Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

My guest today is Dr. Emily Kline.  Dr. Kline shares all kinds of useful information this week around why and how we can communicate with our adolescents with the best results. This episode is all about motivational interviewing. We touch on relinquishing control and asking curiosity questions, then we dig in deep into what motivational interviewing is and why it’s so helpful. I ask Dr. Kline what...

Inspired by Monday's interview with college admission coach, Janae Young, this week's solo show is all about how to let go of control and allow our teens to move through their own process. This is HARD! I get into WHY it's so hard and WHY it's so important to let this process be theirs. Not all kids are headed straight for college, and the ones who want to may not be showing up to the work in a wa...

My guest this week is Janae Young, and I’m so excited that she’s here to share her wisdom as a college admissions coach with us.   Janae shares why she’s so passionate about college admissions, and we talk about what the admissions process looks like now, including what the common application system is. Janae shares what’s challenging about college application essays for adolescents, tips to help,...

Today I am digging into a challenge that is plaguing way too many parents of teens - vaping nicotine. It is something I worked through with my kids, and something that shows up for so many of the parents I work with. One parent came forward asking for resources in the Joyful Courage for Parents of Teens group - their daughter had recently come clean about their use and needed help. Listen in and l...

My returning guest today is Dr. Melanie McNally the author of “Helping Your Unmotivated Teen: A Parent’s Guide to Unlock Your Child’s Potential”. Dr. McNally explains what inspired her to write her new book and a bit about what parents misunderstand about teens, motivation, and laziness. I ask Dr. McNally to tell us more about the difference between external and internal motivation and how we know...

Join me this week revisiting this solo episode as we play with the concept of flexibility while parenting through the teen years. Where are you finding flexibility? How might flexibility serve your relationship with your teen? What is getting in the way of flexibility? Find full show notes and news about our sponsors at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-452-dance-flexibility-while-parenti...

I am SO excited about today’s interview. You’ll recognize my guest today - Julietta Skoog my co-founder and the Early Years Lead here at Sproutable! She’s here today to talk about back-to-school season with middle schoolers.   Julietta and I cover so much this week - balancing caring for our kids & our aging parents, the jarring differences between elementary & middle school, and watching their de...

Screens!! I know - will we ever get to a place of NOT needing to talk about screens?? Today's episode is a messy exploration of the subtle ways kids are pulled into their relationship with screens, and the importance of developing life skills WHILE providing guardrails for keeping our kids safe. Plus, an invitation to take an honest look at how OUR use is adding to the messaging our kids are getti...

My guest today is Dr. Jo-Ann Finkelstein and we’re talking about sexism and our daughters.   Dr. Finkelstein kicks us off by sharing how a pink hockey stick impacted her childhood and inspired her to speak about sexism & gender bias. I ask what intergenerational transmission of sexism is, and Dr. Finkelstein helps me deconstruct an incident I had with Ronan about how she was dressing in 8th grade....

I am back with a brand new solo show! I loved my convo with Dr. Tina Bryson (Eps 511) and was inspired to go deeper into trusting our teen’s development. This show goes into what is happening in the teen brain and how to work WITH our kids to promote relationship and autonomy over time. Enjoy! Find full show notes and information about our sponsors at: www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-512-trustin...

Dr. Tina Bryson is BACK today! I love her work, and I’m so excited she’s here to talk about launching our teens, which is incredibly timely after I dropped my youngest child off at college yesterday!  Dr. Bryson shares her wisdom on avoiding fear-based parenting & reminds us that development & maturation happens no matter what - maybe we don’t need to worry quite so much. She explains what the “ri...

This show was a no-brainer to reshare with you all. When I recorded it, I was so fired up, and had our boys on the brain. So many of my clients and people in the community struggle with their boys. Not only struggling with their boys, but struggling to soften to the idea that the hard time the family is moving through is really a call for deeper relationship. Listen in to hear more – and don’t wor...

