Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

We don't parent in a vacuum, my friend. Midlife and the teen years pile on the paperwork, the appointments, the mental load—and so many of us are drowning in reactive mode. In this episode, I sit down with organization expert Lisa Woodruff to talk about the invisible work of running a home, moving from reactive to proactive, and her game-changing Sunday Basket system. If you're a parent of teens craving calm and grounded systems, this conversation is for you. 🌱

Guest Bio:

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

Negotiation isn't a boardroom skill—it's a parenting skill, and every hard conversation with our teens is a training ground. In this episode, I talk with negotiation expert Atiya Qureshi about asking for what we need, managing our own emotional storms, and finding the relational middle ground between passive and aggressive. We dig into understanding interests over positions, the internal negotiation we have with ourselves first, and why being listened to opens our kids up to hearing us. Come learn alongside me.

Guest Bio: Attia Qureshi is the founder of Attia Qureshi Consulting and an adjunct at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. A former instructor at MIT Sloan and the Ross School of Business, she has worked on behalf of the US State Department in conflict zones around the world. She is the co-author, with John Richardson, of Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to Get What You Want (Simon & Schuster).

For show notes and more info go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-657-attia-qureshi-and-negotiating-with-teens/

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

If your teen's disrespect, eye rolls, and slammed doors have you feeling stuck, this solo episode is for you. I'm unpacking a game-changing reframe: your teen isn't being a problem, they're having a problem. Drawing on Positive Discipline and the Rudolf Dreikurs's Mistaken Goal Chart, I share why discouraged teens act out, how power struggles and revenge cycles trap us, and five practical moves to interrupt the pattern. Children do better when they feel better — even teens. Come listen, my friend.

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

In this solo episode, I'm diving into the messy, beautiful work of parenting through transitions. Whether you're watching your kiddo move from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, or out into young adulthood, this season of parenting tweens and teens asks something new of us. I'll share three shifts that have changed everything for me: naming what's actually happening, seeing the kid in front of you, and holding tight to values while letting go of form.

For show notes and more info: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/ep-655-who-is-this-kid-the-transition-of-adolescence/

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

Raising a teenage boy today means navigating contradictory messages about who he's supposed to be — strong but soft, expressive but not too much. In this episode, I sit down with Don Campbell of Soul Fire Parenting to unpack what teen boys actually need from us: closeness, safe harbor, and parents who model vulnerability. We dig into the power-over parenting trap, the real cost of "tough love," and why repair matters more than getting every single moment right. Press play.

Guest Bio:

Don Campbell is the founder of Soul Fire Parenting and a master coach with over 26 years of experience in learning and development. He works with parents — many of them clinicians and high-achieving professionals — navigating the tension between demanding careers and the equally demanding work of showing up for their kids. His coaching centers on burnout, emotional regulation, resilience, and dismantling the "power-over" model of parenting that so many of us inherited without realizing it. Don is also a dad of three, including a teenage son and another moving into adolescence soon, so he's not just speaking from the coaching side — he's living it.

For more show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-654-don-campbell-on-raising-sons/

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

If you've ever stood in your kitchen wondering if your teen's weed use is "just a phase," this episode is for you. I'm joined by parent coach Susan Norts to talk about teen cannabis dependency, why today's marijuana isn't what we grew up with, and how to stay grounded when fear takes over. We dig into nervous system regulation, honest communication, and the long game of leading our teens through change. Tune in—you don't have to navigate this alone.

Guest Bio: Susan Notis is a certified parent coach and bestselling co-author of The Perfectly Imperfect Family. With over two decades of experience supporting children and families, she brings an integrative, whole-family lens to helping parents stay grounded and connected through high-stakes challenges like teen cannabis dependency. She's the author of "The Silent Epidemic: Teen Marijuana Dependency," a chapter in an upcoming parenting anthology, and runs the Leading by Example coaching program, where she helps parents do the inner work that creates real change at home.

For more info about our guest and show notes, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-653-exploring-teen-cannabis-use-with-susan-notis/

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

In this solo episode, I take you into my comments section, where a listener called my parenting content "snowflake." I use it as a doorway into what Positive Discipline actually looks like with tweens and teens — why kind AND firm isn't soft, why consequences don't build skills, and how curiosity under the iceberg shifts how we show up. If you're raising an adolescent and tired of the "kick in the butt" narrative, this episode is for you.

Find more info and show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/ eps-652-soft-teens-or-snowflake-parenting/

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

In this solo episode, I dig into what so many parents of teens wrestle with: rebuilding trust after your kid has hurt or scared you. I explore why hypervigilance is a trauma response and not a character flaw, the difference between earned trust and naive trust, why the body holds on even when our mind wants to move on, and how doing your own healing work matters as much as anything they do. Tender, real, and full of practical tools.

Bio:

Find more info and show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-651-rebuilding-trust-with-our-teens/

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

Teen sleep struggles are real — and they're not about laziness or bad parenting. In this episode, I sit down with clinical psychologist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Melissa Moore to unpack why adolescent sleep is so hard and what parents can actually do about it. We explore the circadian shift of adolescence, neurodivergent sleep challenges, and how to have conversations that build cooperation instead of conflict. If your teen's sleep schedule is driving you crazy, this one's for you.

Dr. Melissa Moore is a clinical psychologist board certified in behavioral sleep medicine. She works at the Sleep Center at Rady Children's Health in San Diego and maintains a private practice serving children, teens, and young adults across the country, specializing in sleep, mood, and neurodiversity. She is the author of The Good Sleep Guide for Neurodivergent Kids.

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

If you've ever watched your teen spiral into negative thinking and felt completely helpless — or worse, realized your response made it worse — this episode is for you. I sat down with certified youth life coach Anna Kashner to talk about teen life coaching, how it's different from therapy, and what's actually happening in your teen's brain when they catastrophize. Anna is warm, practical, and deeply experienced, and she left me (and will leave you) with real tools you can use starting today. Don't miss this one.

GUEST BIO

Anna Kashner is a certified youth and young adult life coach and executive function coach with over two decades of experience working with teens, young adults, and their families. Founder of Bolster Coaching, Anna supports young people ages 14–26 with motivation, executive functioning, academic success, friendships, and major life transitions. Her approach is rooted in unconditional positive regard, practical skill-building, and the belief that growth happens when young people feel truly seen and supported. She works in person in the Seattle area and virtually nationwide. Learn more at bolstercoaching.net or on Instagram @bolstercoaching.

For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-649-teen-coaching-with-anna-kashner/

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