Become A Calm Mama

My healing journey began as a 19 year old, wandering drunk and alone on a beach in San Felipe, Mexico. This is the story of my first attempt at healing and what I learned early on.

Welcome to part 4 of the How To Heal series. In this episode about radical listening, you’ll learn strategies for listening more carefully and trusting your intuition and inner wisdom so that you can build a better relationship with your core self. You’ll Learn: How to practice radical listening with compassion  The 4 parts within you that you are listening to Examples of patterns that might...

In this third installment of the How to Heal series, I’m talking about radical honesty - why it’s important, what happens when we’re not honest with ourselves, and how to get more honest. You’ll Learn: What it means to be radically honest  Why it’s so hard for us to be honest with ourselves Signs that you might have some healing to do 4 strategies to increase your self-awareness and honesty Y...

This is part two in my How to Heal series. Today, we’re talking about radical self trust and how to build more confidence and trust in yourself.  You’ll Learn: How past emotional wounds show up in the present Why building radical self trust is so important for healing and creating positive change How to be your own grown up 3 strategies for building radical self trust When I think about trust...

A conversation with Kristin Lafontaine about a time I almost died in the ocean, how Shrek is my life coach, and our messy kitchens

Today’s episode is the start of the How To Heal series here on the podcast. We’re starting with the foundation of it all - radical self love . A person who experiences self love and demonstrates self compassion has less depression, less anxiety, less stress, and less shame. Isn’t that what we all want? You’ll Learn: A mantra to help you practice radical self love How insecurity shows up for me and...

As we approach Valentine's Day and my upcoming series on radical self-love, you are getting a love letter from two life coaches that I recently recorded on accident. What you’ll hear today is a conversation between me and my coach and friend, Kristin Lafontaine, as we talked about what it means to heal yourself from pain, how to regulate your emotions and process hard things.  We are two life...

In last week’s episode, I talked about how to forgive yourself when you yell, shame, hurt, or otherwise show up in a way you don’t love as a parent. Today, we’re talking about what comes next - saying “I’m sorry” and having a repair conversation with your child.  You’ll Learn: Why saying “I’m sorry” is so important (and why it’s only one piece of repair) 4-step formula for a repair conversati...

Darlynn shares the story of a big ol' fight she had with Kevin on Thanksgiving. Who knew how bad things could get just by asking "What do you want for thanksgiving dinner?"

A shopping ban?? What!? Yep, this year I'm committed to buying only essentials and not buying stuff online. I'm especially avoiding Amazon! On this episode of Confessions, Danielle Walsmith dive deep into the REASON I'm doing this and all the 'rules' I've created for the shopping ban.

I'm the host of the Become a Calm Mama podcast, which is a podcast that is all about parenting and mama mindset and how to get calm and how to get your kids to listen and how to stop feeling like a piece of crap parent.  I love that podcast! And I'm going to keep teaching you how to parent and show up as the mom that you want to be week after week. As much as I love talking about parenting, I...

None of us is perfect. Not your kids, and not you. We all mess up, lose our cool and act in ways we aren’t proud of. It’s normal to feel guilty after you blow up on your kid, but there is a path back to connection. It starts with learning how to forgive yourself.  You’ll Learn: What to do after you lose it on your kid. The difference between guilt, shame, and remorse Why you have to forgive y...

If you feel worried about messing up your kid, today’s episode is for you. I’m teaching you how practicing attunement will help you build a more connected relationship with your child and create emotional health within them.  You’ll Learn: What attunement is and why it’s important for emotional health 2 simple steps to practice attunement Examples of what it looks like to be attuned to your c...

The recent fires in Los Angeles (not far from where I live) have me thinking a lot about resilience. As I hear more and more stories of families who are displaced, who have lost their homes, I’m overwhelmed by thoughts of the resilience that these individuals, families, and communities will need in order to recover. You’ll Learn: What resilience is and why it’s so important to start practicing at...

There are so many options out there for sports and extracurriculars for kids…and so many questions that come with them. Should you have your kids play sports? When? Should you make them stick with something they hate? The list goes on and on. You’ll Learn: How to create more opportunities for free play (including windows of screen-free time) The difference between structured & free play and th...

If you’re setting goals or resolutions for 2025, this episode is for you! This year, I was asked a question that stopped me in my tracks and shifted my entire approach to goal setting. The end result was goals that made me feel joyful instead of shitty. Now, I’m sharing that question with you. You’ll Learn: My theme for the year Why thinking you need to “fix yourself” will sabotage your goals How...

Many people believe that thinking about regrets is a waste of time or unimportant. But I think it can actually be informative and instructive. Today, I’m sharing some of my parenting regrets as I look back on the decisions I made when my kids were younger. I want to show you how you can use regret in a positive, supportive way. You’ll Learn: Why regret can actually be a good thing Regrets I have f...

Winter break can be hard for us and our kids. What often happens is we sort of just start going into the holiday season and winter break without a plan or being prepared.  You’ll Learn: How to get through winter break without feeling exhausted and sick by the end Ways to support your kids and decrease meltdowns What to do when your kid is disappointed by a change in plans or something not goi...

Recently, I’ve coached a few different moms about allowance and chores. These concepts often go together, but I think about them as two separate pieces. Today, I’ll teach you how to use giving allowance to teach financial literacy to your kids.  You’ll Learn: Why I don’t believe you should pay your kid to do chores Financial lessons all kids should learn The value of giving an allowance How t...

Parents often ask me about how to approach giving their kid a phone for the first time. Today on the podcast, I’m joined by Kristi Bush, founder of Protect Our Kids. We’re talking about strategies to use before you give them the phone, as well as tools for monitoring their use.  You’ll Learn: Examples of kids accessing internet content that they shouldn’t (and how it often happens) Why it’s i...

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., so I’m sharing a simple gratitude practice that you can do as a family, along with a guided gratitude meditation. What you focus on is what you create more of. When you focus on things that bring you joy and delight, you’re going to feel better and more positive about your life.  You’ll Learn: Why your kid isn’t wrong for wanting things How to flip the wish...

If you’ve ever wished you could make life less complicated, you’re going to love my guest on today’s podcast. Brenda Yoder is here with me talking about contentment - what it is, how to cultivate it and what is keeping you from feeling satisfied with your life. You’ll Learn: Why there is more discontent in our current society that in past generations How contentment and happiness are different fro...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective therapeutic models to help people move through negative emotion and create long term change in the way they think, feel and behave in their lives. Today, I’m showing you how you can use the powerful concepts behind Cognitive Behavioral Therapy  in parenting. You’ll Learn: Why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is such a powerful tool H...

The term “accidental neglect” might sound a little harsh, but it also describes what your child experiences when you’re on your phone. You might be disconnecting from your kid without realizing it. Today, I’m talking all about what your child sees and feels when you are on your device and strategies for better phone etiquette around kids. You’ll Learn: Why your kid often bothers or interrupts you...

Today on the podcast, registered psychotherapist, art therapist and author Amelia Knott is helping us discover the art of thriving online and sharing ways to reconnect with yourself, your thoughts and your sense of wellbeing. You’ll Learn:  Common challenges that result from the online space and being constantly connected How to reconcile the good and bad of the internet and social media What...