140: Jen Lumanlan: Your Parenting Mojo

Jen Lumanlan is the host of the Your Parenting Mojo podcast, which distills scientific research on child development into a format that parents can actually use. She has done a TON of research on both child development and education, and also recently launched a course called Your Homeschooling Mojo, which helps parents to decide whether homeschooling is right for their family.    So all that said, a lot of Jen’s friends think it’s pretty ironic that she never thought she would be a parent because she didn’t have an inkling of a motherly instinct in her body. Jen earned a bachelor’s degrees from U.C. Berkeley and a Master’s of Environmental Management from Yale and spent several years in consulting before realizing that she was way more passionate about being a parent than she ever thought she could be, so she went back to school and got a Master’s in Psychology focused on Child Development and is now working on another in Education.    She’s still doing a less-rigorous day job while she ramps up the business that she hopes will enable her daughter’s homeschooling. We’ll talk about what she’s learned from the research she’s read that has helped her to be a better parent but also stop worrying so much about being a better parent and just enjoy life! We’ll also dig into some of the surprising things she learned about the education system while she was doing her master’s thesis research on what motivates children to learn in the absence of a curriculum.   Listen in to hear Jen share:   How and why she uses research to lead her parenting The truth about only children and social skills and intelligence  How she knew homeschooling would be the best decision for her daughter – even though she’s not school age yet Why our current education system is not meeting the needs of our kids The myths (and truths) of homeschooling and homeschooling stereotypes Why homeschooling is becoming more popular, especially among black families   Links Mentioned:   Podcast: The Your Parenting Mojo podcast - research-based ideas to help kids thrive (and make parenting a bit easier!) Course: The Your Homeschooling Mojo course - helping people who are interested in homeschooling figure out whether (and how) they can actually do it. Use the code SHAMELESS20 to save $20 on your course purchase.  Interview/Book: How to talk so little kids will listen: Jen’s Interview with Julie King / Book  Interview/Book: It’s Not About The Broccoli: Jen’s Interview with Dina Rose / Book  Podcast Episode: Only Children – Are They As Bad As advertised? Podcast Episode: Parenting: All Joy and No Fun? Article: We Don’t Need No Education by Ben Hewitt Book: Class Dismissed by Meredith Maran Book: Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense by Ellen Satter Twitter: @akidisforlife Email: [email protected] Sponsor: Aaptiv.com (use code SMA30 for a free 30 day trial) Sponsor: http://www.kindsnacks.com/sma (use this link to get 10 KIND Snacks for $10 + free shipping)     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices