The Parent Pivot Podcast

The pivot from Parent to Partner goes more smoothly when we "keep our mouths shut and the welcome mat out" - the main theme of Jim Burns' book and The Parent Pivot Podcast. Okay - but what is the balance between keeping our mouths shut - and dealing with our own emotions and resentment that pops up with our adult kids?   On today's "Best of" podcast, Steve and Julia help you navigate what this loo...

In the Cummings' kitchen is a wooden plaque that says, "Simplify."  We often get overwhelmed in life trying to balance, juggle, and learn new things.  Don't you wish you could just simplify life more? On today's "Best of" The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia help us simplify how we can focus on a few things on the road to becoming a champion partner to our adult child(ren). Get a copy of "How...

Your kids are grown. You love them deeply. So why does staying close sometimes feel so hard? Join Steve and Julia for a special Parent Pivot Podcast with Dr. Gary Chapman, bestselling author of "The Five Love Languages." We’re talking about his book, "Your New Life with Adult Children"—and the shift from telling our kids what to do to becoming someone they want to talk to. Unsolicited advice. Diff...

Whether we realize it or not, or even BELIEVE it, shame can affect our relationships with our adult children.  It seeks to destroy our identity as a parent and replace it with a damaged version of ourselves.  The good news is: we don't have to continue to live this way. On this "Best of" episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia unpack how shame can be overcome and you can begin to have...

“Where did we go wrong?” Ever asked that question while watching your adult child struggle? You taught them. Prayed for them. Did your best. And still, their choices leave you second-guessing your parenting. On this “Best of” The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia revisit a conversation about the blame so many parents carry—and the freedom of releasing responsibility for choices that belong to...

On today’s Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia sit down with author and parenting expert Catherine Hickem for a powerful conversation about one of the hardest transitions we make as parents: learning how to parent our adult children without trying to control them. Catherine says influence has to be earned—not demanded. We talk about expectations, estrangement, boundaries, identity, fear, and why...

When your adult child is hurting, everything in you wants to step in. Fix it. Solve it. Make the pain go away. But what if the most loving thing you can do is… not rescue them? On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia get very real about what we’ve been walking through with our own adult kids—and the emotional tightrope of knowing when to step in and when to step back. How do y...

Every family has a “gold standard”—a picture of how life should go, how our children should respond, and what the right choices should look like. But what happens when our adult children choose differently? In this Best of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia talk about the difference between holding healthy values—and holding our children to our expectations. The goal isn’t to lower the stan...

You probably inherited more from your parents than your eye color, your laugh, or your last name. Some of us inherited patterns. Control. Criticism. Shame. Fear. Ways of relating that we swore we'd never repeat. And then one day, we hear ourselves doing the very thing our parents did. In this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia talk about intergenerational trauma, the wounds we ca...

This week on The Best of The Parent Pivot Podcast, we’re going back to an episode every parent of an emerging adult needs to hear: “Why is This Taking SO Long?” — The Emerging Adult. What do you do when your son or daughter seems stuck? They don’t know what they want to do. Their career isn’t taking off. Their timeline looks nothing like the one you imagined. And suddenly their uncertainty becomes...

When your kids were growing up, so much of life revolved around them. School. Sports. Schedules. Problems. Decisions. Launching them into adulthood. And then one day, they’re gone—and you look across the room at the person you started this whole thing with. Your spouse. On this “Best of The Parent Pivot Podcast,” Steve and Julia talk about something that’s easy to lose sight of while we’re trying...

This week on The Parent Pivot Podcast, we’re reaching back into the archives for one of our favorite conversations: “Be a Better Version of Yourself.” As parents, we spend a lot of energy trying to help our children grow, mature, and make better choices. But sometimes the most powerful change in our family begins when we stop focusing on fixing them—and take an honest look at ourselves.  More is c...

What happens when concern for your adult child crosses the line into control? In this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Julia shares how one worried text to her 35-year-old son quickly turned into a family-wide intervention he never asked for—and what happened next. Steve and Julia talk honestly about helicopter parenting, owning your mistakes, and why repairing small relational ruptures can pr...

What if one of the greatest gift you could give your adult child isn’t advice, correction, or another solution—but your blessing? “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you     and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you     and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 These verses from the Old Testament are known as "The Blessing" and are the focal point of this “...

This week on The Parent Pivot Podcast, we’re continuing our conversation with our long-time friends, Jon and Cherie Talbert, on Multi-Generational Family Living. In Part 2, we go deeper into what it looks like to build a family culture where multiple generations are connected, supported, and invited into each other’s lives. Jon and Cherie share more wisdom on the practical realities, the relationa...

This week on The Parent Pivot Podcast, we’re going back to one of our favorite conversations with our long-time friends, Jon and Cherie Talbert on Multi-Generational Family Living. What happens when adult children, aging parents, grandparents, and grandkids begin sharing more than just holidays together? Jon and Cherie help us think through the beauty, challenges, boundaries, and blessings of mult...

Grandbaby #7 is arriving and Steve and Julia will be back next week with new content. Please enjoy this "Best of" episode. It's bound to happen.  Your adult child is hurt by something they see their grandparents do for their sibling and not for them.  Do you get involved? Ignore it? Take sides? Explain it away? In yet another "real time" episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia walk th...

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a disagreement with your adult child? Maybe it's about parenting, career choices, relationships, faith, or simply how they're living their life. The disagreement itself may seem small—but over time, it can create distance neither of you intended. In this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia explore how unresolved disagreements can slowly become...

What happens when you stop holding on and start trusting God with your adult child? In this special episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia sit down with their daughter, Jamilyn, to hear her side of the story—from mission trips as a teenager, to the World Race, to discovering her identity, hearing God's voice, and finding her calling. Along the way, she shares one powerful truth every...

What happens when parents stop trying to protect their adult children from every risk and start trusting God with their future? This week on The Parent Pivot Podcast, we sit down with Seth Barnes, founder of Adventures in Missions and The World Race , to talk about launching adult children into purpose, faith, and real-world responsibility. We discuss fear-based parenting, why young adults need ch...

There comes a time when you have to take a step back from life for a bit and take a deep breath.  Life gets crazy fast, doesn't it?  It's all about balance. Summer break is finally here—and for many pivoting parents, that brings a mix of excitement, opportunity, and maybe a little anxiety too. In this "Best of" The Parent Pivot Podcast re-air, Steve and Julia talk about how to make the most of the...

What if the young man you’re worried about is still becoming who he was created to be? In this deeply personal episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia talk honestly about boys, brain development, unmet expectations, parenting fear, and why so many parents panic too soon. From the science behind the prefrontal cortex developing around age 26… to the emotional impact parents can unknowi...

Pivoting is not easy.  It never is.  You have to be intentional to change your trajectory.  When it comes to pivoting from being a parent to a partner, we need to start with us - Mom and Dad. What's the key to pivoting and becoming the healthy partner to your adult child? On this "Best of " The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia walk us through ways we can achieve a healthier balance in life wh...

Mother’s Day can bring up a lot more than flowers and brunch reservations. For many moms of adult children… it brings disappointment, loneliness, fear, and the painful question:  “Am I still needed?” In this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia talk honestly about the struggle of releasing your adult children without losing your identity in the process. From unmet expectations arou...

What do you do when your relationship with your adult child isn’t what you hoped it would be? In this powerful episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Kathy Koch to talk about the real struggles parents face—grief, distance, conflict, and conversations that don’t have easy answers. You’ll hear how to love your adult children without controlling them… how to hold onto truth withou...