On Our Best Behavior
On Our Best Behavior is a heartwarming podcast where Mom, Kelli and 15-year-old son, Maccoy delve into the complexities of school, life's struggles, highs and lows, and various challenges. With a blend of humor and sincerity, they navigate through these topics while sharing their own experiences and insights. Their conversations are not only relatable but also enlightening, offering listeners a fresh perspective on everyday issues. Alongside their engaging discussions, they welcome intriguing guests, adding a dynamic element to each episode. Tune in to join this duo on their journey of growth, learning, and discovery.
On Our Best Behavior
Kimberly Grustas: Good for you Girls Skincare
Curious about the hidden dangers lurking in your skincare products? Discover how Kimberly Grustus, the inspiring founder of Good For You Girls, is on a mission to protect young girls from harmful chemicals. Her journey, fueled by personal experiences with her daughter's severe asthma and allergies, led her to create a line of safe skincare products. In this enlightening episode, Kimberly opens up about her transition from advertising and nutrition to becoming an advocate for women's health, driven by a passion to educate others about making informed choices in a market rife with harmful options.
Puberty and menopause are often misunderstood, but what if we approached these natural processes with empathy and open communication? Kimberly and I explore the transformative power of understanding these critical life phases. We discuss how supportive environments and a focus on nutrition can help manage the emotional and social dynamics young people face. Together, we offer strategies for navigating these transitions positively, recognizing the early signs of puberty, and understanding the interconnectedness of stress and hormonal changes.
Navigating the social media landscape can be tricky, especially for teens who are easily influenced by trends and marketing tactics. Kimberly shares insights into the impact of platforms like TikTok on teenagers' skincare choices and emphasizes the importance of guiding them through these digital spaces. We advocate for simpler, gentler skincare routines, free from estrogenic chemicals, to protect natural development. Listen in as Kimberly shares where to find her impactful products, available online at major retailers, and dreams of reaching physical store shelves in the near future.
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goodforyougirls.com
Thank you for listening to another episode of On Our Best Behavior. Today I have a really great guest for you. Her name is Kimberly Grustus and Kimberly started Good For you, girls, and what that does is it helps keep girls away from toxic chemicals during pregnancy. This topic hits home for me because I work in women's health and I love to advocate for the teens, and my son is also young and so I try to help him.
Kelli Szurek:I know you have daughters. I only have a son, and so we have really been trying to help him with his skincare routine and show him I feel like boys don't care as much as girls, at least in my experience so trying to get him to understand why it's important to wash your face and the difference that it can make on acne. But this whole daughter thing is going to be fun for me because I don't have any and, being a girl myself, I didn't have a lot of help or resources in my younger years on what was good for you and what wasn't. So I'm really excited to talk to you today and hear kind of how you got where you are and your motivation and puberty and young girls. I'm super excited. So tell me a little bit about yourself, kimberly, and how you got here.
Kimberly Grustas:Great. Well, thanks for having me, kelly. And puberty is one of those subjects where people think, oh no, but it's actually a very cool subject. So I am. So how did I get here from here? So I am a creative person by nature, so I started out advertising agencies, that sort of thing. I was also a fitness nut, so I started early in my career working for nutrition companies and then went into health and beauty. So it was working. So my whole career it's been 30 years of working for nutrition companies and health and beauty companies, and then in 2000, I started my own agency and started to take on clients. Well, ironically, the same year I started my agency and four months later I was pregnant with my daughter. So that was busy.
Kimberly Grustas:And she was born with severe asthma and allergies. So it was very scary. She would literally stop breathing, she would go lethargic and go limp. So she had an upper airway issue. It would spasm and she would not get oxygen saturation. And so in running her to the emergency room it was breathing treatments and EpiPens, and one doctor said do you realize how serious this is? And I said, yes, I do. So it was by need that we removed everything from her home every fragrance, every you know scent, laundry detergent, everything like that, because I thought by show. So I had food allergies. So I mean I was making food you know the baby food and things like that. And you know, moms are very resourceful. And because of what I did in my business, I research, you know, when you're, when you're talking and you're working with a client who has a protein powder or a creatine or amino acid, I was fascinated by how those affected the body. So I was huge into research and so for her it was okay, research, research, research. And I was shocked at a lot of the. The scents contained a lot of chemicals in them and so again, that was, you know, getting her healthy and and all of that.
