pedsdoctalk, P. O. Box 7026, Fort Lauderdale, FL (2026)

12/29/2025

The world doesn’t need tougher kids—it needs kinder, more empathetic, and emotionally secure ones.

As parents, caregivers, and mentors, it’s our responsibility to model and nurture the values that will help our children create a world with more heart. Here’s how we can do that:
✨ Teach emotional intelligence – Help kids name and process their feelings instead of shutting them down.
✨ Model kindness – The way we treat others (and ourselves) is the blueprint for how they will.
✨ Encourage problem-solving – Guide them to navigate challenges with resilience and compassion, not aggression.
✨ Validate their emotions – Acknowledging feelings teaches them that being vulnerable is a strength, not a weakness.
✨ Lead with respect – Respecting our kids teaches them to respect others, no fear or force required.
Our children aren’t here to survive a cruel world—they’re here to change it. Let’s raise the generation that does. ❤️
Imagine if we could ALL do the following as the grown-ups in children's lives.

I have a podcast episode for you that will really resonate:
On the PedsDocTalk Podcast episode titled "The Three Things Every Child Needs from the Grown Ups in their life," available wherever you listen to podcasts, I cover:
✨ How kids can feel unsafe in their own homes—and how safety is more than physical
✨ Why one-way respect parenting is outdated, and why mutual respect matters
✨ How secure attachment is built and why it’s foundational for lifelong confidence

What’s one value or life skill you hope to instill in your child as they grow?

Drop it below—I’d love to hear. 👇🏼

12/28/2025

Oh yes, living the *dream*. Next up: folding laundry and figuring out how to raise kids in dystopian America.

Parenting is full of beautiful, heart-melting moments of gratitude and joy—but let’s be real, it’s also packed with a whole lot of mundane (and kinda gross) tasks too. 😂

Side note: My older kiddo hasn't said this yet, but this meme made me LOL because I got a mental picture of me cleaning our dog's vomit (which happens!) while he says it.

What’s the most ‘luxurious’ thing you’ve done today?
👇 Follow for more relatable parent moments! We

12/25/2025

Yes, this was a real tweet from 2020 by a far-right conspiracy theorist. And yes… this is literally how vaccines work. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Vaccines expose your immune system to a harmless version of a virus (or part of it)—whether it’s a weakened, inactivated, or protein-based fragment. This triggers your body to produce antibodies and train immune cells, so if you ever encounter the real virus, your immune system is ready to fight it before it can make you seriously ill. It’s like giving your body a cheat code for future protection—without the risks of full-blown infection.

Why do the benefits outweigh the risks?
✔️ Prevention beats treatment—Vaccines stop disease before it can cause harm, reducing severe illness, hospitalization, and complications.
✔️ Herd immunity—When enough people are vaccinated, disease spread slows or stops, protecting the most vulnerable (infants, immunocompromised individuals).
✔️ Minimal side effects, major protection—Most vaccine side effects are mild and short-lived (sore arm, low fever). The risk of serious vaccine-related complications is far lower than the risks of the diseases they prevent.

This concept isn’t new. It’s the foundation of immunization and has saved millions of lives throughout history. The irony of this tweet? It perfectly describes what vaccines already do!

Vaccines = one of the greatest public health wins of all time.

Science. It works.

Comment VACCINE GUIDE if you want my free vaccine guide that discusses risks and benefits. A new version is coming this summer with even more information.

Follow pedsdoctalk for more myth-busting and real talk on kids' health.

What’s a wild health misconception you’ve heard before? Drop it in the comments! ⬇️

12/24/2025

Have you ever heard yourself say something to your child and thought,
“Wow… that sounded exactly like my parent”?

When we’re stretched thin, tired, and touched out, it is so easy to slip into automatic patterns. We snap faster. We yell more. We react instead of pause. And often those reactions come from old wiring that doesn’t really serve us or our kids, even if it feels familiar in the moment.

On this re-air of my episode on The Dude Therapist Podcast with Eli Weinstein, LCSW, we dig into the self work parents often skip. The unlearning. The reflection. The emotional detective work that helps us respond to our kids instead of reacting to them. We chat about:
✔️ How being exhausted and overwhelmed makes old habits louder
✔️ Why so many of us swing between overdoing and overcontrolling
✔️ How our own childhood shows up in the way we handle sleep, behavior, and big feelings
✔️ And how I went from being an angry, reactive parent to someone who can pause, reflect, and respond with more intention

We also talk about the work behind the scenes: therapy, coaching, self reflection, and learning to see anger as a signal instead of a personality trait. Not because I’m perfect now, but because I finally understand my patterns and have tools to do something different.

If you’re feeling easily triggered or stuck in reactions you don’t like, you are not alone and you are not broken. There is so much hope in having more self insight and support. Listen to the episode, "Dr. Mona on The Dude Therapist Podcast: The Pediatrician’s Guide to Parenting" wherever you listen to podcasts or watch it on YouTube.

What’s one reaction you’re working on changing in yourself as a parent?

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pedsdoctalk-podcast-child-health-development/id1501057527

12/24/2025

💉 Let's bust a myth: Pediatricians aren’t cashing in on vaccines—they’re championing them because they save lives! 💉
I often hear the claim that vaccines are just a revenue stream, but here's the real story: our focus is on comprehensive, preventive care. Every well visit, developmental screening, and personalized check-up is about nurturing healthy, thriving kids—not about big bonuses. I chose pediatrics to support families and care for children, not for a paycheck. 🌟

Every day, I witness firsthand how a balanced, evidence-based approach can transform lives. I have discussions about vaccines and discuss following routine schedules and sometimes do discuss alternate schedules with parents who want to do vaccines, but take it slower.

Rest assured, pediatricians didn’t choose this career for the paycheck. We recommend vaccines not to boost our earnings, but to give every child the best start in life and protect them from potentially life-threatening illnesses—especially in areas where vaccination rates are low.

Your child's health is our priority, and our guidance is all about care, not cash.

So, if you believe in true, holistic care that builds a healthier future, share this reel and let's spread the truth together. Follow pedsdoctalk for more parenting and child health tips.

Have specific questions about certain vaccines or the vaccine schedule? Check out my FREE VACCINE GUIDE PDF available on my website for a complete overview of every vaccine—from newborn essentials to adolescent immunizations, and seasonal shots like COVID-19, RSV, and the flu, plus answers to over 30 FAQs. Let’s debunk the myths and empower our families with the facts!

12/22/2025

“I met my younger self for coffee…”

I love this trend (started by a poem by ) because it reminds us to pause and reflect—not just on where we are now, but on everything we’ve overcome to get here.

For me, I had to let go of:
✨ Perfectionism, fear of failure, People-pleasing.

I also had to learn to love myself and remember life is about living and not about it being perfect on the outside.

The journey wasn’t always easy, but wow, am I thankful for every challenge, every setback, and every lesson that shaped me into who I am today.

If only I could go back and tell my younger self, “It’s all worth it.” But that’s the beauty of growth—we don’t always see it in the moment, but looking back, we realize we were becoming exactly who we were meant to be.

What’s something you’d tell your younger self? 💛

12/22/2025

Parenting: The Mirror We Didn’t Expect💛

Parenting has a way of shining a light on the parts of ourselves we didn’t even realize needed healing. The way we react to mistakes, how we handle big feelings (theirs and ours), the words we use when things don’t go as planned—it all shows up in the little moments.

The spilled Cheerios. The midnight bed-wetting accident. The shattered foundation bottle on the bathroom floor.

And those little moments? They matter.

Because the way we respond—to our kids and to ourselves—shapes the way they’ll one day respond to themselves and others. If we meet our own mistakes with self-criticism, they learn that mistakes = shame. But if we practice patience and self-compassion, they learn that mistakes are just part of life—not something to fear or internalize.

Breaking old patterns isn’t easy. It’s natural to parent the way we were parented, even if it’s not what we want to do. Changing that takes reflection, intention, and a whole lot of unlearning. But it’s worth it. Because every time we choose a different response—every time we pause before reacting—we’re not just rewriting our own story. We’re giving our kids a foundation of emotional safety, resilience, and self-worth that will serve them for a lifetime.

If this hits home, you’re not alone. And if you want to dive deeper into breaking cycles and parenting yourself, comment or DM “podcast link” and listen to this powerful episode: Parent Yourself First: Break Generational Cycles for Better Parenting 💛

What’s one pattern or habit you’re working to unlearn as a parent? 💛 Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear your thoughts! ⬇️

12/20/2025

Understanding this changed how I viewed parents.

The parents who yell, threaten, or let anger take over… we often think they’re scary.

But what if they’re actually scared?

Scared of losing control, scared of being judged, scared of repeating what they grew up with, scared of not being enough.

That shift softened something in me. It helped me pause instead of shame myself. And it shaped how I teach my kids about their own anger, because if I want them to handle big feelings without fear or force, I have to show them what that looks like. Naming what’s under the anger, repairing, staying steady when they’re overwhelmed… that’s the real work.

In this solo episode:Finding Joy: Breaking the Cycle of Anger in Parenting, I open up about how everything changed when I stopped asking, What’s wrong with me? and started asking, What am I scared of right now? Once I saw that my anger was covering fear, shame, exhaustion, and old wounds, I could get curious instead of sinking into guilt. We get into nervous system basics, why anger is often a stress response, how triggers form, and how EMDR and self reflection helped me move from automatic reactivity to more grounded parenting.

