Other Peoples Parenting

Schuyler Hurwitz and Karen Quinn
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Parenting

'Other People's Parenting' is hosted by mother daughter duo Karen Quinn (New York Times best selling author of The Ivy Chronicles , founder of early childhood education companies Habit Coach and Testing Mom) and Schuyler Hurwitz (amateur parent). They read contemporary, classic, and controversial parenting books and give you the gist with a sense of humor, so you can implement the methods or just be able to discuss them at school functions.

  1. 6d ago

    Gifted and Talented Programs - Should Your Child Attend One?

    In this episode we explore gifted and talented programs and the need for fair, accurate identification of students, and sustained support. We read articles that both support and question the value of G&T or GATE programs. Some of the questions addressed in this episode include: How fair are the tests children take to qualify for gifted programs? Are there racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to GT programs? What equity problems exist with gifted programs? What qualities should schools consider when determining access to gifted programs? Test scores? Academic aptitude? Creative thinking? Leadershipm abilities? Aptitude in the arts? Do IQ scores change over time? Are there biases in the tests students take to qualify for gifted programs? Do children in gifted classrooms get a better education than children in general education classrooms? Is there a downside to labeling a child as “gifted?” Should you tell your gifted child that they are gifted? Are gifted children usually high achievers? Does being gifted translate to career and life success? How can more children get access to gifted programs? In this episode, we discuss how being labeled gifted can become a fragile identity that reduces curiosity and discourages persistence in some chidlren. We recommend universal screening, multiple objective measures, improved teacher training, and rebranding programs as advanced learner programs to reduce stigma and broaden access. We think that schools should provide appropriately paced, challenging instruction while teaching children that effort and curiosity matter more than innate labels. We conclude that by saying that preserving and improving programs for advanced learners rather than eliminating them best serves individual students and the wider society. Articles we Read: The Mirage of the Gifted Child, Katie Arnold-Batliff, NY Magazine I was Enrolled in a ‘Gifted’ Program as a Kid. Years Later, I Discovered a Dark Side I Never Knew About, by Sophie Boudreau, Huffington Post The Case for Gifted Education - Subhead: Personal Perspective: Why Equity shouldn’t mean holding bright minds back, by Tyler Woods, Psychology Today

    Gifted and Talented Programs - Should Your Child Attend One?

  2. Oct 7

    The Amazing Generation: Exposing the Tech Wizards (How We Protect Children from Addictive Apps)

    Companies mentioned in this episode: Habit CoachTesting MomThe New York TimesDuolingoMetaInstagramYouTubeTikTokXFacebookMySpaceAOL Instant MessengerAmazonGoogleLet Grow

    The Amazing Generation: Exposing the Tech Wizards (How We Protect Children from Addictive Apps)

  3. Sep 30

    Expecting Better: Debunking Common Parenting Myths with Emily Oster

    In this episode of Other People’s Parenting, mother-daughter duo Karen Quinn and Schuyler Hurwitz review Emily Oster’s Expecting Better – Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong – and What You Really Need to Know. Oster is an Economics Professor who uses her training to separate good research studies from less good ones. After she became pregnant, she began researching the advice doctors had been giving her based on these studies. What she discovered was that pregnancy suffers from a lot of misinformation! Some studies are better than others and you can’t make decisions about your own pregnancy without understanding this. Luckily for pregnant women everywhere, Oster set about reading the studies doctor’s based their recommendations on and letting women know which advice they could trust, and which to ignore. In this book, Oster explores many common pregnancy questions and gives us her best advice based on the research. Quinn and Hurwitz discuss these and many other questions explored in the book, including: · Should you lose weight before trying to get pregnant for a healthier pregnancy? · Which is more accurate for predicting ovulation: charting your temperature or home ovulation kits? · Is it okay to drink coffee when you’re pregnant? Can a pregnant woman drink alcohol without harming her fetus? · When is the risk of miscarriage highest? · What foods should you avoid when you’re pregnant? · Is there a difference in miscarriage rate if you’re nauseated during the first trimester? · Should you do prenatal screenings that have a risk of miscarriage? Are they worth taking the risk? · Can you dye your hair when you’re pregnant? Can a pregnant woman take Accutane? Are hot tubs and saunas safe during pregnancy? · Is it safe for a woman to exercise during pregnancy? · How can I find out if I can take a particular drug during pregnancy? · How early can a premature baby be born and survive? · Does bed rest prevent premature birth? · How is labor induced? The book covers these and many more common questions women have about their pregnancies. The great thing about this book is that the author is an expert on analyzing research studies and she has done the hard work and analysis for readers, so you feel comfortable taking her advice. Quinn and Hurwitz encourage empowering parents-to-be with scientifically backed recommendations, urging listeners to consider Oster’s insights as they navigate their own parenting journeys. Companies mentioned in this episode: Habit CoachTesting MomEmily OsterExpecting BetterCrib SheetUniversity of Chicago

