Quick Tips to Make Parenting Easier

Summary

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The Simply Pediatrics Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Quick Tips to Make Parenting Easier
Host: Jennifer Zeffner, Holistic Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Date: April 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Simply Pediatrics Podcast focuses on practical, holistic tips to simplify parenting, particularly for parents of young children. Host Jennie (Jennifer Zeffner) shares “public service announcements” based on her daily observations in pediatric practice and her experience as a holistic mom of three. The episode covers actionable strategies for keeping children safe and parents sane, emphasizing the value of strollers, pack and plays, and selecting the right parks for toddler play.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Value of Strollers: “Contain Your Child for Sanity and Safety”

Timestamp: 00:43–02:43

• Observational Insight: Jennie notes a growing trend where parents are reluctant or embarrassed to use strollers.
  • Quote: “I would genuinely like to know when it just became not cool… to use a stroller.” (00:49)
• Benefits Outlined:
  • Safety: Strollers help keep toddlers out of harm’s way in busy spaces and reduce parent stress.
  • Routine: If introduced early, children recognize the stroller as a "safe place."
  • Practicality: The child can play with toys or have snacks in the stroller.
  • Humorous Moment: “Please, no iPhones or iPads in those strollers. If you see me, I will take it right out of their hands. I’m kidding. But I really want to.” (01:28)
• Age Guidance: Use a stroller until toddlers are around three, when they start to become “semi-reasonable little beings.” Until then, “there’s no real reasonability with a toddler.” (01:54)
• Double Strollers: Recommends these for families with more than one young child.

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2. The Lost Art of the Pack and Play

Timestamp: 02:43–04:33

• Concern Shared: Jennie notes many parents have abandoned pack and plays, sometimes not even recognizing the term.
  • Quote: “I say pack and play to parents and they don’t even know what I’m talking about.” (02:50)
• Why Use One:
  • Safety for babies learning to sit or crawl, especially when parents need to step away briefly (e.g., bathroom break, tending another child).
  • Preferable to gated areas all over the house or relying on “bouncies and jumpers and swings.”
• Developmental Note: By six months, babies should enjoy free space for mobility but still need a safe, contained area.
  • Pack and play is suitable “from six months… until they are actively walking.” (03:35)
  • Children can “happily learn how to crawl in there, pull themselves up to stand.” (03:52)
  • Once walking, expect protest, but the tool is “a way to bring some peace, some sanity and keep your little one safe.” (04:12)

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3. Pick the Right Kind of Park: Go Small and Gated

Timestamp: 04:35–06:15

• Personal Experience: Jennie shares her realization—“I learned this a little too late”—about the stress caused by meeting at large, open parks versus small, gated ones.
  • Quote: “Inevitably… you are running all over the place. You are running, you are chasing and really ending up kind of like ruining the fun for your child, right? Because you’re like, stay off of that, stay off of this. Come back over here.” (05:00)
• Recommendation:
  • Opt for small parks surrounded by a visible fence or gate.
  • Sit in one place and allow your child the freedom to explore safely: “You can sit in one place and see the gated area of the whole space and then let your child go." (05:22)
• Benefits:
  • Children receive safe freedom, parents can relax.
  • “You will see pure joy and you will be relaxed. Avoid those giant parks. I don’t know why some of our towns put up those giant parks. They’re just a parent’s nightmare.” (05:56)
  • Suggests bringing simple toys—like balls—to small, open spaces.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On strollers:

  “Strollers are meant for a good reason. Contain your child. Contain them for your own sanity, for their safety.” (00:55)

• On pack and play:

  “Pack and play is a beautiful tool to use… from 6 months until they are actively walking.” (03:35)

• On parenting at the playground:

  “Find the smallest park that you can where you can actually see the entire gate in… and then let your child go.” (05:22)

• Final Encouragement:

  “Parenting is a journey. You’re doing an amazing job. Stay curious and keep learning and I'll see you next time.” (06:06)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:43 – The “stroller myth” and why you should use one
• 02:43 – Rediscovering the pack and play as a safe space
• 04:35 – Choosing the right kind of park for toddlers
• 06:06 – Encouragement for parents as the episode closes

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is candid, empathetic, and grounded in real-world pediatric care. Jennie blends humor (“I will take it right out of their hands”) with practical, non-judgmental advice. The focus is on helping parents reclaim simple strategies for child safety and their own peace of mind.

Listeners leave with straightforward, actionable tips that challenge current parenting trends and validate parental instincts for safety and routine.

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For more holistic pediatric tips and resources, visit the show notes or sign up for the Simply Pediatrics mailing list.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Simply Pediatrics Podcast, simplifying holistic health care for infants and children. We're so glad you're here. Join Jennifer Zeffner, holistic pediatric nurse practitioner and holistic mom of three on a mission. Listen in as she shares the answers to the most asked questions from parents in her practice every day and offers parents practical strategies and actionable steps to support their child's health and well being. Enjoy this insightful, delightful episode of the Simply Pediatrics Podcast and stay tuned for more information at the end of the podcast. Today's Episode Quick Tips to Make Parenting

[B]

Easier hello and welcome. I'm so happy to be here with you today. All right, today, it's like a public service announcement, I think. I would like to know, I would genuinely like to know when it just became not cool, for lack of another better word, to use a stroller. Why do I have so many mommies not using their stroller for their children? I see it all the time in my waiting room, out in stores, out in parks. Oh my goodness. Moms and dads. Strollers are meant for. For a good reason. Contain your child. Contain them for your own sanity, for their safety. I promise you they are not. If you get them started in a stroller, they will understand that that is their safe place. There's a little tray there for them to play with their small toys or to have a snack. Please, no iPhones or iPads in those strollers. If you see me, I will take it right out of their hands. I'm kidding. But I really want to. Strollers, double strollers, you know, have the toddler until they're three, really. I mean, until they're like, you know, around three, they become semi reasonable little beings right before three years old. There's no real reasonability with a toddler. If you're fortunate, around three years old, they may start to follow your directions a little bit. But even then, I mean, put one, you know, let one sit on one side of the stroller, put the baby on the other side. If you have two kids, it really is okay and worth the hassle of taking that stroller in and out stores. You will have so much more peace. And honestly, if you started early enough, your children get used to being in there. They understand it's their safe space and they will cooperate with you. My other public service announcement to you parents out there is it does seem that the pack and play has also gone by the wayside. I say pack and play to parents and they don't even know what I'm talking About like many, many, many of you young parents out there are like, contain my child in like a pack. Like, no, like they have free reign of the. Or we've put up gated areas all over the house. It's wonderful if you have a handyman to enable that type of process for you. But all of these are short stages. They really are, they're really short stages where your child needs to be contained in a specific spot. Like for example, a six month old who's just learning to sit and you want to leave them because, I don't know, maybe you have to go to the bathroom, maybe you have another child who needs you to do something, put them in the pack and play. Try to avoid all the other containers, you know, other places to put them to keep them safe, like the bouncies and the, and the jumpers and the swings. And I know they stay in there, but they shouldn't be contained. Your little ones at six months, by six months old, they really should be like in a free space. And in order for them to be safe in that free space, if you have pets, if you have other children wandering around, if again, you just need to run up the stairs and come back down, use a pack and play. It is a beautiful tool to use with children. I would say from six months they'll stay in there until they, they are actively walking. Honestly, they'll happily learn how to crawl in there. They'll pull themselves up to stand, they will reach for toys. Once they start walking, they might protest being in there. But you got a good six months or so of utilizing that space again to bring yourself some peace, some sanity and to keep your little one safe. And my last public service announcement out there for you new mommies and daddies, do this for yourself. I learned this a little too late. Many of you know I have three children and when I was, you know, when I was in the thick of it, I didn't work. I only worked a few days a week and I would be out and going with the other moms and they always wanted to go to like these big parks, you know, it was a thing. Let's find like the biggest park that has beautiful places for, you know, us to sit and for the kids to see. Inevitably. What are you doing in those larger parks that don't have like clear cut gated areas? You are running all over the place. You are running, you are chasing and really ending up kind of like ruining the fun for your child, right? Because you're like, stay off of that, stay off of this. Come back over here. So this is my special secret public service announcement to all of you. Find the smallest park that you can where you can actually see the entire gate in, like in. You can sit in one place and see the gated area of the whole space and then let your child go.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

Oh, my goodness. Your toddlers that are running, they can run and run all the way to the gated areas. They're not going to get themselves into trouble. They're not going to end up in the street. They're not going to go on to, you know, a swing or a slide that's too big for them. Children love that kind of freedom. They love to be able to just run. It could even be an empty field. And you will. And bring some balls with you. Bring some toys and you will see pure joy and you will be relaxed. Avoid those giant parks. I don't know why some of our towns put up those giant parks. They're just a parent's nightmare. You can't find your kid, they end up in trouble, they get knocked over. I remember it very vividly. All right, moms and dads, this is some tips for me, from me to you today. Remember, parenting is a journey. You're doing an amazing job. Stay curious and keep learning and I'll see you next time.

[A]

Thank you for joining Jenny on the Simply Pediatrics podcast. We hope that the valuable information she shared in this episode will inspire and empower you on your holistic parenting journey. If you would like to learn more about Jenny, her Simply Pediatrics practice, or anything that she spoke about today, please check the show notes that accompany this podcast and you'll find all the links and resources you need. You can also sign up for the Simply Pediatrics mailing list so that you receive Jenny's weekly newsletters packed with vital information and holistic parenting journeys. If you've enjoyed today's episode, please consider giving this page a like and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any episodes. And don't forget to connect with us by sharing your thoughts in the comments section below. Follow SimplyPediatrics on any and all of the social media platforms. And if you're interested in an in person or a virtual appointment with Jenny, please see the contact details in the show notes. Stay tuned for more episodes packed with a wealth of powerful information to support you on your holistic parenting path. See you next time.

[B]

Sam.