Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

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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Parenting teens has a way of surfacing everything we've been avoiding in our marriage. This week I'm talking with Shilo Minor about what happens when the connection thins out and you start feeling more like roommates than partners. We get into fawning, self-abandonment, boundaries that actually hold, and why the inner work is worth doing even when you're the only one doing it. If you love your person and still feel alone in the middle of the teen years, come listen.

Guest bio:

Shilo Minor is the founder of Your Real Life Love Story and the creator of the Real Love Method, a process that helps women build soul-satisfying marriages without couples therapy. Her heart is in guiding good women to break generational cycles of being emotionally neglected and taken for granted, so they can finally get the love, support, and affection they need from the partner they already chose. When she's not doing this work, you'll find her in the garden, in the sauna, or somewhere in the middle of a good conversation. She lives in rural Nova Scotia with her husband and their two small boys.

For more info and show notes, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-665-marriage-and-the-teen-years-with-shilo-minor/

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In this solo episode, I answer a question from a mom whose oldest is heading off to college across the country. How do you show up for your kid in the months before and after they launch? I talk through letting them practice freedom before they go, keeping routines and contributions in place, holding the both/and of excitement and sadness, and setting up communication that actually works. If you're sending a teen to college soon, this one's for you.

For more show notes got to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-644-parenting-and-launching-your-teen/

To enroll in the Sexy and Regulated Mama Summit, go to https://bit.ly/sexysummit

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This week I'm getting honest about being in my own season of crisis and what it's teaching me about the fawn response, that fourth survival instinct after fight, flight, and freeze. If you've ever walked on eggshells with your teen or someone else you love, or have struggled to hold a boundary because you're scared of losing the relationship, this one's for you. I share the Adlerian roots of people-pleasing and a grounding practice called Think Tree to help you come home to yourself. Press play.

Find more info and show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-663-moving-through-crisis-without-losing-yourself/

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In part two of my conversation with parent coach Susan Notis, we move past the information about teen cannabis use and into what you can actually do about it. We get into regulating your own nervous system before you talk, communicating without slipping into lecture mode, and how to tell when a consequence is safe to let unfold versus when it's time to call in help. If your teen is using and you feel stuck, this one's for you.

Guest bio

Susan Notis is a certified parent coach and bestselling co-author of The Perfectly Imperfect Family. She wrote the chapter "The Silent Epidemic: Teen Marijuana Dependency" for Raising Teens Who Talk to You, which Casey also contributed to. With more than two decades of experience supporting children and families, Susan brings a whole-family lens to high-stakes challenges like teen cannabis dependency. She runs the Cannabis Conversation Circle, an online community for parents concerned about their teen's pot use, and her coaching program, Raising by Example.

Find more show notes, links and all the things at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-662-part-two-of-teen-cannabin-use-with-susan-notis/

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I loved this convo! My guest, Diane Sorenson shares what shifts when you stop performing motherhood and start treating it as a lifelong relationship. We talk boundaries as an expression of your truth, why holding a firm line is connection rather than its opposite, and how to stay steady when your teen is furious with you. If you've ever folded to make the bad feeling go away, press play.

Guest bio: Diane Sorensen has spent over 30 years working with kids and families. A former teacher turned boundary and empowerment coach, she hosts the Chaos to Connection Podcast. Her daughter's mental health crisis at 17 became the catalyst that moved Diane from the "lens of good and right" toward the "lens of connection," work she now shares with parents everywhere.

find more show notes and info at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-661-diane-sorensen-on-lifelong-motherhood/

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What if the way we treat our babies and teenagers could actually predict whether they grow up peaceful or violent? In this episode, I welcome back Lori Petro to dig into the buried research of Dr. James Prescott, the pull of obedience culture, and how shame around our kids' bodies and emotions shapes who they become. We get honest about parenting teens, sexual development, and choosing curiosity over control. It's messy, it's tender, and it left me hopeful. Come listen.

Guest bio: Lori Petro is a writer, educator, and child advocate, and the founder of Teach Through Love. Her own experience growing up as a highly sensitive, neurodivergent kid in an abusive home ignited a lifelong mission to dismantle obedience culture and restore emotional intelligence to how we raise children. She created the Conscious Communication Cards to give parents real-world language that replaces punishment, shame, and control with connection. Her new video series, The Roots of Love and Violence, shines a light on the suppressed research of neuropsychologist Dr. James Prescott.

For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-660-lori-petro-on-obedience-culture/

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What if our teens are far more capable than our anxious culture lets us believe? (spoiler: they are) In this episode, I sit down with Lenore Skenazy to talk about raising independent, resilient teenagers in a world built on fear. We dig into why kids crave independence, how "worst-first thinking" keeps us stuck, and practical tools to help your teen practice real-world skills before they launch. If you're ready to trade control for trust, this conversation is for you.

Guest Bio: Lenore Skenazy is a cultural critic, longtime New York–based journalist, and TED mainstage speaker who sparked a global conversation when she wrote about letting her nine-year-old ride the subway alone. She founded the Free-Range Kids movement and co-founded Let Grow, a nonprofit helping kids build confidence, resilience, and real-world skills through greater independence. Her work has been featured on CNN, the Today Show, and in The Atlantic.

Find more info and show notes as: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-659-free-range-teens-with-lenore-skenazy/

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