The ParentNormal

Your Home for Close Encounters of the Baby, Toddler & Elementary Kind

Ep. 53 Interview with Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, NYT Bestseller & 6-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner

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Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, is this week’s featured podcast guest! Thanks to the success of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff is a #1 New York Times Bestseller, a 6-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Jeff was on the set of the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie (The Long Haul) on the day we spoke and we talked about what’s it’s like for him to see his books turned into movies. We also talked how he comes up with the plots for his books, how his family and neighbors view his celebrity and about how he started posting Diary of a Wimpy Kid online, long before a book was ever published. We also talk about his brand new book Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down, which is sure to be his next bestseller.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Since this episode was originally released, the show has evolved into Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast. It’s a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

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Links to popular episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Ep. 52 Interview with Carl Hiaasen, author of many NYT bestsellers including the Newberry Award-winning book Hoot

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New York Times bestselling author Carl Hiaasen is this week’s featured guest. Carl’s many bestsellers include the Newberry Award-winning book Hoot, which was adapted into a movie starring Luke Wilson, Logan Lerman and Brie Larson.

In my conversation with Carl, we talk about how his newspaper background influences his writing, why he began writing young-adult books after a successful career writing books for adults and how responsive kids are to stories about the environment.

I spoke to Carl at an event supporting the First Amendment Foundation in Florida. If you want to learn more about the First Amendment Foundation and their work to support free press, free speech and open government, you can check out their website at floridafaf.org.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Since this episode was originally released, the show has evolved into Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast. It’s a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to popular episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Ep. 51 Interview with Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize Winner, NYT Bestseller & One of the Funniest Writers Alive

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Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and author Dave Barry, who happens to be one of the funniest writers alive, is my featured guest this week. Dave has written more than 30 books and even had a CBS sitcom called Dave’s World based on his books. But if you ask him, his most enduring achievement is that one of his columns is largely responsible for the movement to observe International Talk Like a Pirate Day every year.

I spoke to Dave at an event supporting the First Amendment Foundation in Florida. If you want to learn more about the First Amendment Foundation and their work to support free press, free speech and open government, you can check out their website at floridafaf.org.

In my conversation with Dave, we talk about how his perspective of parenthood has changed over the years, what he thinks of so many parents writing publicly about parenthood these days and how he always finds the humor in everyday life.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Since this episode was originally released, the show has evolved into Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast. It’s a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to popular episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Ep. 50! Back to School Questions Answered from the ParentNormal Mailbag

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It’s episode 50 of the podcast! In this milestone episode, I return to the ParentNormal Mailbag that I used to answer questions from on a regular basis when the show debuted. Since the school year is back in full swing, I answer your school-related questions.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to the podcast, especially those of you who have listened to every episode. If you haven’t subscribed yet, the best way to do it is on iTunes, which you can find by clicking here.

ParentNormal Questions Answered in this Episode:

  • What’s a good outfit for a toddler’s first day of pre-school?
  • What’s the best school supply you can buy?
  • Should I stop expecting my daughter to tell me all about her school day?
  • How soon should I start teaching my daughter how to read?
  • I’m afraid my kids’ teachers are going to think we don’t care about our kids’ education. Am I the only one writing crazy late excuses every morning?

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Since this episode was originally released, the show has evolved into Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast. It’s a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to popular episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Ep. 49 Interview with Stephanie Smith, editorial director of Scholastic Classroom Magazines

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Scholastic Classroom Magazines Editor Stephanie Smith is this week’s featured guest. On occasion, I report the ParentNormal News, but I’ve never talked about real news on the show…until now.

Stephanie and I talk about what kinds of news kids are actually interested in reading about and how Scholastic writes their news differently based on their readers’ ages. And if you talk about the news now, you have to talk about the election. So we also discuss how to talk to kids about the election without leading them into a political argument with their friends. And finally, we talk about how Scholastic chooses their kid reporters.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Since this episode was originally released, the show has evolved into Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast. It’s a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to popular episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

2 ParentNormal Books Now Available!

The ParentNormal Crash Course is three crash courses of parenting humor in one that feature hilarious parenting warnings about the daily grind of parenthood. Get it now on Amazon.

Perfect Parenting is the parenting book with the fewest words but most important lesson: You aren’t going to be a perfect parent. Get it now on Amazon.

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