Kimberly Grustas:And then two years later, um, uh, my younger daughter was born. My second daughter was born and she had not the same. She had asthma, the light asthma, but she had, um, a hive disorder and eczema. So I'm like, wait a minute, of course now we've got skin involved. So I went down so many rabbit holes in learning and so again, it was that, again the resourcefulness of a mom, and I really became the go-to mom for all of my friends to ask about certain things and I'm not a earthy crunchy girl by nature, you know right I'm. I love beauty and I love that sort of thing. So this was all a whole new learning experience for me.
Kimberly Grustas:So fast forward to 2008,. My oldest daughter is now eight and they were huge Hannah Montana fans. They loved Hannah Montana. We actually went to the concert and so there was a bath set at Target and she saw it and ran to it and she says mommy, mommy, mommy, can we buy this?
Kimberly Grustas:And I picked it up, flipped it over and was just shocked. I mean it was, it was toxic, I mean it had you know every dye, every you know all these synthetic fragrances in it. And there's a couple things that happened. One like she wants this and you know the awareness that she wanted it. And then just the realization that this is what companies were slathering on our children. Because I knew a lot about the body and the effects of these chemicals, it just really shocked me. So, even in 2008, we were still in the early stages of understanding the natural products and a lot of the damages that chemicals have internally and externally on the body. So that's what led me to start. Good For you, girls, girls it was. If anybody's going to do this, it's going to be me, and I've just never looked back.
Kelli Szurek:It's been, it's been really a great passion of mine it is always mind-blowing to me to look at the back of a package, especially like the way they market things towards young kids, young girls, whatever, and they make it look so pretty and bright colors and Hannah Montana or whatever the popular trend is now. And yeah, and they want it right, because it's what they're into and it looks pretty. And then how do you be the one that bears the bad news and says, oh, you can't have this, it's full of terrible things for you.
Kimberly Grustas:Oh, I can't even tell you how many birthday parties their friends would give them things. And in one birthday party, right in the middle there, the girls are all in a circle. My daughter opens it, she looks at me and she goes mom, you're not going to let me use this, are you? And I was like, oh, we'll talk about that later, but you know it is what it is. But that's our job, right? Our job is to protect them and it was crazy.
Kimberly Grustas:Even my youngest daughter, which is super young, you know they would see unicorns and rainbows and they would say do companies really think we like this? They were so smart about it and teaching them. And one of the blessings in this journey for me is teaching them critical thinking and a lot of right. And it's insulting the way that brands approach our children and I think that's the biggest gift we can give them is to to teach them critical thinking what are people saying, who's saying it, what's behind it and to be able to pick it thinking what are people saying, who's saying it, what's behind it and to be able to pick it apart and make that decision for themselves, whether this is good information, bad information or information that needs more research.
Kelli Szurek:So, since your girls were born with kind of sensitivities, they grew up their entire life, I'm sure, like you can't have this, you can't have that and knowing how they would react to things if they were exposed to it. So doesn't that make them realize like, oh, if I use this, this bad thing is going to happen to me, and make them feel more cautious versus, maybe, somebody who hasn't experienced that they don't really even realize what they're exposing themselves to?
Kimberly Grustas:Oh, absolutely, absolutely true, right, I mean. But again, we protect them as babies, right, that's our job. Right, we're supposed to make sure that they're getting the right nutrition and the right sleep and all of these things. That that's our job. So, yes, they were more aware than the friends of their same age about these things, but I think that it's important, again, just to create that understanding, and I truly believe that when they understand they're not too young to understand that they own their bodies, their bodies. Right, it's a right.
Kimberly Grustas:When they're, when they're little, they just kind of bounce around, right, but there's a, there's a point that happens in puberty when they sort of have this inner body experience. Right, they have this relationship now that they own it, as their body is changing, and I think that's a perfect time to to let them feel good about the choices that they make, taking care of themselves. And I always use the analogy of your first car Nobody should buy a young person a brand new car, right, because it matters when you save your money and you buy it and you take care of it. So, when they understand their bodies and it's not just this thing that holds them together it really does make a difference and they are more critical about hmm, maybe I don't want to eat that and I love that process and you actually can see that when that little light bulb goes off, about owning it and it is theirs to enhance or hinder.
Kelli Szurek:Right, and that's like I was telling you. With my son, he can see the difference of when he's doing skincare versus he's being lazy and not doing it. And he'll say oh mom, I took a break this weekend and I can really tell that I did yeah.
Kimberly Grustas:That's great, that's great. And boys, they do hit puberty later. Again, that's my passion is girls, because I think there's a huge mental component with girls too. It's a psychological, mental component, emotional component and that mattered to me, that I wanted to give girls permission at a young age to use a product that was good for them but also made them feel good about doing something for themselves.
Kelli Szurek:Hence good for you girls.
Kimberly Grustas:Yeah, it kind of came together that way. And boys I hear so many stories about boys just thinking that the swimming pool is the shower during the summer and all of those things, and they don't care until they start stinking and all of that, and it's so true. It's so true. But that's why we love them.
Kelli Szurek:Yes. So this is going to kind of pivot me on to the next topic, so puberty. So when your daughter or your son or your kids start going through puberty, their skin especially starts changing, and then you know that's a right. They kind of I don't, girls are probably more intuitive, boys or they care more maybe. But how do you like bring that up with them? Like, okay, your body's going through changes, now your skin is going to change and you're going to start. You know how do you talk to them? Glands that are taking part in the puberty.
Kimberly Grustas:And it affects. It's not only the repartee, it's the blood, it's the brain, it's the nervous system, it's the bones, it's all of the systems in the body that are affected by these hormones. So now when we talk in puberty, we're talking with girls again. It's between 11 and 13. Breast development is almost happening. Two years earlier, when they hit that growth chart on the door, everybody marks the door, right. We're understanding that they're growing. There's five different stages of puberty but they're growing anywhere between two and three quarter inches to three inches per year. And boys in their late stages are almost growing almost four inches, right. So this is the time when we start, when we should be talking about those growth spurts. I think kids again, they it's like jack and the beanstalk, right, they just assume that this is this is happening and to them that's happening so slowly. But when they actually see that on a door, right, that's a really great thing. To talk about these hormones.
Kimberly Grustas:I am a big proponent of language and that language matters, and especially as women, we are going to be dealing with hormones our entire lives, right? So we need to get comfortable. We need to make friends because these hormones are actually your friends and understanding that puberty is something that's happening for you, not to you or against you. I like that. That is really. I think again, language really matters here and that when we say, oh my gosh, look at what your body is doing, it's remarkable, it's amazing. And at the same time, they're supposed doing it's remarkable, it's amazing, right. And at the same time, they're supposed to be the best students, the best friends, the best kids, the best athletes and all of these systems that their little bodies are doing. It really is truly remarkable. And when you know, yes, they're crabby through it, yes, they're right, because they're having all of these emotions that they've never had before. We have the myelin in the brain and all of the synapses are happening faster, All of these remarkable things.
Kimberly Grustas:And I think, as parents, when we recognize this, empathy comes to mind right, Say wow, yeah, I would be a little cranky too. I would be a little cranky too, I would be a little crabby too, right. So I think it gives, can give us pause when we are just reminded what's truly happening in their bodies and what a remarkable thing it is. And there's so much in these little people that are these young people that can really get them bummed out. You know not not feeling right, or you know this friend said this or this. There's a lot of emotions. It's a soup, right, and this is a part of their bodies. You want them to feel good about and so anytime we can have those really positive conversations, I think, again, just using the right language helps, can help a lot.
Kelli Szurek:Yeah, I totally. I like that Because even as we get older, right, you hear so many people saying like I think my hormones are off. I think my you know my hormones are out of whack or this or that, and I really like that statement that you made that your hormones are working for you, not against you, not to you.
Kimberly Grustas:So I really, I really like that.
Kimberly Grustas:I, I, you know, so I'm a, I'm um, you know, um, my menopause is over. Like at that stage, you know, it's all through perimenopause and all that I would get hot flashes and I would never like beat myself up Like I would never go oh, my gosh, you know, like crap, I will go. Yeah, girl, she's hanging on, like I would just have like a positive. So like there, they are, there, they are Right. Just because it's like, what else are you gonna do? Right, this is a, this is a natural process and it's also ironic too, that when our kids are coming into their own, we're starting that exit no-transcript.
Kimberly Grustas:Oh that's interesting. Yeah, so there are so many correlations. So that's why nutrition, eating healthy, all of that getting all that nutrition in a young person is critical. Boys need protein. They need to support their muscle growth, for their testosterone right. These are new, these are muscles that these kids, these young men, have not had before and if you're supporting their body with the right protein and things like that, it's wonderful. You can see, you know that again builds them for supporting nutritionally for their bones and their blood and their immune system during these ages. We're just setting them up for a better future.
Kelli Szurek:So for parents who have young kids, what are early signs for them to realize that puberty has started?
Kimberly Grustas:One of the best things again it can start really early is the emotional connection. So in middle school it's the BFF, the best friends, right, you'll get you know, one day they don't care about what Susie said or Bobby said or whatever. Then all of a sudden it matters, it's serious business, right. And so you know, that's the emotional part. With the cortisol and you know, the cuddle hormone we call it the cuddle chemical and they really develop those friends attachments. That is usually one of the first signs that we see. Is that emotional attachment, great time to start talking and introducing, and how their brain is changing. They at that age can absolutely understand and then maybe develop ways, so it's not so painful. So when they are feeling left out or they're feeling really strong emotions towards something to talk about it, how are we feeling about it? And then maybe keeping a diary of that. You know, came home today feeling this way and then tomorrow when they come home, how did you feel today about that? Just acknowledging that those, those changes, and then they can acknowledge it as well. So that's the, the, the emotional part. Um, so if you're seeing, and then we obviously have any physical changes, um that are happening, um, in girls the body's changing. Same with boys body's changing. But pain in the bones is also when we have growth again, when they're growing so fast, they might be something to be leery of to watch if they're experiencing those leg cramps I know boys have that a lot. I know my younger daughter had that tremendously, have that a lot, I know my younger daughter had that tremendously. And then we may have early breast development in girls, and so that's also something to keep an eye on.
Kimberly Grustas:The adrenal glands, body odor and pubic hair are big. That's a lot where that comes from. And so stress, right, there's studies coming out because we all talk about our adrenal glands, right, can I'm there's? There's studies coming out because we all talk about our adrenal glands, right, as adults and we say, oh my gosh, we're gonna burn out our adrenals. It's a thing. And young people are under a tremendous amount of stress, you know, more so than they ever were, ever generations in the past. So you may have early pubic hair, you may have early body odor and that may be a sign of adrenal fatigue.
Kelli Szurek:I feel like when I was young, puberty was hard for me, like I had a really hard time going from being a kid to like, all of a sudden, like now I have breasts and now I have to wear a bra, and it's uncomfortable and I have to remember to put on this deodorant every single day, and now I have a period and that's embarrassing. And so I feel like too, like with the emotions. Kids, you know, like you said, like one day they care what Susie says and then the next day they don't. Like that's their whole life, whole life. So it might seem silly to us, like really, you're, you're stressed out about this or it's that big of a deal to you. It is like it is their entire life. So try I always try to remember what I felt like when I was younger and what I was going through, just to kind of keep that in check, because it is a big deal. And I always feel like my parents would just kind of brush it off, like you're fine, like you're just being dramatic.
Kimberly Grustas:No, it's like just suck it up and get over it. I was like, oh, that frustrates me so much because there is, you know, there is a such thing, such a thing as puberty trauma, right, and you'll see that in 20, you know, in 20 year olds, right, they're like, wait a minute, this, like there, there has to be a gentle, you know, a gentle entry, or at least an understanding again what's going on in your body, because it is a, it is a big deal and they're because of all of the motor they're getting their, their heart rate, their adult heart rate. They might be having heart palpitations or feeling, right, I know I used to experience these incredible outer body experiences like just like weird, like I remember it, and so some of the things just to talk to them about, right, how are you feeling? Just to check in on a regular basis. It's like, how's your body do, how's your body feeling today? Now, again, if we've got the emotions, you know, checked off, how's that? How's your feeling today? Again, if we've got the emotions checked off, how is that? How's your class Ask them how their body's feeling? Right, did you get your homework done? Yeah, how's your body feeling?
Kimberly Grustas:It's just part of that natural conversation, and I also love when I talk to parents with young children, because they have all the opportunity to get it right. It's so cool, right, and it's the conversations that you have today and that comfort level with your kids will lay the groundwork for really hard, difficult conversations later. And you also have to remember that you are your kid's first influencer. Don't lose that Right. And if you're uncomfortable with the data and information, get it. It's there, right, so you might be surprised that they could teach you a thing or two, sometimes too, right, but routine is good for them.
