What if the quirks, questions, and beautiful edges your LGBTQ child expresses aren’t something to fix, but something to fiercely celebrate? This Halloween, we’re flipping the script on fear and reframing what it really means to embrace “the strange.”

So many parents and allies want to support their LGBTQ kids but struggle with the discomfort of difference, especially when it challenges how we were raised or what society tells us is “normal.” In this heartfelt episode, Heather explores how inclusion, identity, and empathy begin at home. You’ll learn why “normal” is a social construct, how fear of difference is rooted in old systems of control, and why allyship means choosing curiosity over conformity.

If you’re a parent who wants to build real emotional safety for your LGBTQ child, this episode gives you practical guidance on how to shift your mindset and create everyday rituals that affirm identity and deepen connection. You’ll hear powerful tools rooted in love, parenting with empathy, and the radical social justice act of letting kids show up as their full selves.

Whether your child is exploring gender, embracing a unique style, or just seems a little “different,” you’ll learn how to meet them with love, not fear, and why your courage to embrace the strange can unlock healing for you both.

Press play to:

• Reframe “strange” as strength and self-expression
• Learn why fear of difference is a learned response and how to unlearn it
• Gain tools to build inclusion, emotional safety, and lasting trust in your parenting
• Discover how Halloween can be a metaphor for real-world allyship

Then head to MoreHumanMoreKind.com for parenting resources, tools for LGBTQ allyship, and weekly guidance on raising brave, compassionate kids.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

Resource Spotlight 

Books & Articles:

• Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone (2017).
• Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider (1984).
• bell hooks, All About Love (2000).
• Roxane Gay, “The Case for Weirdness” (New York Times, 2020).
• Adam Grant, Originals: How Nonconformists Move the World (2016).
• The Atlantic, “The Perils of Pursuing ‘Normal’” (2022).

For Parents and Educators:

• PFLAG National: “How to Talk to Kids About Identity.”
• GLSEN: Inclusive Schools Toolkit.
• Teaching Tolerance: “Breaking the Myth of Normal.”

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

LGBTQ+ History Month isn’t just a celebration of the past,it’s a warning about the present. With over 600 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in play, what will you do to protect what truly matters?

In this powerful episode, Heather Hester walks you through key moments in LGBTQ+ history, from Stonewall to marriage equality, and connects them to the rising threats queer youth face today. You’ll gain tools, context, and confidence to speak up when it matters most.

Learn how to help your kids connect past and present, recognize the patterns of oppression, and feel empowered to resist them. Discover what real allyship looks like today and why silence isn’t neutral.

Press play to turn heartbreak into action and hope into power. Then head to morehumanmorekind.com for resources, prompts, and ways to keep showing up.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

Resource Spotlight

Historical Foundations

• Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution – David Carter (2004).
• How to Survive a Plague – David France (2016).
• The Celluloid Closet – Vito Russo (1981).
• When We Rise – Cleve Jones (2016).

Modern Reports & Data

• ACLU, “Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures” (2024).
• PEN America, “Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools” (2023).
• The Trevor Project, 2023 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.
• GLAAD, Accelerating Acceptance Survey (2024).

Films & Documentaries

• The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix, 2017).
• Milk (2008).
• Disclosure (Netflix, 2020).
• Paris Is Burning (1990).

Educational Tools for Parents

• Teaching Tolerance: “LGBTQ History Month Resources.”
• Human Rights Campaign: “Timeline of LGBTQ History.”
• PFLAG National: Parent guides and allyship toolkits.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What if the witches we grew up fearing weren’t villains, but visionaries, healers, or queer-coded rebels whose power threatened the status quo?

In today’s rich and revolutionary episode of More Human, More Kind, Heather Hester uncovers the truth behind witch hunts, both historical and modern. From midwives to queer teens, anyone who dared to live outside the norms has been branded dangerous. But when we revisit who the “witch” really was, we open a portal to connection, empathy, and courage.

If your child is drawn to witches, monsters, or magic, this episode will show you why it’s not about rebellion, it’s about belonging, power, and healing. And how you, as a parent or ally, can show up with more curiosity, not control.