Katie Connolly, a Somatic Parenting Coach, teaches me a whole lot about our nervous system and somatic tools when she drops by this week.    Katie explains how our nervous system and birthing experiences tie-in to our personal growth, who highly-sensitive people are & indicators, and why we’re able to better navigate experiences and stay connected in our bodies when we nourish our nervous system....

This summer throwback revisits how parenting teens keeps coming back to owning our own sh@t. This is the juicy spot. This is where the real transformational space of parenting exists. This is where we get to nurture AN ENVIRONMENT that is safe for our kids to step into. This is where we can start to dismantle the walls that have been built over time and make room for connection. Find more show not...

My guest today is Alex Edmans, and we’re hitting a super important topic this week: how to discuss fake news and social media with our teens.    Alex starts by explaining the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 of Fake News, and I ask what to do (and why) our teens bring up conspiracy theories. I ask Alex how we can nurture adolescents to fine tune their questioning, look for expertise, and tea...

A powerful relisten!!! You have a great relationship with your teen and they are STILL getting into ALL the mischief? You aren't alone. In this episode, I tease this apart and remind you what the most important thing to consider is. See all the show notes and info about our sponsors at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-424-when-it-feels-like-your-teen-is-holding-you-hostage/ Learn more abo...

My guest today is Dr. Matt Zakreski, an expert on neurodivergency with an eclectic approach. Dr. Matt tells me about growing up as a twice-exceptional kid himself and what he’s seeing with the teens he works with now.   I ask Dr. Matt what parents can do about the emotional intensity that comes with raising teens, especially neurodivergent teens. He reminds us that “emotions can’t be wrong,” and y...

Today's summer throwback is another intimate exploration of what it means to be human WHILE raising teenagers. We are deep diving (yet again) into our own stuff. This week focusing on the limiting beliefs we may be holding that keeps our kids small, and the war between our two selves. Join me for some personal growth and discovery! Find all the shownotes and info about our sponsors at https://www....

My guest today is Dr. Bianca Busch, and we’re getting into the “failure to launch” or the stalling we see from some young adults. Dr. Busch shares what drew her to working with college students, and we talk about getting “cut off” from your child’s medical, mental health, and grade information once they turn 18. Dr. Busch shares the benefits of psychiatrists working with adolescents and parents in...

This throwback solo show takes a closer look at how parenting with Positive Discipline does NOT equal avoiding the hard stuff, instead, it is about leaning into relationship WHEN the hard stuff shows up. Being brave is something we are invited into over and over again as we parent through the seasons of adolescence. Listen in as I explore what that looks like internally, as well as externally.  Fi...

It’s a tough topic this week - parental grief. Sascha Demerjian is here from The Grief House and beautifully intertwines personal stories with information.   We don’t only grieve for people that we’ve lost. Sascha explains that we also grieve for expectations, narratives, & ideas - sometimes beliefs we didn’t even realize we were holding. We talk about how meaningful it is to have somewhere safe f...

Today's Throwback episode highlights shifting our thinking about how we are showing up for Gen Z and why this is crucial as we move through the adolescent years with our kids. I share three essential tools for making this shift in a way that strengthens relationship and provides space for our kids to discover who they’re meant to be. Find all the show notes and info about our sponsors at: https://...

My guest today is Susie Pettit. Grab some popcorn for this one! Susie helps people with boundaries, codependency, emotional intelligence, and people-pleasing using a lifetime of experience, and today she’s here to talk about her awesome parenting tool.   You know one of my favorite mantras is “Fiercely committed, lovingly detached.” We’re good at the fiercely committed part of parenting, but the d...

This week's throwback is a reminder that we get to show up for our teens in a way that is helpful, not hurtful. They are navigating all the things and they need to know that we see them, they need to be believed and to experience validation around what is real for them. For more show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-329-being-with-whats-coming-up-for-your-teen/ Learn more abo...

Devorah Heitner is a new friend from The Zen Parenting Conference. I really appreciated what she had to say about doing more mentoring and less monitoring with our kids and their screens. This feels like a really hard time to be raising teens and dealing with all the tech. Cutting off access to technology isn’t reasonable, so how can we engage with our teens about how they use tech? How can we res...