Motherhood Meets Medicine Lynzy Coughlin

Media addiction among children is a huge problem. We know this and you know that I’ve been talking about it for a while. Thankfully there is a movement out there working to make changes at the policy level. 
Enter MAMA - Mothers Against Media Addiction, founded by Julie Scelfo.
Julie is a former New York Times journalist, Media Ecologist and founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction, otherwise known as MAMA, a grassroots movement of parents fighting back against media addiction to create a world where real life experiences remain at the heart of childhood. 
She is also a mother of three, and her years of reporting on the issue of phones and social media exposed her to the epidemic of youth mental illness, including increased suicide rates among teens and tweens, and the crisis that media addiction and unchecked Tech was causing. This led her to recognize the need for a movement of parents and allies focused on addressing the crisis of media addiction among our children.
Listen as we talk about everything from appropriate ages to introduce phones as well as what you can do at the local level to start enacting change and how MAMA can help. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
What inspired Julie to found Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA).
What their goals are.
How parents can get more involved on a community and national level.
How to handle phones and social media under your own roof.
Resources:
Badass Matriarch-https://lynzyandco.substack.com/
Mothers Against Media Addiction -https://www.joinmama.org/
NY Times - Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfectionhttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/education/edlife/stress-social-media-and-suicide-on-campus.html
HuffPost - How To Prevent Suicide Among Tweenshttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/suicide-prevention-teens-tweens_n_5f764841c5b6374c558b68ca
NY Post – Opinion: Violence, bullying, suicide: It’s time to fight digital addiction in kids like drunk drivinghttps://nypost.com/2024/03/30/opinion/violence-bullying-suicide-we-must-fight-digital-addiction-in-kids-like-drunk-driving/
SF Chronicle – Opinion: The surgeon general warns that social media is dangerous for kids. Why aren’t medical professional associations?https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/social-media-teens-surgeon-general-18115800.php
Questions: 
What inspired you to found Mothers Against Media Addiction?
How are we as a society misunderstanding social media and smartphones?
One of MAMA's main goals is phone-free schools. Can you speak about why that is such an important policy for you and do you find teachers, parents and students receptive to that proposal?
Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
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Some really important things are happening in the world of women’s health and reproductive rights. In case you weren’t aware or if you’ve heard of EMTALA and the case that is with the Supreme Court coming out of Idaho, I wanted to bring on an expert to explain what is happening and what it could mean for health care providers in the future. 
Alexa is a deputy director at the ACLU reproductive freedom project located in New York City. For almost 20 years, Alexa has been litigating in states across the country, including at the US Supreme Court to protect and expand access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. A number of those cases have concerned EMTALA, the federal law that guarantees hospitals provide abortions to pregnant patients facing a medical emergency. 
Alexa decided when she was 15 that she wanted to be an ACLU lawyer. Since graduating college, she has essentially never worked anywhere else. She started as an assistant paralegal doing racial justice, First Amendment and national security work one week after 911. Then she went to law school and came straight back during college and law school she was always involved in abortion rights advocacy, and when a fellowship opened up at the ACLU reproductive freedom project in 2007. She applied and has been there ever since.
In this episode, we discuss: 
The background and history of EMTALA.
How and why it was started.
The recent case in Idaho that went to the Supreme Court.
What the future of reproductive rights would look like for patients and providers if the court sides with Idaho
Resources:
Amicus brief: The ACLU, ACLU of Idaho and law firm Cooley LLP filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court to explain that Idaho’s arguments cannot be justified.https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-brief-in-emergency-abortion-care-case-highlights-idaho-politicians-deeply-flawed-legal-arguments
TIME: What Blocking Emergency Abortion Care in Idaho Means for Doctors Like Me: An op-ed by Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, a family physician in Mccall, Idaho, and the co-president of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare.https://time.com/6968774/idaho-abortion-doctors-essay/
ACLU: Supreme Court to Determine Whether Politicians Can Deny Medical Emergency Medical Care to Pregnant People: A press release from the ACLU on the United States Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States.https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-to-determine-whether-politicians-can-deny-emergency-medical-care-to-pregnant-people
