Taking responsibility is an important part of social and emotional learning. When children take responsibility for their words and actions, acknowledge their mistakes, and help others in their community, they are building empathy, independence, and other important skills.  In this episode, three children (Leo, Edie, and Aiden) talk about responsibility and then help Quazzilyn (a Qook-a-lacka friend) to rally the Qook-a-lackas to take responsibility and save their gummy bear crops! The guest...

What do you do when you're feeling angry or sad, or when you're facing something new and scary? In this special episode — which is reimagined and reworked from a Season 1 episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts — Todd and his puppet friend Rainbow join four kids (Anaya, Eleanor, Raffaele, and Wilder) to explore big feelings, where they come from, and what to do with them.  At the end of the episode, dance along to "Dance Your Feelings," an original song written and performed by...

Grandparents, or older friends and family members, can play pivotal roles in children's lives, acting as caregivers, mentors, and friends. Whether grandparents live in a child’s neighborhood or far away, the love and emotional support they provide can significantly contribute to the healthy social and emotional growth of their grandchildren. In this episode, Todd interviews his own 96-year-old grandmother, as well as his sister and niece about their family memories and relationships. He then...

Last week, we released an episode about BOUNDARIES — the limits and rules we set for ourselves within relationships. Today, we're excited to release a bonus interview with the guest stars of the episode, Ana Cruz Kayne and Michael Cruz Kayne. Ana and Michael are siblings in real life ... so they know A LOT about the topic of boundaries.  Ana is an actress and writer, known for her performances in Barbie (2023), Little Women (2019), Jerry & Marge Go Large (2022), Painkiller (TV 2023), and...

Helping children establish boundaries is important for developing friendships and maintaining positive social interactions. Boundaries help people set limits for themselves and honor limits set by others. In "Boundaries," three eight- and nine-year-old kids (Olivia, Izzy, and Wynter) define and discuss boundaries and help Qook-a-leekie and Link-a-deedle friends learn the importance of boundaries. They discover that understanding someone else’s boundaries requires empathy, the ability to...

In "Hopes & Dreams," three kids (Levi, Christine, and Ariel) reflect on the new things we have learned, the friendships we have formed, and the challenges we have faced in the past year — and what we are excited to learn and do in the year ahead. The children also discuss the concept of "letting go" of the feelings and experiences that we don't wish to carry with us into the new year. The kids and host Todd Loyd travel on giant snowflakes to the Land of Qook-a-lackas where they meet...

On last week's episode, we explored "Belonging" — being who you are and being accepted and embraced for who you are. In this special bonus interview, we continue to explore this idea. Little Kids, Big Hearts host Todd Loyd interviews hip-hop pioneer Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, an American rapper and founding member of Run DMC. In addition to winning many awards and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2009), Darryl recently wrote a children's book, "Darryl's Dream" (2022) about his...

Belonging — being who you are and being accepted and embraced for who you are — is important for children and for all people. In this episode four kids (Providence, River, Valencia, and Yonatan) discuss what it means to belong — and how to grow feelings of belonging. The kids and Todd then go on an imaginary journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where they meet with a Qook-a-lacka named Quinnie, who needs help figuring out how to help the Link-a-doos, who are coming to the Land as refugees...

On last week's episode, "Imagination Time!," we flexed our imagination muscles with three kids — Shaelan, Sameia and Hunter. After recording, our host — Todd Loyd — was lucky to explore the power of imagination with Antoinette Portis, the award winning author/illustrator of "Not a Box" and many other modern classics in children's picture books.  This conversation with Antoinette will help parents and caregivers learn more about where imagination and inspiration come from. It will help them...

Using our imaginations might seem like a basic part of childhood, but imagination plays an important role in childhood and in life: it builds creativity and independence, social and problem-solving skills, teamwork and empathy.  In this episode — the first in Season 3! — three kids (Shaelan, Sameia and Hunter) discuss the power of imagination with host Todd Loyd. Then they journey together to the Land of Qook-a-lackas at the invitation of the Qook-a-lacka Mayor, who needs help imagining a new...

In honor of World Mental Health Day, we wanted to share the visualization and song that Quinlan shared in the Land of Qook-a-lackas during our August episode, "The Key to Calming Down." Research shows that techniques like what we practiced in the Land help to promote mental health, and we wanted to share this special visualization so that your family can use it to feel calm, safe, and peaceful.  The role of Quinlan is played by Rebecca Naomi Jones, an American actress and singer best known...

Little Kids, Big Hearts just became a finalist in the Signal Awards! Before Oct. 5, you — OUR LISTENERS — can do us a BIG (and big hearted ❤️) favor by voting for us in the Signal Listener's Choice Awards. It's easy: Just click here and vote for Little Kids, Big Hearts. We're honored to be picked from 1000s of podcasts to be a finalist — and to be in such amazing company! The episode that was selected by the Signal jury as a finalist was our episode about trying new things. Have a...