• Why witches were originally midwives, healers, and women with ungovernable knowledge
• How LGBTQ+ communities reclaim the witch as a symbol of queer power, survival, and self-trust
• 4 ways you can use this history to better understand and affirm your LGBTQ+ child
• Unlearn the myth that witches = evil and explore what society really fears: truth, autonomy, and joy

Press play to uncover how history, horror, queerness, and allyship collide—and how this ancient archetype can help you raise brave, inclusive, empowered kids today.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

Resource Spotlight

Historical & Theoretical

• The Malleus Maleficarum (1486), Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger
• Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch (2004).
• Anne Llewellyn Barstow, Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts (1994).
• Brian P. Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (2016).
• Lyndal Roper, Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany (2004).
• Mona Chollet, In Defense of Witches (2022).
• Alex Mar, Witches of America (2015).

Feminist & Cultural Reclamation

• Pam Grossman, Waking the Witch (2019).
• Kristen J. Sollée, Witches, Sluts, Feminists (2017).
• Sarah Lyons, Revolutionary Witchcraft (2019).
• Pam Grossman, The Witch Wave Podcast.  The witch became the archetype of anyone reclaiming power denied to them—especially queer and trans people who have also been branded unnatural or dangerous.
• As Grossman says, “To be a witch is to be a person who chooses themselves.”
• The Love Witch (2016), The Craft (1996).
• Queer Witch Podcast.

Academic Articles & Essays

• Marianne Hester, “Patriarchal Reconstruction and Witch Hunting,” Gender & History (1991).
• Deborah Willis, Malevolent Nurture: Witch-Hunting and Maternal Power (1995).
• Smithsonian Magazine, “The Witch Craze That Swept Through Europe” (2018).
• Teen Vogue, “Why Queer People Identify with Witches” (2022).

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What if the monster your child identifies with…isn’t a threat, but a symbol of courage, survival, and truth?

For many LGBTQ+ teens, horror films offer more than scares; they offer safety, self-expression, and even joy. While many parents associate horror with violence and fear, queer youth see something radically different: empowerment, visibility, and a chance to survive in a world that often misunderstands them. This episode dives into the coded history of queerness in horror, how today’s youth are reclaiming it, and what it reveals about the emotional worlds of LGBTQ+ kids.

• Discover how horror has historically coded queerness and why it still matters today
• Learn how to connect with your LGBTQ+ child through their media interests (even scary ones!)
• Gain tools, questions, and recommended films to reframe fear as a source of empathy and resilience

Press play to discover why horror isn’t just about fear. It’s about survival, strength, and learning how to love your LGBTQ+ child even more deeply through what lights them up.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What do parents need to know about the masks LGBTQ+ kids wear for survival?

For queer kids, and the parents, moms, and allies supporting them, masks (figurative and literal)can mean safety, expression, or survival. But not all masks are harmless. Some start to suffocate. In this episode, we explore what playful costumes and emotional disguises have in common and how to help our kids (and ourselves) know when it’s time to take the mask off.

• Learn how to tell when your child’s “mask” is joyful play or protective camouflage.
• Explore how figurative masking shows up in parenting and how to model authenticity.
• Walk away with practical tools to build trust, inclusion, and safety without forcing disclosure.

Press play to uncover the power of masks, the risks of hiding, and what it really means to be seen, known, and safe.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What if your child’s costume choice is Halloween fun AND a first, powerful glimpse into their identity exploration?

For parents, allies, and advocates raising LGBTQ+ or “othered” kids, Halloween can bring joy and also fear. Costumes are often treated as trivial, but for many queer children, dress-up is a rare, safe opportunity to try on who they truly are. In this episode, you’ll learn how to meet those moments with empathy, curiosity, and love.

• Understand how dress-up is central to identity development, especially in queer and neurodivergent kids.
• Learn how to recognize your own fears and respond in ways that build trust and safety, not shame.
• Gain language, tools, and mindset shifts that empower you to be a grounded, inclusive parent or ally this Halloween and beyond.

Press play to discover how one costume can become a turning point for connection, inclusion, and raising brave, joyful kids.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What if the ghosts haunting your parenting aren’t spooky but silent? And what if your child’s future depends on whether you face them?

