Being a parent today is nothing short of overwhelming and confusing. What should you do if your kid won’t eat meals, but then binges on snacks? What about vaccines — what’s safe and what’s not? Is homeschooling a better option for your child? Nothing is simple. Yet, we want to raise our kids to be good and healthy humans.
As a mom of four kids, from a teenager down to a kindergartner, I empathize with fellow parents. It’s hard to know who to trust with our burning questions. Plus, if you’re like me, you barely have any spare time to learn how to be a better parent.
Thankfully, one pediatrician’s podcast is here to give us accurate parenting information that we can apply to our lives — immediately.
Meet Dr. Candice Jones
Dr. Candice Jones is a mom of two children and a board-certified pediatrician. She’s the author of “High Five Discipline: Positive Parenting For Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Kids.” She’s also the creator and host KIDing Around With Dr. Candice. Yes, she’s superwoman.
I asked Dr. Jones why she started her podcast, and she shared that her search for pediatric podcasts yielded very few results. There was clearly a need for an expert to chime in on trending parenting topics — and make this information accessible to everyone.
Plus, her experience as a pediatrician would provide her plenty of topic ideas
I’ve learned over my almost-fourteen years as a parent that it’s hard to find good sources. Dr. Jones’ podcast is not only warm and empathetic, but also confident. She invites expert guests to join her, which she shares she enjoys learning from just as much as her audience.
Recently, Dr. Jones has covered gender-affirming healthcare, childhood trauma, antibiotic use, big emotions, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
The guidance she provides parents is the real deal
Unfortunately, too many “expert” parenting sources are not “well educated, up-to-date, and evidence-based.” These sources can lead parents astray instead of toward the goals they have for themselves. She tells me that she’s “a board-certified pediatrician who follows evidence-based best practices.”
Basically, she knows what she’s talking about — and has reliable sources to back up her claims.
There are so many perks to listening to a podcast
Dr. Jones loves how “convenient and entertaining” a podcast can be. She can “listen during my morning commute, in the shower, and while cooking and cleaning.” Then she can “stop when I need to and pick back up where I left off.”
Plus, podcasts tend to cover subjects “more fully” and “in a practical way.” (However, Dr. Jones did write a pretty phenomenal, aforementioned parenting book — if reading is more your jam.)
I cannot agree more when Dr. Jones refers to ‘KIDing Around With Dr. Candice’ as “down to earth”
If you skim through her podcast episodes and don’t see your question or concern answered, you can always request that Dr. Jones cover this topic in a future episode. There’s a strong likelihood that other parents share your same concerns.
Listening to Dr. Jones’ podcast feels like sitting down with a wise, comforting friend over steaming cups of coffee. Honesty is welcomed. Dr. Jones shared with me that she has parenting questions and needs help sometimes, too, just like her audience.
She gains topic ideas from her own parenting quandaries, but also from her experience as a pediatrician and from her listeners.
She doesn’t shy away from hard subjects
Dr. Jones has covered racism, co-parenting, and vaping, among other topics. As both a mom and doctor, she understands that parents are facing tough situations, and she wants to empower us to learn and grow.
I personally have enjoyed learning about Dr. Jones’ take on gentle and connective parenting. Though controversial at times, because gentle parenting is the opposite of old-school parenting methods that have been passed down for generations, Dr. Jones advocates for establishing a trusting relationship with our children. She covers this extensively in her book, but it’s also a strong vibe throughout her podcast episodes.
If you’re looking to be encouraged, educated, and empowered, I highly recommend you tune in to KIDing Around With Dr. Candice. I also recommend you get a copy of her book to keep in your car for those times when your kids are at their sports practice, or you have time between work meetings.
Dr. Jones is nothing short of incredible, and she wants you to be the same.