    Expecting Better: Debunking Common Parenting Myths with Emily Oster

  4. Sep 23

    When Homeschooling Fails and When It Works

    In this episode, we’re looking at homeschooling and its surge since the pandemic, especially the way it has grown beyond its traditional religious. Some of the questions we explore are: Why should a parent choose homeschooling today? What are the benefits of homeschooling over public school? Safety? Avoiding negative peer pressure? Drug exposure? Ability to tailor school curriculum to the child? Ability to provide religious instruction? Is homeschooling regulated by the state? When it is not regulated, how does the lack of accountability impact students? Do homeschooling students do better or worse than students who go to public schools? Are there advantages to attending public or private school with a classroom of students over being taught individually at home? How have cultural and political considerations affected the homeschooling movement after Covid? Do the benefits of tailored instructions, support for neurodivergent children, and the capacity to outsource teaching outweigh the benefits of being taught in a classroom of other students? What are the risks of homeschooling, including limited regulation, the potential for educational neglect, gaps in social development, and ideological isolation? What about annual testing or third-party ability checks to ensure for homeschooled students? What should parents consider when deciding whether or not to homeschool their children? The episode concludes by saying that homeschooling can be an appropriate choice for many families, but it does demand honest appraisal of parental ability, willingness to obtain professional support and safeguards to protect the child. Companies mentioned in this episode: Other People's ParentingHabit CoachTesting MomTikTokNetflixPsychology TodayNewsweekThe AtlanticThe New York TimesThe CutLittle House on the Prairie MuseumExtend Homeschool TutorialsMAP test Referenced Articles: The Rise of Homeschooling: Confessions of an Educator, Calvina Ellerbe, Ph.D., Psychology Today He Was Homeschooled for Years, and Fell So Far Behind, Olga Khazan, The Atlantic Home School in Isolation What Homeschool Moms Don’t Understand, Amil Niazi, The Cut Inside a Gathering of America’s Growing Homeschool Movement, Emma Goldbert, NY Times Why Homeschooling is still on the Rise, Khaleda Rahman, Newsweek

    When Homeschooling Fails and When It Works

  5. Sep 16

    How To Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids: The Lindsay Clancy Trial Wake Up Call

    The last few months we've all been watching and waiting to find out Lindsays fate and parents across the world are divided. Was there more her community could have done for her? Was it really possible to have a postpartum psychotic break and lose it the way she did? This week we covered How To Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids and found that when it comes to low grade, every day parenting- parents can prevent losing their temper by identifying their triggers and investing in self care and support. The author urges parents to build awareness of what sets off their nervous system and to protect sleep, exercise, and rest. We outline practical steps: notice warning signs, pause, and do anything other than react, such as deep breathing, moving, or stepping away. If a parent does lose it, the right course is to reconnect, apologize for the behavior, and make a plan without blaming the child. Throughout, we maintain that these steps are intended for caregivers who are intermittently overwhelmed, and we recommend professional intervention for patterns that exceed ordinary parental stress. Some parents will need professional help, including therapy or medication, and that seeking support is necessary, not shameful. The book offers practical tools to reduce stress and to help parents model better behavior for their children. Takeaways: I assert that cultivating precise self-awareness of one's emotional triggers constitutes the foundational step toward preventing parental meltdowns.We emphasize that pragmatic self-care—regular sleep, exercise, therapeutic engagement, and medication when appropriate—reduces reactivity and restores parental equilibrium.I observed that simplifying obligations, minimizing multitasking, and delegating responsibilities materially decreases opportunities for being triggered in quotidian contexts.We recommend the pause strategy: noticing physiological cues, interrupting escalation, and deliberately substituting any benign action to avert an impulsive outburst.I learned that when one does lose control, prompt reconciliation, a concise apology for behavior, and a calm restorative plan are essential for repairing the relationship.We acknowledge that chronic or frequent loss of control plausibly indicates underlying psychopathology and thus warrants professional assessment and potentially evidence-based treatment.I assert that teaching children to tolerate boredom and to occupy themselves fosters independence and diminishes parental burden over time.We recognize that societal stigma often impedes mothers from seeking mental health support, and we advocate for destigmatization and proactive help-seeking. Companies mentioned in this episode: Other People's ParentingHabit CoachTesting MomThe New York TimesNational Institute for the Psychotherapies

