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: There’s so much parenting advice out there, and most of it doesn’t matter nearly as much as the internet wants you to think. (Seed oils? We have bigger fish to fry.) In this solo episode, Dr. Whitney gets back to basics and shares the six evidence-based parenting principles she focuses on as a pediatrician, the ones she dug into with a leading child development researcher. She also shares how these play out in real life as a mom of two neurodivergent kids, because guidance only helps if it actually fits your family. Key takeaways: Be sensitive and responsive. Simple practices like mirroring your child’s emotions and “serve and return” interactions build a loving, trusting foundation. Dr. Whitney shares how a Halloween decorating session turned into a deep conversation about religion once she slowed down and got curious. Meet kids where they are, especially at their worst. Drawing on Tina Payne Bryson, co-author of The Whole-Brain Child , Dr. Whitney explains that soothing a meltdown isn’t giving in. It’s letting your child know they’re not alone in a big feeling. Model self-regulation, and repair when you lose it. Self-regulation predicts academic success better than IQ. The goal isn’t staying calm all the time, it’s understanding why you got dysregulated, coming back to baseline, and offering yourself some self-compassion. Set limits for your kids and yourself. Every child’s needs are different (screen time affects Dr. Whitney’s two daughters very differently), but all kids need limits, and so do parents. Taking time for yourself models something healthy. Aim for authoritative, not permissive. High expectations paired with warmth and grace is the sweet spot. “Gentle parenting” can blur into permissiveness, which research shows is as harmful as authoritarian parenting. Protect unstructured time. Kids need boredom and free play to become self-directed. For ADHD and autistic kids, Dr. Whitney recommends offering a few options and letting kids choose. Support internal motivation. Using a “mirrors facing outward” image from her own therapist, Dr. Whitney explains why we want kids to trust their own instincts rather than constantly look outward for approval. Want to Start Raising Body-Confident Kids Today? 📘 Order the Books Raising Body-Confident Kids If you've ever caught yourself saying something to your kid about their body that sounded exactly like what your mother said to you, this book is for you. Raising Body-Confident Kids is a research-backed, judgment-free guide for parents who want to break the cycle of diet culture and body shame without swinging into toxic positivity or giving up all structure around food and movement. It answers the real questions parents are actually asking about Ozempic, about picky eaters, about what to say when your kid is being bullied for their body, and about social media influences. This is a practical, values-based game plan you can actually use, even if your own relationship with your body is still a work in progress. My One-of-a-Kind Body My One-of-a-Kind Body gives kids the language and understanding they need to care for their bodies with respect without fear, shame, or appearance-based messaging. Through inclusive illustrations and evidence-based health education, the book teaches body literacy, boundaries, and self-trust in a way kids can actually grasp. 👉 www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books
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