Parenting Smarts

133: Popular Questions and Season Wrap 22.04.2026 37:36 ↓

Mary Ruth tackles common questions parents have about spiritual life as she wraps up this season.

131: Prayer Changes Everything 25.03.2026 37:30 ↓

Shannon Wendt joins Mary Ruth to share how prayer changed everything in her family life as well as encourages us to pray even when it's messy.

130: Parenting Different Ages - Part 2 11.03.2026 52:50 ↓

Nell O'Leary joins Mary Ruth for an authentic conversation about the realities of family life and offers perspective on how to navigate it.

129: Parenting Different Ages - Part 1 25.02.2026 33:46 ↓

Emily Jaminet joins Mary Ruth to share tips and experience for parenting kids of different ages.

128: Forgiveness 11.02.2026 48:27 ↓

Fr. Ignatius Mazanowski joins Mary Ruth to talk about forgiveness - how to live it, to teach it to children and to cultivate it in family life.

127: Temperaments and Connection 02.02.2026 32:28 ↓

Rose Sweet joins Mary Ruth to help us understand the four temperaments and how they affect family dynamics.

126: Fostering Connection 14.01.2026 55:51 ↓

Meagan Martinez joins Mary Ruth to share how to connect deeply with our kids at any age.

125: Recap of first half 31.12.2025 36:22 ↓

Mary Ruth reflects on the first half of the season with a recap of the episodes on connection.

124: Connecting Through Community 17.12.2025 47:36 ↓

Jennifer Ellis joins Mary Ruth for a conversation on the importance of belonging and how to build community.

123: Connecting through Movement 03.12.2025 55:49 ↓

Shalini Blubaugh joins MaryRuth to discuss the benefits of movement for spiritual, physical and mental well being. 

122: Connecting Through Service 19.11.2025 1:11:56 ↓

Service pulls us outside of ourselves and helps us connect. Melissa Mazzella DeLaney shares her incredible story and the importance of service in family life.

121: Connecting Through Art 05.11.2025 40:10 ↓

MaryRuth sits down with Bishop Dolan to talk about his love for art. Together they explore how art connects us to God and to each other.

120: Connecting Through Nature 22.10.2025 44:47 ↓

Abigail Poole joins MaryRuth to explore how nature helps us connect to God and to each other. 

119: Welcome to Season Eight 08.10.2025 28:46 ↓

MaryRuth welcomes listeners to a new season of Parenting Smarts with a look at what's ahead.

118: Discernment 14.05.2025 38:28 ↓

Stephanie Burke joins MaryRuth to talk about how to help children understand the spiritual world in age-appropriate ways.

117: Faith 30.04.2025 30:09 ↓

MaryRuth dives into the virtue of faith and ways to nurture it in ourselves and in our families.

116: Patience 16.04.2025 30:39 ↓

MaryRuth is joined by Jennifer Ellis to reflect on patience, what they have learned and how to practice it in family life.

115: Wisdom 02.04.2025 48:25 ↓

How can we choose our words, listen to the Lord and discern well? Fr. Will Schmid joins MaryRuth to discuss how to allow wisdom to permeate our lives and families.

114: Courage 19.03.2025 40:16 ↓

Gail Davis, MaryRuth's mom, joins the program to help us learn how to cultivate courage in ourselves and our families.

113: Kindness 07.03.2025 31:32 ↓

Olivia Spears joins MaryRuth to explore how to cultivate kindness in our families.

112: The Golden Rule 19.02.2025 54:50 ↓

Tina McAllister-Smith joins MaryRuth to talk about how stories can teach virtues and the Golden Rule.

111: Spiritual Detachment 05.02.2025 50:32 ↓

Nell O'Leary and MaryRuth share a casual, vulnerable conversation exploring attachment parenting and spiritual detachment.

110: Temperance 23.01.2025 42:15 ↓

MaryRuth welcomes Lindy Wynne to explore the virtue of temperance and how to cultivate it on ourselves and within our families. 

109: Fortitude 08.01.2025 37:09 ↓

Megan Hjelmstad joins MaryRuth to explore the virtue of fortitude. Help your kids be able to endure difficulty and to do hard things.

108: Merry Christmas! 25.12.2024 6:07 ↓

MaryRuth shares some thoughts and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas!