Raised Resilient: Help Your Highly Sensitive Child

The holidays are magical for children. There’s a constant stream of fun activities, sugar, and presents. But all of that excitement and schedule changes can also bring tantrums, meltdowns, difficulties with impulse control, and lots of big feelings.   In this week’s episode, I give you actionable strategies to support your child through the holidays by paying attention to their schedule and cues,...

What do you do when you’ve made the decision to parent differently … but your family and friends aren’t exactly on board? How do you deal when your own parents criticize your parenting? How do you navigate gatherings with relatives who don’t get gentle / respectful / conscious parenting? These questions come up all the time … but especially during the holidays when we’re gathering with friends and...

If you’re a parent who celebrates Christmas, you’ve probably been wondering: Is it really okay to “lie” to my child about Santa Claus in order to keep the holiday magic alive? And what do I do when my child comes to me & asks me directly: “Is Santa Claus real?”   In this week’s episode, I answer these questions & share my thoughts on how to do Santa (& the Elf on the Shelf!) in a way that feels re...

There’s so much pressure on us as parents to curate the perfect holiday experience for our kids. Five minutes on social media can have you scrambling to create traditions you didn’t even know existed or feeling like a failure by comparison. You might work so hard chasing joy and creating magic that you don’t even get to really enjoy the holidays.   In this week’s episode, I explore the many reason...

We all want our kids to be polite & kind, and this includes saying “thank you” when appropriate. In fact, many of us were raised to believe that “good kids always say ‘thank you,’” so we might feel triggered when our child can’t, won’t, or doesn’t thank someone. We can start to wonder: Am I raising an ungrateful child??   In today’s episode, I dive into what it looks like to help our kids recogniz...

As parents, we give SO much of ourselves. Parenting is HARD. And parenting differently than how we were parented can take a lot out of us; we’re reparenting ourselves while we’re coregulating with our kids, even when we’re not really feeling it. And when you add to all of that the stress of the holidays, it can be really hard to show up the way we want to unless we’re taking good care of ourselves...

Most of us grew up being punished when our behavior didn’t please our parents: We were spanked, sent to time-out, sent to our rooms, or grounded. This was just how people parented when we were kids. And now that you’re a parent yourself, you might struggle as you decide whether to use punishments with your own child.    In today’s episode, I tackle the topic of punishments. Are punishments actuall...

One of the earliest pieces of parenting advice I got was this: “You just have to find your child’s currency, and then ‘good’ behavior will follow.” And at the time, I thought it was decent advice; sticker charts and treats are pretty innocent, right? And rewards are better than punishments, aren’t they? Well, as it turns out, rewards aren’t as innocent as they seem.   In today’s episode, I dive in...

“Mom rage”: We don’t really talk about it, do we? There’s so much shame in our society around anger in general – and parenting rage feels even more unspeakable. But even though it feels unspeakable, parenting rage is SO common, and you’re definitely not alone if you’ve experienced it!   In today’s episode, I unpack “mom rage” (including why we call it “mom rage” even though any parent can experien...

Talking to kids about death feels hard, doesn’t it? It’s a tough subject for us as adults. And we’re often talking about it while grieving a fresh loss, which makes it all the more challenging. Sometimes it feels so hard to broach this topic that we just don’t … until we have to.   In today’s episode, I empower you with everything you need to know to have a conversation about death with your child...

We talk a lot about setting boundaries with kids – and this is for good reason! Boundaries make kids feel safe, and it’s important that we show up as the sturdy leaders our kids need us to be. But sometimes our limits are less about safety and more about our own personal preference, which introduces some “gray area” into the equation of when to set a boundary with a child.   In today’s episode, I...

Your child is climbing up high on a play structure, and you’re feeling nervous. What are you actually supposed to do? Should you be sipping coffee nonchalantly on a park bench nearby, letting whatever happens happen? Or should you be right there next to your child, setting limits around how high she climbs?   In this week’s episode, I help you understand the importance of supporting your child as...

You’re validating all the feelings. You’re saying all the right things. You’re pretty sure you’re doing everything right … and yet you don’t feel any more connected to your child. In fact, you feel pretty frustrated. And your child’s challenging behavior isn’t changing. What gives?!?   In this week’s episode, I dive into one of the most common reasons why gentle / respectful / peaceful / conscious...

Sharing is caring … or is it? Most of us grew up thinking that sharing was kindness – and that good kids always share. And now as parents, we wonder: Why isn’t my child sharing? How do I get my child to share? And should I force my child to share if it’s not happening?   In this week’s episode, I unpack the topic of kids & sharing: What’s really going on when kids won’t share? Is it normal for kid...

Parenting is legit the hardest job we’ll ever do. Parenting differently than how we were parented is especially hard because we’re being asked to give what we weren’t given. As we do this, our kids trigger our own past hurts & unmet needs … and the next thing we know, we’re losing it in an angry spiral.   In this week’s episode, I help demystify parenting triggers – how they develop, why they’re s...

If you spend just a minute Googling, you’ll see hundreds of results on how to deal with a "defiant” child. By “defiant”, we typically mean a child who’s purposefully digging her heels in & outright refusing to comply. We think of this child as difficult and problematic, and most of the Google results suggest punishment as a remedy.   In this week’s episode, I offer a different perspective. I don’t...

Parents often feel frustrated, confused, and angry when kids tell lies. For most of us, this was a hard line for our parents; we were punished or made to feel like we were bad. And now as parents, we wonder: Why is my child lying? And how am I supposed to respond?!?   In this week’s episode, I unpack the topic of kids & lying: Why do children lie? Is it normal for kids to tell lies? And how should...

Your child is so excited (and maybe also a little nervous!) to go to school; you send them off, and you can’t wait to hear all about their day when they get off the school bus. But come 3pm, instead of being greeted with hugs & stories about your child’s day, you get a grumpy attitude and a meltdown when you arrive back home. What gives?!?    In this week’s episode, I unpack the dreaded after-scho...

Navigating children’s meltdowns is one of the most challenging parts of parenting. It can be so hard to know how to respond when a child is screaming, throwing toys, hitting, kicking, crying, and unable to access logical reasoning. And because meltdowns are so challenging, there’s no shortage of advice on how to handle them … but not all of this advice is good!    In this week’s episode, I share 3...

Navigating children’s meltdowns is one of the hardest parts of parenting. We often wonder: Is it normal for my child to have meltdowns? Why is my child having a meltdown? What in the world am I supposed to do during my child’s meltdowns? And why is it so hard to stay calm during my child’s meltdowns?   In this week’s episode, I answer all of these questions by debunking 4 common myths about childr...

Parental preference is really challenging; it’s so hard when your child only wants mommy or only wants daddy. Either you can’t get a break because your child seems to need you constantly, or you feel rejected because your child seems to want nothing to do with you.    In this week’s episode, I answer a listener who asks: Why does my toddler only want Mommy? And how should we respond? I dive into w...

One of your most important jobs as a parent is helping your child make sense of the world around them; children are born knowing nothing about the world that surrounds them, and we slowly help them understand what’s happening and where they fit.   In this week’s episode, I share why storytelling is SO powerful and how to use it to support your child’s healthy development & deepen the attachment re...

Sometimes our kids go through phases – days, weeks, or even months – where they seem to need to be near us constantly. This can be challenging for us as parents; it’s hard to show up the way we want to when we’re struggling to get our own needs met because we’re constantly tending to our kids.   In this week’s episode, I unpack what’s really happening in these difficult seasons – including why our...

You sit down to eat dinner after a long, exhausting day. You’re ready to enjoy your meal and chat with your partner … when your child interrupts with something they have to say right now. And then a few minutes later, your partner is telling a story … when your child interrupts again.    In this week’s episode, I answer a listener who asks: Why do kids interrupt? And how should parents respond? I...

If your kids are constantly fighting, you’re not alone. It can be SO challenging to know how to respond to constant arguments, teasing, and physical conflict. You might start to wonder: Is it normal for siblings to fight this much? How can I stop my kids from fighting? If you’re wondering these things, you’re not alone; it can be SO hard to see your children struggling with each other.   In this w...