For parents and allies of LGBTQ+ kids, cycles of silence, shame, and inherited fear can sneak into how we parent, often without us realizing it. These “ghosts” may have protected us once, but now they risk being passed down unless we pause to acknowledge and unlearn them. This episode offers the guidance you need to parent more consciously, with empathy, safety, and healing at the center - and learn actionable ways to break the cycle now!

• Discover what “ghosts” really are in the context of parenting and how they show up in your daily life.
• Learn how to identify and release inherited fears, shame, and silence so you don’t pass them to your children.
• Walk away with practical steps to transform generational patterns into moments of healing, love, and resilience.

Listen now to explore how facing your past creates space for inclusion, safety, and the fierce love your kids deserve.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What if the monsters you feared growing up were never the real threat but a reflection of the parts of yourself society told you to hide?

For LGBTQ+ youth, and the parents, moms, and advocates walking alongside them, labels like “weird,” “freak,” and “monster” aren’t just childhood fears, they’re often used to dehumanize. In this episode, we explore how queer communities have reclaimed “monstrosity” as a symbol of resilience, and how parents can use that same insight to guide their kids with empathy, education, and fierce love.

• Discover how “monster” stories are rooted in fear of difference and how reclaiming them builds resilience and pride.
• Learn practical ways to shift your parenting from fear-based protection to inclusion-based empowerment.
• Hear how LGBTQ+ communities transform pain into creativity, and how that wisdom can help you raise brave, mentally healthy kids.

Hit play to explore how reclaiming the monster myth can strengthen your parenting, deepen your allyship, and create more safety and love for the communities that need it most.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

What if your child’s “difference” isn’t a problem to fix, but a story we’ve been taught to fear?

In this raw and compassionate episode, Heather Hester opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of parenting LGBTQ+ kids - really any kid that we have labeled as "different" and how to shift from grief and fear to love and clarity. Whether you’re facing the first waves of realization or years into the journey, this episode invites you to let go of outdated scripts and fully see your child as they are.

• Learn how your expectations may be unintentionally shaping your fears and how to let them go
• Discover how to move from the grief of "what you imagined" to the beauty of "what is"
• Hear why “normal” is a myth and how honoring difference builds deeper trust, resilience, and connection

Press play to reframe your perspective and discover the radical power of honoring your child exactly as they are.

Resource Spotlight

• Parenting with Pride (Heather’s book!) — A heartfelt guide for parents navigating bias, expectations, and the journey of loving LGBTQ+ kids fully and freely.
• Understood.org — An incredible resource for parents raising children with learning and thinking differences, reminding us that “different” can mean thriving.
• The Mighty — A storytelling platform where people share lived experiences of difference, resilience, and what it means to be fully human.
• Child Mind Institute — Trusted guidance on supporting kids with emotional, behavioral, or developmental challenges, framed with compassion and clarity.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy

Should you shield your child from life's hardest moments or teach them how to face and carry them?

In this honest and heart-opening episode, Heather Hester explores one of the most misunderstood parts of parenting: how to share hard truths without overwhelming your child. From navigating her own cancer diagnosis to supporting a child through crisis, Heather reveals what it really means to protect and prepare our kids for life’s hardest moments. (Parenting Trust, Resilience, and Emotional Guidance)

• Learn how to share difficult news in age-appropriate ways that build trust and emotional safety
• Hear how silence and secrecy create fear and what honesty can do instead
• Discover why vulnerability is a strength your kids need to see, not something to hide

Press play now to learn how honesty, vulnerability, and trust can transform your parenting and strengthen your connection with your child.

Resource Spotlight

• Raising Good Humans (Dr. Aliza Pressman podcast) — Honest, practical conversations about how to raise resilient kids by being honest about life’s struggles.
• Common Sense Media — Tools and language for helping parents decide what’s age-appropriate, especially when introducing kids to tough topics.
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) — Guidance from pediatricians on talking with kids about illness, family stress, or other hard realities.
• NPR Life Kit (Parenting episodes) — Accessible, short conversations about parenting through challenges—offering bite-sized wisdom when you need it most.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Become a private client

Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Watch on YouTube

Influence the Parenting with Pride companion journal content. Survey here.

Find out what kind of ally you are!

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy