You always need your Squad, but some things call for an expert. Introducing ProSquad on Parenting Squad — special forces for every parent!

We've assembled some of the best in their fields to help you solve your trickiest parenting dilemmas. Get to know our pros, and then leave your question in the comments!

 

Sleep Pro, Malia Jacobson

Malia Jacobson has been helping tired families sleep since 2007. She is a writer, editor, nationally-published sleep journalist, and author of "Ready, Set, Sleep: 50 Ways to Help Your Child Sleep, So You Can Sleep Too." Her sleep articles reach millions in respected print publications.

Malia's articles have been featured in over 70 news outlets and publications, including ABC News, Women's Health Magazine, Costco Connection Magazine, Seattle’s Child Magazine, ParentMap Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, San Diego Family Magazine, and Cincinnati Family Magazine. She is a contributing writer at Family Time Magazine and Broward Family Life Magazine.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in business administration/marketing. When she’s not writing, she organizes a popular attachment parenting group in her hometown of Tacoma, Washington, digs in her garden, and explores the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two young daughters.

 

 

Adoption Pro, Judy Miller

Judy M. Miller, MA, CGE is the author of the internationally selling What To Expect From Your Adopted Tween. An adoptive parent and adoption advocate, she lives in the Midwest with her husband and four children. She works with clients all over the world, providing education for and support to families created or grown through adoption.

Judy is a frequent guest on radio (MomTV’s Adoption Angels, TogiNet’s Adoption ~ Journey to Motherhood, Creating a Family, and PowerTalk on Tough Talk Radio) and sought after conference speaker and workshop facilitator (Parenting Summit, Symposium 2011 Opening Adoption: Realities, Possibilities, and Challenges, Crossroads of America Adoption Conference, North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), and American Adoption Conference (AAC)).

Judy's essays and articles appear in adoption and parenting magazines and in anthologies, among them, A Cup of Comfort for Adoptive Families (Adams Media), Pieces of Me: Who Do I Want to Be? (EMK Press), and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom (Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Judy is a member of the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), the American Adoption Congress (AAC), and the National Association of Professional Women, who elected her as one of their 2012 women of the year. You can follow her @MamaMiller.

  

Developmental Pro, Anne Zachry

Anne Zachry, Ph.D. is a pediatric occupational therapist, child development specialist and mother of three. She's had articles published on Parenthood.com, Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine online, has written a parenting course for Daily OM, and writes for a variety of regional parenting magazines.

Dr. Zachry's research has been published in national peer-reviewed journals, including The Southern Medical Journal, The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, and The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, and she's had articles published in her profession's trade magazines, Advance and OT Practice. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and she has also given numerous presentations to parents and teachers on a variety of topics related to infant and childhood development.

Her websites are Dr. Anne Zachry and Pediatric Occupational Therapy Tips.

  

Literacy Pro, Maeve Maddox

Maeve Maddox is an academic generalist who has taught language and literature at every level from pre-school to university, in the United States and abroad. Now a freelance writer, she focuses on topics of cultural literacy, including beginning reading instruction and universal knowledge.

Her academic articles have been published in Education Today, The Christian Science Monitor, Translation Today, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, and a recent textbook about the Middle Ages. Her children’s fiction and non-fiction have appeared in Highlights for Children and Jack and Jill Magazine.

Several hundred of Maeve’s still-timely articles on language are archived at Daily Writing Tips where she was editor and chief contributor from its inception in 2007 until 2011. She is the School Reform Editor at the women’s magazine BellaOnline.com. She offers tips on reading instruction and cultural literacy at AmericanEnglishDoctor.com, and discusses English usage in the media at BottomlineEnglish.com. Her most recent books available at Amazon.com include So You Want to Write! (50 essays on the writing craft), A Joan for All Seasons (film guide to six movies about Joan of Arc), and 100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid (brief style guide to common writing errors).

Maeve holds bachelor’s degrees in English from Oklahoma City University and the University of London (England). She holds the M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville). 

 

Got questions for our pros? Leave them in the comments below or send to editor@parentingsquad.com