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

Parenting teenagers is quite different from parenting toddlers and young children. We want our teens to have a successful academic journey, to be happy and healthy. Yet, many parenting practices prevent that. In fact, they can stress our teens out and push them toward anxiety. And in an effort to see our kids on the road to success, even well-intentioned parents are behaving badly and exacerbating the problems teens are facing. Cynthia Muchnick and Jenn Curtis know this. They are veteran education consultants, experts in the college admissions process, and mothers who provide a roadmap for parents during the pressure-laden teen years. Today they share their expertise with Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler.

Our Guests: Cynthia Muchnik and Jenn Curtis

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 178

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.

Stressed moms have a harder time being the parent they want to be. Get Sandy’s free video lesson and her Core Strategy Inventory to get real relief from stress at sandyfowler.com/stress-relief

Shame. Such a small and innocuous word that carries so much baggage and can cause so much damage to our psyches, emotions, and relationships—wittingly or unwittingly. Inward Bound Mindfulness Education meditation instructors Sara Shapouri and JoAnna Hardy meet with Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to unpack the concept of shame, how that influences our views of our kids and their views of us and to help us understand why our kids may not come to us if they're struggling, hurting or in trouble. They show us ways to meet vulnerability with care and intimacy, to help support our children and understand how to comprehend and move past shame—ours and theirs—with love and communication. 

Our Guests: Sara Shapouri and JoAnna Hardy 

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 177

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.

Parents want to enjoy their children. We want to spend time with them, have fun with them, and feel good about our relationship, especially through the teen years. And that can be challenging. The importance of establishing this connection amplifies when we understand having a good relationship with a parent is a protective factor for teenagers. So we wonder how we can get our kids to talk to us, come to us with concerns, and spend time with us. Part of the answer is by building connections. Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler interviews Dara Kurtz on connecting with your teenager. They discuss creating connection and strengthening family bonds.

Our Guest: Dara Kurtz

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 176

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.

Stressed moms have a harder time being the parent they want to be. Get Sandy’s free Core Strategy Inventory at sandyfowler.com/stress-relief

Kids arguing, not cutting each other slack, or ignoring each other can really push parents’ buttons. This isn’t the dream we had when we brought home that second little bundle of joy. We imagined our kids growing up together and having strong sibling relationships. We imagined them playing together and supporting each other throughout life. But sibling relationships aren’t always like that. We may deal with sibling rivalry, arguing, and turbulent times. Yet, we know sibling relationships are important for our children. Kira Dorrian and Deana Thayer join Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss sibling relationships and sibling rivalry. They cover the reason sibling relationships are so important and the parents’ role in those relationships. They talk about how to foster strong sibling bonds and what a healthy sibling relationship looks like.

Our Guests: Kira Dorrian and Deana Thayer 

Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 175

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.

Stressed moms have a harder time being the parent they want to be. Get Sandy’s free Core Strategy Inventory at sandyfowler.com/stress-relief