Your Child is Normal: with Dr Jessica Hochman

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How can parents and teachers support children with ADHD?
In this episode of Your Child Is Normal,  Mike McLeod, founder of Grow Now ADHD discusses  how parents and teachers can work together to support children with ADHD at school.
This conversation is intended to give parents and teachers practical ideas for supporting children with ADHD while helping them build the skills they will need as they get older.
Your Child is Normal is the trusted podcast for parents, pediatricians, and child health experts who want smart, nuanced conversations about raising healthy, resilient kids. Hosted by Dr. Jessica Hochman — a board-certified practicing pediatrician — the show combines evidence-based medicine, expert interviews, and real-world parenting advice to help listeners navigate everything from sleep struggles to mental health, nutrition, screen time, and more.

Follow Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica and Tiktok @askdrjessica
YouTube: Ask Dr Jessica
Shop my favorite products for kids on Amazon here
If you are interested in placing an ad on Your Child Is Normal click here or fill out our interest form.

To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out:
Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA 

The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only.  She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals.  If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.

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What exactly is the gut microbiome—and how much does it really matter for our kids?
In this episode of Your Child Is Normal, Dr. Jessica Hochman talks with Stephanie Culler, PhD, microbiome scientist and co-founder and CEO of Persephone Biosciences.
Stephanie explains how the microbiome develops beginning in infancy, why Bifidobacterium may be particularly important early in life, and how birth, diet, antibiotics, pets, siblings, fiber, and fermented foods can influence the bacteria living in our gut.
We also talk about:
• What the microbiome actually does
• Why researchers are studying the connection between the gut and immune health
• What we can learn from Amish, Mennonite, and hunter-gatherer populations
• Fiber and fermented foods such as yogurt and kefir
• Whether kids really need probiotics
• What antibiotics do to the microbiome
• The connection between the microbiome, eczema, allergies, and asthma
• Why correlation and causation are still important to distinguish
• Whether at-home microbiome testing is useful
• What microbiome science may look like in the future.
Learn more about Stephanie Culler and Persephone Biosciences:
My Baby Biome research and Persephone’s science: available through Persephone’s website
As always, this conversation is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice.
Your Child is Normal is the trusted podcast for parents, pediatricians, and child health experts who want smart, nuanced conversations about raising healthy, resilient kids. Hosted by Dr. Jessica Hochman — a board-certified practicing pediatrician — the show combines evidence-based medicine, expert interviews, and real-world parenting advice to help listeners navigate everything from sleep struggles to mental health, nutrition, screen time, and more.

Follow Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica and Tiktok @askdrjessica
YouTube: Ask Dr Jessica
Shop my favorite products for kids on Amazon here
If you are interested in placing an ad on Your Child Is Normal click here or fill out our interest form.

To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out:
Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA 

The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only.  She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals.  If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.

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Is your child's repetitive behavior just a normal childhood phase—or could it be OCD?
In this episode of Your Child Is Normal, pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman talks with child psychiatrist Dr. Emily Aron about how obsessive-compulsive disorder can show up in children and how parents can recognize when everyday worries, rituals, and routines have crossed the line into something that needs support.
We discuss the difference between OCD and anxiety, intrusive “junk thoughts,” compulsions, reassurance-seeking, perfectionism, and why well-intentioned parents can sometimes accidentally reinforce OCD by repeatedly reassuring or accommodating their child.
Dr. Aron also explains Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment for pediatric OCD, when medication may be considered, and why early treatment can make such a difference.
About Dr. Emily Aron
Dr. Emily Aron is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who specializes in children's mental health. She is passionate about helping parents better understand their children's emotional and behavioral health and making evidence-based information accessible to families.
Dr. Aron writes about children's mental health for Pediatric News and offers parent guides and resources on her website, including information about recognizing and managing OCD.
Learn more from Dr. Emily Aron:
🌐 Website: emilyaron.com
📩 Newsletter: Sign up for Dr. Aron's newsletter on her website for regular information about children's mental health and parenting.
📝 Pediatric News: Find Dr. Aron's articles on children's mental health in Pediatric News.
🎙️ Your Child Is Normal — evidence-based pediatric guidance to help parents worry less and connect more.
Your Child is Normal is the trusted podcast for parents, pediatricians, and child health experts who want smart, nuanced conversations about raising healthy, resilient kids. Hosted by Dr. Jessica Hochman — a board-certified practicing pediatrician — the show combines evidence-based medicine, expert interviews, and real-world parenting advice to help listeners navigate everything from sleep struggles to mental health, nutrition, screen time, and more.

