Today on Women's Magazine Kate welcomes Janna Barkin and Mere Abrams to talk about parenting transgender kids. Janna is the author of the book, He's Always Been My Son, which traces her family's journey in supporting and raising their transgender son, Amaya. Mere is a therapist and gender specialist in private practice and also Clinical Research Associate and Study Coordinator, at University of California at San Francisco, Child and Adolescent Gender Center. Join us for an in-depth conversation about best practices, the differences between sex, gender and sexual orientation, and how sexism affects girls' gender identity.
Check out Mere’s blog “On all things nonbinary gender.” Another great resource is https://www.genderspectrum.org/. A free transgender conference on the East coast is given every year by Gender Spectrum. Lots more information is on the internet and YouTube.
Next Kate interviews Betsy Graziani Fasbinder. She describes herself as "a teacher, an organizational consultant, a corporate trainer, a licensed psychotherapist, a writing and speaking coach, and through it all, a writer." Her most recent book, Filling Her Shoes: A Memoir of an Inherited Family, the book that Fasbinder wished for when she first became a parent.
From Goodreads:
On the day that she decided to marry a widower--also a long-time friend--Betsy Graziani Fasbinder knew that she wasn't only gaining a husband, she was inheriting a son. Unlike many stepmothers, Betsy didn't have to struggle with an ex, or court battles, or the weekend shuffle between houses--but she did have to navigate living in the shadow of a young mother taken too soon, to honor the memory of her son's first mother, and to become the kind of parent and partner she herself wanted to be. Over time this family would learn how love's roots were formed in their shared losses, and how the new family love and joy they created together would become the richest kind of inheritance.
Dr. Shimi Kang talks about parenting, balancing, and living without "boiling over." Her research is on the science of self-motivation. She emphasizes how to reduce the stress of parenting to help raise a child with skills for the 21st century.
Dr. Kang uses the POD acronym: Play, Others, Downtime. The Dolphin Way is available in most bookstores and at thedolphinway.org.
Next Tara interviews Dr. Ernest Swihart, a pediatrician and professor in Minnesota. Drs. Swihart and Cotter, a pediatrician and a child psychologist collaborated for nearly twenty-five years on a clinically proven program for blocking manipulative behavior and getting our kids back on track. The Manipulative Child explores letting a child fail without being hurt. He maintains that children learn far more from failure than success won without effort.
The program teaches parents to say no without feeling guilt; to resist the urge to feel responsible for their child's happiness; to view their children as emotionally competent and resilient; and most importantly, to realize that effective parenting means allowing your child to make mistakes and develop a sense of competence, which leads to enhanced self-esteem and an ability to live independently and successfully in the real world.
Nonprofit fundraiser turned professional gossip Elaine Lui lays bare her own story, and that of her mother, aka The Squawking Chicken. Alternately hilarious and tragic, Lui's first memoir bristles with honesty, wit and insight.
Get to know Elaine, founder and maven of the massively popular website laineygossip.com in this charming conversation with Women's Magazine's Kate Raphael.
Artists Sigi Arnejo, Kay Cuajunco and Genevieve Erin O'Brien talk about food and Asian identity, and the exhibit EATING CULTURES, which opens Thursday at SomArts Gallery.
