Don't Mom Alone Podcast

I love Kirk’s realistic approach to parenting. He understands what your home dynamics are like. And gives practical tips. After listening to today’s episode you will have at least three different “tricks” to apply.

Most of all, I’m thankful for the new perspective he has given me. Kirk helped me recognize how emotionally invested I was in my boys’ behavior and freed me from the need to regulate their behavior for them.

The last couple days I’ve enjoyed the boys more. I’m also less tense and frustrated when we are out in public. In fact, I may need to go back and listen to this episode more than once, so it sticks!

Kirk came back on the show multiple times. Check out additional episodes here.

What we chat about:

I can only control one person in life, and that’s me.

If you don’t care enough about yourself, to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually. . .why would anyone else care?

Connect with Kirk:

Site :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Podcast

Links Mentioned:

Summer of Mentorship Discussion Questions: 

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Better Help: This episode is sponsored by Better Help.  Stop comparing and start focusing, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/dma today to get 10% off your first month.

Greenlight: This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. Sign up for Greenlight today and get your first month free when you go to Greenlight.com/dma. 

On September 20, 2021, Makayla Noble, a world-champion cheerleader, suffered an injury that resulted in a severe spinal cord injury. Both Cynthia and I were part of her extended community and were getting updates on her healing journey and how to pray for her.  Today we have the honor of interviewing her to see how God has used her life to glorify Him even when things don’t go as planned. 

From the moment of her accident, Makayla felt the overwhelming peace of God, that He was going to take care of her and had a plan. She has mourned her physical body and what she thought the future would look like but remains in the truth that “God is not done with me yet”.  Come along with us as we hear Makayla’s story. 

Connect with Makayla Noble: 

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A few years ago on an Instagram survey I learned that 68% of y’all have experienced broken friendships. I knew we needed an episode to help.

Licensed professional counselor Shundria Riddick is here to walk us through some healthy ways to work toward reconciliation and how to know when to walk away from a hurtful friendship. We talk about setting healthy boundaries, having clarifying conversations, and how to analyze the health of relationships. We also cover the new trend of Millennials cutting off their parents and how to heal those wounds and come to new understandings. 

With the busyness of parenting, work, and family- friendships often take the back burner. Shundria is here to help us make them a priority and learn how to move forward into healthy relationships even if we have been hurt in the past. 

Connect with Shundria Riddick: 

Links Mentioned:  

Relax – Shundria Riddick, MA LPC 

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Summer of Mentorship Discussion Questions:

Featured Sponsors: 

Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

**earbud alert–if you listen with little ones around may want to pop in the ole earbuds or be prepared to have lots of conversations ;) ** 

We kick off today looking like we are going to two separate events, with one dressed up and one in athleisure. Are you team shorts or team dresses for summer? We give some summer updates including how to feed ALL of the teens that are home and my 1980’s drink that is keeping 4 boys hydrated. Social media has us convinced that everyone is traveling to Italy this summer, was there a BOGO deal we missed?

Recapping the last month  includes a funeral for our young friend Pike who lost his battle with leukemia and how powerfully his family honored him at the touching memorial.  I was reeling emotionally going from graduation to funeral to medieval times with sixth graders then wisdom tooth removal for my college-bound son.  Join us today as we get sidetracked and share the hard and joyful parts of summer 2024. 

Connect with Cynthia Yanof: 

Links Mentioned:  

The Jess Connolly Podcast Episode 8 — Jess Connolly— “Must Be Nice Disease”

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Gabb Wireless –Gabb is offering $25 off any device to new customers–with no contract required! That’s $25 off any Gabb smartphone or smart watch. Go to Gabb.com/DMA use code DMA. 

Welcome to week one of the Summer of Mentorship! This summer we are answering your questions with guests from past episodes. We are starting off with an episode from April of 2020 (ep 280) with Rachel Macy Stafford, the founder of Hands Free Mama. 

Rachel’s Hands Free Mama mentality is all about finding balance in a media-saturated, perfection-obsessed world. And it’s about seizing the little moments that life offers us to engage in real and meaningful interaction.

She shares a realization that she was not connected with her own people. How she was believing a lie that she needed to hide certain parts of herself, the messy parts, the imperfect parts, in order to be loved and accepted.Her “ah-ha” moment came when she vulnerably shared this belief with her daughter and found acceptance. 

From that place she has chosen to extend that same acceptance and found real connection. Which then helps keep the lines of communication open as they grow up. 

Connect with Rachel: 

FREE LIVE LOVE NOW LISTENING PLAN: 

Click here for special 7-day listening plan for Don’t Mom Alone Listeners

Links Mentioned:  

Live Love Now [BOOK]

Only Love Today [BOOK]

Pre-order Bonuses--21-Day Self-Care Listening Plan AND 4 Downloadable Tools for Connection

Summer of Mentorship Podcast Club Discussion Questions:

Do you notice our culture (especially online) is full of people who all think their opinion is correct and want to argue? Do you wish you had the tools to help your child think for themselves and have deep conversations?

