Grant’s Leap: Brain Balance And Beyond

A quiet shift can change everything. When a child moves from scanning the room for cues to confidently telling his own story, you feel it at home, at school, and in your gut as a parent. We sit down with Beth Snow, director of Brain Balance in Greater Baltimore, to unpack the steps behind Grant’s big leap—how integrating primitive reflexes, strengthening core and sensory systems, and supporting the visual pathway laid the groundwork for language retrieval, working memory, and self-direction to take off.

We walk through the data and, more importantly, the daily moments that prove the progress: naming shapes in a favorite book, explaining what “furious” means, humming the months of the year, and signing a classmate’s birthday card without a fight. Beth explains the brain pyramid—why building from the body upward unlocks learning at the top—and how a compliant child can still “fall through the cracks” until their nervous system is ready to absorb instruction. The takeaway is practical hope: when the foundation gets stronger, everything above it stabilizes.

We also turn the lens on adult brain health. If your attention feels shredded by phones and constant to-dos, you’re not broken—you’re overloaded. We share small, repeatable moves that protect focus: 15–30 minute walks without notifications, real silence in the car, music as a reset, hydration and steady fuel, and grace over perfection. At home, design beats willpower—set up a dedicated workstation with a homework toolkit, create a screen-free calm corner with comforting cues, and keep a visible movement zone so exercise happens without drama. For growing learners, use timers and short check-ins to build independence and cut friction.

If you’re a parent looking for language breakthroughs, attention strategies, or a calmer home rhythm, this conversation blends personal wins with clear, science-informed steps you can start today. 

If you’re ready to explore these strategies further or want support for your child, teen, or even your own focus and regulation, Brain Balance offers a non-medical, whole-brain approach designed to strengthen the systems that drive learning and behavior. You can dive deeper into how the program works, connect with the Greater Baltimore Center, or follow along for daily tips and success stories using the links below:

🌐 Program Overview: brainbalancecenters.com/our-program

📍 Greater Baltimore Center: brainbalancecenters.com/locations/maryland/baltimore

📘 Facebook: facebook.com/brainbalancecenters

📸 Instagram: instagram.com/brainbalancebaltimore

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 0:48 What Brain Balance Does
• 2:25 Grant’s Background And Early Services
• 3:21 Two-Month Update: Data And Wins
• 6:10 Language Retrieval And Processing Breakthroughs
• 9:20 Building The Brain’s Foundation
• 12:05 From Scanning Peers To Self-Direction
• 15:10 New Social Confidence And Fine Motor Gains
• 18:25 Emotional Language, Regulation, And Being In The Body
• 21:20 Adult Brain Health: Breaks, Tech, And Overload
• 24:30 Choosing Better Micro-Moments
• 27:45 Grace Over Perfection And Dopamine Traps
• 31:05 Home Setup For Brains That Thrive
• 34:00 Workstations, Toolkits, And Independence
• 36:25 How To Connect With Brain Balance
• 37:00 Screen Time As A Future Topic
• 37:43 Closing And Listener Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:00

Hey friends, and welcome to Mom Talk Maryland. I'm your host, Claire Duarte, founder of the Columbia Mom. And this is your spot for real conversations, local love, and a whole lot of community. Whether you're folding laundry, running errands, or hiding in your car for some peace and quiet, let's dive in. I'm so happy to have you back. We have Beth Snow of Brain Balance. You know how much I love you and Brain Balance. And if you've been following along our journey, you know about Grant, which we'll kind of share a little bit of an update today. But um to give us just a quick little um kind of rebrief, um, if you may, Beth Snow is the um director of Brain Balance um here in Columbia, Maryland. Can you tell us just real quick a little bit about yourself, a little bit about the program again?

SPEAKER_00: 0:48

Yes, so I'm a lifelong educator and have been in the space of neurodiverse individuals for a while, and um we have brought Brain Balance to this area as a resource and a service that helps neurodiverse individuals and really anyone with brain health. Um so it's a multimodal approach that's integrative, um, non-medical, and we use all different um modalities to help with focus and attention and just you know, regular life, um managing life, um, and just being your best self. I love it.

