Parenting

Our First Theme Park Survival Guide

| Patti Webb

Growing up in Florida, Troy and I would go to Disney at least once a year for school field trips. Gradually, that grew to loving roller coasters, fandoms, drinking around the world, and staying in the parks late at night. We were always with friends, had very little cash, and ended up passing out on the ride home.

Making a big to-do about Disney World was never a thing for our families. But, we thought long and hard about how we wanted to navigate Disney with the girls, knowing that it is probably worth it to do one big magical trip to Florida while they are still little princesses.

So for this year’s Spring Break, we decided to give them an amuse bouche while we were in California. In addition to Joshua Tree, Carlsbad, and sightseeing around LA, we took the girls to Universal Studios Hollywood. They are on the fifth Harry Potter book. Super Mario Galaxy just came out. Z just got over 42 inches tall. It seemed like the best time to test the waters.

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OT Month: The Gen A Nervous System

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

A few months ago on Instagram, we ran into a ton of posts about how you can’t parent Gen A kids like they did in the 90’s because they have a different nervous system.

We thought it was an interesting claim; despite that when “influencers” copy the same material word-for-word, it’s usually a sign of clickbait. They even referred to kids having a “Digital Nervous System”, living in a high-speed brain environment.

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Child(ish) Reads: Dopamine Kids, Pt. 1

| Patti Webb

I was very excited to receive my pre-ordered audiobook of Dopamine Kids by Michaeleen Doucleff. Yes, the same Michaeleen Doucleff from Hunt, Gather, Parent. It has been 5 years since I reviewed that book, and I love how Dopamine Kids fits in so perfectly with all of our Brain-Body posts this month.

Dopamine Kids: A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child’s Brain and Take Back Your Family in the Age of Screens and Ultraprocessed Foods by Michaeleen Doucleff.

Blurb: For the first time in history, we are inundated with “dopamine surges” inside our brains, pulling us to technology and ultraprocessed foods like magnets—every day, many times a day. Over the past decade, neuroscientists have finally begun to figure out how these surges alter our choices, our habits, and even our moods. We’ve learned how dopamine can drive adults and kids to engage in activities that we don’t actually enjoy—activities that can make us feel sad, lonely, anxious, and depressed.

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Coffee Chat: Kids and Supplements

| Patti Webb

Last fall, I was chatting with other Girl Scout moms at our annual campout and someone left a pack of Grüns in the cabin. They’re superfood gummy bears that are supposed to do a ton of awesome things like promote gut health and give you energy and fulfill your veggie requirements, etc. I had seen these on my IG feed, so me and a couple of the moms tried them out. Big letdown for me (they were the no sugar added variety), but overall a good reception. One of my girls liked them, and one other scout was like, cool.

That led to what other “wellness” things each of us had tried in our routine; from special-order vitamins, to supplements that replaced caffeine, to Liquid IV and protein. And what do you know, later that week I had ads all over my accounts for kids’ vitamins, gummies, and patches.

Maybe it’s just that we’re getting older, but the lineup keeps growing: a daily multivitamin to fill any nutritional gaps, collagen and biotin for hair and nails, melatonin for sleep, probiotics for gut health, B‑complex and magnesium for energy, vitamin D for mood…the collection just keeps expanding. Creatine, the powder that my high school boyfriend was taking to get “ripped”, is now marketed to women as a supplement.

But what adds an extra layer of weird is that many of the supplements have a kids version. Beyond the classic Flintstones vitamins, there’s now a kid‑friendly version for nutrition, immunity, focus, growth, you name it. But why? And since when?

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Course Notes: Allergies, Pt. 2

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Allergies touch most of us at some point: sneezing fits, itchy skin, watery eyes set off by pollen, dust, or a pet brushing past. But food allergies are a different experience entirely. They’re far less common, and they’re not the same as food sensitivities.

My own mild food allergy, paired with watching a close friend navigate her daughter’s severe reactions, sparked a deeper understanding about how profoundly these conditions can shape childhood. For many families, food allergies carry a unique developmental weight because they show up during meals, classroom snacks, birthday parties, and playdates—moments that are supposed to feel simple and safe.

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