Maybe you've heard of equine therapy but have you heard about "Cow Hug" therapy? Did you know that cows are matriarchal and take care of each other in birth, life and death?

We can all learn a thing or two about society, how to take care of each other and about a different way to heal from these amazing animals - cows!

Listen to this ground-breaking episode with Ellie Laks, co-founder of The Gentle Barn and the author of the book Cow Hug Therapy: How the Animals at the Gentle Barn Taught Me about Life, Death, and Everything In Between (ARC, May 21, 2024)

Cows are wise and compassionate animal ambassadors who have helped countless people heal from trauma with their gentle, calm manner at the 3 different Gentle Barn locations. Each animal's story in this book will touch your heart and maybe make you cry, like me.

Through the stories of Buddha, her first cow, to many other animals like turkey, pigs, dogs, horses and other cows, their unique personalities will leap off each page to share life lessons with all of us.

Ellie Laks is the Founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation, a national organization that rescues and rehabilitates unwanted animals and heals people with the same stories of abuse and neglect.

Ellie is a powerful speaker, celebrated animal welfare advocate, humane educator, animal communicator, and the author of “My Gentle Barn: Creating a sanctuary where animals heal and children learn to hope,” and “Cow Hug Therapy: How the animals at The Gentle Barn taught me about life, death, and everything in between.” Ellie founded The Gentle Barn in 1999.

She invented her own “Gentle Healing” method that allows old, sick, injured, and terrified animals to fully recover. Ellie is the creator of cow hug therapy and has hosted hundreds of thousands of people who have come to The Gentle Barn seeking hope.

Find out more about Ellie here at gentlebarn.org and find Ellie's newest book here

Book a session with Ellie for animal communication or find out more about here at her website here. Follow Ellie on Instagram here, Facebook here and X/Twitter here. Follow the Gentle Barn here.

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Disclosure: I was provided a preview copy of Ellie's Cow Hug Therapy book for this interview

Maybe you've heard this word "codependency" but you don't really know what it means. In this very important episode, Teaching Your Toddler's Marijo Tinlin talks with Dr. Frieda Birnbaum, research psychologist, psychoanalytic therapist, author and podcaster - also known as "Dr. Frieda" about what exactly that means.

So, what does codependency look like in a family? Do you have trouble setting boundaries? Asking for what you want? Expressing your true emotions? And what effect does this have on your children both now, in their childhood, and also later in life in their own relationships? Dr. Frieda will talk about all of this in this episode.

Dr. Frieda is also a mom to 5 children and is known as the oldest mom in America, having given birth to her twins at the age of 60. She is the author of a book about this experience called Life Begins at 60: A New View of Motherhood, Marriage, and Reinventing Ourselves. She has also recently started a podcast called The Doctor Frieda Show: Pushing the Limits.

Find Dr. Frieda at doctorfrieda.com and on twitter/x at @doctorfrieda

Please like and subscribe to our podcast and leave a 5-star review so we can reach more parents like you!

Subscribe to our podcast by sending an email to subscribe@teachingyourtoddler.com

For more expert interviews, fun activities and story time podcasts, please visit our website at TeachingYourToddler.com

Check us out on Facebook at Teaching Your Toddler and on twitter at @TeachingToddler and on Instagram at @teachingyourtoddler

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#parenting #toddlers #moms #momlife #kids #podcast #toddlerlife

Wondering what the signs are that your child may potentially struggle with dyslexia? You HAVE to listen to our interview with Robin Zikmund, a mom-advocate from the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE).

It's estimated that about 20% of kids struggle with dyslexia; that's one out of five! AND - it's hereditary, so if someone in your child's family struggled with dyslexia, that could mean your child is more likely to struggle too.

There's a spectrum for dyslexia too so there's a huge range to how much it might affect someone. Early intervention is KEY, Robin says so this episode is even more important if you have little ones - like before age 5!

While this episode is not meant as a diagnosis, Robin will help you start looking for some of the earliest signs of one of the most common learning challenges - she will also help you understand what your next steps are to get the support you need from your child's school.

Robin's story of her son's frustration with reading and learning to the point of complete defeat, will break your heart, but also her drive to get to the bottom of what was happening and eventually "educating the educators" will inspire you to advocate for your child too.

She mentions the Orton-Gillingham methods which you can find out about on the IMSE's website here. https://imse.com/

She also mentions Emily Hanford's podcast called Sold A Story found here: https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Robin serves as the Dyslexia Advocate and Community Engagement Manager for IMSE, the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education - a literacy training company focused on the science of reading. She is also the founder of Decoding Dyslexia Idaho, a grassroots movement that aims to increase access to educational interventions and teacher professional development for dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities in public schools.

Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) Website: https://imse.com/

Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) Journal: https://journal.imse.com/

Decoding Dyslexia Idaho: https://www.decodingdyslexiaidaho.org/

Robin Zikmund LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-zikmund-50a379141/

Please like and subscribe to our podcast and leave a 5-star review so we can reach more parents like you!

Subscribe to our podcast by sending an email to subscribe@teachingyourtoddler.com

For more expert interviews, fun activities and story time podcasts, please visit our website at TeachingYourToddler.com

Check us out on Facebook at Teaching Your Toddler and on twitter at @TeachingToddler and on Instagram at @teachingyourtoddler

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