SPEAKER_02: 1:25

Um and grant started back in July. Um, my son is five years old, he's uh started kindergarten this year, um, has a history of um speech delay, developmental delay, which we all know is kind of a big catch-all for for a lot of things. Um doesn't not heavily prescriptive in meaning that it's going to turn into anything, you know. Yeah. But anyways, that's just what he was diagnosed with at um two and a half to make him eligible for further services within the county. Um, did the county rec program, finished pre-K in the county last year, um, and is uh started kindergarten this year. Yes. Um and you know, again, if you've been following along with Grant's journey, you know that last year specifically was a really tough year for us. Um we had to change change schools. Um and that's where we um we obviously, like I said, we've been linked with the county doing all these services um and supports before, um, including even infants intolerant from when he was literally a baby. Um but last year we did um we did private speech therapy, occupational therapy, pelvic floor therapy. We were like, we were like gung-ho, and like like I know the county's doing this, but like we could I was like screw it, like we're just gonna do all the things. Yeah and honestly meeting you has literally been like the biggest blessing for for our family before before grant, you know. So okay, so fast forward, let's talk um the meat and potatoes today. We want to give you a grant update, but then we hinted at this a little bit on the last podcast, but also mainly because I'm selfishly interested. I'm like, how can you help fix my brain? Yeah. So that's the goal of what we want to talk about today, is not just all things brain balance, which we I wanted to kind of set the stage for that, but um, but to talk about some more things that we can do, whether you're you know, whether you're a parent or not, but we're we'll talk about the adult focus and then how we can kind of keep supporting our kids at home. Love it. But okay, before we jump into that, grant update. Yeah. So again, I'm not gonna we're not gonna sit here and like go through everything because there's just so much, and like you and I've talked about this too when I've been sending reports to the school. It's like it's not really unless you come inside, it's kind of like you need to like come in to really understand the data, which is fantastic. The data is incredible. Um, but it's hard to kind of go piece by piece. Yes. But so that being said, we had our two-month update, which is funny because we'll soon enough we'll be coming up on the three-month update. Um and I was really amazed. Um, again, to put this in like the simplest of terms for everyone listening, um, really, I mean, I knew that he's been making a lot of progress, but when you showed me the data, I was really like wowed. I was like, holy cow, he's making even more progress than I realized. And I still struggle with this when I'm because I'm constantly talking about brain balance with um, obviously to my audience, obviously to friends and family. Um, family who's definitely noticing, obviously, uh, you know, in our close circle, everyone's kind of amazed. Um, because here's the thing with Grant, to kind of like also set the stage if if you're new to hearing about my son Grant, even if you met Grant like a year or two ago, I yes, I think you would notice a difference, but you would notice difference in any child of this age. Yeah. Just simply growing. Um, he's what I like to say, the perfect example of a kid that's gonna fall through the cracks because he his um challenges aren't severe enough that are visibly diagnosable. Um that um and he's compliant enough, like he's not disruptive enough to be like sent to the pr, you know, the office and things like that. Yeah. Um so, anyways, perfect example of the kid that's gonna fall through the cracks without proper support. Um and you know, I think the county does wonderful things. I don't think even just the simple IEP was going to be enough to help support him to the level that he really needed to be at. And that's the case for a lot of students. That's a different discussion. Yes. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying that's just the way it's the way it's sort of set up. So, um, anyways, he's in the in the recent years, he's made a lot of progress in the speech to light category. Specifically, where the rubber really hit the road for us last year was um the language um uh what's what do you call it? Um retrieval and processing was like the language was there. Like we have the language. It was the longest time we're like, we don't have language. Oh my god. Yeah. We have language, and the language obviously just continues to grow. Now I think he's completely on level with all of that. It was retrieval and processing, which was almost excruciatingly hard. Yeah. Um, and um was very challenging, kind of across the board no matter what environment he was in last year. Um so that's an area that's just I've seen, like I think that's just where I'm like the cognition. I was just saying to you this this morning. I was like, it's uh it's so hard for me to verbalize what I see as a changes uh even in the last like four to six weeks, because to me they seem simple like small, but I know that but they're not. And even outsiders looking at it, I think it can seem so small and minute, but it's so it's like I have a hard time verbalizing. So, like the example I was giving to you is like um we were reading a book the other day, and he said, and this is the same book that we've been reading for weeks, you know, because that's how these kids are. Um he's like, Mom, that's a trapezoid. And I was like, I barely know what a trapezoid is, you know, Kelsey, that's a trapezoid. And then he said something to me, um, he's like, Mom, furious means like really mad. And first of all, like I didn't like have like a blowout at my kid, which it's also fine if I did, but I'm just like, it wasn't coming from like a yeah, personal explosion, clearly, like you know like you knew about that word. He's and the other day he was just sitting there humming um the months of the year. Um and and to your point, um too, you said like when he walked in program the other day, he just without prompting talked about his day. Yes, which has been an immense trigger point in our family, because that again that actually that goes right to the retrieval process that we're talking about and the processing. So, anyways, that's like a little bit uh a very smallish way for me to say because there's just there's so much happening internally.

SPEAKER_00: 7:20

Yes, yeah, it's like an explosion of development, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 7:24

Such a massive explosion, yes.

SPEAKER_00: 7:26

So, I mean, part of that is what we're doing at Brain Balance is working on developmental um brain function. So we're giving opportunity for um the brain to be more connected. Yeah, and that starts with sort of the foundation, which is primitive reflexes, and then being in your body more, which is core and sensory um processing, and then we work on the visual system. So if you think of like a pyramid or a triangle, we're starting at the base, yeah, so that all of those things at the top can come online, and that's cognition, communication, processing, right? But we have to build the house before we paint it. Yeah, so that's kind of what you're seeing with Grant, yeah, is the sort of the work that we've put in. And while there's not direct instruction, he's able to be available for learning. So when he's at school, he's picking up what they're teaching him. Right. And it's not like you said, he could be um falling through the cracks because he has behaved, he looks like he's paying attention, like all of those things. He's he's compliant. Correct, and he is um and he's putting forth effort, right? But now it's like he's absorbing what it's he's fully available.

SPEAKER_02: 8:38

Yes. Like one of the biggest challenges we had last year was um granted, it was a a good adaptation for him and an adaptation that he needed, um, because other kids of that age with um more severe challenges would not be able to do that as well. But he w one of his coping mechanisms was that he learned how to pick up social cues, which is fantastic, is a great skill, it's necessary. Yes. But um, so that you know, there was a couple things that would happen in the classroom. He would sit there and the teacher would be giving instruction and he'd be like looking around. And he's so the teacher's like having a hard time figuring out is he unfocused, what's he doing? And like, oh, we all we all know he struggles with, you know, um multi-step direction. So if he's not paying attention, oh crap, why need to double down and and help him? So then they would move him forward to make sure that he's really paying attention. But what he was actually doing is he's scanning the room. Yes, he's scanning the room and he was checking his peers. Um, because I remember I'll never forget the example of like um because when his little buddy, his best friend in in the school that he was at, um, the teacher in the early in the all the girls stand up. And Grant stood up and his friend said, No, you're a boy, sit down.

SPEAKER_00: 9:47

Aww, yeah, because he was trying to pick it up.

SPEAKER_02: 9:50

Yeah, so uh that was like a little I don't know that he was actually embarrassed. I mean it's very possible, but um of like those like he has he has learned that he needs to pay attention to his peers. Again, great life skill, very important. Um, but obviously that made it very challenging in the classroom. Obviously for his his educators who are trying to help him, you know, and they they quickly recognize and realize that too. But um, you know, and then once they realized they moved him up, then he was struggling even more because he's struggling with the processing bit. So now you're putting him right in front of the person and he's like, This is ten times harder for me now.

SPEAKER_00: 10:23

Yes, and I will say, like, I've noticed like since my time with him that he like tunes in to whoever's working with him in the moment, and there's a lot going around him. Yeah, and so I think in the beginning he was scanning and he was like trying to figure out what to do, but now he's self-directing. So he's able to practice telling himself what to do. So you need to be able to do that in the classroom. Yes, and you also need to be able to take cues. Yeah. So it's m it's dynamic.

SPEAKER_02: 10:52

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 10:53

And so we're practicing that so that when he's in the classroom, again, he is more available. He can pick up on cues, but he can also tell himself what to do.

SPEAKER_02: 11:01

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00: 11:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 11:02

And there was, you know what, there was another cute thing this weekend. Um, my husband's getting ready to take him to a birthday party from a kid from school who which he's been talking about actually for weeks. Um, and it's a newer kid that you know we haven't met yet, but he's like, you know, um been saying his name, like, oh, his birthday party, blah blah blah. Yeah. Um, which by the way, like all ever, you know, up until now, he's never talked about kids in class. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Like voluntarily, whether we were prompting him, anything. So that's that's another huge thing. Um, but uh, anyways, so my husband laid out the birthday card. I think he my husband did prompt him being like, hey, like come sign, which again, that's also been a massive pain point because fine motor defers it's this whole thing. He um even at the start of the year, he like of the school year, he was still struggling. I mean, he's still struggling with some of the fine motor stuff. Um, but when we would like ask him to sign cards and birthday cards, whether it's friends or family, he'd always push back. Um, but so, anyways, he my hus husband prompted him to like, hey, come sign the card. Um, and I think he my husband had already wrote like dear so-and-so, and then um just said, like, you know, so Grant wrote his name correctly, because I told you he's had some issues with the the letters and things like that. Um, and then without prompting, wrote the kid's name. Right. I mean, obviously, like my husband had already wrote it, but like rewrote it right underneath. Nice. Like without prompting, and I was like, That's so cute. Like, not only was he amenable to accepting the prompt of hey, come write your name, like he received it, accepted it, and did it, which we know that's like 80,000 steps actually within that. Yeah, and then no no shutdown. No shutdown, no complaining. He but that's actually this is where it's like you and I could nerd out and probably so in 45 just talking about that of just like I I could almost cry because I'm like he didn't fight it because he knows that he actually was confident and able to do that. Yeah. Whereas I know that that has been easy. I know it's not easy for him yet, but I mean I I will amend the the teacher and what and what they're doing right now because they've been doing like heavy um name practice. Like we're getting tons of papers. I know and repetition. I mean, you have to. Yes, he's getting a lot, a lot of that. We're getting like stacks and stacks. Um, and obviously they're doing like letter tracing, things like that too, so that's definitely helping, I think. Um so it's like the reinforcement there too. But anyway, so um so many cool things. I mean, it's just um I feel the amount of relief that I have that I feel like to see him flourish so early in the beginning of the year that I'm like not that it's it, not that it's like, you know, our work is never done, but I'm like I think for any other parents that have a child, especially of this age, like I do feel a massive sense of relief of like, okay, like, you know, he still may need some other additional support throughout his life, which I don't care about, but it's like that the fact that we are have hit this critical time period to help like catch his brain up is just yeah what I'm so excited about. That's amazing. So I'm so happy. I know, I know. It's so cool to watch, you know. Yes, I know. So we're we're so happy, we're so proud of our bubs, and you know, he's still our sweet big love bug, you know. And the best part about all of this too is that, you know, I think the thing that my husband and and I notice as well is that like, you know, he does have more language around, you know, his big emotion. Granted, that's also being reinforced in the in the classroom. They do a lot of um uh social emotional labeling and talking. Um, but he's got the cognition cognitive like patience and ability. You know, I know that that, you know, I feel like probably in your industry, they s you know, I know in speech and language that like they hate the phrase like, you know, use your words. Yeah. But I have, I'm like, I don't really well, I don't I don't really know another but which I have removed, but like recently I've been trying to bring it back because I'm like I'm using it as a challenge for him because he has more capability for that. You know what I mean? Because he actually does have the language and he has more of that cognitive ability that I'm like, okay, instead of you fussing, like, hey, can you use your words? And that's giving him the ability to, and then like he's he's actually able to do that.

SPEAKER_00: 15:11

Yeah, and also he's in his body more, yeah. Right. So he's not as he feels more grounded, which is like some of the stuff we'll talk about today, too, right? Like being able to really sort of tune in to where the what the physical signs are, what's the language around it, and also who can support me. Right. So that's all going together. But if you're not in your body, even as adults, it's difficult. We're we're neck up, and then it's everything gets a little um overwhelmed. So imagine if they're a small person trying to do that.

SPEAKER_02: 15:42

I know.

SPEAKER_00: 15:42

So the more they can be in their body and connected, then the better the language will happen. It's all it's all connected. For real. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 15:50

So that's a perfect segue. Okay, sorry. I mean, we talked about we can like I said, we could probably just talk about Grant forever. But um, all right. So that's what I was selfishly wanting to talk about is like, okay, now that we've fixed Grant, let's fix me. That was that's my that's my long game. I love that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 16:07

So listen, it's it's all happening.

SPEAKER_02: 16:10

You know, right? Like, okay, I mean, obviously, you know, anyone that knows me knows that I have a social media based business. I know that one of my biggest challenges in life is, and probably for millennial parents in general, is like our phone addiction, which is entirely a separate issue. Yeah. But I do find that I struggle, you know, with um I mean, I've not been formally diagnosed with ADD as an adult, but like it's kind of it's hard to decipher between like, you know, what's ADD versus what's just, you know, the culture that we live in, with like, you know, we're being flung so many stimuli at the same time. Um and and parenting, you know, as a mom, like we we are juggling so many things. So, you know, oftentimes I do feel very short-circuited. Um, you know, and I do take medication supplement um to help support me. I've been taking it for like four or five years, and that's definitely something that, you know, in my tool belt that helps me as an adult. Yeah, sure. Um, but outside of that, I want to talk like what do you see as like, you know, when helping parents, helping individuals, what can we do to kind of try to keep our own brains a little bit more healthy and alert?

SPEAKER_00: 17:18

Yeah, so good question. Um, brain health is having its day right now. Yeah. Because back, you know, well, you know, back in the day, it was about heart heart health, right? Exercise, nutrition, cardiac health, right? But now brain health is at the forefront.

SPEAKER_01: 17:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_00: 17:35

One of that, one of those reasons is because of the nature of our society and our world is is literally circuited, right? There's just all this technology around us, which in some ways help us be connected. Yeah. And that's, you know, amazing. But at the same time, it is literally rewiring our brain. Yeah. It's help, it's it's you know, making focus and attention harder, it's be you know, impulsivity is increased. Yeah. Um, and literally, again, being in your body is is more challenging. So we already have that going on. Now, additionally, you know, being able to take care of the brain as far as hydration and nutrition so that we can think straight um is is important too. So I feel like for parents, um, obviously, you know, taking care of your brain is throughout the day. So being able to have decompression time.

SPEAKER_02: 18:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 18:31

So we encourage brain breaks for kids, but are we doing that? Right. And is that involving the phone or a sort of a um an outlet that is maybe not the best thing for us over the course of a day? Um now you what you're doing is so cool because you're channeling your energy and your attention to help other people. And it's fast-paced, right? And it's in the moment and it's connection. Yeah. And as adults, we figure out ways that our brains work to have to be successful. Yeah. And you can see this in how people, you know, you know, choose their jobs, um, how they have their social life. Um, and all of that is is what we figure out. But we also need to figure out how we're giving back to ourselves. And part of that, again, is just understanding how our brain works. Like you understand how your brain works and you're channeling it. And then on the side of that is like, how do I give back? How do I keep my brain healthy?

SPEAKER_01: 19:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 19:37

And like for some people, that's reading, or it's literally sitting in silence, or you know, for me is yoga and meditation. Yeah. Um, that I have to try to fit in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. To keep to keep going, keep the strain going. Right. So I think as a parent, one understanding how your brain works and two, understanding how to keep it healthy. Yeah. And that looks different for everybody as you know. Each brain is a gift to unwrap. Yes. So for us, we need to understand that. Right. And a a lot of times it happens later in life. Yeah. When we are overwhelmed. We are managing a family. We are managing a career. Yeah. And then additionally, like we want longevity. Like we want to be able to be healthy when we're old. Yes. Yeah. When we're advanced seasoned. Yes. Um, so we have to, you know, take care of our brain now so that we can have that. Yeah. In the future.

SPEAKER_02: 20:30

No, absolutely. And I mean, something that um I was thinking of last week. Like last week I was feeling like a little bit under the weather. My stomach had been bothering me for a while. And um uh and I knew that I was trying I had like a funky period of time, like an hour, 45-ish minutes. One of those things where it's like, okay, like in my brain, I'm like, I need to work, but I'm also feeling like a little tired, a little sluggish. Like if I sit down, it feels like I might be like fighting to try to get through it. And I was like, you know, it would and actually I'm really proud of myself. I did make a really good choice every day where I know I'm like, is it possible to make like these great choices every single day? No. No. Um sometimes our schedule allows, sometimes we're we're going to um I don't like the word lose, but like, you know, yeah, we might still pick up our phone. But it's like the idea of like, okay, if I can intersperse some better choices here and there, that's great, right? We're not striving for perfection here, that's not fair. No. Um and life is not going to be perfect. And all because the reality is, I'm like, well, you know, um, we're also in the thick of holiday season, so time is not slowing down. We're losing time really. Um, and it's getting colder, so our ability to do some other activities are now getting a little bit more limited. Yeah. Which again, I understand is a challenge. So, anyways, what I did on um it's like Thursday or Friday, um, I uh I was in between appointments and I drove myself to a little park and I walked for like 30 minutes. Okay. And um and I made I I listened to music, so I had my phone, but I wasn't, I was choosing, I was like, Claire, let's like not be on our phone. Yes. Um, since I knew I've I was like, okay, I don't feel like I'm gonna be very focused if I sit down to work, you know. So choosing like movement as medicine, like, you know, and I wish I was something that I was better at, you know, or able to do you know, I mean, for instance, like today, like I'm I'm in the office most of the day today, you know. Do I have some breaks? Yeah, but I know it's like I know I'm also as guilty of like, okay, it's a short week because it's uh, you know, the holiday this week, so I'm like, I'm gonna want to get as much done as possible. So am I gonna have the ability to you know fit in an outdoor walk today? Probably not. But um but knowing that you know, I you know, today, every day's not gonna be perfect, but maybe I can make some choices throughout the week that can help balance it. Yeah, balance it's important. You know, literally. Um I mean I I feel like walks for me are great, but that's also a little bit weather sp you know dependent. Yeah. Um and I mean I know the times when I've done it, even like a 15-minute walk is great, and it's also it's it's really easy to say to do that, but it's sometimes I know again as moms, I feel like it feels unfair because five minutes of silence, I don't tell me how much I can get down in five minutes because I can crank things out in five minutes. So it's sometimes I'm like it's it is hard, admittedly, for me to sometimes peel away because and that goes back into the culture and the society we end of it of just like go, go, go, you know, um, of get stuff done. Um which is a challenge for parents.

SPEAKER_00: 23:15

For sure. And then the other the side of it is that you can get things done. And so then it's like it it becomes this shortened net, you know, and then truncated, right? So um, so I think it's good, like, like you said, making choices. At times you can make a choice that is going to serve you, and then that kind of can build upon each other, and also modeling it, right? And helping others, like encouraging, like for me, like connecting with my friends and being like, hey, like what are you doing to take care of yourself? And I'm like, well, you know, so like holding each other accountable, like for you today, like saying, like, how do I do this? Like, we have and your podcast and your audience, right? Like, we're all like we're all working, we're all busy, right, and we're all juggling. So how do we help each other? Right, you know, and give some like very tangible ideas. I love the walk, I love listening to music. Maybe it is calling a friend. Yeah, maybe it is just sitting and being quiet in the car, right with the radio off, you know, and just finding. Oh, I did that last week too, actually.

SPEAKER_02: 24:18

I I dropped the uh I brought my friend's kids with me. Um, they all go to dance class together. And um after I picked them up from school, went home, I did all three kids' homework, snacks, changed them, got throughout the door. By the time I got to dance, I was like, I'm gonna sit in my car for 60 minutes in silence.

SPEAKER_00: 24:34

And I did, and it was actually, yeah. It's amazing because I've talked to a lot of moms, like especially even ones that come to brain balance or that are carting kids around. Yeah. And when they're in the car, they just want to sit in the car and just have peace. Yeah. And that's so okay, right?

SPEAKER_02: 24:49

And then because I was still giving, just like you said, my brain a break. Yes. I did I like I actually did, I literally closed my eyes. Yeah. I did have the music on. It was one of those days where it was like a little bit warmer than today, so it cracked the window. So it was like natural white noise, you know what I mean? So it was like yeah, I wasn't stimulating my brain, and I wasn't forcing myself to work either. It was an actual break.

SPEAKER_00: 25:10

So I think, you know, just giving yourself permission to do that, yeah, encouraging others to support you in that, like making sure that your support system knows that you need time and space, um, and then just following through and making that choice. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_02: 25:25

It is, it is. And um, you know, so I think that's the the thing with you know that we want the take-home for adults and parents is that like yes, we want to be big advocates of like, you know, give yourself brain breaks, but I think just like in any self-care like advice, you know, we don't want this to be lofty of like, you know, it's not gonna be perfect every day. Like our diets aren't perfect every day. You know, and and so but we all we you know, so it's okay. You know, I think if just just generally, like you said, trying to make better um balance here and there. Like, I mean, you I'm I'm getting coffee with two of my really good girlfriends on Monday who I haven't seen in a bit. Like we talk, but you know what I mean? Like we're we're gonna like physically see each other, and and I'm looking forward to that, you know what I mean? Um, and just the and so like I know in that that moment, like I'm not gonna be on my phone and I'll be able to be a little bit more present, you know. I mean, I know myself, like I am definitely a dopamine chaser, so which again kind of r su you know reinforces the phone addiction because you know, we're on our phone and you know, we can be connected or laugh and within a second's reach, right? Because it's right at our fingertips. So um, you know, this weekend I found myself kind of like, you know, uh I was like, oh, I need I need to like I'm like I feel like I'm just holding my phone scrolling here and with like with my family. I need to like really practice that separation. It is.

SPEAKER_00: 26:44

It is hard and it's it is it's a challenge, especially when again, it's like how we're connected. So it's but I think it's give yourself grace, yeah, and and you know, just being able to say, again, uh imperf the there's imperfection and that's okay. Right. And that actually is acceptance and imperfection is how we grow. Right. So um I think it's all good, and I love that you're taking some, you know, space and time to find what works for you. Yeah. I think everyone needs to do that. It looks different for everybody.

SPEAKER_02: 27:17

Absolutely. I mean, I'm I have friends that love to read. And it's not that and people are like, you don't like to read. It's like it's not that I don't like to read. I think like I'm my industry and like what I do is like is it feels so very fast paced that like you know I want to get back into reading. If anything, it's probably gonna be audiobooks. I'm not gonna be able to like pick a physical book. That's okay. That's great. I'm also like, I'm also not a fast reader, so I don't so then that frustrates me. Yeah. Um, but um I'm like, oh like I wish I did. And then I thought about like, well, what if I got a Kindle? But I was like, oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 27:49

You know, because I was like that the technology piece I might like. Yeah, I read on a Kindle. Um, I find that it it does help me with the pace. I read faster on a Kindle, yeah. Um, and it's like small, and I just put it in my purse and I just take it places.

SPEAKER_02: 28:05

Well, because I like the idea of like, yeah, it feels like I could probably easily take that with me.

SPEAKER_00: 28:10

Yeah, like if you have a break and a time, like you can just sneak it in. Right. Um, so I I I think that's a great idea. I know. Put it on your list.

SPEAKER_02: 28:18

I know, right? Um so yeah, so those are some I think some cool ways to think about it for us as adults. And so, you know, let's frame it then too. Like, how can we continue some of these habits, not only for ourselves, but for like our home, right? Like, do you have any thoughts and suggestions on ways that we can kind of keep setting up our home for success for ourselves, but for our family too.

SPEAKER_00: 28:42

Great, you know, I love that that you're thinking about that, right? Because we do spend a lot of time at home and for our kids it is like comfort and safe space. Um, so one, just like speaking of the kids, um, they should have a a workstation that they do their homework at. Yeah. And should always be the same and look the same. It's not on the couch, it's not at a different chair every time, because then when they sit, they know that it's their brain is is in the repetition and the routine that this is where I do my work at home. Got it. Because it again, if they're comfortable at home, so they'll be like wanting to combine those two things, like be comfortable and do their homework, but then it takes longer and they have more distractions. So a workstation, and even for us to have that workstation somewhere where we know that when we're sitting there, we're doing, we're attending to whatever the task is. So that's one. Two, I do think that there should be a calm down area, yeah, a peaceful space in your house where there is maybe not technology, and maybe technology isn't involved in that space. So um and with like pictures of the family or like mementos that from like the beach or whatever mountains or whatever that where you feel like you're on vacation, yeah, and you have this like comfort and to have a place to go for that. Some people do like meditation or sitting quietly in that space, but it doesn't have to be that you could sit and read, you could be just listening to music, but it's like a decompression area. Um, and then I feel like there also should be a space where there's some movement. So maybe it's a yoga mat that's like set up, or maybe your weights, and then you kind of have these areas in your home, and then of course you have your lounging area, you have your kitchen, you have where you're watching TV, whatever that is. And if you can have that like you know, space to be dedicated, then there's more of a chance it's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02: 30:37

Yeah. Say a little bit more about the workstations because again, um, I'm sure there's multiple different ways to do it. Um, and well, I just shouldn't say there's a right and wrong, but like, you know, um, I mean, I think like right now we do a lot of it like at the kitchen table, and I think um there's good visibility of that. There's like good um opportunities for body doubling, just kind of like the presence of us being there and other people around, right? Um but then um, you know, I've also thought like we have like, you know, in an older 90s stuff style home, like a living room that's like not really used, and I was like, oh, I wonder if I should transform that into like a homework area at some point. The problem is it's like not as central in the home and there's less visibility, which you know can be great for obviously like some older teens and things like that. But you know, I mean, I'm kind of thinking for me, like when I was a teenager again, I'm one of five, so I went to my bedroom to do homework. Was I productive? No. Because I was out of sight, out of mind. Right, right, right, right. But my three youngest siblings all sat and did homework together um at the kitchen table, and um, but I got I wanted to get away from them because there was so much noise, so much energy, there's a lot of chaos in my house, a lot of distraction. And they were like five and six years younger than me, so I was like, I want to get it away. Yeah, but I still wasn't very focused in my room. So and I know the room is a whole different thing, but um I felt like what's kind of nice about like the kitchen table is there's there's sort of just the central like visibility that that aspect of body doubling, even if like someone's just cooking or whatever, you're in so, anyways, I wanted I was curious to get your thoughts on placement of the workstation.

SPEAKER_00: 32:13

Yeah, so for there's a couple things. One is that you could have like a kit or like um like a toolbox that is the homework toolbox that comes out when it's time to do homework. Kind of like at school, like Grant was telling me yesterday, I was the helper and I was in charge of the tool kits. He's like, there were lots of scissors, and I was like, What's in there? There are lots of scissors and pencils and markers. And I was like, Okay, that's amazing. What's that for? And he goes, To do work. So, so like it's a little bit of the same thing. Like, if you're sitting at the it's no problem to be with visibility, but like there's a kit, right, that comes out and it has everything you need. So they're not running around trying to find their where the eraser is or where the color pencils are. So the kit comes out, they maybe always have the same seat, and that can be their space, so there's no sibling fighting over the chair. Yeah. Um, and it's like maybe not always where they're also having their meals, right? So then they can be able, maybe they're having a snack, a working snack, or a working lunch or whatever. But then it's it their brain is like, okay, I'm gonna be attending to my work. Now, if it's set up in a different space, it let them do it. Right. Like, here's my little homework area when I really need peace and quiet. Maybe as Brooke gets a little bit older, she'll need that sort of separation. Um, and when she needs help, she'll come get you. Okay. So it's also developing some independence and self-direction. Right. So that would be my my two ideas. Um, and the and have it let them have ownership over it. Okay. So I think that they'll be able to, you know, because homework will get there'll be more volume, more less time and uh, you know, with other activities and stuff.

SPEAKER_02: 33:47

Yeah, no, I like that. I mean, and Grant doesn't have homework yet, so that's why we haven't I haven't like transformed that space, but I kind of keep thinking about it, noodling it. Um there's ironically, where my home podcast studio is is kind of like a sort of like a loft area um on the second floor of our house. And um, they had it set up staged as or the previous owners had it staged as a second office area. Okay. So we were like, oh, we could make that a homework area. My first thought was like that's dangerous because it's kind of sort of like out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. Like I like, yeah, it's sort of like tucked away, which is sort of great. Um, and it's not a bedroom, you know what I mean? But I was like, I don't know. Um, so I mean, I obviously sounds like they're just like a lot of pros and cons.

SPEAKER_00: 34:26

Yeah, and I think maybe like if they are in a separate space, they're setting a timer and you're going to work for 10 minutes without me helping, write down your questions or mark the ones you need help with with a star so that when I do come in and I can support you, I'll but they they need to have the ability to self-direct and to be able to follow through on the task. That's going to train them from when they have to write papers and and be, you know, doing lots more homework. Yeah. So if you start now with not also just being on top of them, then they'll learn to they can't rely on that as much, too. Yeah. So, you know, marking the ones they need help with, you step away, set a timer, and then when the timer's up, say, okay, I'm coming back for some support. Do you have any questions? Yeah. And she's like, oh no, I'm all done, then then good to go. Right? You know, yeah. And there, and if there is help, then say, I'm going to help you, and then you're gonna get back to work and do the corrections or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02: 35:24

Excellent. Yeah. I mean, there's so many things we could sit here and noodle on, and this is already kind of gets me excited, like thinking about how to keep setting that area up for success. I think on our next podcast we should talk about, and again, this is a massive topic, which is why I'm I've I want to ask you about it, but I was like, we're just gonna have to save it because there's just not enough time. But um, I think talking about balancing tech at home in screen time, because we're kind of already like talking about it a little bit with adults, right? Yeah. Obviously it's a hot, hot, hot, hot topic for all of us, but I think there are ways that we can because you know, just uh like we are constant users of tech and it's not going anywhere. No, right? So uh I think that'll be a great way for us to frame um, you know, how we keep supporting ourselves and our kids at home because I mean our kids are literally using technology for their homework now. You know, so it's a it's a whole it's a whole separate thing. Yeah. So, anyways, well, thank you so much for your time today, Beth. Um for people that are looking to get started, how can they reach out to um ask more questions, get started, blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_00: 36:24

Yeah, so the easiest thing is probably find us on socials, so Brain Balance Baltimore on Instagram or Brain Balance of Greater Baltimore on Facebook, um, our website. Um if you look up Brain Balance and then find Baltimore as a location. Um we are a national group, but the first one in Maryland, um, or just reach out to me. Um Brain Balance is you know for anybody, there's no diagnosis required. And also if you just want to talk to me or get some ideas about brain health. Um, I love talking to people and and consulting parents. Um, I want to be working with parents more and doing parent groups and parent education and just support. Right. So yeah, reach out and thank you for having me. Thank you. And I'm so happy to be on this journey with you. And I know that you're the people that um that you're speaking to are I know that they appreciate it, and the more we can um support um each other is really it's really meaningful. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 37:22

I'm gonna thank you. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Mom Talk Maryland. If you loved it, leave a review, share it with a friend, or tag me at the dot ColumbiaMom on Instagram. I'd love to hear what you think. And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep showing up, keep supporting local, and keep being the incredible mom, the woman, and human that you are.