Get Kids to Listen Without Yelling, Threats, or Repeating Yourself

Welcome to Season 2 of the Ask Mom Parenting podcast! The Ask Mom Parenting Podcast is a reset for overwhelmed parents tired of reacting, over-explaining, and managing emotions all day.

Hosted by parenting strategist, author, mom of four, and reformed yeller Sue Donnellan, this show challenges conventional advice and replaces it with calm, leadership-based thinking.

You’ll learn how to stop absorbing urgency, communicate with clarity, prevent power struggles, and raise capable kids without fear, shame, or permissiveness. Less reacting. More leadership. Real change starts here.

Follow the show so you don't miss an episode and connect with Sue at AskMomParenting.com

The Parenting Mindset Shift That Stops Holiday Tantrums, Complaining & Teen Resistance

If the holidays feel less like a celebration and more like forced customer service without a coffee break, this episode is for you! Hit play for practical strategies to manage tantrums, whining, meltdowns, tween and teen resistance, overstimulation, and screen battles around the holidays.

It all starts with a parenting mindset shift that changed the game for me and many of the parents I've coached.

What You'll Learn:

• Why holiday meltdowns aren’t about entitlement
• How your mindset shapes your kids’ behavior more than any consequence
• The powerful mantra that helps parents stop overcontrolling
• How to let go of traditions that create stress instead of joy
• Why deciding boundaries before you’re tired prevents blowups
• How to handle public meltdowns without shame or overreacting

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Grab the Tantrum and Behavior Rescue Kit here
• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠Facebook Group⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠@AskMomParenting⁠
• Watch Ask Mom Parenting on YouTube

Practical Ways to Teach Kids Genuine Gratitude Every Day

Most parents try to teach gratitude by reminding kids to “say thank you.” But real gratitude isn’t a script. It’s a feeling. And the reason many kids don’t show it has nothing to do with entitlement and everything to do with emotional overwhelm, development, and the ability to receive.

In this episode, we’ll uncover why forced “thank yous” backfire, why the holidays make gratitude harder (not easier), and how kids often look ungrateful simply because they don’t yet know how to receive attention or generosity.

You’ll learn what genuine appreciation looks like at different ages, how to help kids access it even in overstimulating moments, and the simple daily mantra that turns frustration to appreciation instantly.

What You'll Learn:

• The surprising reason some kids shrink during gift-giving
• How to rescue gratitude from holiday chaos
• Small, everyday ways to grow appreciation without reminders or pressure
• The 2-minute practice that rewires your home

If you want kids who feel thankful, not just perform it, this conversation will change the way you think about gratitude.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Ask Sue a question at https://www.askmomparenting.com/ask-question/
• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠Facebook Group⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠@AskMomParenting⁠
• Watch Ask Mom Parenting on YouTube

Artificial Intimacy: Protecting Teens in the Age of AI Companions

What happens when your teen’s closest confidant isn’t a person, but a program?

In this eye-opening episode of The Ask Mom Parenting Podcast, I am pulling back the curtain on a growing digital dilemma: teens forming emotional or even romantic relationships with AI chatbots. One in five teens are already turning to apps like Character.ai and Replika for comfort, validation, and “connection.”

Most parents have no idea it’s happening but behind the friendly avatars and endless empathy lies a silent crisis: dependency, isolation, and emotional confusion that can reshape how an entire generation defines love and belonging.

What You'll Learn:

• Why AI “companions” feel safer than real people and what that reveals about today’s teen mindset
• How these algorithms are engineered to bond emotionally and keep kids hooked
• The hidden fallout: deepfakes, digital harassment, privacy risks, and social withdrawal
• Simple conversation openers that disarm defensiveness and build trust
• How to teach discernment: the ability to tell real from artificial connection.
• Ways to rebuild genuine human relationships so your teen’s world doesn’t shrink to a screen.

This isn’t a future problem, it’s a right now one. By the end, you’ll know how to spot emotional dependency on AI, create boundaries that stick, and guide your teen back toward what’s real.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠Facebook Group⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠@AskMomParenting⁠
• Watch Ask Mom Parenting on YouTube

The Hidden Reasons Why Teens Lie & What Parents Can Actually Do About It

Why do teens lie…even if they have good parents, open conversations, and no reason to hide?

In this episode, we're unpacking one of the most misunderstood parenting challenges: lying. You’ll learn how most teens don't lie out of rebellion, but for protection, privacy, and power. I share a personal story of being a “frequent teen liar” and how that insight reshaped my parenting philosophy.

Together, Randee and I explore why tightening control only increases deception, and how a calm, curious response can transform dishonesty into trust and growth.

What You'll Learn:

• The real purpose behind lying (and what it’s protecting)
• How to stop taking lies personally and start reading them as communication
• What it means to brand yourself “unshockable” and why your reaction determines your child’s honesty
• Simple neutral statements that build connection instead of confrontation
• How control invites lies and why giving up control earns truth

Listen through the end for specific age-based examples and my powerful “We Language” strategy that rewires your child’s honesty through trust, not fear.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠Facebook Group⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠@AskMomParenting⁠

Parenting Children with ADHD: How to Know When to Connect & When to Correct

Parenting a child with ADHD can feel like living in a constant guessing game... am I supporting the diagnosis or enabling the behavior? Do I hold the line or hold space? How do I discipline a child whose brain doesn’t respond to discipline the same way?

