• BBB 001: Welcome to Boys Built Better
    Apr 26 2018

    In this episode you will learn a little more about Boys Built Better and its host, Jessica Crow. Jessica is a mom to 3 boys aged 5, 9 and 11 who decided to get into podcasting after a particularly hard year as a parent.

    The Boys Built Better podcast is a bi-weekly show designed help all parents raise their boys, better.

    For more Boys Built Better follow us on Twitter @BoysBuiltBetter, Facebook at facebook.com/boysbuiltbetter and sign-up below to receive email updates.

    For more information about the art project mentioned in the show, check out our blog post about it here:

    https://boysbuiltbetter.com/arts-and-crafts/getting-started-with-perler-beads/

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    10 mins
  • BBB 002: Growth and Development of Boys with Pediatrician Roy Benaroch
    May 10 2018
    Last Fall, at my oldest son’s 11 year checkup, the pediatrician mentioned the onset of puberty. Sounds silly, but I hadn’t really thought about it before and I certainly didn’t know about the changes my son was about to go through. (If you need a great puberty resource, check out the book I bought for my son and I here.)

    Want to know more about your own son’s development? Today I am interviewing Dr. Roy Benaroch and we are chatting about the development of boys from newborn baby through to puberty with parenting tips for each stage of growth.

    Show Notes

    Roy’s blog is www.pediatricinsider.com and follow him on Twitter at @pedinsider
    Search for Roy Benaroch at www.thegreatcourses.com to learn more about his Medical School for Everyone video courses

    Time Stamps

    Roy’s number one parenting tip (1:38)
    Parenting Babies (7:19)
    How parents treat boys and girls differently (8:38)
    Toddlers are little scientists (13:37)
    Developing Independence in Preschoolers (15:44)
    School age boys (18:32)
    Early Sexual Development (23:59)
    Understanding Physical and Emotional Development during Puberty (27:13)
    Sexual Development in older boys (35:37)
    When to call your pediatrician (38:24)
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    41 mins
  • BBB 003: Mental Well-being of Boys with Kyle Douglas
    May 25 2018
    Interview with Kyle Douglas, chatting about the mental health of boys with tips on how to raise boys to be mentally well and also information about what therapy is and when to utilize it.

    Show Notes

    Children’s book about taking care of yourself so you can take care of others (https://amzn.to/2IzZoR0)
    Calm down toy to use during tantrums (https://amzn.to/2KER4f2)
    DIY calm down toy (https://childhood101.com/calm-down-bottle/)
    Brene Brown Ted Talk on Vulnerability https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability
    Want more from Kyle? Check out his website. (http://www.kyledouglastherapy.com/)

    Timestamps

    Men in therapy today (5:21)
    How to raise boys that are aware of emotions (9:32)
    Coping skills for children (14:37)
    What to expect in therapy (28:00)
    Length of therapy (34:00)
    The stigma of therapy (36:28)
    When to seek therapy (38:20)
    What to look for in a therapist (40:55)
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    47 mins
  • BBB 004: Surviving the Summer with Boys
    Jun 8 2018

    Solo Episode, chatting about all things summer! Organizing yourself and your kiddos, fun activities, keeping up with academics and staying sane!!

    Tip 1- Get Organized

    To Do Sheet – A few years ago, I used a “No Screen-time Until” sheet to this one to get us organized. I customized ours to reflect the things I wanted my kiddos to do each day. Here is a link to a great example. https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/no-screen-time-until-free-printable/

    Mom Bucks – Last year I used a more elaborate system of currency during the summer. My kids could earn “mom bucks” for doing chores, reading, spending time outside and then could spend the bucks on time playing video games, a special treat, or could save up to exchange for real dollars. The blog I based my system is this one. http://faithfilledparenting.com/mom-bucks/

    Organizing a summer with a Planner – This year, I am using an individual planner to keep my big kids organized. They are filling it out with daily and once a week chores. Check out my blog about using the planners here.

    https://boysbuiltbetter.com/education/summer-planner-lessons-for-tweens/

    Tip 2- Keep Up the Academics

    Math Facts – A small amount of time each day spent keeping up with math facts will make a big difference next school year. We get a packet sent home, but you could easily make your own based on your child’s level or buy a practice book. Tip! If you buy a book, put the pages in a sleeve protector and use a dry erase marker to complete, the book will last longer!!

    Here are some practice books specific to elementary school:

    Read 20 minutes a day – this is another great summer habit that will pay off next year. If you happen to have a reluctant reader, take the pressure off and choose books that your kiddo finds fun. This is the time to read for enjoyment!! The less pressure, the better.

    Handwriting lessons- Does your school teach handwriting? A lot of elementary schools have dropped this and no longer spend time working on it in class. I still think being able to hand-write is a great skill and there is research that states it supports the growth of reading, writing and language ability. Summer is a great time to work on growing this forgotten skill. And LOOK! There are even handwriting books developed just for boys:

    Tip 3- Activities

    Perler Beads – This has been our favorite summer activity for three years straight. My boys started out copying designs and have now graduated to creating their own (sometimes 3-D) designs. Check out my blog about getting started.

    https://boysbuiltbetter.com/arts-and-crafts/getting-started-with-perler-beads/

    Rock Painting – This is the activity that I am introducing this summer (blog post coming soon). We recently went to the craft store and bought brushes https://amzn.to/2suZDmf, acrylic paint https://amzn.to/2syiH2U, varnish https://amzn.to/2JkEaCX and a great book https://amzn.to/2JmmQNI.

