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Parenting
In each episode of the Healthy Parenting Handbook Podcast, Katie Kimball, the national voice of healthy kids cooking, interviews experts in fields like nutrition, medicine, psychology, parenting, technology, entrepreneurship and more to help parents get tools to raise healthy, independent kids.
Heal Your Hunger: How to End Emotional Eating Now
Have you ever eaten chocolate or chips when you feel stressed?
Rewarded yourself for a job well done with a little sticky celebration?
Hid from sadness with a whole box of ice cream to yourself?
The term “emotional eating” might be new to you, but I’m sure you can see how it works. This interview with Tricia Nelson, author of Heal Your Hunger, is powerful in that we unlock the hidden truth behind why many of us can’t lose weight —
It’s not about the food.
It’s not about self-discipline.
It’s about feelings.
In this chat, we focus on the adults, on how to get through our own emotional eating, and although we touch upon how this impacts our parenting, it’s not about kids’ health today.
You’ll find out:
- What emotional eating is, and how it differs from food addiction
- How we’re wired for comfort food
- The #1 trait of emotional eaters (which, you guessed it, has nothing to with food or self-discipline!)
- How to re-learn how to listen to your body’s physical hunger cues
- Some questions you can ask yourself to differentiate between emotional eating and true hunger
- The interesting correlation between Tricia’s solution for emotional eaters and the first step of my process to help picky eaters
- How to avoid raising kids who are emotional eaters
- 3 practical steps to take to avoid the blame game and end emotional eating today
Super quick note that this isn’t a kid-friendly interview, nothing huge, but you might not want to have this one on with kids in the background.
Join Tricia in her Secret Sauce to End Emotional Eating Facebook group (anyone can join) and be sure to take her emotional eating quiz today.
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How to Translate the Language of Your Child or Teen’s Behavior
If you’ve ever looked at your child’s behavior and thought, “What is going on right now?”—you’re not alone.
In this episode, we go beyond surface-level parenting advice and get into something deeper: what your child’s behavior is actually trying to communicate. Because what looks like defiance, attitude, or disrespect on the outside is often something entirely different underneath.
Wendy Snyder introduces a powerful framework that helps you “translate” your child’s actions in real time. Instead of reacting with frustration, you’ll start to see patterns, unmet needs, and opportunities to teach life skills. It’s a shift that can completely change how you experience everyday parenting moments.
We also explore what to do when your child says things like “I hate this family,” why power struggles escalate so quickly, and how to stay grounded when your child is clearly unhappy with your rules. There’s a big mindset shift here that might feel uncomfortable at first, but it can also be incredibly freeing.
Along the way, you may find yourself rethinking what it really means to be a “strict” parent, and whether the strategies you’ve been using are actually helping in the long run.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The four hidden reasons behind most misbehavior
- How to tell if your child is seeking attention, power, revenge, or support
- Why punishment often makes behavior worse instead of better
- What to do when your child says hurtful or dramatic things
- How to stay calm when your child is upset with your rules
- The difference between firm boundaries and “strict” parenting
- How to stop power struggles before they escalate
- Why your mindset matters just as much as your parenting strategy
If you’ve been feeling stuck in cycles of frustration or wondering why nothing seems to “work,” this conversation will give you a new lens to look through … and a few moments that might just change how you respond the next time your child pushes back.
Did you miss part 1 of this episode? Watch or listen here.
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Why Starting Over Is a Parenting Superpower
There’s a moment in this conversation I can’t quite shake.
A mom drops her child’s favorite stuffed animal into the trash while her four-year-old begs her not to. If that makes your stomach tighten, you’re not alone.
Because even if you’ve never had a “trash can moment,” you’ve probably had that moment. The one where you hear yourself and think, “Wait…is this how I want to parent?”
That’s exactly where this conversation with Wendy Snyder begins. Not from perfection, but from honesty, growth, and a deep desire to do better than what we were handed.
And the surprising part? She doesn’t just share what went wrong. She shows us what to do instead in a way that feels doable and hopeful.
If you’ve ever wondered why punishment doesn’t work, why strong-willed kids push every button, or why you keep reacting in ways you swore you wouldn’t, this episode will meet you right there.
Inside, we talk about:
- The story behind that “trash can moment” and why it changed everything
- What’s really happening during power struggles
- The discipline belief most of us inherited and why it backfires
- A simple 4-step process to set limits without yelling or shame
- Why connection changes everything
- How to support strong-willed kids without breaking their spirit
- What breaking generational cycles actually looks like
- The long game of parenting and what success really means
Underneath it all is a quiet shift. Maybe parenting isn’t about controlling our kids better, but understanding them and ourselves more deeply.