Julie Bogart; author, podcaster, and creator of Brave Writers; is here to help us teach our kids how to have critical thinking skills and how to use those tools as parents. In a world full of people defending their views and trying to convince everyone around them that their way is the right way, Julie shows us how to have real conversations. Many of us grew up with authoritarian parents and have moved all the way over to the gentle parenting side but Julie explains how both are not the best way forward. 

She gives many ideas on how to approach conversations, especially with our teens, using imagination, curiosity, and empathy to understand them better.  She teaches us how to pay attention in uncomfortable conversations and how that is a critical thinking opportunity. This episode is full of wisdom and tons of ideas on how to teach our children to think well. From how little kids learn through play to how our big kids learn through reading and expanding their worldview. The goal is to have deep and meaningful relationships that go far beyond their years in our home and this episode equips us to build better conversations and relationships. 

Connect with Julie Bogart: 

Links Mentioned:  

Inside Out Approach to Parenting Our Challenging Child [BLOG POST]

DMA Podcast Clubs (scroll down, look for box to input email address if you want support)

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Featured Sponsors: 

Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Today’s podcast kicks off with a real-life example of how the enneagram can improve relationships and facilitate healthy conflict resolution. Heather sent our guest, Beth McCord, a less than friendly email recently and Beth responded with grace and understanding because she knows how to navigate our personalities, what a gift. 

Our guest Beth is a well-known speaker, author, teacher, enneagram coach, podcaster, and more. She has honed her skill of understanding personalities while helping people find freedom in Christ. 

We ask her the big question of how to approach the enneagram from a Biblical perspective when there are so many rumors swirling around that its roots are ungodly. At the end of the day, this is a tool to bring freedom to relationships and Beth reminds us the goal is to be a non-anxious connected presence to our kids. Her new book is about motherhood and how we approach our children and conflict based on our personalities and how to heal in unhealthy areas so we can be whole. Stick around to the end where she nails our enneagram types when it comes to mom life, work, and friendship. 

Connect with Beth McCord: 

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Featured Sponsors: 

Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Father’s Day is quickly approaching and Dustin Nickerson- Comedian, author, and podcaster- is here to share all things funny and serious about parenting. On his podcast with his wife Melissa, they laugh at and also talk about the tough parts of parenting. I ask him about what it is like to try and balance family, travel for work, and attempt to have meaningful connections in friendships. The more busy we get with families and work the harder it is to lean in and make those very important relationships a priority. Dustin brings tons of joy to the parenting journey as he talks about fighting while hiking, kids with ADHD, and stolen cupcakes. 

Connect with Dustin Nickerson: 

Links Mentioned:  

How to Be Married (to Melissa): by Dustin Nickerson 

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Today’s sidetracked starts off with Cynthia airing her grievances. We talk about eyebrows and all of the products we use to get them to grow. Then move on to an update about our Patreons which we find out are the Wal-Mart and Target of that platform. I guess once you start posting content people remember they are paying for it. We also talk about our local celebrity from American Idol, Jack Blocker, and break down the difference between the new American Idol and the era of Simon Cowell. Turns out we are both the Simon Cowell of our families sharing brutally honest truth daily. 

We wrap up with Father’s Day, and I get emotional sharing how my dad was the picture of a Godly leader and made it easy to trust the Lord. Cynthia shares the challenges and struggles of this season of life with teens and parents who need a little more help, there is always something to do. Both Bruce and Mike have shown up for our families in incredible ways and we honor them by talking about their strengths. Come laugh, cry, and rant with us as we get sidetracked. 

Connect with Cynthia Yanof: 

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Do you feel like since 2020 your family tech rules have gone out the window? How do you handle tech guidelines if both parents are not on the same page? Do you find it difficult to manage different ages and stages when it comes to screens? 

Andrea Davis, a mom of five with a degree in secondary education, is here to share a ton of wisdom and guidance on tech and screens for summer and beyond. We discuss the differences between kids earning screens, where often the screens become the entire focus of the long summer days and a family tech plan that creates more balance. 

Andrea's plan for teens includes the three p’s; purpose, plan, and passion. These all create space for your child to get creative and work on skills in their free time. Also, check out her boredom busters in the show notes for the days when mom needs to work, the budget is tight, or the kids are done with all of their daily tasks. This episode is full of practical ideas but more importantly, Andrea reminds us that our kids want time with us and shaping their character and who God created them to be is more important than rules and regulations. 

Connect with Andrea Davis: 

Links Mentioned:  

Related Episodes:

Featured Sponsors: 

Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.