Lauren Rodych-Eberle is one of the hosts of the Kids Who Explore podcast, which encourages families to connect with nature and explore the outdoors together. She is the owner of Miss Lauren’s Music Studio, where she teaches voice, piano, ukulele, and preschool music classes, and she is the author of several cookbooks. Lauren has a deep passion for food, hiking, adventure, and travel, and she is just an all-around cool person. We connected on Instagram over tips to handle ticks, and I am so excited to talk to her on the podcast today. 
We begin with Lauren’s hiking essentials, including a lint roller, TickWise organic tick spray, and a First Aid Kit. We address the pressure parents put on themselves to tackle huge summits, stay on track, and not let their kids stop and explore trails. Lauren offers her advice to keep hikes short, sweet, and fun so that your kids will want to go again, and we look at how hiking builds grit from a young age. Lauren shares her idea to make summer and winter bucket lists, and we trade hilarious parenting stories about dealing with teenagers versus toddlers. We chat about how the most relaxed days with our kids are often the most memorable, why little ones should skip sippy cups altogether, and the inspiration behind Kids Who Explore with founder Adrianna Skori.
 
The Finer Details of This Episode:

Lauren is one of the hosts of the Kids Who Explore podcast

They want to help kids get outdoors

She also owns a music studio, teaches music, writes cookbooks, and has a passion for adventure

Lauren and I connected on Instagram over a post on ticks

Tips to use a lint roller after being outdoors, wear white

Her backpack essentials for hiking trips include all-natural TickWise organic spray, lint roller, First Aid Kit, water, snacks, bear spray, clothing layers, blanket, hat, and sunscreen

Nature walks still qualify as hikes - whatever it takes to get your family outside

Keep the pace short, sweet, and fun so that your kids will want to go hiking again

Exploring outdoors helps build grit

Make time in nature a priority by investing in gear and including time for it in your schedule

Lauren’s summer and winter bucket lists, and encouraging your kids to help you come up with ideas

The importance of getting outside in the winter to help stave off depression and Cabin Fever

Start looking for winter gear in the off-season to help mitigate the cost

Most relaxed days with our kids are often the most memorable, like my days eating ice cream with Pascal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Parents can get obsessed with overhydrating their kids, which can complicate potty training and hinder building patience as a skill


Quotes
“We want nature to help raise our kids.”
“We have to keep this short and sweet. Because my goal is that the kids have fun. And by the end, they want to do it again. But if it's like you're pushing them along and rushing them, then they're not going to say they want to do that again.”
“I make [a bucket list] every summer and every winter just to kind of give us ideas of fun things to go through. And so like this summer I'm making one that is super toddler-friendly for my daughter to do with me. And also very COVID-friendly, I guess, too, because not as many things are open.”
“I think getting outside is super vital in the winter.”
 
Links:
Jamie’s Homepage - www.jamieglowacki.com
Oh Crap! Potty Training – https://www.amazon.com/Crap-Potty-Training-Everything-Parenting-ebook/dp/B00V3L8YSU
Oh Crap! I Have A Toddler - 
www.simonandschuster.com/books/Oh-Crap!-I-Have-a-Toddler/Jamie-Glowacki/Oh-Crap-Parenting/9781982109738
Jamie’s Patreon Page - www.patreon.com/join/jamieglowacki? 
Lauren Robych-Eberle’s website - www.LaurenRodychEberle.com
Kids Who Explore website - www.KidsWhoExplore.com
TickWise Organic Insect Repellent 
The Mini Cup