Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

It's that time of year... The grade portal shows a pile of missing assignments, and taking the phone away feels like the only leverage you have. In this solo show I start in that moment with a teen who's behind in school, then work outward through the intentional ecosystem. We look at how your house runs and how connected you and your teen are, then at what you make those grades mean. I cover mistaken goals, executive functioning, natural consequences, and when to get help.

For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-675-when-teen-grades-start-slipping

Join the Living Joyful Courage Membership program now to take advantage of 30% off and the 6 week PD for parents of teens class. Go to ⁠www.besproutable.com/ljc ⁠and use code PODCAST30 at checkout.

Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year.

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You can do everything right and someone in your life can still make it hard. In this episode, I talk with Amy Armstrong, LISW-S, founder of the Center for Family Resolution, about co-parenting boundaries and staying grounded when another person's reactivity pulls you off center.

Amy shares her own story of chronic conflict, why trying to understand a difficult person rarely brings the control we hope for, and her working definition of a boundary: what you are willing and able to do. We also talk about why doing more is often a fight-or-flight reaction, how to protect kids from conflict without pretending everything is fine, and when teens get a voice in parenting plans.

Amy put together a free kit for Joyful Courage listeners, with co-parenting communication scripts, a five-minute nervous system reset, and a guide for boundaries that aren't working: podcast.thecenterforfamilyresolution.com/courage

Find Amy at the Center for Family Resolution and on TikTok at Amy Armstrong Conflict Free.

Learn more about this episode, sign up for our newsletter and find support for parents of kids of all ages at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-674-co-parenting-boundaries-with-amy-armstrong

Join the Living Joyful Courage Membership program now to take advantage of 30% off and the 6 week PD for parents of teens class. Go to www.besproutable.com/ljc and use code PODCAST30 at checkout.

Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year.

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Dr. Stuart Slavin has spent decades studying what pressure does to young people, and what he found flips the usual conversation. When he cut class time and letter grades at a medical school, depression and anxiety dropped by 80% and board scores went up.

A few things from our conversation:

→ Teen mental health started declining long before smartphones
→ The average teen in his research sleeps six and a half hours
→ Maladaptive perfectionism is skyrocketing, in our kids and in us
→ "Pressure not to disappoint my parents" ranks higher than direct pressure from parents
→ Aim for the college your kiddo will graduate from

For more info and show notes go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/teen-achievement-pressure-stuart-slavin/

Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year.

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Three weeks ago I told you about the text I got in an Atlanta hotel room. Today I share what happened after I got home, what I tried, and what finally shifted. This is the third show in the series, and the one the others were building toward. We look at all four ecosystem questions at once, the narrative I didn't know I was holding, and the anchor word practice I still use. It's also the last time I'll tell this story.

For more info and show notes go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-672-letting-go-of-the-story/

Immersion Week starts Monday, 9/21!! Get in there - www.besproutable.com/immersion

Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every parent of a teen has asked some version of this: Is this normal teenage behavior, or is something actually wrong? This week I go under your teen's closed door, attitude, screens, and secrecy. What's driving all of it is belonging, significance, and the private logic your kiddo is writing in real time. I share four questions that tell you where the trouble actually lives, honest signs that it's more than a season, and a three-step practice you can use tonight.

For more show notes and info go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-671-is-this-normal-teenage-behavior/

Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/joyful or use code JOYFUL and get 70% off your first year!

To sign up for my Fall Immersion week, go to: www.besproutable.com/immersion

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I thought I knew everything about co-regulation and the nervous system when my daughter texted me from across the country to say she was dropping out. None of it was available to me. In this solo show I get into what happens when you flip your lid, why knowing better doesn't protect you, and the three things you can practice tonight so your body has the move loaded when the house isn't calm. This one starts with you, my friend. The teen years are REAL. You're going to appreciate this one.

For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-670-knowing-better-isnt-enough/

Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I'm sharing a conversation I had with Margot Bisnow, who interviewed more than 70 families raising wildly self-driven kids. She went looking for a formula and found something more ordinary. We get into how to tell a real passion from checking out, and what parents do in the moments after their kid fails. She also tells the story of biting her tongue when her son left college halfway through. If you're white-knuckling your teen's path, my friend, this one's for you.

Guest bio

Margot Machol Bisnow is the author of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams, 99 Stories from Families Who Did, written after sitting down with more than 70 families whose kids grew into wildly self-driven adults. Before that she spent 20 years in government, including serving as an FTC commissioner and as staff director of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Her two grown sons found their own paths: Austin is a musician who founded the band Magic Giant and the folk duo Somewhere in Between, and Elliot founded the Summit conference series for young entrepreneurs and led the purchase and revival of Powder Mountain in Utah. When she isn't talking about parenting, she's traveling or with her family.

For more show notes and info go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-669-margot-bisnow-on-raising-entrepreneurs/

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I'm back from a couple weeks off and I'm fired up about the intentional ecosystem, the model I've been carrying around all summer. It's four layers, and you work them from the outside in: you, your relationship with your teen, your systems and routines, and the in-the-moment tools. This is my answer to the question I get more than any other, which is I know what I'm supposed to do, so why isn't it working? The school year is a real reset. Come listen, my friend.

For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-668-your-2026-back-to-school-reset/

Get your updated Back to School Checklist here: bit.ly/teenchecklist 

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Even if you don't run a business, you're running something. In this conversation with business coach Trish Gower, we talk about what happens when your nervous system is driving the car. Over-functioning, boundaries that actually hold, the mental load, and why "I don't have time" is usually a story we tell ourselves. If you're a parent of teens who's exhausted from holding it all together, this one's for you. Come listen.

Guest bio:

For more info and show notes: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-667-trish-gower-on-regulated-leadership/

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Our kids are watching how we talk about our bodies, and they're deciding what that means about theirs. In this episode I sit down with health and wellness coach Robynn Powers to talk about body image, food rules, and what gets handed down without us meaning to. We get into keeping food neutral, why restriction backfires with teens, and where to start if you feel like you've already blown it. Come listen. This one is tender and really useful.

Guest Bio

Robynn Powers is a health and wellness coach with a background in psychology and training as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and pre- and post-natal exercise specialist. She's been in the fitness industry for over twenty years. Using an intuitive eating-informed approach, Robynn helps busy moms step off the diet treadmill and rebuild trust with their bodies, trading rigid rules for nourishment, energy, and self-respect. She's a mom of four, and she believes that when moms feel good in their own skin, their kids tend to follow.

For more info and show notes, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-666-robynn-powers-food-without-rules/

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