More Human. More Kind. | Parenting LGBTQ Kids, Unlearning Fear, Becoming More Human

What if the best way to stop bullying is to help every child, including the one doing the bullying, feel confident and seen?

Heather talks with Suzanne Jean, who has worked in community social services for 50 years and built an anti-bullying program on four pillars: attention, awareness, avoidance, and action. She explains why she sees bullying as being about power and control, and why it often targets differences. She also shares what happens when a child who bullies sees how others view him, and how breath and movement help kids regulate.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Understand the four pillars of the program and why self-awareness is the one that surprises people most
• See how building confidence, boundaries, and self-love protects a child from bullying
• Learn why the child who bullies needs support too, and how one exercise can start a change
• Use breath and movement to help a child steady their nervous system

Press play to hear a practical way to help the children in your life stand up for themselves and for each other.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

If you or someone you love needs support right now, the Trevor Project is available at 1-866-488-7386 or by texting START to 678-678.

What would change if you stopped trying to get parenting right and started trying to be present?

Heather talks with Jen Murray (they/them), founder of the High Vibe Healing Collective and a former diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging professional. Jen shares how breathwork, somatic work, and astrology shaped them as a queer parent who feared they were failing their kids. They explore why being present matters more than being perfect, and why loving someone as they are right now is a form of belonging.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Use the breath as a tool you can reach anywhere, and notice what it tells you about your state
• Understand Jen’s CEO framework: centered, energetic, and optimistic
• Make room for being human and messy, including how to apologize without an “I’m sorry if”
• Honor your LGBTQ child for who they are today, without needing them to fit a standard expectation

Press play for a conversation about presence, belonging, and giving yourself room to be human.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

When is the right time to talk to your child about consent, and what if you think you’ve already waited too long?

Heather talks with Dr. Michelle Meek, a professor, filmmaker, and author of Consent Culture and Teen Films. Michelle explains why conversations about consent and bodily autonomy have to start much younger than most parents expect, and why it’s never too late to start with a teenager. They also discuss how LGBTQ characters are portrayed in teen films and her short film on gender and youth sports.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Start conversations about bodily autonomy and personal boundaries with young children, long before they are about sex
• Use movies and shows as a conversation starter with teens, so the talk feels about a character and not about them
• Understand why queer and questioning teens can be at particular risk of consenting to something they don’t actually want
• Think about how gender divisions in youth sports affect many kids, and what more inclusive options could look like

Press play to hear a practical way to start the conversations that can feel the hardest.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

Content warning: This episodes discusses the important issue of teen suicide and its' prevention.

What do you say if you think your teen might be thinking about suicide?

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and Heather talks with Anne Moss Rogers, a suicide prevention educator, speaker, and author who lost her 20-year-old son Charles to suicide in 2015. Anne Moss shares the signs she wishes she had known, and why asking directly matters. She also walks through a simple index card plan any family can make.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize a combination of risk factors, including isolation, self-critical remarks, and frequent absences
• Ask your teen directly about suicide, without panic or shame, and what to do next
• Make a crisis response card in your teen’s own handwriting, with reasons for living, trusted adults, and numbers to call
• Approach schools and other communities with a plan when you advocate for your child

Press play to learn a calm, practical way to start the hardest conversation.

If you or someone you love needs support right now, the Trevor Project is available at 1-866-488-7386 or by texting START to 678-678.

This is a sensitive topic. If you are personally experiencing mental health challenges, I can help you find the right support.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

How do you tell the difference between your intuition and your fear when you are making a decision about your child?

Heather talks with Heather Maguire, an intuitive guide who has spent more than 15 years helping people trust their own inner knowing. Heather explains why she thinks of intuition as something your body does all the time, and how it feels different from the voice of fear. She also shares her heart rock walks, her Energy Lab, and a closing guided meditation for walking into fear safely.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Tell the difference between intuition, which sits in your body, and fear, which sits in the mind
• Slow down and get curious instead of judging what you feel, especially after a hard news day
• Ask open-ended questions, such as “How could this be easy?”, and pay attention to your whole body for the answer
• Try a guided meditation that helps you walk toward a fear and ask for help

Press play to practice listening to your body’s quiet signals, and finish with a short guided meditation.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

What does your child need from you in the moment they come out, and how does the work you have done before then change it?

Heather talks with David Devore, a life coach and master level psychotherapist who specializes in coming out, internalized homophobia, and shame. David shares how a spiritual retreat in India helped him see how childhood messages had shaped his life, and how his parents responded when he came out. They talk about what parents can do before and during that moment.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize that the coming out moment belongs to your child, and hold space with curiosity instead of fear
• Work through your own fears and judgments with a support group, a therapist, or PFLAG, and not on your child
• Ask “In what way can I support you?” and say “I love you and I need a minute” when you need it
• Understand how shame and internalized homophobia can follow a child into adulthood

Press play to hear what one gay man wishes every parent knew about the moment their child comes out.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

Can your LGBTQ child keep their faith, and what does it look like to see yourself in it?

Heather talks with Yuval David, an Emmy Award-winning actor, filmmaker, and advocate, about his documentary Wonderfully Made: LGBTQ+R, which began as a photo art project for his Catholic husband. The conversation also unexpectedly explores vulnerability, tears, gratitude, and why pausing to breathe matters. Yuval also explains why he sees the plus in LGBTQIA+ as allyship.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Understand why many LGBTQ people of faith struggle to see themselves in religious art and stories
• Hear why Yuval sees vulnerability, including crying, as a source of strength, and why not everyone has earned your vulnerability
• Try his short moment of gratitude, “I am here, I am now,” when life feels too full
• Think about what it means to be “the plus” for yourself and for each other

Press play for a wide-ranging conversation about faith, art, and giving yourself room to breathe.

wonderfullymadefilm.com

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

How do you talk to your gay or bisexual son about HIV and sexual health when the conversation feels impossible to start?

Heather welcomes back Dr. David Huebner, a clinical psychologist and professor at George Washington University who has spent 20 years studying how parents shape LGBTQ youth's health. He explains what the latest CDC youth survey says about distress in queer kids, and what minority stress is. He also shares the research behind a free online toolkit that helps parents talk with their sons about sexual health.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Understand minority stress and the common ways well-meaning parents add to it
• Ask your child, with their permission, how your behavior feels to them
• Choose how to start the HIV and sexual health conversation, from a direct talk to a text with a fact sheet
• Think about condoms in the house the way you think about a fire extinguisher, and keep the conversation going over time

Press play to hear a practical, low-pressure way to start the conversations that matter most.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

What does a family wish it had known six and a half years ago, when one of its kids came out?

To celebrate a milestone episode, Heather talks with her husband, Steve, her son, Connor, and her daughter, Grace, about what has changed in their family. They share how communication shifted, what each of them has learned, and what they would tell a family just starting out. The conversation covers therapy, validation, impermanence, and why being uncomfortable is part of the work.

In this episode you’ll learn how to:

• Notice what changes when a family communicates openly and uses therapy as support, not a last resort
• Validate what your child is feeling first, before offering a silver lining or a fix
• Think about how and when to talk to younger siblings
• Trust your gut when something is wrong, and keep asking even after “I’m fine."

Press play to hear one family look back and share what they would tell yours.

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.

How would your relationships change if you listened more and talked less?

Interest: Heather welcomes back Coach Candy Motzek to talk about listening as an act of love. Candy explains three levels of listening, from the inner monologue of “I forgot the milk” to hearing what isn't being said. She also shares simple physical shifts that make listening easier, even when you are exhausted.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize the three levels of listening, and notice which one you are in
• Take a breath, look at the person, and point your feet toward them so they feel heard
• Listen without rushing to fix, and remember that your only job is to love them
• Use listening as a quiet way to connect, even when your teen doesn’t want to talk

Press play to learn a few small changes that can make anyone you love feel heard.

https://stepintosuccessnow.com/

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

Feeling uncertain or overwhelmed? Stay informed - visit my website

Join the Conversation on Substack

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Support the Show - Learn more here!

Watch on YouTube

Listen * Share * Review *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

This is a place to feel messy while you're figuring it out.

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 grow their capacity for courageous connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heartwarming 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 on this journey with me.