Kimberly Grustas:Routine is very good for young people, right. That's wonderful. Downtime is critical, right. Downtime without the devices to kind of search inward with their own thoughts and their own feelings. And I think today, with social media and things, they've sort of robbed our kids of that, and whether that's journaling or coloring or doing crossword puzzles, some of those little things, and it doesn't they don't have to be doing it for two hours. It's just like us, you know, when we have that time to just be in our heads and let things just kind of flow. And I think that's something that, as parents, we really owe to them is to give them that time and that space just to be alone in something that they're in presence with, like right in front of them. I think that is a wonderful detox for young people.
Kelli Szurek:When I was a kid, I loved music so much, and so I would spend all my money on buying every CD that I wanted, and then I would just read the lyrics and memorize them and I would be so just in my head, in my own world, and it was such like a not that I needed an escape, but it was just such a, like you said, that downtime, that break, that just going somewhere else and being whatever you wanted to be, and I do agree with you. I think with video games and smartphones, kids are just always on their phones. If I go to my son's high school, everyone's just standing around in a group but they're all just staring at their phone. It's sad.
Kimberly Grustas:Yeah, and I think young people they're all just staring at their phone. It's sad, yeah, and I think young people when they get time to spend alone with themselves and in their own head, they will discover they actually like themselves, right, it's a weird, right, there's that moment. Okay, I'm okay here. With women especially, we have a sixth sense. We have very much a sixth sense I know it's triple bright talking on that. That's when this skill is developed in young women is when they are quiet and they can be alone and they think, and it's just a really wonderful time again. And I love also to give moms the message your kids are older, right, they're not going to. You know, you can leave them alone for five minutes, you can leave them alone. And any mom at this stage when you have tweens, you've been at the bottom of the barrel for a really, really long time, right when they were little.
Kelli Szurek:Oh yeah, for like in the line of getting taken care of. You mean Like we don't take care of ourselves because we're taking care of yeah.
Kimberly Grustas:So they're watching. They're watching how you treat yourself, they're watching how you take care of yourself. So now's the time to reclaim that. And especially if you have daughters right, they're watching you, they want to see how you take care of yourself, and now's the time, right. So if you've neglected yourself or your self care or any of that, get that back, because I have to tell you from my experience, from 15 to when you are, you know they're going to be an empty nester at you know you're gonna be an empty nester in a very few short years. That is critical for our own phase of development, right? And so we don't want to wake up when they're off in college and say, oh my gosh, where's that? Right, where'd the time go? And it's just a wonderful bonding as well, where we were, like, hey, we remember the people we were before we had the kids. And it's okay to do that. It's okay to give ourselves permission to take a little more care of ourselves as well, yeah, and it's okay to.
Kelli Szurek:I try to tell myself that, like I think a lot of families grow up and they live for their kids and they forget what them and their partner like what you and your partner like have together without the kids, what happens when they move away and it's just the two of you again, you know you still need to have your own identity absolutely, and it goes by those 10 years, or you know, less than 10 years, um, they happen so fast and so it's, it's, it's really good.
Kimberly Grustas:Right again, it's, it's a, it's a natural process, the communication, the growing, the changing. Again, it's how we approach it, but it's something to do for them, but it's also, again, something that you can do together and recognize together.
Kelli Szurek:When I was young and my mom would do her hair and makeup, I was always like, oh my gosh, mom, you look so beautiful Because she didn't do it often, and so when she she did, it was such a big deal to me and I would be like, why don't you?
Kimberly Grustas:do that every day. Yeah, and you wanted that for her right.
Kelli Szurek:Yes, Like seeing your mom look pretty like was like wow, Like you just didn't know that that's what she could look like, you know.
Kimberly Grustas:Yeah, I love that. That was always fun. I love that.
Kelli Szurek:So how do you prove to your girls that you maybe know more than TikTok?
Kimberly Grustas:I still don't know anything about TikTok. I'm not a proponent of um. You know kids on TikTok, I think that's a that's a hard no for me to a certain age. I think, again, social media can be extremely dangerous. Again, they don't have critical thinking skills. So until they do have critical thinking skills, I think it's okay to monitor that, be on their shoulder. Who are you looking at? Let's watch it together. Let's watch this together, let's watch this. Have those conversations. But again, if you are the one that they come to for this knowledge or you're throwing little nuggets out there to them, they're like, oh, that's kind of cool. Again, you don't think they're listening, you don't think they are. They really truly are. And somebody say, don't be the cool mom. Well, you know, again, that's an oxy. You can't really. I mean, we like to think we're cool moms, we're cool parents, right, but that's again we. The cool comes later. I got to tell you, the cool definitely comes later.