In this episode, we dig deep into the razor-thin line between connection and correction… and why both are essential if you want your child to build self-control, not shame.

You’ll learn how to recognize when your child’s brain is in dysregulation mode (and literally can’t hear you), versus when it’s time to teach accountability and follow-through.

What You'll Learn: 

• How to read your child’s body and tone for signs their brain is “locked down” vs. “ready to learn”
• The My Lead First™ method for setting expectations in advance so correction doesn’t turn into combat
• The real reason typical punishments and consequences backfire with ADHD kids - and what actually builds discipline
• Simple sensory resets that reopen the brain for listening, reasoning, and self-regulation
• How to balance compassion with accountability - so you’re not excusing bad behavior, but you’re also not crushing your child’s confidence

This episode is for every parent torn between empathy and exhaustion, wondering if their child “can’t” or just “won’t.” You’ll walk away knowing when to lead with connection and when to lead with correction - without guilt, confusion, or chaos.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠Facebook Group⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠@AskMomParenting⁠

Kids & Smartphones: Rules Every Parent Should Set Before Handing Over a Phone

Handing your kid a phone isn’t a tech decision, it’s a leadership one. In this episode, I'm laying out the mindset and the must-haves that separate a calm, values-driven phone handoff from a chaos spiral. We’ll show you how to define the why, set expectations that actually stick, and avoid the most common trap parents don’t see coming, until it’s too late.

What You'll Learn:

• The question to answer before you even look at devices
• How to decide readiness without using age as the yardstick
• The “first-phone” agreement that does the heavy lifting (and why most fail)
• Training-wheel options that buy you freedom without turning you into the phone police
• The silent risks hiding in notifications, group chats, and late-night DMs, and the simple way to defuse them

 If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away. 

Resources:

• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠⁠Facebook Group⁠⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠⁠@AskMomParenting⁠⁠

Emotional Intelligence in Parenting: Teach Kids Empathy and Smarter Decisions Easily

If you’re tired of meltdowns, backtalk, and power struggles and you want kids who listen, self-regulate, and make wise decisions (at school, online, and with friends) then developing emotional intelligence is your answer.

In this episode we're sharing why emotional intelligence is the oftentimes overlooked skill that you should teach your kids and exactly how to incorporate it into your everyday parenting.

What You'll Learn:

• The “Read the Room” Framework for families
• How to teach kids to trust their instincts (and how you model it)
• How to shift from “fit in” to “feel in” and why it upgrades confidence, mental health, and decision-making
• How the 360 & Release Method works for tough decisions
• Why parental emotion-coaching builds focus, empathy, and stress recovery

Teach emotional intelligence, set real boundaries, and get kids listening—starting today.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Want the scripts and step-by-step plan? Go to AskMomParenting.com → Help → Fight-Free Parenting Course.
• Prefer live help? Book a free 30-minute consult. Leave with one step you can use tonight at AskMomParenting.com
• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠Facebook Group⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠@AskMomParenting⁠

Stop the Morning Chaos: Back-to-School Routines That Actually Work

Back-to-school mornings shouldn’t feel like a battle zone… but for most parents, they do. Shoes disappear. Homework is “forgotten.” Emotions are high before you’ve even had coffee. In this episode of Ask Mom, we're sharing what’s really behind morning chaos (hint: it’s not just about “getting the routine right”) and the surprising shifts that make mornings calmer, kids more cooperative, and parents a whole lot less stressed.

What You'll Learn:

• The morning habit that makes everything easier… but most parents skip it.
• Why less talking can get your kids moving faster.
• How to catch meltdowns before they start — without adding more to your plate.
• The one prep step you can do tonight that changes everything tomorrow.

We also answer YOUR questions from our parent newsletter…the kind most families can relate to. If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be a better way to start the day,” this episode will show you exactly where to start.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away.

Resources:

• Just for listeners: Get the free PDF - 20 Conversation Starters for After School (That Aren’t ‘How Was Your Day?’)? Just email ⁠[email protected]⁠
• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠⁠Facebook Group⁠⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠⁠@AskMomParenting⁠⁠

Do you ever feel like your kid hears everything except you?

Like they can pick up a whisper about dessert three rooms away but somehow miss the rule you’ve said 17 times?

In this episode you'll learn that there’s more to your kid’s ‘selective hearing’…and you might be the plot twist. Hit play for the strategy and tangible tips to get your kids to start listening to you the FIRST time you ask.

Plus: A real-world teen negotiation story, a 3-step plan to rebuild trust, and a powerful reframe on how holding the line builds respect, not resentment.

If this episode helps you find clarity, don’t forget to follow the show for more weekly guidance on parenting, connection, and calm discipline. Your next breakthrough might just be one episode away. 

Resources:

• Join the Yell-free Parenting ⁠⁠Facebook Group⁠⁠ 
• Read Sue's book, ⁠⁠Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck ⁠⁠
• Connect with Sue on Instagram at ⁠⁠@AskMomParenting⁠⁠