The Parent Pivot Podcast

Starting a new year can often be overwhelming making a list of "resolutions" to improve your life - like, eating better, exercising, or paying off debt.  Where do you start? When it comes to pivoting from parenting to partnering with your adult children, Steve and Julia believe you can start 2024 with ONE simple step.  Don't miss he next episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast! Got a podcast topic you...

2023 is over and here comes another year.  Are you ready?  What's in store in 2024?  (Oh wow! . . . that rhymes!) Once again, coming at you in real time, Steve and Julia open the new year of The Parent Pivot Podcast with something they recently faced that caused them to look inward at themselves and how they are coming across to their adult children.  You'll laugh a little, maybe not cry, but you'...

In the Cummings' kitchen is a wooden plaque that says, "Simplify."  We often get overwhelmed in life trying to balance, juggle, and learn new things.  Don't you wish you could just simplify life more? On today's Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia help us simplify how we can focus on a few things on the road to becoming a champion partner to our adult child(ren). Get a copy of "How We Love" ment...

You've been there before.  You're introduced to a group of people and you begin to feel a positive connection with one or two people - and soon you become fast friends. What is it that caused that to happen? On today's episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia show us how the "gravitational effect" can actually propel you to pivot much faster to a partner than anything else - and your a...

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you     and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you     and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 These verses from the Old Testament are known as "The Blessing" and are the focal point of this edition of The Parent Pivot Podcast. Steve and Julia share how it's not to late to change generational "stuff" and see what God doe...

So your kids are having a baby! You're going to be a grandparent!  Whether it's your first or another in a long line, the baby showers, pregnancy checkups, and gender reveals dominate your days.  All of it these events are memory makers that last a lifetime. On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia zero in on one aspect of your grandchild's birth that could upset the apple cart...

Pivoting from Parent to Partner can be fun, impact others and develop a deeper connection with your adult child.  It doesn't always have to be confrontational or stressful.  There are some things you can do that will have a life long impact. On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia show us how serving together with your adult child(ren) can end up blessing the recipient of your...

Pivoting from parent to partner isn't easy.  It's a road of what seems like constant change.  But! . . . the intentional effort you put in, will reap a stronger, deeper and more healthy relationship with your adult children. On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia show us how we can have a lasting legacy that will strengthen your relationships with your adult children for a li...

The holidays are here and can be a LOT of stress as we try to negotiate the plans to be made when our adult kids are married.  What do you do when you have traditions that have been going on for decades and now you have a new member of the family? How do we navigate this season when there are so many emotions pulling us in different directions? On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve an...

In every family tree, addiction can wreak havoc destroying family relationships for generations to come.  The mere mention of the word, addiction, often strikes fear in our hearts. But, it doesn't have to be that way. On the this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia will show us how you can actually grow closer to your adult kids and bring a halt to addiction in your family, while...

Pivoting from being a parent to a partner requires an awareness of the difference between our tribes, and tribalism.  On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia show us what it means to care for our tribes as a partner, while pointing our the dangers of tribalism and how that impacts our relationships with our adult children.   Contact Steve and Julia on Facebook at The Parent Pi...

When our kids were little our #1 goal as parents was to raise responsible adults.  Responsibility is a core value in raising kids, Amen?!   When they become adults, one of the hardest things to do to pivot from a parent to a partner is to release responsibility.  It's not easy.  We want our kids to succeed in every sense of the word in life and when they don't, we can often blame ourselves. Listen...

Pivoting is not easy.  It never is.  You have to be intentional to change your trajectory.  When it comes to pivoting from being a parent to a partner, we need to start with us - Mom and Dad. What's the key to pivoting and becoming the healthy partner to your adult child? On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia walk us through ways we can achieve a healthier balance in life wh...

Football season is in full swing and you've likely seen a runner get stopped at the line of scrimmage and gang tackled to the ground.  Five or six guys against one all piling on. What does that have to do with pivoting from a parent to a partner, you ask? On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia bring us some sound counsel on what to do when we find our adult child - no matter...

We all do it.  We mask up to protect our hearts from shame, judgment and criticism and it's all based on fear.  The Enemy wins because we don't want anyone to know the real me. Guess what?  That one dynamic prevents us from having a deeper relationship with our adult children. On this edition of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia openly share how being authentic about our lives with our adu...

The "American Dream" our culture has sold us for generations is changing.  Watching our adult children struggle to get sustaining jobs and buy a home is becoming increasingly harder to attain, multiple studies have shown.  Aging parents to care for are also on the rise.  Is there another option for families to survive in this world today?  Steve and Julia believe there is, and there is hope for fa...

The American dream and landscape isn't what it used to be when Boomers got married.  Multiple studies are now showing that our adult children are struggling with being able to buy a home.  On the other end of the generational pendulum, elderly parents need a safe place to live when other options aren't viable. Maybe you find yourself in a similar life situation and you're wondering: Is there anoth...

Have you ever noticed there's one essential ingredient missing in most of our relationships?  And, Steve and Julia believe it's the single most important factor in order to pursue healthy relationships with our adult children. What is this powerful catalyst?  On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia remind us as parent what life was like when we were young adults.  It's a podca...

If your adult child has cut you out of his or her life—whether for a long or short time—it is a gut-wrenching experience. It often provokes deep feelings of shame, guilt, bewilderment, and hurt, all of which can easily turn to anger. On top of that, it can also arouse people’s worst suspicions ("Surely, the Smiths must be terrible parents for their daughter to cut them off like that!") and leave y...

Whether we realize it or not, or even BELIEVE it, shame can affect our relationships with our adult children.  It seeks to destroy our identity as a parent and replace it with a damaged version of ourselves.  The good news is: we don't have to continue to live this way. On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia unpack how shame can be overcome and you can begin to have that heal...

Every day it seems it's getting harder and harder to make it in this world.  If you have hard-working adult kids struggling to get sustainable jobs and housing, you're not alone.  What can we do as partners to help them? On this edition of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia Cummings share their own story of being struggling newlyweds and having kids and how they were able to survive only to...

Summertime is a good time to watch a good movie and laugh with your mate.  Sometimes laughing at other people can bring home some valuable messages to evaluate how you are doing. On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia share about some recent events they went through, and how a popular movie they watched again can help you as a partner of an adult child.   Videos to watch ment...

Many young adults today are in no hurry to grow up. They are meandering toward responsibility and life's most important decisions, while wearing t-shirts jokingly complaining about "adulting." Does that sound like your adult child? On this edition of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia shed some light on how you can come alongside your "emerging adult" with curiosity and how creating a safe...

It's bound to happen.  Your adult child is hurt by something they see their grandparents do for their sibling and not for them.  Do you get involved? Ignore it? Take sides? Explain it away? In yet another "real time" episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia walk through a situation that just happened that involved their adult child and their grandparent. How do you navigate this one wh...

Your husband's relationship with your adult child is heading south fast and causing tension in the family.  Or maybe it's your wife's relationship.  Your adult child comes to you because you're safe and now you're in the middle.  Now what? If this resonates with you, you'll want to be sure to listen to this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast. Steve and Julia Cummings provide some helpful counsel...