If that’s the kind of change you’ve been craving, you’re in the right place.
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The Truth About Time Management for Moms (It’s Not Your Planner)
If you’ve ever thought, “Why can I not get my life together when it comes to time?”—you are absolutely not alone.
This conversation felt like such a breath of fresh air because we’re not talking about rigid schedules, perfect planners, or waking up at 5am (thank goodness). Instead, we’re digging into what actually works for real moms with real lives… you know, the kind where kids interrupt everything and plans fall apart before lunch.
I had so much fun hearing about Anna’s real-life experiences in the professional world, SO different than my life, and wait until you hear what we both have in common when it comes to being POOR at time management! I couldn’t believe her confession about getting in trouble at work for a time-related issue…
What I love most is that Anna brings so much grace and practicality to this topic. She doesn’t expect perfection; and honestly, that might be the most freeing part of all.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why time management isn’t really about your planner (and what actually matters instead)
- A simple “mind sweep” method to instantly reduce overwhelm and clear your mental clutter
- How to figure out what actually deserves your time (and what you can let go of)
- Practical ways to involve your kids so you’re not doing everything yourself
- What to do when your plans fall apart (because… they will)
- A simple framework to handle those chaotic, stressful moments without spiraling
If you’ve been feeling scattered, behind, or just plain overwhelmed, this episode is going to meet you right where you are and give you a few doable steps to move forward.
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Why Boredom Might Be the Skill Our Kids Need the Most
This month, I’ve been to a number of music concerts at my kids’ schools.
I’m enjoying the tunes, picking out my child from the audience and smiling, and relaxing into the music … when I see a flash of bright light from the corner of my eye. Or worse, it’s in the row in front of me …
It’s the same thing: elementary kids on screens for the entirety of a 30- to 60-minute performance. Sometimes even with the sound on their tablets (no headphones!) and the screen at full brightness!
I took some video clips and knew as soon as I conceived the idea for this reel that I would have angry people coming after me. I knew what some would say, and I figured: Let them come. I’ll answer at that point.
(By the way, AI did not write this, nor did it help me in any way. If you want to be mad at someone, it’s me, not a computer.)
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The Two Stories of Every Cluttered Space
If you’ve ever stood in the middle of your house and thought, “Where do I even start?”… you are absolutely not alone.
Decluttering can feel like one of those projects that requires a full weekend, a burst of motivation, and maybe a completely different personality. And if you’re a busy parent, that kind of time and energy just doesn’t magically appear.
But what if the problem isn’t your lack of discipline… it’s your approach?
In this conversation, I sat down with Ingrid Jansen from The Declutter Hub, and she completely reframed how I think about clutter. We didn’t just talk about getting rid of stuff. We talked about why it feels so hard in the first place—and how to make it feel doable (even in the middle of real life).
Because here’s the truth: clutter isn’t just about things. It’s about emotions, habits, identity, and sometimes even guilt. And once you understand that piece, everything starts to shift.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- Why “decluttering your whole house” is actually the fastest way to get stuck
- The simple mindset shift that makes decluttering feel lighter and more positive
- Why starting with what you want to keep (not what to throw away) changes everything
- How to break any space into small, manageable chunks you can tackle in minutes
- The surprising advice Ingrid gives about what to do when you feel unsure about an item
- What the “messy middle” is and why so many people quit right there
- How clutter and emotions like guilt, stress, and overwhelm are deeply connected
- The hidden ways new clutter keeps sneaking into your home (and how to stop it)
There were several moments in this conversation where I realized I’d been making decluttering way harder than it needs to be, and one tip in particular completely changed how I’m going to approach my own closet (hint: it does not involve doing the whole thing at once).
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your home, short on time, or just tired of starting over again and again… this episode will meet you right where you are.
Let’s dig in.
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Financial Literacy for the Whole Family
Money fights are rarely about the money.
They usually start somewhere small. A decision. An assumption. A moment that feels harmless at the time.
And then suddenly you are on a honeymoon, of all places, realizing you are not actually on the same financial page at all. That is exactly where this conversation begins.
Amanda shares a story that many couples will recognize: a beautiful life moment that quietly turned stressful because expectations were never spoken out loud.
Because money is not just math! It is emotion, trust, and more.
