Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments

Connective parenting isn’t all roses! No parenting is, let’s just keep it authentic shall we? There are extra pressures with parenting against the grain. We are learning and relearning so many new things, we are fighting against what society says we should and we are exhausted from listening to big ugly feelings. I know how it feels I am right there with you and let me reassure you just because it...

I am proud of you, was something I always wanted to hear from my parents, but why? Why did I crave it so much? Was it because I felt the unconditionality of their love and is this what we want for our kids? Or would we rather them know we love them just the same when they mess up or when they do well. How can we promote internal pride and acceptance as opposed to setting them up to look for extern...

Having a teen is as hard as having a newborn! All the firsts and all the angst, let’s face it the stakes are really high and we parents worry tremendously about our children and the teen years can really exacerbate our worry and stress. What I know works is connection, but many times parents pull away from their teens because the teens are trying to find their own way too. When I lean into being w...

Being the nurse, counselor and chauffeur are enough! Adding on cooking and life as a parent can seem overwhelming. Instead of thinking of cooking as an elaborate endeavor that takes hours of planning and endless amounts of time, think of it as a place to connect. Laney Schwartz from Life is but a Dish joins us and gives us some mealtime hacks that will keep the focus on connection instead of food...

I began parenting with the idea of being the perfectly attached mom. But what none of the books told me was how to respond to my children when things were hard, when strong wills were introduced and kids said no. I resorted to yelling and that yelling led me to self-loathing which created a cycle I could not stop until I found connective parenting. Come along on my journey today of self-love and f...

Life, as we know, is not fair, but are we trying to shield our children from fairness or are we diving deeply into acknowledgment and acceptance instead? Isn’t the ideal of everything being equal and unrealistic thought and trying to even every instance into fairness doing our children a disservice? How do we help them accept unfairness and still support them in their feelings when they feel wrong...

This week on the podcast I describe how I have tried to make repairs when I have behaved in ways that I know are not acceptable. We are all human and making mistakes is inevitable and also part of how we learn to do better. Modeling effective apologies and making amends is the best way we can teach our children how to take responsibility for their actions. If we can take responsibility for ours th...

Not taking our child’s behavior personally can be extremely challenging. Not only does it restimulate our own unmet needs but on some level, we might believe what they are saying is true or that they really believe we are “mean” or understand that the off-track behavior is meaningful rather than just a behavior. In this episode, I reframe those ideas and give some alternative thoughts around takin...

This year, I want to prioritize myself. I want to make my care at the top of my list. These are simple things we overlook which can really improve our overall mood. I know when I do this I feel better, do better in all aspects and am all around happier. But it’s not easy! It’s one of the most difficult things in parenting I believe. This happiness breeds happiness in my household and in turn trick...

I have had many revelations around my parenting this year. Like every year there are also many places I still need to work. For me parenting really is an inside-out endeavor. The more committed I am to working on my inner growth and maturity the more progress I see. Paradigm shifts and mindset changes give me the biggest growth. This week I give you mine,  hoping that you can glean some support ar...

Discipline can be a confusing word in the world of conscious parenting. Is it guidance and coaching or do most of the world view it as harsh punishments? In my world with my daughters, I do not subscribe to any type of punishment or discipline. In this podcast, I tell you why and give you a compelling argument as to why you should consider doing away with harsh parenting altogether. In reality, it...

Regine is an Instagram follower who came to me with a real question about her daughter’s social life. I think we have all been there...when we want to just have a little chat with the 8-year-old kid who is being unkind to our child. You know, just let them know you are watching! Somehow it’s likely not the right move, but what is? What can we do for kids and support them through the social ups and...

My best friend joins me in a real conversation about just how hard parenting actually is, and why some days we just want to run away never to return! She and I often lament about the struggles in motherhood, where we find our own personal hurdles and how we can help ourselves to help our children find more peace for everyone. It is not easy and we are the first to admit that we certainly don’t hav...

Our environment can highly impact our children. Do you know what’s in your laundry soap, water, or even the air in your home? I certainly didn’t and Dr. Natasha Beck sheds light on how we can make changes to more positively impact the environment we share with our children. Dr. Organic Mommy is a wealth of information and she shares the top 5 things we should be aware of.    Helpful Links: 5 Ways...

Happy Thanksgiving and happy Thursday! We are moving to Mondays, so be on the lookout for a new episode with Dr. Natasha Beck otherwise known as Dr. Organic Mommy this Monday. Listen to a sneak peek and take advantage of our Black Friday Sale! All of my on-demand courses are 25% off now through Cyber Monday. This will be the lowest price all year. Click here to find out more:  Peace and Parenting...

The highly competitive world of academics can become consuming when our children reach adolescence. The pressure children feel and endure highly impacts their wellbeing and the relationship we share with them.    Finding ways to be supportive without usurping the critical learning moments in this delicate time can be difficult for us parents. Listen in as the authors of The Parent Compass recount...

Join me in a very special episode where my dad Chuck (AKA Papa) describes what he’s changed about his parenting/grandparenting techniques, and how he has embraced the ideas of Peace and Parenting. We talk about how he feels it's working for him as a grandparent and the most challenging aspects of interacting with more peace.   Are you ready to change your family dynamic through connective pare...

In this episode, Michelle is joined by Kate Anthony, a certified divorce coach who helps women deal with the difficulties of divorce with children.  In this candid conversation, the duo uncovers myths about relationship separation and lends advice for parenting through divorce.     When we can keep our children at the "center" instead of the middle of divorce we help our kids process the m...

Growing up, I was taught that to be a good kid-- you needed to behave and follow instructions, or else society would label you a bad kid. So naturally, when I began my journey in motherhood, I stepped into it with that same kind of mindset. I fell into the hole of believing that society’s opinion was my benchmark for being a good mother-- because I had well-behaved kids controlled by star charts a...

“It takes a village to raise a child.” is an old saying I’m sure many of you have heard. We’re so worried about the judgment of other parents that when our kids misbehave, we spend more energy fighting them when that same energy should be spent on connecting with our kids and raising them. So in this episode, I’m excited to be joined by DJ Johnson, a fellow parenting coach and my first guest dad o...

We parents have been taught that our children’s behavior must be corrected through punishments and manipulations, and sadly, this has been accepted as the default mode of parenting. And when compounding other stressors in lives, it becomes so easy to unconsciously fall back on that out of desperation to change their behavior. So I want to talk about where we should focus when it comes to our child...

With schools slowly opening back up too, it might be a period of uncertainty and anxiety for our kids-- especially for the little ones who are coming into kindergarten or middle school for the first time. It’s a time where they’re trying to figure out their own interests, hobbies, and identities, alongside their own peers while simultaneously dealing with academics and social interactions. These a...

Even when you have the best of intentions as parents and try to do everything right, it’s completely normal to mess up every now and then. What matters is the continuous and conscious process of becoming a better parent for our kids.  This week, I’m joined by Carolina. She has recently begun moving towards a positive parenting approach for her daughter alongside her girlfriend whose been co-parent...

Defiant and strong-willed children are something I’m sure we’ve all experienced. Whether it’s as toddlers or teenagers, it’s a tale as old as time in the book of parenting. Sometimes when this defiance is targeted towards you or their siblings, it can lead to further conflict so you want to find a way to properly nip that in the bud.   As a mother of two young girls, my guest, Liz, is no stranger...

When your child makes a mistake, you want to help them process and understand their mistake without the use of shame, punishments, or making them feel like you’re disappointed in them.  Harsh parenting does absolutely no favors for us or our kids, and as a parent who used to subscribe to that kind of parenting, I want to take the time to talk about this, and share how shifting my mindset towards a...