Kelli Szurek:They'll get it when they get older. Right, like in the moment, they don't get it, but yeah.
Kimberly Grustas:Yeah, and it's okay. So we we have to filter that information. We sometimes have to be the heavy and again, I think that that's okay.
Kelli Szurek:But what about like in skincare? So you know you're good with the clean skincare, but then they have all these TikTok trends about what you should be doing for skincare, or like this product is good, but no, this product is good, you should buy this.
Kimberly Grustas:When I talk, I'll kind of sum it up right, so there's two approaches that I come at this from two different ways. Right? So for me, toxic chemicals in skincare there's certain ingredients that are a no-no. So when we look at the body, right, if your body's an organic machine, so you eat a protein, a fat, a carbohydrate, your body knows what to do with it. Right, if your body's an organic machine, so you eat a protein, a fat, a carbohydrate, your body knows what to do with it. Right? So now you're starting to introduce yourself, your body, to synthetic fragrance, synthetic dyes, chemicals. Right, your body has no idea what this is. The closest chemical compound in your body is estrogen. So what we call these ingredients? We call them estrogenic chemicals, meaning they mimic estrogen in the body.
Kimberly Grustas:So for me, developing Good For you Girls was to keep girls away from these estrogenic chemicals. And we know that the earlier a girl enters puberty, the greater risk she's at for cancer and disease as an adult risk she's at for cancer and disease as an adult. Now, boys are not immune to the same amount of estrogenic chemicals. It's just we see a lot of middle school boys with breast development, but as soon as their testosterone comes in, it negates that right. It kicks their testosterone and bring that estrogen levels down. So boys during early puberty are also getting these signals of high levels of estrogen, right. We also know in girls high levels of estrogen at the end of puberty will shorten their bone length, so it will actually shorten their height. So that it'll, you know, on the bones you have the bone growth. So too much estrogen. So it's really important. So for me, I take a kind of a serious look at the chemicals that our kids are exposed to. Right, that's the chemical portion of it.
Kimberly Grustas:Now, when we're talking about our skin and the things that we're putting on our skin, there is no need for any 12-step skincare routine for a 15-year-old or a 12-year-old. It's just ridiculous. And even an adult, that's just, it's absolutely ridiculous. Their skin is the goal, right? We, we as adults, we look at anti-aging. We say, okay, that's what we. The reason we want cellular turnover, the reason we want all those things, is we want those nice juicy skin that they have. So for them to be doing these routines is preposterous, right, and the dangers of it.
Kimberly Grustas:Sebum production starts around nine. That's the oils in your skin, right. Sebum is there for, again, the growth part of your skin to protect you. Protect your skin, because again, your skin is a barrier, so it keeps that barrier strong. Because, again, your skin is a barrier, so it keeps that barrier strong. And now they're starting to use alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids all of these chemicals to dry out and strip the skin. And what's actually my concern is that they're now exposing their skin to UV damage, premature UV damage. You know when they're upsetting it. So in most of the acne that young people have is not hormonal acne, it's bacterial. They have a lot of bacterial. They're in school all day, their hands are filthy, they're leaning on their hands, they're not washing their hands and we all know through COVID, how much we touch our face not washing their hands, and we all know through COVID how much we touch our face.
Kimberly Grustas:Oh my gosh, it's crazy, right? So I am a big fan of going slow, right, you want to get rid of the dirt grime and the bacteria, but you don't want to upset the microbiome or over-dry or irritate the skin. So, yeah, it's the whys. And if you have a daughter that's looking at these TikTok trends, first of all earns commission. Big flag, buying the TikTok shop big flag. And we know that TikTok is trying to compete with Amazon right now. So they're doing free shipping, they're doing giveaways, they're doing all that. That's what they're trying to do in competing with Amazon, right? So it is.
Kimberly Grustas:Hey. What is this creator telling you? Why do you think you need it? Let's look at the other videos. Is she earning commission? How is this right? Is this, and why do you think you need this right? What are you trying to accomplish in using this product? Right, girls are creative by nature. We know this, and that's Girls are creative by nature. We know this, and that's why we're so awesome. And so you know, beauty can be fun, but it has to come at the right time, and it's the less is more, and I also will give a tip. Okay, tell me why you want this now. Come back to me next week and tell me why you want it again.
Kelli Szurek:Slow down, sleep on it.
Kimberly Grustas:Yeah, sleep, come back to me. You want it again. Slow down, sleep on it. Yeah, sleep, come back to me. Tell me what is. And then you know, in a week or three days it might be something else. Right, fads coming. Right, fads come and go. And again, if somebody, if they want something, read the label together. And if, if you know, read the ingredients together, understand what the the ingredients are supposed to be doing. Right, and again, why, why they think that they need that. And so it's again, it's.
Kimberly Grustas:It's a wonderful time to really come together and learn together, and especially if you're not a makeup or skincare girly, as a mom listen, right, listen to her. Acknowledge, right, that's right. Listening skills acknowledge, right, that's right. Listening skills acknowledge, hey, I understand that this looks cool and whatever. But let's look into it. Let's research it a little bit, maybe find is it this product? What are the other products you want? Right, let them do the homework. Let them come back to you and say, okay, this is why I think I need this, right, and then research it and it's ultimately your, you know, ultimately your decision. But anytime you can push off those kinds of choices. It's like this what was the big thing? The Stanley water bottle and the little lemon backpack, right, right, everybody wanted it, everyone had it yeah, and then everybody had it.
Kimberly Grustas:And then it was what's the word Chugi, right? Then nobody wanted it. Oh, it's Chugi, Nobody wants it, right? So everybody wanted it and nobody wants it. It's like, oh my gosh, no, yeah, it's crazy.
Kelli Szurek:It is the way of the world. There's always like you said. There's always going to be something that you want and it's ever going to change.
Kimberly Grustas:So, yeah, it's the. It's a social contagion right. Sometimes too, and that's again the belonging right. Girls want to belong. It's tribe we're tribal right, we want to have our little tribe and we can't be left out, and you know. So we absolutely understand, and that's okay to tell your daughter that too. You know it's. I understand that this is what you want. This might not be good for you, but let's, let's research it together and make those decisions together.
Kelli Szurek:And maybe compromise, but my mom advice is just don't tell your kids like that's dumb and you don't need it, because that is very hurtful on feelings and feelings are a really big part of puberty.
Kimberly Grustas:Absolutely, absolutely, 100%. I love that.
Kelli Szurek:Kimberly, it's been great talking with you. Is there anything else that you want to share? I feel like you're the kind of person I could talk to forever.
Kimberly Grustas:I know I like to say I'm a wealth of useless information, but again, this might seem really rough, but it goes by so fast. I mean you'll hear that a million times, but I do harp on nutrition. That's a biggie. Hydration huge. They need so much hydration and they're not getting it and they're not drinking in school. It's crazy, it drives me nuts. So I think a lot of the skin issues that they they may be experiencing again is bacterial related or hydration issues or nutrition.
Kimberly Grustas:Uh oh, one of the other things I want to tell you is their sleep patterns too. Um, the melatonin changes also, so it can be like three hour delay. So when your kid is saying I can't sleep or they're restless at night or they don't want to go to bed, that is actually real. It's actually a real thing. It's a changing in their melatonin pattern. So find ways that might be the downtime. So just say you know, set that earlier, kind of move that so that you're giving them those, those three hours of and I know that sounds crazy, but give them that downtime. That might be exactly what they need Decompression.
Kelli Szurek:Yeah, that's what I was going to say. We need to decompress Absolutely Well. Thank you so much, kimberly, for being on the podcast. Like I said, it was such a delight to chat with you. You are. I was going to say you said you're full of useless information. I think you're a fountain full of useful information. So, and like I said, what you're doing, it hits home with me and it's something that I am passionate about and care about a lot. So thank you for doing what you're doing.
Kimberly Grustas:Tell your son to keep up the good work, absolutely, he knows.
Kelli Szurek:He's seen what happens when he lets it go. Good, all right, well, you have a great night. And then, oh, kimberly, we'll put it in the show notes, but where can everyone find you and your products?
Kimberly Grustas:So the website is good4ugirls all spelled out, so then come to the website. We're also on Amazon and walmartcom if they are looking for the products there too Perfect.
Kelli Szurek:Can they find you in Walmart stores or is it only online? No, only on, only online Interesting? Yeah, I was going to say, oh, that'd be fun if you could just go to Walmart and see your stuff right there on the shelf.
Kimberly Grustas:So yeah, no, just online.
Kelli Szurek:All right. Well, you have a good night. Okay, great Thanks, kelly Yep. Bye.
