Fight Like a Mother

Rachel Nielson (who is the host of the 3 in 30 takeaways for moms podcast) and I have a very candid discussion about motherhood.  We discuss how to "declutter" our motherhood with looking at limiting beliefs, we talk about how to become more confident in ourselves and self assured in our motherhood.  Rachel has some incredible insight. Also Rachel sells a beautiful, heirloom quality motherhood jou...

Molly Bice Jackson shares her intimate story of losing her 2 year old daughter Lucy to a tragic choking accident.  In sharing this life shattering story of child loss, she shares how she has found herself in the grief and pain.  She shares how human connection and love have healed her and allowed her to find her purpose in life and hope again.   She shares some of the best acts of love and service...

Natasha Daniels,  who is a therapist who specializes in childhood anxiety and OCD joins me on this episode.  Consider this OCD 101 as it will give you valuable information and understanding about what symptoms to watch for, what specific treatments to get and how to parent a child with OCD.    Watch for patterns of behaviors and thought patterns.  Watch for a need to do things in a certain way, in...

Let's chat about the transition from child to teen.  Let's chat about not abandoning ourselves...let's chat about self compassion and self care.   Let's chat about coping skills and seeking joy and beauty in the midst of hardships and grief.  This episode of "coffee talk" (said in your best east coast accent) shares my thoughts from this past week.  All quotes used will be shared in Instagram alon...

In this In the trenches episode my guest Andy Proctor freely shares his own journey with mental illness and we dive into a topic on men's mental health.  Andy is a PhD student studying the importance of human connection.  We chat about how loneliness and social disconnection really affect men and how many men don't feel they have close, intimate relationships to support them when they are struggli...

How do we have the hard conversations with our teens?   How do we talk with them about mental health, pornography, sex, politics, social media, suicide prevention?  How do we have these conversations and not get into arguments?  Why are we triggered when our kids disagree with our viewpoints?  Kristen Goodman, parent and teen coach and I have a great conversation about how to approach challenging...

Are we destined to worry about our kids?   It seems so with an never ending diet about an ongoing pandemic, bullying, pornography, mental health, social media etc etc that we are doomed to sit in worry about our kids. How about all those mistakes we have made in the past?  What if we had handled things differently?  What if we had been a better parent?  Maybe things would have had a better outcome...

What does a new washer that I have complained about over and over again have to do with parenting? What daily routines do you have to care for yourself? How do you fill your kids cup if yours is empty? When you have had trauma how do you help your kids when they are struggling? How do you teach your kids self regulation? Answers to all of these questions in this episode.  Q&A's like this happen we...

This is an "in the trenches" episode which is where people share their journey with mental illness.  Jill Freestone shares her journey with a recent diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder and specifically with religious scrupulosity.  This is more common than we think within devout religious communities with rules/commandments etc.   Jill shares that OCD can look very different than what we th...

This is an episode EVERY PARENT who has kids that struggle needs to listen to! Dr. Nicole Beurkens has an incredibly unique and vast background to support and assist families.  She has advanced degrees in education, child psychology and nutrition.  She is a holistic psychologist and focuses on the whole child in treating mental health and neurodiverse challenges. In this episode Dr. Beurkens  is s...

I chat with the incomparable Mr. Chazz an educator and child development expert in this episode.  Our main theme is building above average relationships with our kids doing ordinary things every single day.  He has such great insights and optimism about discipline, parenting, how we learn to control ourselves as parents and expectations we put on our kids that aren't healthy.   If you want a paren...

We are celebrating our one year anniversary of podcasting!  On this episode we share some of the lessons listeners have learned and shared with us as well as lessons that Dave and I have learned over the last year.  It has been an amazing journey the last year and we are so grateful for the podcast and our community!  We share some of the exciting guests and topics we will be moving forward with i...

Choosing when to give your kids a phone is such vital decision today.  We need to be deliberate and intentional with our choice.  Handing them an iPhone 12 for their first phone is like handing the keys to a Porsche and not expecting them to crash. Too much tech too fast can be detrimental to personal relationships, brain development and safety.   Troomi wireless is a new company that bridges the...

When your child has big behaviors do you just want to stop the behaviors because of your own triggers, discomfort or embarrassment?  Sometimes our parenting goal is to just stop the behaviors, but what if there is a better way?  What if there is a way to regulate ourselves while we help regulate our kids?  What if there is a way to parent from a place of calm and compassion?  It doesn't mean there...

Is it possible to live in gratitude even in the midst of really trying circumstances? Is it possible to see our kids goodness even when they push the boundaries and struggle so much? David and Cheryl Cardall chat about the blessings that have come into their lives and the growth they have seen as they have raised kids with some extras.   It is possible to be grateful even in the midst of big chall...

Kathy Moffat who is a mom who has raised a son with mental illness shares her story of how it affected her.  She also is a relationship coach and gives some amazing advice on how to navigate the storms of marriage and how to become stronger and more united.  

Alisha Worthington LCSW with a speciality in Human Sexuality talks very openly about how teaching healthy sexuality without shame is quite possibly our best tool for pornography prevention.  Sexuality is an inherent part of being a human being and having open communication about it is key to healthy relationships and healthy interactions with online sexual images.  Did you ever think that teaching...

How can we best support and love our LGBTQ teenagers?  The suicide rate of LGBTQ teens is high, their mental health is at stake. 45% of them have seriously considered suicide. More than half of transgender and non-binary youth have seriously considered suicide . Of those who have just one affirming adult, the suicide attempt rate is cut by 10%.  Are we going to be that one loving and affirming adu...

What happens when your expectations about life collide with reality and you are stuck in the waves of grief?  In this episode I share tools I have learned to shift my perspective and tune into empathy and see the gifts gained instead of all the things lost.  Perhaps this is just how it is supposed to be? 

Benee Larsen with NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) Utah chapter shares with us the incredible free resources that the national organization provides.  She shares what the Utah chapter provides, but stresses that every state in the U.S. has a chapter that provides similar resources. There are free support groups for families, there are peer support groups for teens, there is a phone numbe...

Therapist Jossie Schauerhamer shares with us information and her knowledge as a clinician about what depression is.  She shares about the brain science behind it.  She shares what signs and symptoms to watch for with our kids to know if it is typical teenage angst or if we need to see a professional about depression.    Help in finding a therapist: Psychology today

Tourette syndrome is a neurological syndrome that is diagnosed by motor and vocal tics over a period of at least a year.  It is often misunderstood and under diagnosed.  In this episode we learn from Wendy Wegman the education expert at the Tourette association of America all about this vast syndrome and the co-occuring conditions that often go along with it such as ADHD, OCD, anxiety, learning di...

What kind of a leader parent are you?  Are you self protected and armored or are you vulnerable and courageous?  Do you lead with hurt or your heart?  Do lead with control or empathy and connection?  This episode shares how we as parents are the leaders in our home and set the tone for the relationships we are building.  I chat about Brené Brown's book Dare to Lead and podcast and share her Whole...

In this "In the trenches" episode where we open up the discussion about mental health in an attempt to smash the stigma, I talk with Kristen Smith who opens up about her OCD.  She candidly talks about how it affects her daily life and relationships with her children and husband.  She is open talking about how she found help, does therapy and takes medication.  She says she is grateful every day fo...

Dr. Mona Delahooke, child psychologist and best selling author shares her expertise on the core reasons behind some of the most challenging behaviors our kids exhibit.  Why do tantrums, defiance, back talk and disrespect happen?  Dr. Delahooke in her research has found that most difficult behaviors happen when a child's nervous system is immature and signals to the child they are unsafe.  She talk...