Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments

There are going to be many times while raising our kids that they come to us with their problems, and we as parents might feel the need to immediately jump in as Mama Bear and tell them exactly what they need to do. But what if that isn’t what they really need? In this episode, I’m joined by Blimie from Unconditional Parenting to open up a conversation about why and how we can be reflective listen...

When dealing with sibling rivalry, it’s important we validate all sibling feelings. If we choose sides it can jeopardize our connection.  In this episode, I’ve invited April, a long-time listener to the podcast who has worked hard and long on her parenting. She’ll be walking us through the sharing issues between her two girls, while Michelle helps her unravel this common sibling struggle.  If you’...

So many parents and families struggle with pickiness in children’s eating habits. Our guest today, Gitte, has figured out what exactly might be the problem. With years in child psychology, she believes that the problem doesn’t lie in the food-- but rather their experience during mealtime. Gitte has developed a 4-week course called Real Food Hero, where she teaches us how to take back our mealtimes...

When kids are disrespectful, it can feel like a very personal attack leaving us wondering if our child will grow up to be an unkind and immoral adult disrespecting everyone they know.   In this episode, I’ll be walking you through all the ways we can alleviate their behaviour without correcting them immediately, allowing for self-reflection and time to be their teacher. By effectively teaching the...

Raising a kid is a journey. It's our job as parents to love and support our children through it, making sure we guide without controlling and establish a deep emotional trust and connection.   This week Sarah Ockwell-Smith joins us to discuss her book BETWEEN. and her own personal experiences with her 4 children. Be sure to listen in as she tells all we need to know about those “BETWEEN” years...

Today I’m joined by Amy! She’s a follower of mine, and part of our online community. In this episode, she’ll share with us her transition from conventional parenting, to connective parenting.  She’s also a graduate of the UBE Course! She’ll share with us her experience, and some advice she has for parents tuning in-- and why it’s so important to thrive with a community that shares the same ideals...

When we’ve exhausted all efforts like diaper changing, feeding, and checking out babies for harm-- sometimes it looks like they’re crying for absolutely no reason. So what else can we do to support our infants and babies while crying?  Today I’ve invited Patty Wipfler, founder of Hand in Hand Parenting where I was first inspired then trained to make the changes in how I parent my daughters.  In th...

What exactly is a natural consequence and why are they useful? Can we allow some things to unfold naturally without interfering in order to give our children space to learn on their own?  This week I walk you through some very familiar situations and explain the natural and not so natural ways in which we can handle them in order to give more onus to our children.    Episode Highlights:           ...

If you are an exhausted parent looking to find more cooperation and peace in your household while avoiding becoming tangled in the game of asking your kids the same thing over and over then you have come to the right place! To get started with cooperation-centered parenting, click here to check out my Guide to Cooperation; where you can learn to put your relationships with your kids first-- not co...

As parents we often spend much of our time intervening in sibling upsets. There’s nothing more upsetting than seeing one of your children be unkind to the other. But what can we do to help them foster their relationship without shame and blame? How can we ensure they are learning how to effectively communicate with one another if we don’t use punishments or threats? Today I’ve brought in Dr. Laura...

Beginning to speak to your children about all things adolescence  begins much younger than you might imagine. Many children enter puberty as early as 8. There doesn't necessarily need to be a formal "talk" but rather many conversations which build over time.  My guest for this episode is Dr. Dolly, a family medicine physician, who now helps parents and children broach all the uncomfort...

Aggression is the product of a child who isn’t doing so well. Be it from frustration they can’t communicate well, or other factors that we as parents cannot always understand. I always recommend daily time with our kids-- but for our guest Cara, daily time has turned into frustrating and oftentimes painful rough play. In this episode, I explain how else we can curb aggression by listening to feeli...

Often people ask me if Parenting without Punishments and using connection is for all children. In this episode, Bea Moise and I reassure you that parenting this way is effective for kids who are neurodiverse and children who are neurotypical.  Bea Moise is a parent of a neurodiverse son and parenting expert who brings her experience and insight to put things into perspective around all different t...

I love all things teenager and so does my guest Kristen Cobabe the “teen whisperer”. When I first became a teen I found myself at a loss as to what to do and how to interact with my daughter. It was murky water and I struggled to say the least. But I have found my way and now I am enjoying the teenage years more than I thought I would. Today I’m joined by Kirsten Cobabe, who has worked with teenag...

Sometimes when our child is having a hard time of course we want to fix things, help them see the bright side. But things might look arduous and difficult for our children and leaning into those upsets with empathy can help them feel seen, heard and understood. This way they are able to let go with more ease.    In this episode a lovely mom Jenna asks how to navigate negativity. We discuss leaning...

When our child says “no” it can send us into emotional turmoil both because of how we were raised and how society views a child who stands up for themselves. But no doesn’t need to be a dirty word, and our children need to have the space to explore standing up for themselves. If they aren’t allowed to do it at home how can they ever set boundaries as they grow up. What of yes too, if we are insist...

Aggression is a common occurrence in children and we see it often when there’s a new sibling. It is a fear response and one that can be tricky to unravel.  If we take a global look at our child and work on ways to build in connective practices while also allowing the tantrum to fully occur we can get movement with aggression.  Long time listener Ashley fully understands the modes of Peace and Pare...

How do we promote resilience in our child and use the tenets of Peace and Parenting? Does being a kind loving parent mean our children will not be able to handle the cruel world? Perhaps empathy and kindness is exactly what allows our children to build in self esteem and the ability to recover from hard things.  Episode Highlights: Why you should let your child win Listening to your child with emp...

Today I’m joined by Courtney, a lovely mother of three young boys who recently completed my One on One Six Week Course. In this episode, she tells us how she has begun to transform her family, let go of yelling, and found more calm for her and her boys. If you think you can’t change the dynamics of your family and find peace and less yelling, you CAN, just like Courtney did. Listen in as we discus...

Kids have different ways to cope with stressful situations. Some resort to more vocal ways-- while others tend to go inward as a way to cope with what’s hard in life. It’s hard for us to know exactly how to approach them with love and kindness while still helping them move through tough behavior. Joining me this episode is a follower and active participant on the Facebook group, Jillian.  Jillian,...

Trying to parent without being resourced is impossible. We all need and deserve a place to have our feelings. Someone to listen can help us move through difficult moments and unravel childhood unmet needs and just come to our parenting more centered because we have a place to be heard too! A Listening Partner is this person! Someone who supports you weekly in your parenting challenges. This Parent...

“When we bring kids into this world, our hope is that in the future, there will be a more peaceful world for them.” Good behaviour from our children begins with us, their parents.  In this episode, Kiersten, a dear member of our community joins me to talk about how her journey’s been like as a mom, the joyful and the hard parts, as well as how she is growing as a mother and how peaceful parenting...

At some point in your child’s life, they will experience things which may cause overwhelm, and we won't be able to prevent them from feeling these tough emotions. However, we can be the safe place for them to be when things are tough.  Having deep empathy for our children and allowing them to fully emote helps those feelings pass, be processed so our child can move forward and be the cooperati...

There are tons of ways to cope with the inevitable challenges brought about by motherhood, and it doesn't always have to be something that involves alcohol. When you have a very demanding job and very demanding kids plus a husband you need to take care of, it can get very overwhelming. You're tired and sometimes, you just turn to drink alcohol to help ease your burden a little bit. Wine is...

Resistance is just something that comes with parenting, be it telling our kids to turn off their phones or brush their teeth. But-- that doesn’t always have to be the case. We as parents can make the conscious choice to prioritise our personal relationships, using them to teach our kids what has to be done for themselves, effectively building up their own independence and self-control. In today&#3...