    I love this craft because we can hunt for rocks in our neighborhood and now that I bought a few supplies there is no additional cost for the canvas! We have already had a few neighbors around...

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    29 mins
  • BBB 005: Transitioning to Elementary School
    Jun 22 2018
    Chatting with my friend Sydney Smith about transitioning to kindergarten. I’ve been thinking a lot about getting my own son ready for kindergarten and moving to such a big building. We discuss academics, independence skills and tips to make the transition easier.

    Show Notes

    * Sydney’s favorite thing: Guardians of galaxy CD
    * Jessica’s favorite thing: Hose reel
    * Recommended workbooks to prep academically
    * Easier way to tie shoes
    * Easy to open(and pack!) lunchbox

    TimeStamps

    * Our current favorite things (1:23)
    * Getting to know this week’s guest (3:30)
    * Thought on becoming a mother later in life (4:29)
    * Kindergarten overview (5:58)
    * Waiting a year (8:22)
    * What you need to know about academics (10:14)
    * Zippers, buttons and pants, oh my! (19:04)
    * The joys of new kids and peer pressure begins (24:54)
    * Carpool Etiquette (29:05)
    * Thinking about Lunch (30:58)
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    35 mins
  • BBB 006: Transitioning to Middle School
    Jul 4 2018
    Chatting with my friend Erin Dirvonas about transitioning to middle school. Since I have two kiddos making transitions this I have been thinking a lot about them. Today I am chatting with my friend Erin about middle school and making the change easiest on everyone.

    Show Notes

    * Cooler Lunch Bag
    * Locker Shelf
    * Locker White Board
    * Bike rack

    TimeStamps

    * The sixth-grade experience (5:50)
    * Similarities to Elementary? (6:44)
    * Teacher Communication (7:54)
    * Developing Independence (10:07)
    * Lunch Questions (13:14)
    * Dealing with the locker (14:24)
    * Time Management (15:45)
    * Learning to speak for yourself (17:25)
    * Picking an instrument (19:36)
    * All the girls (22:50)
    * Changing throughout the year/ grades (25:20)
    * What to prepare for ahead of time (29:22)
    * Learning to contemplate and expand ideas (31:14)
    * Devices and social media (33:41)
    * Parenting through middle school (36:14)
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    39 mins
  • BBB 007: Raising High School Boys
    Oct 2 2018
    In the last of our series on transitioning to schools, today I am chatting with Alexis Karasek, a mom whose son just graduated high school. In our other transitioning episodes, we focused on making a one-grade leap. Since high school spans a lot of change maturity wise, today we are talking about your child from 9th-12th.

    Want more transitioning episodes? Check out our episode on starting elementary school and our episode on middle school.

    Show Notes

    * Parenting with Love and Logic
    * Parenting with Love and Logic for Teens
    * Are you a lawnmower parent? Here’s a link to the article we talked about if you haven’t seen it.

    Timestamps

    * Why talk about high school as a whole instead of just 9th? (3:44)
    * First two/ last two years of high school (4:47)
    * Learning to Drive (8:59)
    * Looking Back with Perspective (11:40)
    * Bad Decisions (13:52)
    * Letting your son find himself (17:33)
    * Personality vs. Parenting (21:59)
    * Don’t save him (25:40)
    * Fail and Figure it out (26:51)
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    32 mins
  • BBB 008: Sleep Apnea, Tonsillectomies, and My Biggest Regret
    Oct 16 2018
    If I could go back in time: Sleep Apnea and Tonsillectomies

    Raising kids is full of ups and downs and there are definitely things I wish I could have done differently along the way. If I could, for example, I would have changed the way I handled video games at an earlier age. But even though I have some regrets about that, it’s nothing I couldn’t change now if I wanted to. There is one thing, though, I didn’t handle well and now that it is done, I cannot undo the consequences.

    My middle son, most likely had undiagnosed sleep apnea for 4 years. I noticed the first symptoms at 1 year of age and his tonsils and adenoids were removed at 5. In between, he was chronically unrested which led to behavior issues and academic delays that I believe still haunt us to this day.

    Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do about his journey. But, with my youngest just being ordered a sleep apnea test, I thought I would tell our story so others may avoid all the difficulties we had.

    Show Notes
    Articles on Sleep Apnea

    * Stanford Children’s Health-Obstructive Sleep Apnea
    * Mayo Clinic- Pediatric Sleep Apnea
    * Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia- Obstructive Sleep Apnea

    Tonsillectomy Book

    * Good Bye, Tonsils

    Timestamps

    * My One Regret (0:38)
    * I’m Not a Doctor (3:58)
    * What is Sleep Apnea? (4:34)
    * Causes of Sleep Apnea (6:06)
    * My Child Snores (6:58)
    * ENT Visit (10:10)
    * Symptoms of Sleep Apnea (10:44)
    * How to Get Diagnosed (15:54)
    * Treatment (18:32)
    * Tonsillectomy Tips (19:30)
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    28 mins