Book: “The Parent Compass; Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness and Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World” at www.parentcompassbook.com
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
12/01/22 • 45 min
If you want to set yourself (and your kids!) up for a successful relationship as they enter their teen years, it starts with deep connection with tweens! Research shows that kids between the ages of 9 and 12 are starting to think for themselves, but they still listen to what mom and dad have to say. That makes tweens the perfect age for building deep connections that will last them into and beyond their teenage years! This conversation with Dr. Amanda Craig, author of the book, Who Are You and What Have You Done with My Kid? Connect with your Tween While They're Still Listening was a fascinating look at the four pillars of connection.
Even as they parent older kids, Dr. Amy and Teri were able to glean some great ideas for deepening connection, from creating daily and nightly rituals, to owning our mistakes and being vulnerable in our relationships with our kids. Dr. Craig’s four pillars are instinctual, but so incredibly helpful in framing our approach to parenting.
ABOUT DR. AMANDA CRAIG
Amanda Craig, PhD is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in Lower Fairfield County Connecticut and New York City. A native of Richfield, Minnesota, Dr. Craig has been practicing for more than 20 years. She has worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families in a variety of settings including research departments, juvenile correction facilities, high schools, Fortune 500 companies, substance abuse programs, university/college classrooms and private practice.
Dr. Craig specializes in treatment of relationship issues such as communication, conflict resolution and infidelity, as well as individual challenges like depression, anxiety, addiction and life-work harmony. There are three things she knows for sure: 1) We are not defined by adversities, but rather how we handle them. 2) Taking healthy risks, setting boundaries, and stepping outside our comfort zone will bring fulfillment in both life and relationships. 3) Make the most of today. Whatever that means to you, no matter how small it seems.
Dr. Craig lives in Darien, CT with her husband, six-year-old daughter, 13-year-old son, 10 chickens, one dog, two cats and two fish.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRAIG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amandacraigphd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandacraigphd/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandacraigphd/
Website: https://amandacraigphd.com/
CONNECT WITH US
Website: www.BrainyMoms.co
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
06/28/22 • 42 min
Are you tired of the bedtime battles with your kids? Are you at your wits end most nights when your child gets out of bed again and again? On this episode of Brainy Moms, Dr. Amy and Teri interview sleep coach Maisie Ruttan. Maisie shares powerful insights about why bedtime is so hard. She reveals that maybe our timing is wrong, that we are rushing through our routines, and that we aren’t turning screens off earlier enough. She also says we have to stop relying on the evenings for our own self-care time because that makes us resent our kids when they don’t go to bed quickly enough. It’s an episode that makes you re-think what a bedtime routine should really be about.
About Maisie
Maisie is a heart-centered and holistic sleep coach who runs an international practice supporting families to gently and responsively parent, their kids to sleep. She specializes in working with toddlers, preschoolers, and school age kids from a developmental attachment based positive parenting framework.
She's also a twin mom, so she truly gets how hard it can be. She has a degree in psychology and is a former psychiatric nurse with additional certifications in both sleep and parenting.
Connect with Maisie
Website: http://www.maisieruttan.com/
Facebook: @maisieruttansleep
Instagram: @maisie.ruttan
Mentioned in this Episode
Maisie's freebie for listeners: Peaceful Bedtime Mini-Series. A 6-part email series, full of bite-sized, videos, and practical tips that help make bedtime easier
https://www.maisieruttan.com/bedtime-routines/
Work with Maisie: https://www.maisieruttan.com/services-attachment-focused-sleep-solutions/
Our sponsor:LearningRx is a worldwide network of brain training centers offering cognitive, reading, and math remediation and enhancement for all ages. LearningRx has worked with more than 100,000 clients who have learning struggles and disabilities, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, autism, and age-related cognitive decline. Visit www.LearningRx.com or call 1-866-BRAIN-01 to learn more.
Find us at BrainyMoms.co, on social media @TheBrainyMoms, and everywhere podcasts play!
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
06/19/22 • 39 min
On this Brainy Moms bonus episode for Father’s Day, Dr. Amy and Teri interview Dr. Wayne Hanson, pastor and host of The Jesus Taxi show. Pastor Wayne shares 10 parenting tips just for dads based on his Christian faith and lessons he learned from his own father. It’s a candid conversation with an all around great guy. As always, this episode is brought to you by LearningRx brain training centers. Pastor Wayne is married to Kim Hanson, the CEO of LearningRx. Join us!
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
The Psychology of Fun (& What It's Got to Do with Being Happy) with guest Dr. Mike Rucker
Brainy Moms
05/24/22 • 53 min
Are you chasing happiness but feel like you keep coming up short? Wishing you could experience more joy in your life? Want to have more fun with your kids? On this episode of Brainy Moms, Dr. Amy and Teri interview Dr. Mike Rucker, an organizational psychologist who specializes in the research of fun. Dr. Rucker tells us that pursuing happiness might not be the right goal. He shares so much from research on happiness, joy, and fun...it’s a mindset changer. Join us! Don't miss his Fender guitar made out of LEGOs at the end!
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
Inattentive ADHD: Support for Your Child, Teen, and Spouse with Dr. Amy Moore and Sandy Zamalis
Brainy Moms
10/21/24 • 49 min
On this episode of the Brainy Moms podcast, cognitive psychologist Dr. Amy Moore chats with Sandy Zamalis about inattentive ADHD in children, teens, and adults. This subtype of ADHD is often overlooked and underdiagnosed because it manifests in behaviors that are less disruptive to a learning environment than the hyperactive subtype of ADHD. They share the criteria used to diagnose the inattentive type of ADHD inattentive, along with some strategies and techniques for supporting and communicating with a loved one with inattentive ADHD. Whether it’s a child, teen, or spouse with ADHD in your life, you can reframe your thinking to help from a place of empathy.
CONNECT WITH US:
Website: www.TheBrainyMoms.com
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: @TheBrainyMoms
Our sponsor's website: www.LearningRx.com
Sandy's TikTok: @TheBrainTrainerLady
Dr. Amy's brand new IG: @DrAmySaysGrace
Dr. Amy's website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
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FAQ
How many episodes does Brainy Moms have?
Brainy Moms currently has 157 episodes available.
What topics does Brainy Moms cover?
The podcast is about Education For Kids, Learning, Parenting, Kids & Family, Psychology, Child Development, Mental Health, Podcasts, Education and Kids.
What is the most popular episode on Brainy Moms?
The episode title 'Tired of Yo-yo dieting? Losing weight isn’t just about what you eat (or when you eat it) with guest Matty Lansdown' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Brainy Moms?
The average episode length on Brainy Moms is 49 minutes.
How often are episodes of Brainy Moms released?
Episodes of Brainy Moms are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Brainy Moms?
The first episode of Brainy Moms was released on Mar 4, 2021.
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