The Parentologist Podcast

Known as the "Conversation Doc," Dr. Robyn Silverman is a child and teen development specialist and host of the popular podcast, How to Talk to Kids About Anything, as well as the author of the book of the same name. She is a cofounder of the Powerful Words Character System, which gives educators the talking points they need to help children become kind, responsible citizens of the world.

Dr. Robyn has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, and Nightline and has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, CNN.com, and many other publications. She lives with her husband, two kids and rescue dog in North Carolina.

Find out more about Dr. Robyn at https://drrobynsilverman.com/

 

This week is all about sleep as Dr. Kim chats with Chrissy Lawler. Chrissy Lawler, LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 15 years of experience. She has dedicated her graduate education to researching attachment, and her post-graduate education to understanding the science of sleep as well as uncovering what it takes for women to thrive (and not just survive) in motherhood and marriage.

Chrissy fundamentally believes that we should feel empowered and fulfilled in motherhood, and knows that better information and better tools are a critical piece of that puzzle. As the founder of The Peaceful Sleeper, she has guided more than 400,000 families worldwide to better rest and stronger mental health through her evidence-based, research-backed approach to infant sleep.

Featured on Good Morning America, Newsweek, and Better Homes & Gardens, Chrissy has worked with corporations, executives, professional athletes and celebrities. A mom of four, she combines clinical expertise with real-life parenting experience, offering parents practical, compassionate tools that deliver proven results in helping babies (and their families) sleep soundly.

This week's episode features Dr. Sylvia Kalicinski. Dr. Sylvia Kalicinski is many things — a therapist, speaker, storyteller, and author — but above all, she is human. Sometimes clumsy, sometimes graceful, often serious yet equally playful, she brings her full self to everything she does. Whether hosting The Dr. Sylvia K Show podcast, sharing her unfiltered truths on social media, or guiding clients through coaching and therapy, Dr. Sylvia leads with vulnerability, humor, and soul.

Her presence is like a warm hug infused with electric energy — a combination of compassion, candor, and unashamed openness that resonates deeply with her community. It’s why those she serves feel profoundly seen. She doesn’t just understand pain, hardship, and loneliness — she has lived them. She blends her clinical expertise with the hard-won wisdom of lived experience to guide people in overcoming obstacles, healing deeply, and finding connection. Through her podcast, “ The Dr. Sylvia K Show,” the supportive community at @drsylviak, her transformational coaching and therapy services, and her book "Lonely AF: A Therapist's No-BS Guide to Feeling Less Alone" and workbook, she is on a mission to ignite a global movement to #growthroughthis and #unshameloneliness. When she’s not disrupting the stigma around mental health or creating spaces for authentic connection, you might find her running by the lake in Geneva, skiing in the Alps, vacationing with her husband and son in Tuscany, or listening to a good podcast.

This week Dr. Kim is talking with Diana Rice. Diana Rice, RD, LD (she/her) is a registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor and certified parent educator on a mission to help families enjoy a healthy relationship with food. She is the voice behind the online platform Anti-Diet Kids which teaches parents how to bring the concepts of intuitive eating and rejecting diet-culture into parenting. Diana also owns Tiny Seed Family Nutrition, a weight-inclusive nutrition counseling and coaching practice that helps both children and adults with issues including selective eating, food fixations, body image, intuitive eating and meal planning. Her Substack newsletter and podcast, "The Messy Intersection," speaks to parents seeking to restore their own relationships with food while raising children with the resilience to resist dieting, enjoy a variety of foods, and embrace their natural body sizes. She is the co-author of the book, "Food Positivity: How to Ditch Diet Culture and Talk to Kids About Food" (Wiley, 2026). Diana is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where she lives with her husband and two girls.

This week Dr. Kim talks with her friend Eli Weinstein. Eli Weinstein, LCSW, is the therapist bringing heart and humor back to mental health. A loving husband and proudly goofy dad of two, Eli is based in Las Vegas and runs a thriving practice serving clients across New York, Nevada, and beyond through his global coaching work. Known for his straight-talking, relatable style, he’s the creator of ELIvation and host of The Dude Therapist podcast, where he dives into the messy, beautiful mix of relationships, parenting, and emotional growth.

An international speaker and sought-after guest, Eli has been featured on over 250 podcasts and major media outlets including The Kelly Clarkson Show, Psychology Today, and leading relationship and parenting platforms. His debut book, From I Do to We Do: Navigating Marriage Through Parenting Years (Wiley, 2026), helps couples stay connected when life gets loud. Eli’s mission is simple: make therapy-level wisdom feel human, hopeful, and real.

This week Dr. Kim sits down with Kaity Velez. Kaity Velez is the Executive Editor of Parents, the nearly 100-year-old brand that inspires and empowers caregivers to raise kids with confidence. A Brooklyn-born mom of two, she is a content expert, brand steward, and community builder. She oversees both content and business strategy, bringing together editorial vision and brand growth.

This week Dr. Kim talks with Dr. Shawn Horn, PsyD,  a licensed clinical psychologist and author of Thrive Socially with Adult ADHD: A Shame-Busting Guide to Building Better Relationships Through Neuroscience, Polyvagal Theory, and Social Executive Functioning.

Dr. Horn specializes in helping adults with ADHD who care deeply about connection but struggle with emotional reactivity, rejection sensitivity, and social overwhelm. Her work reframes social difficulties as a nervous-system and executive-function issue—not a character flaw—and offers a practical, shame-free path forward.

Through her Social Executive Functioning (SEF) model—grounded in neuroscience and informed by polyvagal theory—Dr. Horn teaches people how to understand and map their nervous system states, identify what each state needs for regulation, and build the executive functioning capacity required to access social skills when it matters most. Her work is clinically informed, shame-free, and deeply hopeful.

Find out more at https://www.drshawnhorn.com.

 

Today Dr. Kim is talking with Dr. Kelly Cagle, a boy mom of three, ADHD educator, and the host of the Parenting IQ podcast. With a passion for helping moms create refreshing rhythms, she specializes in supporting families navigating ADHD at home. Whether she’s homeschooling her boys, researching behavior management, or sharing practical wisdom online, Dr. Kelly offers research-backed strategies rooted in connection, simplicity, and legacy.

Follow her on Instagram @drkellycagle, listen to Parenting IQ on your favorite podcast platform, and explore resources at drkellycagle.com to help you grow wiser as a family.

This week, Dr. Kim is talking with Melissa Bernstein, an entrepreneur, creative, and mother of six. She’s cofounder of the billion dollar toy company Melissa & Doug and cofounder of Lifelines, a wellness brand offering science-backed sensory immersion products designed to help manage stress, find calm, and enhance well-being. Melissa is the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Inner MBA certification program created by Sounds True, LinkedIn, and Wisdom 2.0, cofounder of the Duke University Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs program, Duke University Trustee, and author of Lifelines, Practice Makes Purpose, and the recently released The Heart of Entrepreneurship.

This week Dr. Kim is talking with Jess VanderWier, the founder of Nurtured First and Raising Families Therapy, a private therapy practice. She is also a Registered Psychotherapist with a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology and has logged thousands of clinical hours helping families understand and respond to their children with gentleness and respect. Jess uses her expertise to support parents through her online community, Nurtured First, offering evidence-based parenting support via online courses and free resources.

Nurtured First offers daily parenting guidance to over 2.6 million families on Instagram and is committed to helping parents and caregivers raise a generation that is truly nurtured first. Jess and her husband also co-host a popular parenting podcast called Robot Unicorn, where they engage in deep, meaningful conversations and explore a wide range of difficult topics.