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You may know what you want to do differently from your own parents. But what happens when that determination becomes pressure to get everything right?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam Straub and Dr. Melissa Wellner welcome Julianna Burmesch, author of Life with Less of Me. Julianna shares how a childhood marked by abuse and neglect shaped her experience of motherhood, including her efforts to be a perfect parent and the self-blame she carried when things went wrong.

Together, they explore the relationship patterns we bring into adulthood, the experience of seeing other families respond differently, and the support Julianna sought while writing her memoir. This is a conversation about painful experiences, honest reflection, and the possibility of continuing to learn.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE:
• How childhood experiences can shape expectations about conflict, mistakes, and parenting.
• Why doing things differently doesn’t require becoming a perfect parent.
• What Julianna learned from watching a family calmly handle spilled milk.
• Recognizing the negative messages we give ourselves when parenting is difficult.
• Julianna’s experience of trauma therapy and finding a way to tell her story.

About Julianna
Julianna Burmesch is a former school principal, speech pathologist, early brain development trainer, parent educator, and child advocate. In writing her memoir, “Life with Less of Me” (Books Fluent, June 23, 2026), she wants to help people understand the effects of adverse childhood experiences and unresolved trauma on one's long-term physical and mental health. Julianna is a mother, grandmother, potter, and occasional jewelry artist. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, John, and her beautiful dogs, Bella and Ruby. 

Contact: [email protected]

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This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

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Your kid gets dumped. Their best friend stops speaking to them. They aren't invited. Or suddenly they're on the outside of the friend group looking in.

What should you do?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam Straub and Dr. Melissa Wellner tackle one of the hardest parts of parenting: watching your child experience rejection.

Sam and Melissa talk about why social rejection can feel enormous to kids and teens, even when adults know the situation probably won't matter years from now. They explain why minimizing the pain doesn't build resilience and why immediately jumping in to fix the situation can sometimes make things worse.

You'll hear practical strategies for helping kids identify and tolerate difficult emotions, navigate school and social situations after a rejection, fill the empty spaces left behind after a breakup, and begin separating "I was rejected" from "I am unworthy."

They also discuss when parents should step in and the mental health warning signs that may indicate your child needs additional support.

In This Episode:

• Why rejection hits kids and teens so hard
• Social exclusion and friendship drama
• Teenage romantic breakups
• Why minimizing their feelings backfires
• The difference between validating and pitying
• Why calling the other parent is usually not the answer
• Helping your child plan for school after rejection
• Breakups and the grieving process
• Helping teens fill the holes left in their routine
• Building emotional resilience
• Separating rejection from self-worth
• Warning signs that your child may need additional help
• How parents can manage their own emotions when their child is hurting

Have an episode idea or follow-up question? Sam and Melissa would love to hear from you at [email protected].

We love you. We love your kids. Thank you for raising the next generation of world changers.

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

Send us Fan Mail

Teen depression doesn’t always look like sadness.

Sometimes it looks like anger, irritability, talking back, stomachaches, withdrawal, not doing schoolwork, or a teenager who simply doesn’t seem like themselves.

So how can parents tell the difference between typical teenage ups and downs and something that may need more attention?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam Straub and Dr. Melissa Wellner are joined by Jennifer Williams, LCPC, PMH-C, licensed therapist and author of If My Depression Had a Name.

Jennifer explains why teens may struggle to find the words to describe depression and how emotional distress often shows up through behavior instead. She also shares practical ways parents can create connection without forcing a conversation and why slowing down before reacting can help us see what may be happening underneath a teen’s behavior.

We also talk about the very understandable parental urge to fix uncomfortable feelings. Buying something new, planning a fun outing, or reminding your teen about everything they have to be grateful for may provide a temporary boost, but those things don’t treat depression.

Sometimes what teens need most is permission to feel what they’re feeling and a parent who can stay present with them while they do.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Signs of teen depression that parents may overlook
• Why depression can show up as anger and irritability
• How behavior can communicate emotional distress
• Why parents should slow down before reacting
• How to connect when your teen answers every question with “fine”
• Why you don’t always have to fix sadness
• How a parent’s own emotions can influence their response
• Helping teens develop language for difficult feelings
• Jennifer’s book, If My Depression Had a Name

Jennifer’s book is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you read the book, be sure to leave a review!

