For All Mum Kind with Ollwyn Moran • CogniKids

Ollwyn Moran is the face and brains behind Irish baby brand CogniKids. A company that is dedicated to supporting child & baby development through its range of innovative products. As a former teacher and now neurological development therapist Ollwyn is passionate about healthy brain and body development in children and her enthusiasm and knowledge is packed into her products: Dip, Grip, Sip, Crawl & Sooth. Not only is Ollwyn a superb inventor and entrepreneur, she is also a great speaker and activist on all things baby development and she made for a fascinating and entertaining guest. When both of her boys were born prematurely Ollwyn knew that they were at higher risk for having developmental issues in their future. And spotting that our home lifestyles and furnishings (carpets were out and wood floors and tiles were in) she saw the need for a product that could help kids to crawl, and that is how CogniKids was born. For Ollwyn crawling is one of the key touchstones in early brain stimulation and advancement. She is passionate that not only should kids crawl but they should do so properly to ensure both sides of the brain are being used. Too often she see parents unwittingly relying on walkers and door bouncers that she sees as detrimental to child development, so much so that they are banned in other countries and we discuss why that is so. Screens are also another bugbear of Ollwyn’s. We talk about how babies brains are not able to cope with all the flashing images that gadgets such as iPads and phones bombard the eyes with. And although you think you may be soothing your baby, actually you are just “zombifying” them and wiring them for addiction problems in later life. Ollwyn is so passionate about this she even took Dundrum shopping centre to task for the use of screens throughout their premises. We also discuss Ollwyn’s family life and how she as a single mother chose to raise her two boys in a very open household where no subject was off the table. As long as they have done their chores first that is! And we talk about how Ollwyn is able, or is not able, to juggle her business and children to find a work/life balance, or integration as she calls it. I honestly could have talked to Ollwyn for hours. Her insightfulness and knowledge about how the brain works and needs to be exercised in the right ways is just fascinating. And I was so glad that I found her Instagram stories when Alice was only just born. They were a fantastic source of knowledge from do’s and don’ts to sensory DIY tips using everyday household items and I encourage you all to check them out here: https://www.instagram.com/ollwynmoran/?hl=en And check out Ollwyn's range of products on the CogniKids website here: https://cognikids.com/ Thanks as always for listening and if you would like to keep the discussion going please follow me on Instagram and thanks as always for listening. Pamela x Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz