TPP 443: Deborah Farmer Kris on Harnessing the Power of Awe in Our Parenting Lives
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
36 min
1 speaker
4 chapters
transcribed 16 hours ago
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Yeah. One of the great pieces of research on this that I loved was they found that when kids were doing something that sparked their wonder, sparked their awe, that improves their memory for that thing. But an hour later, if you gave them a task that was not as exciting to them, their memory for it was still better because it was like their brain was primed to learn. So it got me thinking about Like in a classroom, how would I spark the wonder before? Or before my kid does homework, how can I get them in the frame of mind, right, to just be a little more open because then the brain is actually wired for that kind of curiosity and learning.
I'm Debbie Reber and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. Today we're talking about awe and wonder and all the incredible benefits that these simple and accessible emotions can have in terms of learning and child development. And I have the perfect guest here to talk about it: Deborah Farmer Chris. She's a child development expert. Longtime educator and the author of a wonderful new book called Raising Awe Seekers: How the Science of Wonder Helps Our Kids Thrive. Deborah has written for outlets like CNN, PBS Kids, MPR's Mind Shift, The Washington Post, and she's currently an expert advisor for the PBS Kids show Carl the Collector.
She also spent more than 20 years as a K through 12 educator, and she brings a mix of research-based insight and practical wisdom to today's conversation. So we're going to be talking about how and why awe is such a powerful tool for emotional regulation, for learning, and for resilience in our kids. Deborah will share some of the neuroscience behind Wonder and walk us through how simple moments of awe, like listening to music, walking outside, or even witnessing a small act of kindness can lead lower stress, spark curiosity, and build deeper connections for our kids. She also offers strategies for cultivating awe with our kids, even during the most challenging seasons of parenting.
How does awe improve memory and learning for kids?
This episode is such a beautiful reminder that we don't have to actually add one more thing to our to-do lists to make a meaningful shift. Sometimes it's just about slowing down and noticing what's already here and inviting our kids into that sense of wonder with us. And I think what I love about this so much is that awe is something that's available to all of us. And experiencing it, even for those little moments, not only feels wonderful, pun intended, but it has very real positive benefits. Okay, so have a listen. And as always, if you love this episode, please take a moment to share it with communities and people in your orbit who would benefit from this conversation. conversation too. So here is my conversation with Deborah Farmer Chris on raising awesekers.
Hey Deborah, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for having me. It is my pleasure to have you and we were just discussing before I hit record that we've never met in person, but I've read your children's books. We've followed each other professionally. So it's just really nice to sit down and I'm excited to get into your new book. But before we do that, I have read your formal bio, but I really love hearing guests introduce themselves in their own words and as part of that tying in their personal why. So the big picture of you of who you are in the world.
I always love that question because I feel like every time I ask somebody else, I get a window into kind of how they want to narrate their life. The one common thread through my whole life's adult life is child development.
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Chapters
4 chaptersSpeakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
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