In "The Key to Calming Down," three kids (Charlie, Katrina, and Sienna) join Todd to share tips and tricks they use to calm down — which come in handy when they're experiencing big feelings. The kids and Todd then take a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lakcas to visit Todd's friend Quinlan who invited the group to become the first humans ever to attend Camp Quinder-Calm! The role of Quinlan is played by Rebecca Naomi Jones, an American actress and singer best known for her performances in the...

In "Moving Time," three kids with significant experience moving from country to country and home to home — Aurelia, Cris, and Henry — join host Todd Loyd to discuss their moves and to share some of the feelings they had before, during, and after moving. The kids and Todd then go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas to help a Qook-a-lacka friend, Kahmar, who's worried about how their Qook-a-leekies will cope with a big upcoming move.  The role of Kahmar is played by Amir Arison, an...

In "Winning & Losing," three kids who know a lot about winning and losing — Aiden (a chess player), Eliza (a soccer player), and Willa (a gymnast) — join host Todd Loyd to discuss winning and losing and to go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas to help a qook-a-leekie, Quinby, rethink a recent run of quibble losses.  The role of Quinby is played by Bridget Regan, an actor and producer.  Her film credits include John Wick with Keanu Reeves, Devil’s Gate opposite Milo Ventimiglia,...

In this episode, four seven- and eight-year-old kids ( Evelyn, Ella, Chelsea, and Eliot) join Todd to discuss their best fur-riends: their pets! How do we care for our pets? How do pets make us feel? What do we learn from our pets? They then go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where they help a Qook-a-leekie, Quillion, who has lost their pet Quigley.  The role of Quillion is played by Ashlie Atkinson, an American actress who works in movies, television, and theater.  She has a LONG...

In our episode "Celebrating Our Differences," Todd joined with Makeda Mays Green to chat about identity, belonging, and race with four big-hearted kids.  After the episode recording, Makeda and her colleague Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson stuck around to talk about their research and the resulting guide for families that inspired the episode. In this bonus episode interview, Makeda (SVP, Digital and Cultural Insights at Nickelodeon) and Colleen (VP, Digital and Cultural Consumer Insights at...

In this episode, six- and seven-year-old kids of different races/ethnicities (Elliott, Finley, Landon, and Sky) join Todd and a special friend, Makeda Mays Green, to discuss identity, belonging, race, and racism. They share their observations and experiences — and then go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where they advise a Qook-a-leekie, Qwee-co, whose friends have been excluded from a Moon Day party because of their queckles. The role of Qwee-co is played by Krys Marshall, an...

In this episode, three kids (Lauren, Esther, and Sam) join Todd to explore the feeling of anger — what it is, how it makes us feel, and what we can do about it! They share their experiences with anger and go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas where they advise a Qook-a-leekie, Kainaz, who is feeling very ... ANGRY. The roles of Kainaz is played by Marjan Neshat, an Iranian-born, American actress, who's well known for her roles on stage, and in film & TV. (Please also listen to our...

There’s a good chance that a sibling relationship will last longer than most other relationships in life. Many times, siblings can help children to define what they value and look for in other relationships. Siblings can also help each other to develop self-regulation and emotional understanding as they grow up together. All relationships will have some conflict, and this can promote growth ... but it can be tough, especially when you live together, or even share a bunk bed! In this episode,...

This weekend, Little Kids, Big Hearts recorded a new episode about one feeling that ALL of us have — anger! The guest Qook-a-leekie in our episode was played by a friend, Marjan Neshat, an amazing actress who has recently been channeling her own anger by amplifying the voices of people in her home country of  Iran. After recording the episode, Marjan stayed on for a one-on-one conversation about her recent experiences and advocacy related to what’s happening in Iran. We wanted to release it...

In this special fictional episode we learn how one small act of kindness can spread through a whole community. The story is the origin story of gummy bears in the Land of Qook-a-Lackas. But it is also about community and inclusiveness! Every single person in a community plays an important role and has the power to help others. In this episode, LKBH Host, Todd Loyd, reads the parts of Kenley (a parent Qook-a-Lacka) and Qwintin (a neighbor Qook-a-Lacka). We were excited to be joined by...

When was the last time you tried something new? Was it hard? Was it scary? Was it fun? Trying new things can take us outside of our comfort zones and into places of uncertainty, which can be a bit scary ... for kids AND grown-ups. Trying new things requires a certain level of confidence that most people are not born with — we have to work at it!  In this episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts, Todd talks with River, Taylor, and Leo about trying new things. They go on an imaginary journey to the...

We all have dreams and nightmares, but they remain mysterious to most of us: Where do they come from? Why do we have them? How do they make us feel? How do we cope with the bad ones? In this episode, three of our friends — Isla, James, and Riya — share their dreams and nightmares, and then we meet up to go on an adventure to the Land of Qook-a-Lackas to visit DreamFest (a special Qook-a-Lacka dream ritual) to learn more about dreams. Two special guests join us in this episode, and we are so...