About

Lauren Rodych-Eberle is one of the hosts of the Kids Who Explore podcast, which encourages families to connect with nature and explore the outdoors together. She is the owner of Miss Lauren’s Music Studio, where she teaches voice, piano, ukulele, and preschool music classes, and she is the author of several cookbooks. Lauren has a deep passion for food, hiking, adventure, and travel, and she is just an all-around cool person. We connected on Instagram over tips to handle ticks, and I am so excited to talk to her on the podcast today.  We begin with Lauren’s hiking essentials, including a lint roller, TickWise organic tick spray, and a First Aid Kit. We address the pressure parents put on themselves to tackle huge summits, stay on track, and not let their kids stop and explore trails. Lauren offers her advice to keep hikes short, sweet, and fun so that your kids will want to go again, and we look at how hiking builds grit from a young age. Lauren shares her idea to make summer and winter bucket lists, and we trade hilarious parenting stories about dealing with teenagers versus toddlers. We chat about how the most relaxed days with our kids are often the most memorable, why little ones should skip sippy cups altogether, and the inspiration behind Kids Who Explore with founder Adrianna Skori.  Lauren’s fascinating insights remind us that getting outside doesn’t have to be an extravagant undertaking - just getting out the door or putting your feet in the grass will have a tremendous impact on your life, and open up a world of adventure that you can enjoy safely with your kids. Thank you for your listening, and I appreciate your patronage more than I can say.  For more information on my potty training and parenting resources, please visit the links below.   The Finer Details of This Episode: Lauren is one of the hosts of the Kids Who Explore podcast They want to help kids get outdoors She also owns a music studio, teaches music, writes cookbooks, and has a passion for adventure Lauren and I connected on Instagram over a post on ticks Tips to use a lint roller after being outdoors, wear white Her backpack essentials for hiking trips include all-natural TickWise organic spray, lint roller, First Aid Kit, water, snacks, bear spray, clothing layers, blanket, hat, and sunscreen Goal of Kids To Explore is just to get people out the front door, into nature, and not feel like they have to conquer a huge summit to go hiking Nature walks still qualify as hikes - whatever it takes to get your family outside A lot of parents feel they need to stay on track and do not want to stop and let their kids explore while hiking Keep the pace short, sweet, and fun so that your kids will want to go hiking again Exploring outdoors helps build grit Make time in nature a priority by investing in gear and including time for it in your schedule Lauren’s summer and winter bucket lists, and encouraging your kids to help you come up with ideas The importance of getting outside in the winter to help stave off depression and Cabin Fever Start looking for winter gear in the off-season to help mitigate the cost Most relaxed days with our kids are often the most memorable, like my days eating ice cream with Pascal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Infantilizing problem with young kids, and instead encouraging them to skip over sippy cups altogether  They can start using open cups, like the Mini Cup, at 6 months  Parents can get obsessed with overhydrating their kids, which can complicate potty training and hinder building patience as a skill The inspiration behind Kids Who Explore with founder Adrianna Skori, and growing to 45,000 followers since launching in January 2021 Quotes “We want nature to help raise our kids.” “The big thing is that we don't want people to feel like it has to be this huge mountain, this huge summit, in order for people to feel like they've accomplished something. We just want people to literally get outside the front door.” “As long as it's not a paved, flat ground, I'm going to call it a hike.” “We have to keep this short and sweet. Because my goal is that the kids have fun. And by the end, they want to do it again. But if it's like you're pushing them along and rushing them, then they're not going to say they want to do that again.” “I make [a bucket list] every summer and every winter just to kind of give us ideas of fun things to go through. And so like this summer I'm making one that is super toddler-friendly for my daughter to do with me. And also very COVID-friendly, I guess, too, because not as many things are open.” “I think getting outside is super vital in the winter.” “Ideally, you're looking at secondhand winter gear when spring hits. Because it's going to be at its lowest price.” “So the sippy cup, I say get rid of it, especially with night training, because the kid is often sucking for comfort. So they're not thirsty. They're just taking it in.” “Even like you were saying with hiking, it's good to teach them right a little bit at a time.” “We were hiking together. And we started to be like, we need something - like we want our kids to be on all these adventures with us. We need something that makes sure that safety is at the forefront, and we can still do all these things and involve them.” “It's been such an amazing community that [friend and founder Adrianna Skori] has built up. And we've seen the impact, even just you sharing the tips and tricks, and people realizing it's easier than it looks just to get outside. It doesn't have to be this huge extravagant thing.”   Links: Jamie’s Homepage -  www.jamieglowacki.com Oh Crap! Potty Training – https://www.amazon.com/Crap-Potty-Training-Everything-Parenting-ebook/dp/B00V3L8YSU Oh Crap! I Have A Toddler -  www.simonandschuster.com/books/Oh-Crap!-I-Have-a-Toddler/Jamie-Glowacki/Oh-Crap-Parenting/9781982109738 Jamie’s Patreon Page -  www.patreon.com/join/jamieglowacki?  Lauren Robych-Eberle’s website - www.LaurenRodychEberle.com Kids Who Explore website - www.KidsWhoExplore.com TickWise Organic Insect Repellent  The Mini Cup