The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom

• The Follow-Up: Motherhood Insomnia

  If you’ve ever spent the whole day dreaming about going to bed, only to climb under the covers and lie wide awake, this episode will feel like a deep exhale. I’m joined by sleep psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris to talk about the tired-but-wired cycle so many mothers fall into and why it’s more common than you think. We unpack the real reasons your brain won’t shut off at night, from revenge bedtime procrastination to the mental load that follows moms everywhere. Dr. Harris explains how habits, overstimulation, and our constant push to “catch up” all get in the way of rest, even when we’re desperate for it. And most importantly, she shares the science-backed strategies that actually work for an overwhelmed parent who needs sleep but can’t find the off switch. Whether you’re dealing with the occasional rough night or months of broken sleep, this conversation brings clarity, relief, and doable steps that don’t add more pressure to your already full plate. In This Episode, We Cover: ✔️ Why moms feel exhausted all day yet can’t fall asleep at night ✔️ The psychology behind “tired but wired” ✔️ Revenge bedtime procrastination and why it hits mothers so hard ✔️ How over-stimulation and unfinished to-dos keep your brain awake ✔️ Simple sleep hygiene habits that truly help ✔️ What to do when your phone is sabotaging your nights ✔️ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I): who it helps and why ✔️ When to consider medication and what that process looks like ✔️ How our own sleep habits shape our kids’ sleep long term Want more? Listen to the full, original episode. Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Modern Parenting: What We’re Getting Right & What We Might Be Overthinking

  In this episode, I sit down with retired pediatrician and grandmother Dr. Bubbie, whose 40 years in pediatrics give her a rare, steady perspective on the highs and lows of raising kids today. We talk about what modern parents are doing well, why so many of us feel anxious even when we’re doing a good job, and how social media has quietly changed the way we parent. Dr. Bubbie shares what she has learned from decades of caring for families and what surprised her when she stepped into the online world after retiring. We get into the pressures parents feel to get everything right, the fear of making mistakes, and how comparison steals the calm that most families are craving. We also talk honestly about grandparents, boundaries, discipline, and the tension between wanting to follow all the new information out there while trying to honor our own instincts. We also cover: ✔️ What today’s parents truly excel at ✔️ How finances, childcare, and social media shape stress ✔️ Why intuition gets quieter when we’re overloaded ✔️ What past generations did well that’s worth bringing back ✔️ How to think about milestones without panicking ✔️ The rise of gentle parenting, what it gets right, and where it goes sideways ✔️ Why some kids seem “behind” online when they’re actually right on track ✔️ Vaccine misinformation, raw milk trends, and the danger of online “experts” ✔️ How pediatricians actually make decisions, and why the team approach matters To connect with Dr. Bubbie follow her on Instagram @askbubbie and check out all her resources at linktree.com/askbubbie TBD Chapters Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The Follow-Up: Strong-Willed Toddler Strategies

  Power struggles feel like part of the toddler job description, but they don’t have to run the whole house. In this episode, I break down what’s really happening in those intense moments and how small shifts in tone, control, and connection can turn things around. This isn’t about “winning” a battle. It’s about helping your child feel capable while keeping your own sanity intact. We talk through the everyday situations that spark the most battles, why strong-willed kids push back as hard as they do, and how to meet them with calm authority instead of getting pulled into the chaos. You’ll learn how to give healthy control without giving up your boundaries, how to use your child’s growing cognitive skills, and how to de-escalate when emotions spill over on both sides. If you’re tired of standoffs at mealtime, bedtime, the bathroom, or anywhere in between, this episode will help you feel more steady, more clear, and less stuck in the tug-of-war. In This Episode, We Cover: ✔️ Why it takes two to have a power struggle ✔️ When to give control and when to step in ✔️ How to offer choices without losing structure ✔️ Simple scripts that shift the tone instantly ✔️ Using cognitive development to your advantage ✔️ Redirecting repetitive demands without escalating ✔️ How to recover when things go sideways ✔️ Playfulness as a tool for reducing tension Want more? Listen to the full, original episode. Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• STEM, Speaking Up, and Redefining Motherhood: Emily Calandrelli (The Space Gal) on Breaking Barriers and Raising Science-Loving Kids

  What does it look like to raise kids who believe they belong in science, who feel confident speaking up, and who see women as leaders in fields that have long pushed them out? I first came across Emily Calandrelli’s work years ago on social media, and her mix of joy, honesty, and curiosity pulled me in immediately. Her voice reminded me that advocacy doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful and that our kids are always watching how we chase our own dreams. She is now one of my favorite examples of what it means to model confidence and curiosity for the next generation. On today’s episode, Emily and I talk about finding her way in a male-dominated STEM world, what she learned from losing her Netflix show, and how creating her own YouTube series changed everything. She also shares the story behind her viral TSA moment, how it sparked federal legislation, and what it meant to finally launch into space after dreaming about it for two decades. We discuss: ✔️ How representation in STEM shapes kids’ beliefs about what’s possible ✔️ Why speaking up matters, even when it’s uncomfortable ✔️ The pressure mothers face when they pursue big goals ✔️ What her spaceflight taught her about wonder and perspective ✔️ How parents can spark scientific thinking and curiosity at home To connect with Emily Calandrelli follow her on Instagram @thespacegal and check out all her resources at https://www.thespacegal.com/  00:00 Intro 00:51 Welcome + How Emily Sparked TSA Policy Change 01:50 Raising Confident Science-Loving Kids 03:22 Emily’s Path From MIT to TV 05:03 Breaking Into Science Media as a Woman 06:25 Losing a Netflix Show and Starting Over 09:30 Building Emily’s Science Lab on YouTube 11:22 Redefining Success Beyond Algorithms 14:44 Motherhood, Identity, and Letting Go of Guilt 18:36 The Spaceflight Story She Worked 20 Years For 22:31 How She Funded Her Own Ticket to Space 24:11 What Seeing Earth From Space Feels Like 25:00 The Gendered Backlash After Her Spaceflight 31:01 The TSA Incident That Went Viral 32:31 Turning Viral Attention Into Real Legislation 38:12 STEM Representation for Kids Today 43:13 How Parents Can Model Curiosity at Home 46:47 Why Meeting Girls in STEM Fuels Her Work 49:21 Closing Thoughts + Where to Find Emily Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The Follow-Up: Foster Autonomy and Build Confidence

  In this follow up episode, we revisit one of the most loved ideas on the show, because parents tell me again and again that it changed the way they show up for their kids. We’re talking about the Independence Before Intervention principle, a simple shift that helps kids build confidence, resilience, and trust in themselves while still knowing we’re right there when they need us. Inspired by watching her own kids obsess over the transformation of caterpillars, Dr. Mona explores how struggle is a natural and necessary part of growth. Babies, toddlers, big kids, even adults, all move through moments that feel tough. The goal isn’t to remove every frustration. It’s to help kids see that effort isn’t failure and that they’re safe trying, adjusting, and trying again. Inside this episode, Dr. Mona breaks down how this principle looks across different ages and real life moments, including: ✔️ Newborns learning to pass gas and poop ✔️ Babies connecting sleep cycles without immediate intervention ✔️ Infants and toddlers brushing teeth with growing independence ✔️ Problem solving during play, frustration, and puzzles ✔️ How verbal coaching builds emotional skills and persistence Want more? Check out the full, original episode. Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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About The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom