Art Creativity & Wellbeing

Do you, like me, worry about your son or daughter drowning during a day at the pool or the beach? When my two boys were small, I was given some great advice about keeping them safe while swimming, and that's what today's Summer Camp Episode is all about. First, a quick note about the Ninja Parenting Community: I've had a technical glitch hold up the opening for a few weeks, which is a bummer. However, it can work out really well for you because, as compensation, I'm offering more one-to-one support to those who become part of my email group and join the community in its very first week! (Hopefully in late July.) Becoming part of the email group now means: – a weekly email about what's happening on We Turned Out Okay – the chance to join the Ninja Parenting Community at the best pricing that there will ever be, period. – a one-to-one parent coaching call every three months for all the time you're continuously in the community! – I'm offering this as compensation for the time we are all stuck waiting as I figure out the technical glitch, so you definitely want to jump into my email group! Become part of the email group by clicking this link or going to weturnedoutokay.com/ninja-parenting-community-login and signing up to get notified about when the Ninja Parenting Community opens. Go to weturnedoutokay.com/090 to read all about the key steps to helping your kid learn to swim, and to listen to the episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

t's completely silly, the expletives fly superfast, it's raunchy, and it's about an imaginary world: it's The Adventure Zone, and if you haven't heard this podcast yet, you need to listen! Three comedian-brothers, Griffin, Travis, and Justin McElroy, along with their dad Clint have created an amazing world in these eighteen months or so that they've recorded as the four of them sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons. I think I love it so much because the characters that the McElroys have created are awesome and lovable. Also because, as they play, the story unfolds; main characters Magnus, Taako, and Merle have no more idea of what's coming than we do. The way the way these characters react to the world and circumstances that dungeon master Griffin is creating makes the show amazing and hilarious. First, a quick note about the Ninja Parenting Community: I've had a technical glitch hold up the opening for a few weeks, which is a bummer. However, it can work out really well for you because, as compensation, I'm offering more one-to-one support to those who become part of my email group and join the community in its very first week! (Hopefully in late July.) Becoming part of the email group now means: – a weekly email about what's happening on We Turned Out Okay – the chance to join the Ninja Parenting Community at the best pricing that there will ever be, period. – a one-to-one parent coaching call every three months for all the time you're continuously in the community! – I'm offering this as compensation for the time we are all stuck waiting as I figure out the technical glitch, so you definitely want to jump into my email group! Become part of the email group by clicking this link or going to weturnedoutokay.com/ninja-parenting-community-login and signing up to get notified about when the Ninja Parenting Community opens. Now, go to weturnedoutokay.com/089 for links to my three favorite episodes of The Adventure Zone! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Did you love arts & crafts at camp, or hate it? I was a mixture of both – some projects I loved, and some I loathed, and as I think about those projects, I realize that I disliked the micromanaged, do-it-the-instructor's-way-or-else projects the most. I always loved the open-ended stuff best. Also, big projects were really fun, as were those that got you super-messy. For today's summer camp arts & crafts show, I'm sharing my all-time favorite project to do with little kids: painting a giant mural just as Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling! First, a quick note about the Ninja Parenting Community: I've had a technical glitch hold up the opening for a few weeks, which is a bummer. However, it can work out really well for you because, as compensation, I'm offering more one-to-one support to those who become part of my email group and join the community in its very first week! (Hopefully in late July.) Becoming part of the email group now means: – a weekly email about what's happening on We Turned Out Okay – the chance to join the Ninja Parenting Community at the best pricing that there will ever be, period. – a one-to-one parent coaching call every three months for all the time you're continuously in the community! – I'm offering this as compensation for the time we are all stuck waiting as I figure out the technical glitch, so you definitely want to jump into my email group! Become part of the email group by clicking this link or going to weturnedoutokay.com/ninja-parenting-community-login and signing up to get notified about when the Ninja Parenting Community opens. To listen and to learn how to do today's unusual and very fun arts & crafts project, go to weturnedoutokay.com/088. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the first Thursday summer camp episode of We Turned Out Okay, where every Tuesday will be about fun stuff to do with our kids, and every Thursday will be about fun stuff to do for ourselves! Today, the big yellow bus has pulled into the parking lot of our summer camp, and the doors are open, ready to take us to check out the stars with Neil DeGrasse Tyson of Star Talk Radio. Click here  or go to weturnedoutokay.com/087 for the links to today's field trip! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Happy summer! Here at We Turned Out Okay, we're changing the format up, making each Tuesday about something fun to do with your kids – and each Thursday something fun to do for yourself. Today, for our very first Summer Camp episode, we are taking some bugs on a field trip! If your child is frightened of creepy-crawlies, today's summer camp activity could really help him or her get past that. And for everybody else, it is just plain fun :-) Also, I'm excited to announce that the Ninja Parenting Community is open in beta! If you're feeling overwhelmed by the many tough aspects of raising a young child, I hope you'll check it out – Click here to read more about it. Enjoy the show! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Today, I answer the second of two questions asked a few weeks ago by listener Suzanna; I answered Suzanna's first question in a special bonus episode last Thursday about road-and-parking-lot safety with small children, which you can hear by clicking here. Suzanna's second question seems somewhat thornier, and will be familiar to anyone with more than one child (or who was more than one child growing up). She writes that she is concerned about "how to deal with the acting out the comes with the new baby in the family: hitting, potty training regression etc. So much is on how to physically intervene with hitting, but with an infant in arms this is often impossible." Click this link or go to weturnedoutokay.com/085 to read my response to Suzanna, and also for key links from today's episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Do You you sometimes feel caught between competing demands in your life: work is pulling you one way, kids another, taking care of yourself a distant third? My guest today, Elizabeth Miller of happyhealthycaregiver.com, knows your pain. In fact, a few years ago she added another demand on top of these when her father passed away and her chronically ill mother moved close to Elizabeth so she and her siblings could care for their Mom. Elizabeth writes about that time in her life: "I was stressed, overwhelmed and often felt like I was suffocating by my never-ending to-do lists." After looking for a support network for others like her, caught in the middle as the so-called sandwich generation, Elizabeth created the support she needed by founding Happy Healthy Caregiver; now, she helps many others transcend the overwhelm she was feeling, while simultaneously caring for parents, children, and themselves. Today, Elizabeth joins me to talk about how parents of young children – with all the work-life balance issues this stage of life brings – can enjoy family life and a great relationship with their children! Click here or go to weturnedoutokay.com/084 to listen, and for key links, including to a fantastic meditation app and a book which has helped Elizabeth understand her loved ones better. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Recently listener Suzanna got in touch with two great questions – so I decided to split the answers into today's bonus Your Child Explained and next week's regularly scheduled one. Today I answer Suzanna's first question: how can we keep our kids safe on roadways and in parking lots and other public places, while also giving them some independence? My answer is twofold – click here to listen, read the show notes, and for key links talked about in today's episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Understanding our own feelings is the work of childhood – but sometimes this important work is not completed when it should be, and that's bad for so many reasons. Today we look at what can go wrong, and talk about 3 ways to help kids understand their own feelings! This Just You and Me episode functions as the second of two chapter studies of Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics: Key Tools to Handle Every Temper Tantrum, Keep Your Cool, and Enjoy Life With Your Young Child. Click here or go to weturnedoutokay.com/083 to listen and get access to key links, including to your FREE guide outlining the bonus fourth way to help our kids understand their own feelings! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe

Do you wish your mornings could be a little bit less stressful? It can be really hard to get out the door with young kids, and that was Marla's situation with her kindergartner, Gracie. Recently Marla wrote with the following questions: "how can I pull her out of the "I will not and you can't make me!" mindset and nudge her back into "if I do this we can all have a good time" mindset? When she has her battle armor on, she will argue with me about everything… she will sometimes yell and sometimes I yell. I try to get to her level and talk about it, but sometimes I'm not sure what to say. We just need to get ready to go. You know?" For Marla, the situation is a little bit more complicated as Gracie has Down Syndrome. But I was so happy that we could record our coaching call – EVERY young child gets that battle armor sometimes! Today I'm thrilled to bring you my parent coaching call with Marla. Like you, she is a parent who loves her child fiercely and and yet also struggles with the day-to-day issues that every child can bring up. When I checked in with Marla recently she had really great news about streamlining their busy mornings, and you'll hear about that towards the end of this episode. Click here or go to weturnedoutokay.com/082 to check out Marla's beautiful schedule board, created for Gracie based on the advice I was able to share, and also for key links to today's episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kaylockkolp.substack.com/subscribe