    How To Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids: The Lindsay Clancy Trial Wake Up Call

  6. Sep 9

    Like, Follow, Subscribe: Is The Internet a Place for Children? Inspired by Kalie Robbins' Unsettling Discovery

    This week Kalie Robins, a mom, discovered that Facebook was compiling a profile on her minor children that ultimately gave strangers her family's full names, photographs, birthdays, and her home address. There are so many reasons not to put your kids on the internet and this episode delves into troubling dynamics of child influencers in the book "Like, Follow, Subscribe" by Fortessa Latifi. We examine the ethics surrounding the phenomenon in terms of consent and the long-lasting implications for children whose lives are broadcasted online. The conversation considers the stark contrast between the lucrative opportunities for parents and the potential psychological and emotional toll on the children involved. As we navigate through various case studies, including both the successes and scandals of prominent family vloggers, we underscore the urgent need for regulatory frameworks to protect minors in the digital landscape. We discuss the responsibilities of parents and the societal implications of commodifying childhood in a voyeuristic culture. Takeaways: The podcast discusses the ethical implications of child influencers and their online presence, emphasizing the need for informed consent, which young children are unable to provide adequately.Parents often face a moral dilemma regarding the monetization of their children's images, balancing financial benefits against potential long-term psychological harm to the child.The conversation highlights the complicated nature of parental responsibility, particularly in the context of social media, where children’s privacy is often compromised for profit.The podcast reflects on the evolution of mommy blogging into influencer culture, noting that while some parents find success, many families face significant challenges and ethical concerns in the process.Listeners are urged to consider the lasting impacts of exposing children to a public platform, particularly in an age of increasing digital surveillance and potential exploitation.The discussion underscores a growing call for more robust legal frameworks to protect child influencers, as current laws do not adequately address the complexities of modern content creation. Companies mentioned in this episode: Habit CoachTesting MomFortessa LatifiReal HousewivesBravoNext Gen nycKardashiansMormonsRachel ParcelBallerina FarmShannon BirdRyan's WorldAlex CooperCall Her DaddyBecca MartinezKim ZolciakAriana BiermanBethany JohnsonRuby FrankePiper RaquelCarissa Collins

    Like, Follow, Subscribe: Is The Internet a Place for Children? Inspired by Kalie Robbins' Unsettling Discovery

  7. Sep 2

    Please Yell At My Kids

    Please Yell at My Kids: What Cultures Around the World Can Teach You About Parenting in Community, Raising Independent Kids, and Not Losing Your Mind, by Marina Lopes Parenting Lessons from Around the World That We All Can Use! In this episode, we go around the world to see how other cultures raise their children and what we in the west can learn from them. In America, we have no federally supported maternity leave, lack of childcare support, workplace and aspirational parenting pressures, conflicting online guidance – it’s enough to drive a mother to madness! What if there was another way? There is. Parenting, especially motherhood, looks wildly different across nations. Some of the questions we’ll be addressing: · Should you invite guests to your birth or C-Section as they do in Brazil? Will this give you the emotional support you need? · Does a 40-day period of restful confinement, healthy foods, and not washing your hair make sense for you as it does for mothers in China? Will this make you a better mother? · Why not let your child sleep outside in their stroller as they do in Denmark? Don’t you need some time away from baby? · Have you heard of alloparenting where neighbors join forces to raise each other’s children as they do in Mozambique? Would a parenting community like this work for you? · How about making granny your nanny as they do in Singapore? Even better if the government pays her to do it! · Why not drop your child off in the woods to find their way home like they do in the Netherlands? That’ll instill independence in them. · Wouldn’t it be great if the government paid you for being pregnant and having your baby as they do in Finland and (believe it or not) Flint, Michigan? As we look at how parenting is practiced across the world, we can be inspired by these ideas and find ways to adapt them to our own lives, making parenthood easier and more doable for families. This episode advocates for a shift towards embracing worldwide communal parenting practices that will enrich and ease the experience of raising our children. Takeaways: The book discussed in this episode emphasizes the importance of community in parenting, showcasing various cultural practices around the globe that support this concept.The authors reflect on their experiences with the book's contents, noting similarities to previous readings and expressing a desire for deeper insights into parenting methods.A significant theme of the episode is the notion that American parenting often lacks community support, leading to feelings of isolation among parents.The discussion highlights various cultural rituals surrounding childbirth and child-rearing, such as Brazil's 'birth parties' and China's confinement practices after childbirth. Links referenced in this episode: pleaseyellatmykids.comhabitcoach.comtestingmom.com Companies mentioned in this episode: Habit CoachTesting MomWashington PostHunt Gathered ParentRX KidsTesting Mom

