Our kids are often unfocused, stressed, things just aren’t sticking in their brains, or they have trouble balancing school, home and other activities. It’s easy to fall back on thinking they don’t care, they’re being lazy or they’re unorganized. But what if they aren’t? What if they just need to understand how their brain works and how to get it to do what they want to do? That’s what Malin Gutestam discusses with Mighty Parenting Podcast host Sandy Fowler. She cracks the code on the teenage brain and shows us tips, tricks, and ways to help our teens do better all day long.

Our Guest: Malin Gutestam

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 188

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Sandy Fowler: Are you stressed but don't have time to deal with it? I get it. Grab my complimentary lesson at http://sandyfowler.com/notime to find out how to start feeling better today.

The pandemic has affected our society across the globe, from economics, to travel, to social behavior and interaction--we can all see and feel the differences from now to back in 2018. Most notably, we are seeing a rise in mental health issues and their physical and emotional repercussions, especially in our teenagers. Psychologist Dr. Melanie McNally joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to help parents figure out how the pandemic is affecting our teens, what the warning signs are, and gives us steps and tools to help them support and manage their mental and emotional health.

Our Guest: Melanie McNally

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 187

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Motherhood: The 3rd Chapter – How to transition into your 50’s and beyond with joy, confidence and vitality This is a series created by Tania Carcenac which shares the collective wisdom of a group of women to help all moms transition into the 3rd chapter of motherhood and life. Sandy is a guest speaker in this series. You can gain free access by visiting https://sandyfowler.com/series

Omio, a travel booking company that covers planes, trains, and buses. Use the code LISTENER5 to get 5% off through July 31st at https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 

Self-confidence is an important core support and driving force behind our teens' ability to move forward in building their lives; however, it's too easy for our kids to focus on their failures, to be afraid to try, to compare themselves to others and feel like they'll never measure up. Shari Medini, author and co-owner of AdoreThemParenting.com, joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss our teens' lack of self-esteem, how that impacts their behavior and relationships, and four healthy ways to build confidence in your teen.

Our Guest: Shari Medini

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 186

Our Sponsors: 

Sandy Fowler: Are you stressed but don't have time to deal with it? I get it. Grab my complimentary lesson at http://sandyfowler.com/notime to find out how to start feeling better today.

Omio, a travel booking company that covers planes, trains, and buses. Use the code LISTENER5 to get 5% off through July 31st at https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 

The teen years can be challenging for both teens and parents. Letting our kids make more choices, do more on their own, and follow the beat of their internal drummer can be scary. And feeling them pull away to spend more time with their friends can be painful. But our teens do still need us. They need to feel loved and supported to help them through the ups and downs of these years. And connecting with your teenager is key. Courtney Conley joins Mighty Parenting Podcast host Sandy Fowler to share insights, tips, and strategies for connecting with your teenager.

Our Guest: Courtney Conley 

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 185

Our Sponsors: 

Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults, online and in-person. Visit iBme.com to learn more and register for programs, including in-person and online summer retreats.

Omio, a travel booking company that covers planes, trains, and buses. Use the code LISTENER5 to get 5% off through July 31st at https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 

Stress. Climbing rates of anxiety. Huge pressure. This is life for teens and twenty somethings today. And our kids don’t have the tools they need to avoid it and create emotional wellness. A large part of creating emotional wellness is self-care for teens and twenty somethings—actually, for all of us. We all need self-care. If it’s something you don’t truly understand or make time for then it’s likely your child won’t either. Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler talks to author and recovery specialist Kristi Hugstad. They cover self-care for teenagers including what that looks like, what it does for our kids, and the science behind it.

Our Guest: Kristi Hugstad

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 184

Our Sponsors: 

iBme — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults, online and in-person. Visit iBme.com to learn more and register for programs including in-person and online summer retreats.

Omio, a travel booking company that covers planes, trains, and buses. Use the code LISTENER5 to get 5% off through July 31st at https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 

We love our kids. We want them to be happy. We want to have a good relationship with them and oftentimes we believe we do. But what do we do if we find out we didn’t know them as well as we thought? What if we discover our teen is transgender—the daughter we thought we had is really a son, or the son is a daughter? This is what Paria Hassouri experienced when she discovered she had a transgender daughter. Paria is a pediatrician, a mother of 3, an activist, and the author of Found in Transition: A Mother’s Evolution During Her Child’s Gender Change. She’s joining us today to share her journey and to help us understand better how to handle it if we find ourselves in her shoes, as well as how we can support transgender kids and their families.

Our Guest: Paria Hassouri

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 183

Our Sponsor: 

iBme — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults, online and in-person. Visit iBme.com to learn more and register for programs including in-person and online summer retreats.

Omio Travel-Booking Company

Believe it or not, our kids do love us and do still want to talk to us--even when the most common response to our questions is a put-upon sigh and an eye-roll. Even when just trying to start a conversation feels impossible. Mother and parenting life coach Deborah Ann Davis knows how that feels, and today joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss why our teens behave this way, what they're actually looking for from us, and how we can break through the snarky behavior and converse seriously with our kids (even when we just want to throw up our hands and ignore it all).

Our Guest: Deborah Ann Davis

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 182

Our Sponsors: 

iBme — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults, online and in-person. Visit iBme.com to learn more and register for programs including in-person and online summer retreats.

Omio Travel-Booking Company

Leadership. If you have a teen who has filled out college applications or scholarship applications then you know the role leadership in teens plays in higher education. Why leadership though? Why are colleges so focused on this? And what does it really mean? Is it really about your teen being the president of every organization they participate in? Umbreen Bhatti has some unique thoughts on leadership and she’s sharing them with Mighty Parenting Podcast host Sandy Fowler. They discuss a different perspective on leadership, how it unexpectedly benefits our kids, how to help your child develop and strengthen the new leadership skills, and how those skills can be attractions for—and further evolved in—their chosen colleges.

Our Guest: Umbreen Bhatti 

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 181

Our Sponsors: 

iBme — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults, online and in-person. Visit iBme.com to learn more and register for programs including in-person and online summer retreats.

Omio Travel-Booking Company

What do you do when the teacher tells you your child is acting out or exhibiting other teen behavior problems? Or your teen is melting down or lighting things up at home? Behavior problems in teenagers can leave parents scratching their heads or on the verge of a meltdown themselves. The response is often to go into discipline mode. Lauren Spigelmyer is talking to Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler about another path, one without the power struggle. Lauren gives insights into how brain science can solve your teenager’s behavior issues. She shows us how we can help our kids feel better and behave better—and how to help ourselves along the way.

Our Guest: Lauren Spigelmyer

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 180

Our Sponsors: 

iBme — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults, online and in-person. Visit iBme.com to learn more and register for programs including in-person and online summer retreats.

Omio Travel-Booking Company

We all have ideas about what addiction looks like in a person: that the outward appearance should match the inward mental and emotional state, that if you don't look and feel like you've hit rock bottom, that you can't be addicted. That you're just having a little mental trouble. And we apply these ideas not just to others, but to ourselves as well. Mother and son Laura and Tom Boldt join Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss their story in their book Unraveled: A Mother and Son Story of Addiction and Redemption. They help in understanding addiction and how it manifests in both parents and teenagers. They share so we can better understand what addiction looks like, feels like, and how we can help ourselves and our children through this struggle.

Our Guests: Laura and Tom Boldt

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 179

Our Sponsors: 

Greenleaf Publishing: publishers of Unraveled