This week, Dr. Whitney chats with Slumberkins founders and CEOs, Callie Christensen and Kelly Oriard about their leading children’s educational brand that is on a mission to promote early emotional learning. They talk through educators and parents teaming up to create the best environment for kiddos to thrive with their skills they’re learning. Lastly, they talk about how feelings are real and valid, but are not permanent and don’t change anything about us as humans.
Key takeaways:
- Callie Christensen and Kelly Oriard are Co-Founders/CEOs of Slumberkins, a company focused on teaching children social and emotional skills through stories and characters. They were former educators who saw a gap in education for parents on how to help their kiddos who were struggling with their emotional health and created a leading children’s educational brand with a mission to promote early emotional learning.
- They’re getting their programs into schools as a proactive approach so teachers don’t have to continually focus on behaviors. It helps to address behaviors, but if you can get to the root of the cause before the behavior even presents itself, you’ll be miles ahead in helping to influence that behavior and coach that student through the situation they’re struggling in. So it starts in the home but now is able to be in schools to support teachers as well.
- When educators take on social and emotional training for kids, it normalizes it. It makes it commonplace, so that when it needs to be addressed at home, it’s something children are already familiar with–which takes some of the brunt of moms having to deal with the entirety of their kids’ emotional health. Anytime there’s another adult reinforcing something parents are teaching their kids, it makes it much easier on the parents to continually talk about it.
- One large skill that children (and moms!) can learn is that feelings are a part of us, but they don’t change who we are. Just like a mom can be mad or frustrated with a child doesn’t mean that they have anything but undying love for them. That’s the same way a child can feel anxious in a situation, but they are still a strong, resilient, wonderful kiddo.
- Similarly, moms can feel that if their child is having a hard time or having big feelings means that they’re a bad mom or something is wrong with them. Feelings are just messages for you to be curious about. Who you are and who you always will be is “good,” regardless of your feelings.
About Slumberkins
Slumberkins is a leading educational children’s brand – founded by a family therapist and educator – promoting early emotional learning in an approachable way. Through a variety of interactive channels our characters are brought to life as teaching devices, while brand products are the tools that create comfort and support learning. Our company strives to enrich lives by bringing children and caregivers together to create a deeper bond.
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About the Episode: In this episode, Dr. Whitney sits down with Dr. Jay Gargus and Dave Justus from NeuroQure to discuss the power of early clarity when it comes to autism detection and why earlier intervention can fundamentally change outcomes for childre n and families. Dr. Gargus explains the science behind early behavioral therapies and why their impact goes far beyond short-term skill-building. Research shows that early, evidence-based interventions can lead to measurable, lifelong improvements in IQ, so cial skills, independence, and educational placement, often determining whether a child can thrive in mainstream education or requires ongoing specialized support. The conversation also tackles a critical and often overlooked issue: access. Dave Justus shares the personal motivation behind NeuroQure’s work and explains why the test is being launched at cost, with installment plans and employer subsidies, while the team works toward insurance coverage. The goal is to prevent families from losing precious years waiting for answers. Together, they emphasize a hopeful message for parents: families don’t need to wait for a future “silver bullet.” We already have therapies that work and getting kids connected to them earlier can change the course of a lifetime. In this episode, we discuss: Why early autism detection leads to lifelong changes—not just short-term gains What a 17-point IQ difference actually means for education, independence, and quality of life How early intervention can shift developmental trajectories as early as 6 months The science and validation behind current autism therapies Why NeuroQure is pricing testing at cost while pursuing insurance coverage How early clarity can reduce long-term strain on families, schools, and healthcare systems This episode is a powerful reminder that timing matters and that early access to answers can make an extraordinary difference for children and the families who love them. About Our Guest: Dr. Jay Gargus, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist and nationally recognized expert in neurodevelopmental disorders, with decades of experience researching the biological underpinnings of autism. His work has focused on translating well-established science into meaningful, real-world interventions that can improve lifelong outcomes for children. Dr. Gargus emphasizes that early, evidence-based therapies are already available—and that connecting families to them sooner can fundamentally change developmental trajectories. Dave Justus is a parent and the founder of NeuroQure, whose work is driven by personal experience navigating delayed autism diagnosis and intervention. Motivated by the belief that early clarity can spare families years of uncertainty, Dave is focused on expanding access to early testing through cost-based pricing and ongoing efforts to secure insurance coverage. His mission is simple but powerful: ensure families don’t have to wait for answers that could change everything. Want to Start Raising Body-Confident Kids Today? 📘 Order the Book Order your copy of My One-of-a-Kind Body 👉 www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books 🎁 Claim Your Free Bonus When you order on our site, you’ll also get access to a FREE video mini-course with five bite-sized lessons for parents. In just 25 minutes, you’ll walk away with: Simple, script-style ways to respond when your kid says, “I hate my thighs” How to talk about health without weight talk What to do when your own inner critic shows up How to interrupt diet culture at home The first step to raising a body-confident kid, even if you didn’t grow up as one 📩 Subscribe to The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast for more episodes on parenting with confidence and clarity. Leave a review using the hashtag #ModernMommyDoc.
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