What if your anger isn’t a flaw to hide, but a clue to notice?
What if the fear underneath is where change starts?

If you’ve ever scared yourself with your own anger or wondered why you go from calm to yelling fast, this one is for you.

If you want to raise children who understand their anger without express it in unhealthy ways, this one is for you.

If you’ve ever scared yourself with your own anger or wondered why you go from calm to yelling in seconds, this one is for you.
Download and listen to the episode "Finding Joy: Breaking the Cycle of Anger in Parenting" wherever you access podcasts, or watch the full episode on the PedsDocTalk YouTube channel.

What do you want your child to learn about anger from you?
What you yell or get upset, what is that moment really telling you?

12/19/2025

You all loved me as raccoon mom queen.

I was trying to make walking around to see Christmas lights feel magical for my kids and neices. I packed hot chocolate in a thermos with festive cups, lids, and sleeves, rushed everyone out the door, then sat on the side of the road pouring hot cocoa while my mother in law held a flashlight. An instant memory: proof of mom.

And when I saw the photo, I thought, wow… this is the holidays in a nutshell.
So many of us are working so hard to make things feel special for the people we love. Creating magic while also juggling exhaustion, packed schedules, tight energy, tight budgets, and the mental load that never really turns off.

The planning.
The remembering.
The last-minute pivots.
The invisible work.
The overtired yet fully hyped-up kids.
And still, you show up.

This season can be beautiful and heavy at the same time. It can bring joy and pressure, connection and grief, love and depletion all in the same day.

If you are trying to make it magical while feeling tired yourself, I see you.
If this season looks simpler than you hoped, that is okay.
Magic does not have to be big to be real.
Sometimes it is just a warm drink, a shared laugh, or showing up as you are.

If this resonated, share it with another magic maker or follow along for more real talk about parenting, mental load, and the invisible work so many of us carry.

What part of this season feels the heaviest for you right now?

12/18/2025

If I could go back in time, I’d grab my younger self by the shoulders and say, ‘TAKE THE NAP. Cherish it. You don’t know how good you have it.’ 😩😴😂

Because now? I’d trade my most prized possessions for an uninterrupted, middle-of-the-day, cozy blanket, no-responsibilities nap. But instead, I get to watch my kids fight the very thing I now dream about🙃. Oh, the irony.

Is your kiddo in a fighting-their-nap stage? Check out the comments for my YouTube video with all my tips to help you keep your child’s nap going for as long as possible!

What’s something you took for granted as a kid that you’d do anything for now? Share below so we can all laugh together in our forever-sleep-deprived states.👇😂

Share and follow pedsdoctalk for more education, humor, and parenting guidance.

Original quote credit: (account no longer active)

12/17/2025

If this year had a soundtrack, it would be loud, meaningful, and full of moments that changed us in ways numbers never could.

I shared a year-end reflection in today’s newsletter, not just about growth, but about what that growth really represents: parents showing up with more clarity, more confidence, and less fear. The behind-the-scenes moments. The team you don’t always see. The community response that stopped me in my tracks. And the memory from early days that still grounds me now.

This one is about impact, not metrics. About what we built together and where we’re headed next.

Link in comments ⬇️

If you had to name one thing that shifted for you as a parent this year, what would it be?

12/17/2025

In this final episode of 2025, I’m sharing something deeply personal, my relationship with anger, where it came from, and how I’ve worked to change it.

This is one of the most vulnerable solo episodes I’ve recorded. Anger is a feeling so many parents carry quietly. The snapping. The tension that never fully leaves. The fear of repeating patterns we promised ourselves we would not pass on.

This episode is for the parent who feels shame after losing their cool. For the one who feels on edge all the time. For the one who worries that anger defines them. It doesn’t. Anger doesn’t make you a bad parent. It makes you human. And change is possible.

In this episode, I talk about:
✔️ How anger showed up early in my life and became a default response
✔️ The moment with our puppy that forced me to see my patterns clearly
✔️ How stress, trauma, and burnout pull old reactions back online
✔️ What I learned through coaching, therapy, and EMDR
✔️ How this work reshaped my nervous system and my parenting
✔️ The brain science behind anger and why your body reacts first
✔️ What often lives underneath explosive reactions
✔️ How your window of tolerance shapes daily life
✔️ The real tools I use when I feel overwhelmed
✔️ How I teach my kids that feelings are allowed, but hurtful behavior is not

If this topic feels tender, you’re not alone. I hope this episode helps you feel seen, steadier, and less alone in the work.

🎧 Listen to the full episode in the comments.

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