LA is one of my favorite cities and a place I called home for many years, so I was thrilled when the opportunity arose to film a segment for KTLA. Their news team was a delight to film with and I had a great time. I’m sure you can tell! Watch it here:
Child development and behavioral specialist Emma Jenner joined us live with the 5 reasons why modern day parenting is in crisis. She is the author of the new parenting book “Keep Calm and Parent On: A Guilt-Free Approach to Raising Children by Asking More from Them and Doing Less”. Emma is a British native who spent 17 years as a professional nanny and baby nurse for a variety of high profile and celebrity families in England, Germany, and the United States. You may know her as “Nanny Emma,” from the 2008 TLC series Take Home Nanny, when she traveled across America helping families put harmony back in their homes. The book is available online, click HERE and in book stores everywhere.
For more information on Emma’s parent consulting company that’s based in LA, click HERE.
This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on July 25, 2014.
Many of you have asked me what I consider to be the most important key essentials to parenting. Well, here they are! In this video I discuss my ‘Top 10 Parenting Tips’ that are truly the root of my philosophy. After 17 years of working with children around the world, this is what I’ve boiled it down to.
I’ve seen first hand how poor behavior can be improved by addressing one of these key points! You can also find my Top 10 Tips on my Website if you want more information or want to print them out.
Do you find mealtime with the kids stressful? Not to worry – it can be hard to coordinate cooking, preparing the table, and getting the children to settle down. I completely understand! Dinnertime should be enjoyable, not a chaotic mess, so here I share my parenting tips to stop whining at the dinner table.
Thanks to this lovely family I’m working with, I’m able to show you an example of what to do and what to avoid. The major problem I see with many families is that the parent is engaging with their whining child. Do NOT give in and engage this type of behavior.
If they want to behave like animals, they can go in another room. Don’t let them sit there and spoil the meal for everyone.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day is on May 17th! He is doing some amazing things with his Food Revolution Foundation. Check out his page, get involved, and take a stand for healthy food!!
I made this video in support of Food Revolution Day 2013! I invited Private Chef, Jennel Tiller, to bring you an easy chicken stir fry dish. Jennel is an incredible chef, she cooks on super yachts and for high profile clients, but in this video she shows you how quickly you can throw together a healthy family meal.
This dish is quick, easy, and very healthy! See below for the recipe.
Healthy Parents = Healthy Kids, it starts with YOU!
Not only is a healthy balanced diet essential for proper development but it’s an absolute must for your child to be able to function properly. A poor diet will affect your child’s behavior so take a good look and know what you’re feeding your child. Teach them how to make healthy choices. Habits are formed easily, so start them at a young age and be a good role model.
Here are some really important and interesting facts from Jamie Oliver’s Website.
Easy Chicken Stir Fry Recipe:
Serves 4-6 people
Marinade:
½ cup soy sauce
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
½ cup water
1oz toasted white sesame seeds
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger,minced
Whisk all of the ingredients in a bowl, separate a ½ cup of marinade and reserve for finishing the dish.
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts thinly sliced (can substitute thighs or a mixture of both)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
1 ½ cup carrots, julienned
1 cup purple cabbage, sliced thinly
1 ½ cup sugar snap peas, halved on an angle
1 ½ cup broccoli rabe, stalks trimmed, and cut into bite sized pieces
¼ cup of water
2 tbsp olive oil divided
Garnish w/ chopped cilantro and roasted peanuts
Directions:
Place cut chicken in marinade, coat well and let sit while preparing the rest of the dish. Set aside the reserved marinade.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, heat a large frying pan with one tbsp. of olive oil over medium high heat.
Add garlic and ginger to the pan and sauté until softened.
Add the scallions and carrots, sauté. Add ¼ cup of water to help steam vegetables in the pan, cook off the water. Turn off the heat. By now your water should be boiling. Add the peas and boil for 3 minutes (keep their crunch) Using a vegetable skimmer, remove the peas from the pot, letting as much water drain as possible and add to the frying pan of vegetables. Do the same with the broccoli rabe. Mix well and place vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Set aside while cooking the chicken.
Reheat the fry pan over medium high heat with one tbsp. olive oil. Add the marinated chicken. Sauté, browning the chicken, until cooked through. Add the chicken to the vegetables. Add the reserved marinade to taste. Serve over cooked brown or white rice and garnish with cilantro and peanuts if desired.
One of the things that most surprised me when I moved to the States was how rarely I heard parents say “no.”
“No” is a powerful tool. It’s best paired with a concise, simple explanation: “No, you can’t touch the oven, it’s hot and it could burn you.” “No, you mustn’t hit your brother, because that hurts his body.” Doing this helps establish that your rules aren’t arbitrary.
“No” doesn’t have to be angry, and children shouldn’t automatically worry that they’re in trouble. Parents often display anger when they’re frustrated or frightened—much better to go to your child, get down on his level, touch him, and calmly but firmly deliver your message.
Wielding a firm “no” is especially important for those times when you can’t get to your child fast enough to prevent bad or dangerous behavior.
Here’s my top tips for using “no” effectively in my latest video.
Kim Kardashian is getting slammed by media and body experts about weight gain. While, I’m not Kim Kardashian’s advocate, I really think all the comments about her weight gain are simply disgusting.
Let’s look at the bigger picture here! What message is this sending to pregnant women and women in general? That it’s not acceptable to gain weight during pregnancy?
Let’s be realistic here, Pregnancy = Weight Gain!
All these people with nothing better to do than comment on Kims weight gain, need to back off and leave her be! As my mum always said, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”!
Pregnancy is a beautiful thing and it’s a wonderful time in Kim’s life. All that matters is that Kim and her baby are healthy!
Congratulations Kim!!! Keep your head up, stay healthy & enjoy your journey!
Hi everyone, I’m thrilled to be bringing you my video blog.
I’m a British-born parenting guru, author, and star of TLC’s Take Home Nanny. I have over 17 years experience working with children and I know what works and what doesn’t. I founded Emma’s Children, a consulting service helping parents worldwide, and have a book coming out next year from Atria/ Simon & Schuster.
I’m now bringing my expertise into your home! You’ll get to look inside the “Nanny Emma” world. There’ll be loads of awesome tips, like fail-proof ways to get your little ones to eat what you eat, and tactics for handling everything from grocery store meltdowns to birthday party invitations. I’ll also do product reviews and a Q & A, so send in your questions!
Please subscribe, share and leave comments and suggestions for future topics. I will be answering questions!
Emma's Children 