In this interview, we dig into what happens when financial communication falls through the cracks and why those cracks often appear during big life events when we least expect them.
You will see how:
- silence around money can create conflict even in strong relationships
- credit cards can blur the reality of spending in stressful moments
- surprise expenses often show up when emotions are already high
- assumptions about “who is paying for what” can quietly derail connection
- financial stress spills into relationship dynamics faster than we think
- talking about goals early can prevent hurt later
- planning together creates more peace than planning alone
- mistakes around money can become powerful growth points
This is not a conversation about budgeting apps or spreadsheets. It is about what happens when two people carry different money stories into the same experience.
And it might leave you wondering:
Where are the unspoken expectations in your own relationship?
What conversations are you assuming will just “work themselves out”?
And what would change if you talked about money before the moment arrives instead of during it?
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Troubleshoot Your Child’s Poor Digestion
What if I told you you might have to throw away half of the healthy food you worked so hard to put on the dinner table?
What if I told you that can basically happen AFTER your kids eat everything on their plate?!?!
Healthy food is only the first part of being nourished—we need to make sure the entire system of digestion is working correctly for all the hard work to count! mind blown
Today I get to talk to Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Tara Hnkin about getting your child’s digestion on “tract” (pun! ha!) for optimal health. Whether your child feels anxious or exhibits signs of ADHD, whether you know they’re constipated, they have some diarrhea or even are very regular, it’s so important to be educated as parents so we know what to look for…in our child’s poop!
Here are just some of the gems we cover today:
- Why parents need to be their children’s health advocate and never take “there’s nothing we can do” for an answer
- Why even with great nutrition, your kids might be struggling with their health (allergies, eczema, constipation, diarrhea, ADHD, and more!)
- What to look for to know if your child might struggle with digestion (colic and acid reflux in babies is only the beginning)
- What “growing pains” might really mean!
- How picky eating is sometimes caused by poor digestion (especially meat aversion or carb/comfort food cravings)
- The convicting news (for me at least) about HOW we serve a meal being more important than WHAT we serve
- Easy ways to kickstart good digestion just before a meal
- The best alternative to testing your child’s stool or urine (that doesn’t cost anything)
- Why the special diet you tried may not have worked the way you wanted for your child’s health
Tara is so wise and experienced, and I cannot wait to hear from you about what you learn from her! Parents, education is the first step toward giving our kids what they need. Let’s get educated about digestion today!
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Ask Me Anything: Picky Eating, Screen Time, and Intentional Choices
Ever wonder how to handle picky eating at parties without creating food battles? Or how to set healthy screen time boundaries when screens feel like the only babysitter?
In this Ask Me Anything episode of the Healthy Parenting Handbook podcast, I’m answering your real-life parenting questions about dessert rules for kids, the Division of Responsibility in feeding, raising independent children, and building healthy family habits that actually stick.
We’re talking about practical strategies for limiting screen time for toddlers and young kids, alternatives to screen time that encourage creativity, and how involving kids in chores builds responsibility and executive functioning. I’m also sharing how to create a real food family culture without labeling foods as “bad,” how to monitor sugar and food dyes without being extreme, and how to gradually pass ownership of health to your kids so they can make wise choices when no one is watching.
If you want less pressure around food, more confidence in your parenting decisions, and a clear path toward raising healthy, independent future adults, this episode is for you!
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Quick Change Tastebuds, Slow Biology, & Why Gut Health May Impact Picky Eating
Did you know that picky eating can sometimes be caused by the messages the bacteria in your gut are sending to your brain?
So the CHILD isn’t being a sugar monster…or making stubborn choices just to drive you crazy…their gut bugs are the sugar monsters and their brain has pruned too much!
I learned so much from Elissa Arnheim in this interview, both the philosophical to feed MY brain and the practical—some of which I implemented that very day!
Here are my favorite quotes:
- “Let’s start with this: Our bodies are designed perfectly.”
- “If a child cuts out an entire category of healthy foods, it’s a sign that something is wrong – and it’s all figure-out-able and fixable.”
- “Step 1 for sugar monster kids: serve sauerkraut!” 😮 (Don’t worry, Elissa shares multiple ways to make that a reality in your family…because I thought the same as you! My kids would never…!)
- “Resilience comes from diversity – both inside and outside our bodies.”
- “Risk to probiotic use = monoculture in our guts.”
And so, so much more! Pretty much if there are human beings in your family, you need this info too. 😉
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