Follow Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica and Tiktok @askdrjessica
YouTube: Ask Dr Jessica
Shop my favorite products for kids on Amazon here
If you are interested in placing an ad on Your Child Is Normal click here or fill out our interest form.

To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out:
Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA 

The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only.  She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals.  If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.

Send us Fan Mail
The Japanese Way of Parenting: What American Parents Can Learn About Manners, Independence & Community
What can American parents learn from the way children are raised in Japan?
In this episode, I sit down with Lisa, author of The Japanese Way of Parenting, to explore the cultural differences—and surprising similarities—between Japanese and American parenting.
Lisa shares what inspired her to look at her own Japanese upbringing after becoming a mother in the United States, and how she has incorporated elements of Japanese culture into raising her children.
We talk about:
• Why community comes before the individual in many aspects of Japanese culture
• Teaching children manners and consideration for the people around them
• Why Japanese children are often given more opportunities for independence
• How children can learn to help around the house from a young age
and more!
One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation is that parenting doesn't have to be all or nothing. We can learn from other cultures, take what resonates with us, and create our own parenting philosophy.
What Japanese parenting practice would you like to bring into your home?
Subscribe for more conversations about parenting, child development, and the ideas that can help us raise happy, capable, thoughtful kids.
Your Child is Normal is the trusted podcast for parents, pediatricians, and child health experts who want smart, nuanced conversations about raising healthy, resilient kids. Hosted by Dr. Jessica Hochman — a board-certified practicing pediatrician — the show combines evidence-based medicine, expert interviews, and real-world parenting advice to help listeners navigate everything from sleep struggles to mental health, nutrition, screen time, and more.

Follow Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica and Tiktok @askdrjessica
YouTube: Ask Dr Jessica
Shop my favorite products for kids on Amazon here
If you are interested in placing an ad on Your Child Is Normal click here or fill out our interest form.

To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out:
Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA 

The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only.  She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals.  If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.

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 In this episode of Your Child Is Normal, Dr. Jessica Hochman talks with pediatric sleep specialist Dr. Bhattacharjee, who leads the sleep program at Rady Children’s Hospital, about why sleep is so important for children’s physical health, mood, learning, attention, and athletic performance.
They discuss why teenagers naturally want to stay up later, how early school schedules work against adolescent biology, and what parents can realistically do to help. Dr. Bhattacharjee shares practical advice about screens, phones in the bedroom, caffeine, weekend sleep schedules, bedtime routines, and figuring out how much sleep your individual child actually needs.
They also discuss the connection between sleep deprivation and ADHD-like symptoms, whether sleep helps children grow, melatonin and other sleep aids, when excessive sleepiness deserves medical attention, and why consistency may be one of the most underrated sleep strategies.
Learn more about Dr. Bhattacharjee:
Dr. Bhattacharjee practices at UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and is an active member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 
Make sure and Follow Your Child Is Normal  podcast for practical, evidence-based conversations designed to help parents learn more and worry less.
Your Child is Normal is the trusted podcast for parents, pediatricians, and child health experts who want smart, nuanced conversations about raising healthy, resilient kids. Hosted by Dr. Jessica Hochman — a board-certified practicing pediatrician — the show combines evidence-based medicine, expert interviews, and real-world parenting advice to help listeners navigate everything from sleep struggles to mental health, nutrition, screen time, and more.

Follow Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica and Tiktok @askdrjessica
YouTube: Ask Dr Jessica
Shop my favorite products for kids on Amazon here
If you are interested in placing an ad on Your Child Is Normal click here or fill out our interest form.

To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out:
Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA 

The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only.  She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals.  If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.