Finding Flow Parenting

Rebuilding Identity & Preventing Burnout

In this episode of Finding Flow Parenting, host Emily Hughes and guest Gemma Dean discuss the common feeling of losing one's identity after becoming a parent. They explore the importance of self-awareness, emotional resilience, and the need for parents to reconnect with their core values and personal joys to thrive in their parenting journey.

Find out more about the Host Emily www.findingflowparenting.coach.

You can find out more about Gemma Dean and her work supporting parental wellbeing, emotional regulation, separation & co-parenting support, and burnout recovery at www.resetwithgemma.com — where she offers 1:1 coaching, parental programmes, workshops and corporate wellbeing workshops.

Gemma is active on social media — find her on Instagram @resetwithgemma for practical tips and community inspiration, and on LinkedIn (Gemma Dean) where she shares insights on parenting, stress and resilience. She works with parents one-to-one and in group formats including The Mindful Parent Hub, (@themindfulparenthub) and you can book a free 15-minute consultation via her website to explore how she can support you.

Takeaways

• Reconnect with core values
• Prioritize self-care and joy

Chapters

• 00:00 Rediscovering Identity in Parenting
• 04:10 The Importance of Self-Care
• 08:12 Emotional Check-Ins and Awareness
• 12:45 Normalizing Parental Feelings
• 16:39 Understanding Parental Burnout
• 20:58 The Challenge of Boundaries
• 26:50 Practical Tips for Parents

The conversation delves into the complex world of parenting in the digital age, focusing on the challenges and considerations related to smartphones and media literacy. It explores safety concerns, developmental readiness, the role of media literacy, setting boundaries, and the power of tools in reclaiming sovereignty over digital devices.

Takeaways

• Parenting and smartphones
• Media literacy and digital parenting

Chapters

• 00:00 The Smartphone Dilemma
• 02:34 Safety Concerns and Developmental Readiness
• 06:16 The Role of Media Literacy
• 13:14 Setting Boundaries and Values
• 30:05 The Power of Tools and Reclaiming Sovereignty

The podcast episode explores the intensity of parenting, the realities of raising a solo child vs. siblings, and the use of tarot for personal growth. It delves into the gift and shadow of having a single child, the strength of family dyads, and the challenge of parenting with siblings. The episode also discusses the intensity of parenting, the intensive parenting culture, and strategies for reducing intensity and building trust. Additionally, it explores the use of tarot for personal growth and provides an example question using tarot.

You cna find out more about Victoria Here https://www.tarotandtransformation.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/tarot_and_transformation

and her leadership coaching here https://www.victoriasmithmurphy.com/

And https://www.instagram.com/vsmcoaching/

You can find out more about Emily here https://www.findingflowparenting.coach/

Takeaways

• Intensity of parenting
• Using tarot for personal growth

Chapters

• 00:00 Reducing Intensity and Trust

In this conversation, Orla Donoghue, a single parent coach, and Emily Hughes discuss the challenges faced by single parents, including emotional overwhelm, guilt, and the need for self-care. They explore the importance of intentional moments of rest, creating a supportive network, and redefining success metrics to empower single parents. The conversation provides valuable insights into managing the emotional and practical challenges of single parenting.

Takeaways

• Recognizing the emotional overwhelm and understanding its drivers is crucial for single parents.
• Self-care is essential for single parents, and intentional moments of rest and recovery are important for managing overwhelm.
• Creating a supportive network of friends and seeking connection is vital for single parents to feel supported and less isolated.
• Redefining the metrics of success and curating a lifestyle that aligns with personal values is empowering for single parents.

You can Find out more about Emily at www.findingflowparenting.coach

Find Out more about Orla

https://www.solascoaching.com/about

And check out her podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/3r5m8i0oCV9FsoKMVnRCdQ

Chapters

• 00:00 The Overwhelm of Single Parenting
• 11:04 Empowerment and Self-Care
• 23:50 Managing Emotional Overwhelm

The conversation explores the challenges of being present in parenting, emphasizing the importance of embodiment, capacity building, and setting boundaries. It delves into the impact of cultural pressure, parental enjoyment, and the role of environment in fostering presence. The discussion highlights the significance of integrity, energy protection, and collaborative parenting in creating the right conditions for presence.

Charlotte Mindell is a UK-based somatic therapist, writer, and mother who specialises in supporting women—particularly mothers—to reconnect with themselves through body-led healing. Her work focuses on helping mothers move beyond stress, resentment, emotional exhaustion, and inherited patterns by using trauma-informed somatic therapy that works with the nervous system rather than only the thinking mind. Charlotte’s approach is gentle, intuitive, and grounded in helping women feel safer in their bodies so they can parent, relate, and live with greater authenticity. She is also the creator of The Embodied Mother, her signature therapeutic programme designed to support mothers in releasing stored emotional tension, rebuilding self-trust, and experiencing motherhood with more presence and ease.

Website: Charlotte Mindell official website
The Embodied Mother programme: The Embodied Mother programme page
Instagram: @the_embodied_mother on Instagram

Takeaways

• Building capacity for presence is a gradual process
• Setting gentle boundaries to protect energy is vital for sustained presence

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Finding Flow Parenting
• 06:15 Embodiment and Distraction
• 12:29 Acceptance and Fighting with Oneself
• 18:20 Children's Play and Parental Presence
• 24:10 Integrity, Boundaries, and Energy Protection

Find Our Course HERE https://findingflowparenting.coach/bedtimebattlesolutions

You can find Emma at www.iseethemoon.co.uk and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/iseethemoon_sleep where she shares free, evidence-based info, practical sleep tips and regular Q&As. She offers 1:1 sleep coaching packages and aims to create a calm, safe space for parents to talk through their sleep challenges and feel genuinely heard.
If you’re looking for responsive, developmentally informed sleep support that combines practical tools with a clear understanding of what normal sleep looks like, you can explore ways to work with her on her website. Emma also offers downloadable guides, including freebies on safer bedsharing and navigating nap transitions, as well as the self-paced Bedtime Battles course for parents wanting gentle, practical support around tricky bedtimes.

The conversation delves into the challenges of bedtime routines, the importance of meeting parental needs, shifting perspectives to understand the child's experience, creating space for worries, setting boundaries, empowering children at bedtime, and the Bedtime Battles Solution course.

Takeaways

• Self-care before bedtime routine
• Understanding the child's perspective

Chapters

• 00:00 Understanding Bedtime Challenges
• 07:37 Shifting Perspectives
• 16:07 Setting Boundaries
• 23:43 Empowering Children at Bedtime

The conversation explores behavior management, the illusion of control, nervous system awareness, reframing behavior as a message, quality of connection, impact of the school environment, co-regulation, boundaries, leadership style, personal boundaries, family values, natural authority, and growth experience.

Takeaways

• Reframing behavior as a message
• Importance of natural authority and growth experience

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Behavior Management
• 06:17 Quality of Connection and Finding the Jewel
• 11:26 Impact of School Environment
• 17:05 Boundaries and Leadership Style
• 22:19 Natural Authority and Growth Experience

Hosted by Conscious Parent Coach Emily Hughes www.findingflowparenting.coach www.instagram.com/findingflowparenting

You can find out more about Kristin and her work as a Parent Coach at www.kristinschmoke.com. You can find her on social media https://www.instagram.com/kristin.schmoke.parenting/ She has a freebie called Love Grows: A three day email connection challenge. You can access it here https://kristinschmoke.myflodesk.com/lovegrows