Things I Learned at the Good Housekeeping We Are Family Summit

This past week I attended the Good Housekeeping We Are Family Parenting Summit. 

Good Housekeeping’s We Are Family Parenting Summit is a virtual event designed to help parents and brands make sense of the state of parenting as it is today. With panel discussions, fireside chats and presentations, the program touched on how parenting has changed (due to COVID-19 and other modern cultural pressures) and what we might be able to expect in the future for parenting at all ages and stages. 

Key topics that were  include the power of play on social and emotional development, curbing stress and burnout in parents and caretakers, and insight into modern families and varied paths to parenthood.

I learned so much at this virtual event and would love to share some of the things that I think my audience would be interested about.

The show opened up with Dr Darria Long speaking about Burnout in Women and the Factors that often attribute to it.  These include Parenting, Home Responsibilities, Life, Work and social media. Dr Darria Long spoke of how burnout is when our demands are exceeding our ability to face them. The way to solving burnout is through balancing our lives internally, externally and systematically. She also spoke about how to do things to make you feel better about yourself, and this includes unfollowing the social media profiles of people that make you feel stressed or don’t make you feel good about yourself. Follow people or channels that make you feel like you’re doing a good job or that help you. Social media stimulates emotions, so it’s important to limit it and to pay attention to your scrolling and what triggers negative emotion, and get rid of it.

Toy Trends and the Power of Play

This was a very useful segment for me, since toys are a large niche for me and my audience. In this segment they spoke about the future of the toy industry.  One of the interesting topics is how the toy industry is becoming more sustainable by using more recycled materials in their toys and packaging, and also some are even making the packaging part of the toy itself. They also spoke of how the toy market is changing to make toys that have more purpose. 

Toys are being developed to encourage kids to learn through play.  Trends that you will be seeing a lot more of are: 

-STEM

-Social Media Friendly

-SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

-Sustainability/Social Good

-Sensory Play/Hands on Learning

Social media has had a huge impact on the toy market, and you will see that in toy development.  More toy will be created based on Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube creators.  You will also see toys that foster a DIY mentality. Personalization and Expression toys are growing in popularity, so you will see more of them.  Toys that foster teaching skills, like cooking, art, sewing, designing, building, videography, painting etc. are big for 2022.  Look for toys that are fun for all ages that families can play together.  Of course, unboxing is popular, so look for lots of toy unboxing videos.

Safe Sleep: Chemical concerns in Kids and Baby Mattresses

Naturepedic Mattress spoke of their commitment to developing chemical free and breathable mattresses and toppers for kids and babies.

You can learn all about their mission in their crib notes infographic 

About Naturepedic

Since 2003, Naturepedic has been on a mission to transform the lives of our customers through safer, healthier sleep. By eliminating materials like flame retardants and polyurethane foam from our line of certified organic natural mattresses, Naturepedic supports an organic holistic lifestyle while protecting the environment.

WE CARE ABOUT ORGANIC

The organic movement is all about health and the preservation of our natural world. We support this movement because we care and because we believe it's a positive force for the betterment of our lives and the lives of countless generations to come.We all have the power to affect change with the simple choices we make. While there's an inherent cost to choosing organic, it's ultimately in our best interest and well worth the time and effort. At Naturepedic, we go the extra mile and don't cut corners. We buy our materials from trustworthy sources, build our products with care, and stand behind them 100%.

WE CARE ABOUT ELIMINATING CHEMICALS 

Since our inception, we've been on a mission to eliminate toxic chemicals from mattresses and bedding. In fact, our founder has been chasing chemicals his whole life as an environmental engineer. Chemicals can be a tricky topic since they're not visible and much depends on levels of exposure. However, the harm can be catastrophic as these chemicals interact with our body's natural chemistry in unpredictable ways. At Naturepedic, we follow the precautionary principle. Rather than argue about dosage levels and this or that study, we eliminate questionable chemicals in the first place.

WE CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT 
The closest habitable planet is yet to be discovered and undoubtedly really really far away (we're talking light years here). We need to pull out all the stops to preserve the most amazing gift we've been given - the earth itself. By saving our planet and our delicate ecosystem, we're actually saving ourselves. Enough with all the fossil fuels, chemicals and synthetic everything. You can make a difference with something as simple as the products you buy. Choosing a certified organic mattress helps support this important cause for all our sake. We invite you to join in our mission of promoting healthier more natural sleep products.

more about the GH Summit…

A Look at Modern Parenting

In this chat with Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, Style Director Lori Bergamotto sat down with these NBC morning show coanchors and we listened to them speak about their own motherhood journeys, being older moms and dealing with mom guilt. It was so refreshing to learn that other parents go through the same problems and that we all have our own parenting style that works for us. We are all unique and so are our children, so as parents and guardians we have to adjust and tweek ourselves along the way to do what works for us. 

I received a wonderful swag box from Good Housekeeping. Special thank you to these sponsors:

MyGreenMattress.com sent beautiful organic sheets in color natural. They are soft and comfortable and ironically I was looking for Full size sheets for my guest room that were organic, so they came at the perfect time. These sheets are wonderful for topping your organic mattresses. Available in white or natural colors. 

Boppy.com sent an organic nursing pillow that will be perfect for my sister’s niece who is expecting her first child this summer

ALDI Little Journey Organics sent a sample of their Apple Mango baby food purée along with a gift card.I love shopping at ALDI and love their brand products.  Their prices are so affordable and the quality is wonderful.

Dagne Dover sent a beautiful Indi Diaper Backpack which can also function as a Weekender or carryon bag. It’s made from neoprene and it’s so spacious and filled with lots of pockets. It’s available in five colors and three sizes.

I received a wonderful assortment of baby and toddler food from Little Spoon.  The box was packed with their nutritious kids meals and smoothies delivered fresh to my door.  My neighbor has a sweet two year old son, and I shared this wonderful box with her. 

Learn more about Little Spoon and their wonderful organic, healthy and nutritious foods and drinks, and how they got started by visiting https://www.littlespoon.com/our-story