Questions: 
What is the background/history of EMTALA? This act started with protecting pregnant people; how did we get here?
Since the Supreme Court took this case, Idaho has been allowed to prevent doctors from providing emergency abortion care, which has long been protected under EMTALA. Can you talk about the effects this has had on people in Idaho?
What are the possible outcomes of this Supreme Court case? Who would be impacted the most? Will this impact states outside of Idaho?
What threats does this case pose to medical professionals who are trying to provide care — alongside those trying to build their families?
There is also a Supreme Court case before the justices on access to mifepristone — a pill used for medication abortion and miscarriage care. How will this impact reproductive health care, and are there other federal threats looming?
Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
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Your teenager is meant to make mistakes and push the envelope when it comes to boundaries and expectations. They’re learning who they are as individuals rather than as sons or daughters. 
So how do we keep them safe while still letting them try and fail? 
It all starts with the boundaries you’re setting with your young children today. If you’re having your very first talk about curfews and drinking with your child as you drop them off at a school party, you’re too late. 
Dr. Jenny Rose joins me to share more about how we can get inside the teenage mind and how to start laying a sturdy foundation upon which to build our future relationship with our children. 
Dr. Jenny is a clinical psychologist specializing in work with teens and children. She has her PhD in attachment based parenting and works at an inpatient psychiatric institution. She is on a mission to support kids and teens amidst a pandemic of heightened mental health struggles. She is also all about preventative interventions rather than just jumping in for treatment when things go awry. 
Jenny is also a mother of three, and is launching a book in just two months, called mindful meals. This book is about nutrition for the entire family. It will feature a section that concentrates on raising conscious eaters and helping children to develop a healthy relationship with food. It is the first of its kind to focus on the psychology of eating and how as parents, we can safeguard our kids.
In this episode, we discuss: 
How the teenage brain works.
Why they are more prone to taking risks.
How we can better connect with our teens.
Breaking down the complicated aspects of parenting a teen.
Resources: 
RECIPE for Jenny’s Chicken Stew
Ingredients:
1x brown onion
1 x pack of chicken breasts
half a bag of butternut
half a bag of pumpkin / sweet potato
3-4 baby marrows (zucchini)
one bag of cauliflower / broccoli mix
corn on the cob (1-2)
Chicken stock
seasoning
Recipe:
Fry your onions until golden and add in chicken breasts (cut into fours).Season chicken with salt, pepper, and chicken spice / seasoning.
Once your chicken is browned, add in all your veg. Add in your chicken stock (you can even use 2), and fill your pot with boiling water. Make sure your water covers all the veg.
Let it boil for about half an hour (until the veg is nice and soft).
Once veg are soft, use a masher to mash all the veg (this will also pull the chicken apart). Add salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe is so easy and versatile, remove whatever you don’t enjoy, add other veg you do like, and if you want to make it indulgent, and a dollop or two of cream!
The sauce will be nice and thick (if too thick just add a bit of water). You can serve it on rice or pasta, but we actually eat as is (sometimes on the rice it can be a bit dry and loses the delicious, slurpy goodness).
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Questions: 
Help us understand how the teenage brain works?
What is the biggest thing teenagers need from parents?
Why are teens struggling so much?
What typical difficulties do you see with teenagers?
Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
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Have you ever heard your child say something truly negative about themselves? Do they do it often? We all have a mental talk track that plays in our head through which we process our lives and emotions. So do kids. 
What do we do when our kids start to display signs of their talk track becoming negative? Joining me today to share more about why negative self-talk occurs and how to navigate it with our kids is Dr. Emily King. 
Dr. King is a child psychologist and former school psychologist who has worked with neurodivergent children and teens for the last 20 years. She received a PhD in School Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill, where she worked at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. 
She spent five years working as a school psychologist and public schools in Houston, Texas, where she specialized in providing school based mental health services. Dr. Emily now works in private practice in North Carolina specializing in supporting the mental health needs of neurodivergent youth. 
Listen as Dr. King shares her tips, tricks, and advice for becoming an effective advocate for our children… to our children. Because they need us to be the ones to help them navigate their feelings and emotions. 

