Calm Parenting Podcast

Are Kids Rejecting Your Authority…Or Your Anxiety? We can very quickly stop 80% of power struggles with our kids. And it has nothing to do with controlling their behavior—only our own anxiety. Our anxiety compels us to lecture and micromanage…and that causes kids to resist you even more! Kirk gives you 6 practical action steps to stop this dynamic now!  Begin 2025 with hundreds of practical strate...

Change Behavior ASAP At Home & School: 3 Quick Tips You're out of sync, tired, overwhelmed and secretly can't wait for your kids to go back to school after a long holiday break! So how can we get some positive momentum to begin 2025? Kirk gives you three concrete strategies and scripts that change behavior at home AND in the classroom. Begin 2025 with hundreds of practical strategies that real...

5 Quick Tips To De-Escalate Meltdowns & Sibling Fights During Chaotic Holiday Break You have tired, irritable kids who are bored, out of their routine, and bugging each other. You’ll be tempted to double down on consequences in the moment—which spiral into huge meltdowns (and fights between spouses!). So how can you de-escalate tense standoffs and sibling fights, in the moment, instead of ruin...

What Your Kids Will Remember & What They Will Forget What if there isn’t really anything wrong with your strong-willed child? What if these irritating traits will serve them well in life? What if instead of trying to change their nature, you need to change? Kirk shares the powerful story of what finally compelled him to change and saved his relationship with his son. This is the final week of...

When To Say No & Yes (Bored, Unhappy, Tattling and Fighting Siblings) So how do you respond when your kids are bored or don’t like their gifts? When siblings tattle or fight…or your grown siblings create drama during family get-togethers? When holiday plans go awry, family judges you? Kirk gives you scripts to use in these tough holiday situations. Our Christmas Sale is here! Visit https://cel...

Stop Power Struggles with Toddlers, Teens & In-Between If you have a strong-willed child, you WILL have power struggles (no matter their age!). You’ll likely second-guess yourself, feel frustrated, and disagree with your spouse. So what are appropriate expectations at various stages of kids’ development? What should you focus on and what should you let go, from the toddler through the teenage...

Self-Centered Child? Unfair With Siblings, Does Minimal Work & No Chores Your strong-willed kids are NOT going to do things your way. You are NOT going to change their nature. They will choose the harder path and touch the hot stove. It will make you uncomfortable and siblings will say it’s unfair. Kirk gives you scripts and actions steps to stop the battles and motivate your kids. This is the...

Expert Button-Pusher Who Argues & Negotiates? 5 Scripts & Action Steps to Help. Do you have a child who is an expert button pusher? Just so naturally gifted at arguing, negotiating, and wearing you down? It provokes you, your spouse or siblings and then spirals your home out of control. How do you respond without escalating the situation OR letting your kids get away with disrespect? Kirk...

Q&A: Picky Eater Picks on Siblings, Entitled Kids & Tantrums, Won’t Show Math Work, Bad Manners What should we do with a picky child who creates stress at meal times and won’t show his math work, a sibling who picks on her younger brother, or a child who doesn’t exhibit good manners? How we do reset after we’ve created kids who feel entitled to get take-out, etc? What should we think about...

Stop Homework & Homeschooling Battles: 10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Kids’ Brains Do you have a strong-willed, ADHD, or neurodivergent child who should be able to buzz through school work…but will spend more time fighting you than it would take to actually complete the assignment?! You’re not alone. Kirk shares 10 practical, creative strategies to help your kids complete school work with less stre...

Grumpy, Complaining, Tantrumy Kids from Ages 2-22? Do you have a child who can be grumpy, throws tantrums, complains about everything that’s wrong, controls the emotional tide of your home, whose mood does determine your mood? What if your child wakes up miserable and makes everyone else miserable? Kirk gives you action steps and scripts in this powerful podcast with lots of insight into strong-wi...

Crash Course: Kids Who Don’t Comply, Listen, or Care About Consequences You have kids who don’t always listen, want to do things their way, and don’t care about consequences. What DOES work with these kids? In less than 20 minutes, Kirk shares 10 rapid fire ideas to show you exactly how to get strong-willed kids to be responsible for themselves…when nothing else works. This is a must listen. Share...

