Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Parents know these panicky moments all too well: a tumble off the couch, a hit on the field, the bonking of heads during a bout of roughhousing. Concussions are more common than many of us realize, and they don’t just happen to athletes.

In this episode, we hear from two parents, Casey and Pete, who each faced scary situations when their kids, a toddler and a teen, experienced head injuries. Their stories kick off a larger conversat...

Teens receive hundreds of phone notifications a day. Those notifications aren’t just a distraction—they’re reshaping how kids learn, engage and feel.

In this episode of Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Lynn talks with Grant Rivera, Ph.D., Superintendent of Marietta City Schools, and Erin Harlow-Parker from our Strong4Life team about a new policy that requires middle school students to lock up...

In this episode of Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, we take a close look at the relentless cycle of flu, RSV and other viruses that have been hitting families hard this season. Kayla Lyons, a mom of two, shares her experience of watching her young daughter battle severe respiratory illness—not once, but twice. She opens up about the warning signs she wishes she had recognized earlier and wha...

In this eye-opening episode of Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, we dive into the hidden—yet very serious—dangers of button battery ingestion. Laura Johnson, mom of two, shares the harrowing experience that ensued after her son swallowed a battery that became dislodged from a remote control. We then hear from Dr. Matthew Santore, a pediatric surgeon who serves as Medical Director for Trauma O...

At Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024 was a day nearly a decade in the making. More than 200 Children’s patients—including several on advanced life support—traveled in a carefully planned caravan of 65 ambulances and made history as the first patients at Arthur M. Blank Hospital. And this was all in the wake of Hurricane Helene unleashing its wrath in the hours leading up to the big move.

Joining Lynn for this ...

When kids enter school-age years, you reach a new stage of parenthood. As fun as it can be to shop for the latest school supplies, it’s also the dawn of a new season—one in which your kids will face challenges you won’t be there to see, and perhaps most challengingly, solve. As parents, you want to say and do the right things to set them up for success, so our goal with this episode is to give you tools and resources to help your k...

When a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta helicopter flies overhead or a Children’s ambulance zooms past you, you know a child is in need of lifesaving care. Most of us are lucky enough to not know what it’s like on the other side of those doors. For those who have experienced being a passenger inside a Children’s transport vehicle, you know it’s a world where time stands still.  

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a crew me...

Remember when hoverboards dominated headlines? The skateboard-like toys quickly became popular around the holidays in 2015 and, just as quickly, started landing kids in hospitals with injuries.  

While hoverboards got a lot of attention, there are other ride-on toys—ones that might be in your driveway or garage right now—that regularly land kids in our hospitals and urgent cares, with injuries ranging from minor scrapes and gashes a...

Every time an athlete heads out to a practice or a game, there’s risk for injury. As kids play more frequently and advance to more competitive teams, that risk increases.

From tee-ball to swimming to varsity football, the good news is that no matter the age of your child or their preferred sport, there are lots of things you can do to help prevent injuries.

In this episode, we open with the personal story of a stand-out high school a...

Arthur M. Blank Hospital will open Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, at the site of our expanded North Druid Hills campus. If you’ve driven on I-85 or North Druid Hills Road in the past few years, you’ve likely caught a glimpse of its rise. This 19-story, 2 million-square-foot facility is generating lots of buzz with its fleet of robots, cutting-edge technology, more than 20 acres of greenspace, and a slew of fun—and practical—amenities for ...

Perfectionism. It’s a word that, as a society, we tend to hold in high regard. We associate it with people who are overachievers and have high standards. These individuals appear to have it all together and never seem to make mistakes. All great attributes, right?

The challenge is when the standards become unrealistic. Perfectionism is a personality trait in which someone has unreasonably high standards, tends to be overly critical ...

This episode explores the No. 1 topic requested by our listeners: screen time. You might know it as the ultimate love-hate relationship of parenting.  

No matter what your thoughts were about screens and electronics before you had kids, they’re an inevitable part of our daily lives. From babies to teens, navigating screen time conversations and setting healthy boundaries can be tricky. The episode opens with a roundtable discussion ...

For this episode, we have the honor of being joined by two leaders from Marcus Autism Center who are internationally recognized for thought leadership in the world of autism: Drs. Ami Klin and Warren Jones. They recently published groundbreaking research that stands to change how and when kids are diagnosed with autism by measuring a child's looking behavior. They'll explain what this new technology means for families, as well as w...

If parenting had a secret menu, these conditions could get top billing: febrile seizures, nursemaid’s elbow, toxic synovitis, pneumonia, impetigo. These conditions often fly under parental radars—until their sudden arrival sends parents into panic mode. Having a general understanding of these conditions can go a long way in making you feel more prepared as a parent.

For this eye-opening episode, we start with a personal story from a...

When newsworthy events happen in the world, kids need help making sense of it all. While you may not have all the answers to their questions (and that’s OK!), there are guiding principles you can follow that help with any type of difficult conversation.  On this episode of Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, host Lynn Smith chats with licensed mental health therapist from the Children’s Strong4...

Few things are more intimidating to a new parent than buckling a baby into their car seat for the first time. Then you blink and that same child is pressuring you to retire the booster seat—or even sit in the front seat—to be more like their friends. Whether moving from rear-facing to front-facing, graduating from a booster seat to no seat, or moving from the backseat to the front seat, it’s often tempting to progress to the next p...

In January 2022, Erin Harlow-Parker and her family were thrust into headlines when her husband, Jeff Parker, died by suicide. At the time, Jeff was the CEO of MARTA, a well-respected businessman, father, partner and friend. He had been married to Erin for more than 30 years. Erin, an advanced practice registered nurse specializing in pediatric mental health and beloved member of the Children’s Strong4Life team, shares her family's ...

For families affected by food allergies, every school drop-off is laced with anxiety: Will today be the day my child goes into anaphylactic shock without me there to protect them? In this episode, we’re joined by Susan Goldberg, whose daughter Julia suffers from life-threatening food allergies, as well as Dr. Brian Vickery, Children’s Chief of Allergy and Immunology and leader of our Food Allergy Program. Susan shares her experienc...

As we close our first season and head into a brief summer hiatus, we leave you with an unforgettable conversation: never-before-told stories about our furry fleet of facility dogs. As you may or may not know, a team of innovators right here at Children’s pioneered the first facility dog program ever at a stand-alone pediatric hospital.

In this episode, you’ll learn what it takes to become a facility dog, as well as the impact dogs c...