In this episode, we discuss: 
Negative self-talk and what it is.
How negative self-talk presents in children.
Ways to determine where negative self-talk is stemming from and how to respond.
Why it’s important to get curious rather than to simply react when your child says something negative.
Different ways to help your child find their “thing”.
 
Resources: 
Connect with Dr. King
Learn with Dr. Emily -https://www.learnwithdremily.com/
Learn with Dr. Emily Substack -https://learnwithdremily.substack.com/

Questions: 
How do we know if children really mean what they say when they engage in negative self-talk?
How can we respond in a way that supports and doesn't invalidate when a child is feeling negative about themselves?
Why are neurodivergent children more likely to engage in negative self-talk?
 
Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
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Traveling with children is not for the faint of heart. Leaving everything you’ve ever known along with family and friends to pursue a different lifestyle in a whole new country? Not a decision to be made lightly. 
But when you know that you’re being called to something different, you take the leap and see where you land. Christina Dismuke and her husband did just that and she’s here to tell us all about it. 
Christina was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and has her undergraduate and master's degree in education from Texas A&M. She has lived in Perth, Australia for the last four years with her husband and four kids all under the age of seven. When their twins were born, she took a career pause from the classroom, and has enjoyed the impact this has had on her family as they moved abroad. 
Their move to Australia and having four kids in general has really moved them toward simplicity, access to next day delivery materials for social media worthy sensory play invitations, etc. Just isn't a thing in Perth, one of the most remote cities in the world. It has steered her ship in a different direction and has invited Christina to be a better noticer picking up on what her kids are watching and giving them access to it. 
Listen in as she shares all about their life now and why they couldn’t have made a better decision for their family.
In this episode, we discuss: 
Their decision to live and raise their children internationally.
Her pregnancy and postpartum care in Perth and how it differs from the United States.
The differences in childcare and the schooling system in Perth.
Practical tips for traveling or living abroad with kids in general.
Resources: 
Instant Pot Texas - Style Brisket Tacos https://thedefineddish.com/instant-pot-texas-style-brisket-tacos/
Connect with Christina:
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/christinadismuke/?hl=en
Questions: 
Why did you and your husband decide to raise your kids abroad?
Is pregnancy and postpartum handled better in Australia?
How does the school system in Australia compare to the United States?
What are some tips for people traveling and or moving abroad with children?

Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
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Protecting our children online is so important. We all know that we need to teach our kids not to share their personal information with strangers online, but what else is there? How can we approach this monumental task with grace and understanding? 
Here to share her thoughts is Fareedah Shaheed.
Fareedah is an award winning Internet safety expert and a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree. She uses her background in cybersecurity and online gaming to help parents protect their kids online. Her work has been featured in CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NASA, Fox, Yahoo, and many more for Rita offers a course on how to protect your children on their phone, and it will be linked in the show notes below. She's also currently working on a Roblox safety webinar launch and additional free webinars throughout this year.
This was a brilliant conversation that provided really important insights on ways to have conversations with your children at all ages and stages and why you might need to look internally before discussing with your kids. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
How Freedah came to be an internet safety expert.
How the landscape of internet safety has changed over the years.
Sextortion and how to talk to your children about it.
Thoughts on parental control and monitoring software.
Resources: 
Dr. Nicole Le Pera: The Holistic Psychologist - https://theholisticpsychologist.com/
Train Live with Marisa Peer - https://marisapeer.com/
Connect with Fareedah:
The Hidden Threat: Protecting Your Child On Their Phonehttps://sekuva.mykajabi.com/protecting-your-child-on-their-phone
PKO Ambassador:https://sekuva.mykajabi.com/partner-with-cyberfareedah-pko-ambassador-info-page
My free Protect Kids Online (PKO) Resource Library:https://sekuva.mykajabi.com/get-your-internet-safety-resource-library
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/cyberfareedah/
Questions:
What's the number one mistake parents make when it comes to protecting their kids online?
What's your thoughts on parental control and monitoring software?
What are some effective ways to educate kids on internet safety?
Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices