Hand in Hand Parenting: The Podcast

How do you make like Meghan Markle and stand strong when you face loud and opposing opinions on how you *should be* raising your child? Meghan and Harry have broken many a protocol since bringing royal baby Archie into the world, from not using the royal family's preferred hospital to Harry holding Archie at a (delayed) press call. No-one is telling them how to raise a prince, not even the queen!...

Elle confesses that she really sucks at setting limits with her kids - and together she and Abigail suss out ways to make rules, boundaries and enforcing them a whole lot easier. Join us this week if you've ever battled with yourself about when to set limits, or found that whenever you do set limits your kids just don't seem to listen. Listen to the podcast this week and learn Top 3 reasons why li...

We know we love our kids, but that doesn't stop them being hard to like sometimes. This podcast is for you if you ever wondered how you were going to get through the next few hours  with your kids close by. We talk about how we get to the point where the dread feels real and we share things you can do when parenting feels this hard. Listen to What To Do When You Aren't So Psyched To See Your Kids...

This week Abigail and Elle respond to a mom who feels like she sees power struggles, aggression and kickback when she's parenting the way she wants to, and compliance only once she gets mad. Are her efforts to parent kindly back-firing? And why would that be? On the podcast this week we talk about: What to expect when parenting with respect Setting boundaries on your own levels of calm Comparison...

You know about setting warm limits: Moving in calmly when you need to stop a behavior, but what happens when it feels like there is no chance to keep calm? Like, your child is about to stick their finger in the power socket. Or dashes out across a busy street. Then how do you set a warm limit then? On the podcast this week, we talk about the Hard No. And why no is hard! When no means no - and thos...

Where does the need to be competitive come from and why does it rub us parents up the wrong way? This week Abigail and Elle respond to one mom about her son's competitive streak. On Help! My Kid Keeps Bragging we talk about: Is your child's competitive streak signalling some other need? Competitiveness and confidence Is competition bad, anyways? Why sometimes it's good to bask with your child in t...

So, you may be fairly new to Hand in Hand's approach or maybe you've been trying out the tools for a few months, even years. But at some point you'll probably - most likely when you are particularly tired or frustrated - ask, "Is Hand in Hand too hard???" We know! We've been there! This week, Elle and Abigail talk about when and why this question pops up. They explore the alternatives and share th...

Join us as we continue examining how nature, nurture and culture affects boys and girls, with social philosopher and author Michael Gurian. On Part 2 of this series, Michael talks about how we can use what science says to raise resilient girls. On this week's episode: The way mothers and fathers empathise differently, and why this can be beneficial in building resilience and boundaries Why fatheri...

Social philosopher, family therapist, and New York Times best-selling author Michael Gurian returns to the podcast this week for some girl talk! Last time Michael guested with us, talk turned to boys. But why even separate talk about boys and girls? Michael explains the fundamental differences in brain science between girls and boys and why these difference affect: How girls learn and process info...

You may have heard about how your tenacious, persistent, negotiating go-getter is developing the skills he or she needs to be a great leader in the future, but daily parenting a strong-willed child can feel like an uphill battle. All those constant requests, desires, energy and power play is a lot! This week Abigail and Elle weigh in on why parenting a strong-willed child can feel so demanding and...

Did you ever think you got this parenting thing figured out only to find your child brings home some new parenting challenge? Maybe they start shouting potty words at you, seemingly from nowhere? Maybe they start throwing punches when normally they'd been fairly calm? Or maybe things simple things that you ask them do suddenly brings on meltdowns, where before they'd do it without a struggle? Wher...

Three little words with such immense power. Following on from last week's podcast on children with anger, this week Elle and Abigail suss out why it feels so bad to hear "I hate you," and the many ways you can respond. Elle talks about the different reasons she hears "I hate you," both in anger and as connection bids, and Abigail shares why she thinks they hardly ever hear "I hate you," in her hou...

This week Abigail and Elle respond to a mom who is Staylistening to her child, but never sees tears. Worse, it seems to her that the more she leans in to listen to her child's feelings, the more her child gets angry, starts scowling and tries running away. How can she listen to anger? So, this week we're asking if Staylistening should always result in a cry, and if not, what can we do? Why we as p...

This week Elle and Abigail finally meet face-to-face! No wonder they felt inspired to make this podcast. "It takes a village," so the old proverb says, and anyone who tunes into our podcast for parents often knows that this is all too true. In fact, it's the reason we made the podcast - to share a weekly space for parents so you don't feel alone. And, as we meet this first time, we also realise th...

This week, Abigail and Elle respond to a listener who has a 5-year-old picky eater. How can she get her to eat more than a few reliable meals? Elle talks about her own process parenting her picky eater, including how she discovered that a good, workable solution was as much about her as it was her child. And Abigail shares the varied healthy diets her sons sampled (endured!) following their early...

Does it seem like one minute you were waiting for your baby to take its first steps, and now you are watching him or her as a tween march out the door, bursting with independence? Worries about tantrums and them sleeping through the night long ago given way to conversations (and concern) over mobile phones and curfews? As your child enters the pre-teen stage now known as "tween," you'll notice man...

Have you ever asked yourself where the fun parent went? The parent you that says yes to play-dough tea-parties, the parent you that says yes to piggy-back races and then suggests races to the dinner table? If you have, you probably also have many different responses. You left that fun parent under the washing and work pile. You packed her away in your laptop when you went back to work. You lost hi...

Do you feel awkward or anxious about your parenting when others are around? Do you find yourself coming down more heavily on your kids when you are out in public? Or do you find your yourself wanting to set a limit but not being able to? Are you stuck when your child meltdowns while other parents are watching, or feel uncertain what others think about your parenting style? In this week's podcast,...

  Why are we always compelled to start a new year with a list of resolutions that even a saint would be hard-pressed to keep up with? If there's one thing every good parent is good at, it's over-extending! We're all about the #parentgoals! We are so happy to be starting the new year with you, our beautiful, caring community of parents. We know that you being here each week with us is because you a...

What goes hand in hand with holiday gifting? Toys and more toys. This week we're asking how you feel about toys, what decisions you make around holiday request lists, and how you can keep them in check, plus why we can all expect some meltdowns over toys in the holidays.  On the episode, you'll hear about: Overwhelm - theirs and yours - and what you can do to overcome it Envies and jealousies Gett...

What should I do when my child hits?  It's one of the most common questions we get at Hand in Hand Parenting, and it's the content of this week's podcast. And no wonder. Hitting can feel dangerous. Offensive. Confusing. But if hitting is so common, why are we all still wondering what to do about it? There's so much differing advice! What Are Children Really Saying When They Hit? Abigail talks abou...

So, you want your kids to walk in the door, hang their jacket, unpack their bags, eat quickly and get back out the door, freshly changed, for practice. But right now you are at, well, walk in the door. BOOM! Cue screaming, crying, defiance and running in the exact opposite direction that you'd like. So how do you get from where you are now, to where you want to be with your kids? This week's podca...

    If you were to see a job description for a role where non-stop, around-the-clock care was compulsory, and there was no training and no overtime, would you take it? Probably not! Yet, it's what we all sign up for when we become parents. Hand in Hand Parenting exists to support parents in this crazy difficult role, and it's why we make this podcast each week! We love love love you parents for sh...

  The holiday season is rolling around fast. Whether it's Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Years these festive times exist to bring family together. And while the holidays can be fun and merry events, for many of us they bring added stress to the package, and dealing with difficult family members can feel disagreeable at best, disruptive at worst.  Like... ...you can't stand the way your...

Psychologist and parenting expert Ross Greene coined quite the term when he said that "Kids do well when they can," but isn't exactly the same true of parents? Reframing your past could be the key to getting there, and becoming a more confident, calm and content parent.  Why?   It's highly unlikely that any of us here set out to be terrible parents, so why do we often end up feeling that way? This...