    Please Yell At My Kids

  8. Aug 26

    Oreo Gate: When a Cookie in a Lunch Box Becomes a Parenting Debate

    “Oreo Gate” is the latest social media debate centered around a seemingly simple question. Should parents put Oreos in their kids’ lunchboxes if one child in the class isn’t allowed to have them? It’s one thing if we’re talking food allergies – this would be a clear safety issue. Most schools have legitimate policies around allergens, and those rules exist to protect children. But asking families to avoid packing a beloved food like an Oreo simply because another child isn’t permitted to eat one is a different story. Parents argue that children will inevitably encounter other kids eating different foods, and that learning to navigate those differences is part of growing up. Others feel that minimizing situations where a child feels excluded is a reasonable act of kindness and consideration, particularly when it comes to young children who just want a yummy treat. In this episode of “Other People’s Parenting,” we explore some of the questions brought up by the Oreo Gate posts. These include: · Should parents shield their children from envy, even when the target of envy is a simple Oreo cookie? · Building resilience – Is it reasonable for parents to demand that the community conforms to their child or should they teach their child to conform to the community? · When you ban a food, will that backfire, making a child want it even more? Does forbidding “unhealthy” treats lead to eating disorders? · How do we teach kids to eat healthy foods without labeling foods as good or bad? · How do you get a young child to follow your house rules when they aren’t at home? · Is a Mom Group Chat the best place to resolve conflicts between our kids and families? · Should young children be responsible when they share their Oreo with a child who isn’t allowed to have Oreos? · When is it right to get the school involved in a conflict between parents in a classroom? · Will the name “Michelle” soon be synonymous with “Karen”? · When will Michelle give up and give Ava an Oreo for God’s sake! This tension is what has made “Oreo Gate” so fun to follow online: Where does reasonable accommodation end and parental responsibility begin? This debate isn’t really about Oreos. It’s about how much responsibility a community should take for managing children’s feelings, differences, and experiences and whether the answer should be handled by individual families, schools, or some combination of the two. Takeaways: In this episode, we delve into the controversy surrounding a mother's reaction to her child's exposure to Oreos, highlighting the complexities of parenting in a social media age.We explore how parental control over children's diets can lead to social isolation and the importance of teaching children resilience in the face of peer pressure.The discussion emphasizes the necessity for parents to communicate openly with their children, ensuring that they feel safe expressing their desires and frustrations.We also address the potential psychological effects on children when parents impose strict dietary restrictions, which can foster feelings of entitlement and anxiety about food choices. Links referenced in this episode: testingmom.comhabitcoach.comtiktok.cominstagram.com Companies mentioned in this episode: Habit CoachTesting MomOreoTikTok

    Oreo Gate: When a Cookie in a Lunch Box Becomes a Parenting Debate
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

'Other People's Parenting' is hosted by mother daughter duo Karen Quinn (New York Times best selling author of The Ivy Chronicles , founder of early childhood education companies Habit Coach and Testing Mom) and Schuyler Hurwitz (amateur parent). They read contemporary, classic, and controversial parenting books and give you the gist with a sense of humor, so you can implement the methods or just be able to discuss them at school functions.

Information

  • Creator
    Schuyler Hurwitz and Karen Quinn
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Schuyler Hurwitz and Karen Quinn
  • Show Website
    Other Peoples Parenting

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