Feeling Judged By Family? 10 Quick Tips With A Strong-Willed Child How do you handle parents and extended family who always have strong opinions on what you’re doing wrong and should be doing without being defensive? How can you get them to come alongside and actually help/support you? How can you be confident and create positive experiences with family? Kirk gives you 10 quick tips! Our Black Fri...

How to Avoid Embarrassing Meltdowns in Public & With Family Your kids are more emotional, particular, and little things set them off. Their meltdowns and related defiance are not always predictable. What works with other kids backfires with your kids. And our kids are prone to melting down in public…and around family, which is embarrassing. So how can you handle these common situations differe...

How Chicken Nuggets Build Confidence & Stop Misbehavior (Part 2) Kirk shares his favorite idea for building your child's confidence, gives you a script for addressing a lack of motivation, and shares how chicken nuggets (and a larger purpose) can change your child. Visit https://celebratecalm.com/black-friday/ to purchase the Get Everything Package at the lowest prices of the year. Get practic...

8 Ways to Build Confidence & Stop Misbehavior (Sibling Fights, Lying, & More) Part 1 Do you have kids who pick on siblings, lie, make excuses, won’t admit when they do something wrong? Who cheat or quit at games, act silly in class? All of these behaviors have the same root cause. Kirk gives you 8 practical, concrete strategies to build your child's confidence...and stop the misbehavior. V...

Help For Homeschoolers Part I: 10 Secrets to Success If you are homeschooling a strong-willed child, you ARE going to experience constant pushback and resistance. How can you keep from being resentful and worn out while giving your kids tools to complete their schoolwork more quickly? Kirk provides almost 25 different tips in this two-part series that is a must-listen for homeschooling families. P...

Screens Q&A:   No Drama Screen Safety & Success from Toddlers to Teens What do you do when your kids melt down when you tell them to turn off their screens, work around parental controls, or won’t comply with your rules? How can we compete against that dopamine hit from screens? What if our child is kind of addicted to screen usage? How do we keep our kids safe online? At what age should w...

10 Ways To Help Kids with Big Emotions Part 2 What do you do when kids get volatile emotionally and even physically? When punching pillows or breathing exercises don't work? Kirk shares creative, practical ways to calm your kids in this more emotional episode. Early Access To Our Black Friday Sale Begins TODAY! Get practical strategies that really work with your strong-willed kids. Visit https://c...

10 Ways To Help Kids with Big Emotions Part 1 Do you have a child with BIG EMOTIONS, who gets extremely upset and even destructive, sometimes over little things going wrong? Do you or your spouse have big emotions? Kirk shares 10 practical, creative ways to calm intense kids (and parents!) in this two-episode series. Take advantage of our Black Friday Sale going on NOW at CelebrateCalm.com. Early...

Triggered By Sibling Fights, Noise, Messes & More? Do you get triggered by tantrums, kids pushing your buttons and ruining your agenda, leaving messes everywhere, or fighting with each other? Of course you do! But when you react, you make power struggles worse, behavior never changes, and relationships become strained. Kirk shows you exactly how to overcome your triggers and break generational...

ADHD & ND Kids: 25 Ways To Help Do you have a child who struggles with focus, inattention, executive function, sitting still, impulse control, blurting out, time management? A child who is disorganized, easily distracted, has anxiety and sensory needs? Kirk provides 25 different tools to help these kids while addressing nutrition, exercise, medication and more. Check out our BIG Fall Sale! Get...

Are You Giving In...Or Just Using Wisdom?  There are times when you are clear with your expectations and your child doesn't comply. Do you ever wonder, "Should I follow through right now...or would it be smarter to just let it go?" These gray areas of parenting are tough! Kirk walks you through three scenarios in which you may feel like you're "giving in," but it may be the right thing to do. Chec...

“I Don’t Want Your Help!” When Kids Won’t Listen to You. You try to help your kids do something they are struggling with. But they won’t listen to you, even though it would be so much easier if they did! And it turns into a huge fight, sometimes with big emotions and bad words. Kirk gives you an exact script and action steps to help your kids change…without the anger, resentment and power struggle...

The Day I Finally Changed Myself Instead of My Son My son was yelling and refusing to go to hockey practice. I reacted and escalated the situation. Then I decided to do something I’d never done: humble myself. But in reality, it was humiliating. Why was I, as the authority figure “worthy of respect,” the one changing here instead of the kid? I second-guessed myself as you will with these kids. But...