About Jennifer:

Jennifer C. Williams is a licensed therapist, perinatal mental health specialist, certified parental leave coach, and mom of two boys in the DC metro area. She helps parents and couples move from stress and disconnection back to calm and closeness through her virtual therapy practice, Pass Go! Therapy and Coaching. She is also the author of the children's book If My Depression Had a Name, which gives kids ages 9 to 15 the words to name hard feelings. Through her family brand, SONshines and Playtime, Jennifer shows parents that family experiences around travel, play, and mental wellness can bring joy and adventure to any home. Jennifer also moderates the Anxious Introverted Moms group on Facebook, to give moms a space to discuss everyday parenting wins and challenges. 

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

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What happens when your child comes out and you're not sure what to say, what to do, or even how you feel yet?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam Straub and Dr. Melissa Wellner welcome Heather Hester, author of Parenting with Pride and host of More Human, More Kind, for an honest conversation about supporting LGBTQ+ children while navigating the very real learning process parents may experience themselves.

Heather shares how her work began after her son came out as gay at almost 17. After he disappeared from home one freezing Chicago night, he finally called Heather and tearfully told her, "Mom, I'm gay." Her immediate response was, "Thank God, I thought you were dead."

That moment began a journey of learning and unlearning that ultimately changed not only her son’s life, but Heather's and her entire family's.

Together, Heather, Sam, and Melissa discuss what children may experience before coming out, why parents don't need to understand everything immediately, and how staying curious and connected can preserve the relationship even through uncertainty.

In This Episode

• Heather's son's unforgettable coming-out story
• What kids may experience before coming out
• Why coming out requires tremendous trust and courage
• How parents can respond when they're caught off guard
• Supporting children who are questioning their identity
• Why "believe your child" matters
• Sexual orientation vs. gender identity
• Why children shouldn't be responsible for educating their parents
• Recognizing when fear is driving your parenting
• Examining unconscious beliefs and biases
• Staying present through uncomfortable conversations
• Why apologizing and trying again strengthens parent-teen relationships
• Letting go of perfect parenting

About Heather Hester

Heather Hester is the author of Parenting with Pride and host of the three-time Women in Podcasting award-winning podcast More Human, More Kind. She is a speaker, writer, coach, and consultant who helps parents, allies, and organizations move from fear toward understanding, connection, and love.

Heather lives outside Chicago with her husband, four children, and one very opinionated Bernedoodle.

Learn more at HeatherHester.net or listen to More Human, More Kind, where Heather has more than 300 episodes exploring these conversations. 

Be sure to grab Heather’s free resource: Panic to Plan

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

Send us Fan Mail

What actually builds confidence in teens?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam and Melissa talk with Jasmyne Chandler, trauma-informed life coach and founder of Guided Passages, about why meaningful challenges, mentorship, nature, and rites of passage can be so powerful for teenagers.

Jasmyne shares how her wilderness programs give teens opportunities to disconnect from technology, push themselves physically, reflect on who they are becoming, and experience being truly seen and heard by both peers and adults.

The conversation also explores why praise alone doesn't create confidence, the self-criticism many teens carry, why adolescents naturally seek novelty and risk, and how parents can give kids safe opportunities to stretch themselves.

In This Episode:

• Why doing hard things helps teens develop real confidence
• What a modern rite of passage can look like
• Why teens need opportunities to be taken seriously
• How being heard and witnessed affects teen connection
• Self-hatred, comparison, and negative self-talk among teens
• Why successful and high-achieving teens aren't immune
• How nature and time away from devices can create space for reflection
• Why teenagers naturally seek novelty, challenge, and increasing independence
• How safe challenges can provide an alternative to unhealthy risk-taking
• Ways parents can create meaningful growth experiences without a wilderness trip

Jasmyne offers one-on-one virtual coaching for tweens, teens, and young adults ages 12–24, along with in-person programs and wilderness experiences through Guided Passages.

About Jasmyne

Jasmyne Chandler is an International Coaching Federation Certified, Trauma-Informed Professional Life Coach for teens, young adults, and parents. She is also the mom of two teens and has spent the past 17 years working with young people as a high school teacher, GED instructor and advisor, life coach, council facilitator, and wilderness rites of passage guide. She is the founder of Guided Passages, which offers youth programs, wilderness rites of passage trips, and life coaching for teens, young adults, and parents in Southern Oregon and beyond. Her work focuses on supporting teens, young adults, and their parents through additional guidance, mentorship, and encouragement to help shift stuck energy, negative self-talk, and disconnection so they can better embrace and accept who they are, move toward positive change, and create the lives and relationships they truly desire.

Connect with Guided Passages: guided-passages.com
Get Jasmyne’s free resource: 5 Steps to Minimize Teen Anxiety

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

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Parents are being encouraged to give their kids an analog childhood while relying more and more on AI, smartphones, and technology in their own daily lives. Is that hypocrisy, or simply the reality of raising kids in the middle of a massive technology experiment?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam and Melissa unpack the pressure, guilt, and judgment surrounding screen time and explore a more realistic middle ground. They talk about how online parenting trends can make technology choices seem more extreme than they really are, why too much input may be part of the problem for both overwhelmed parents and developing teen brains, and why warm parenting still requires clear and consistent limits.

They also share practical ways to create values- and skills-based tech boundaries, build more boredom, focus, and face-to-face connection into family life, and recognize that teens may still need technology to maintain meaningful social relationships. The conversation also explores where AI might fit into family life, the questions parents should ask before using it, and why kids deserve a voice in the digital footprint adults create for them.

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

Send us Fan Mail

Do you have to hit rock bottom before you're allowed to question your relationship with alcohol?

Absolutely not.

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam Straub and Dr. Melissa Wellner sit down with gray area drinking coach, Maureen Benkovich, for a shame-free conversation about the space between casual drinking and alcohol dependency.

Maureen shares her personal story of how alcohol gradually became intertwined with socializing, infertility, depression, stress, and her identity. From the outside, she was successful, active, and functioning. On the inside, alcohol was taking up more and more mental space.

The conversation explores why drinking less isn't simply about willpower. Maureen breaks down how alcohol affects brain chemistry and explains how our brains can learn to associate drinking with relaxation, reward, celebration, socializing, and stress relief.

She also walks Sam and Melissa through her 4R Method: Recognize, Replace, Rewire, and Renew, a framework designed to help people understand the role alcohol is playing in their lives and begin building healthier patterns.

In This Episode:

• What "gray area drinking" means
• Signs alcohol may no longer be serving you
• Why alcohol can become a coping mechanism
• How alcohol affects dopamine, stress, anxiety, and sleep
• Why drinking less isn't simply about willpower

About Maureen
Maureen Benkovich is a gray area drinking coach, keynote speaker, host of the Sober Fit Life podcast, and former pharmaceutical sales representative, personal trainer, and competitive figure athlete. Drawing from both her personal experience and science-backed coaching approach, Maureen helps high-achieving adults change their relationship with alcohol without shame, labels, or waiting for rock bottom.

Through her signature 4R Method: Recognize, Replace, Rewire, and Renew, she helps clients build new coping strategies and create sustainable change.

Connect With Maureen
Visit SoberFitChick.com to learn more about Maureen, take her "Am I Drinking Too Much?" quiz, explore her coaching programs, and find the Sober Fit Life podcast.

And be sure to listen to Maureen's episode featuring Sam and Melissa, where they continue the conversation by exploring the messages parents may inadvertently send their kids through their own drinking habits.

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

Send us Fan Mail

Are the things we say about food unintentionally affecting how our kids feel about eating and their bodies?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam and Melissa are joined by Christiana Cortina, founder of Nutrida, for an important conversation about food, body image, diet culture, and preventing disordered eating in children and teens.

Christiana explains why seemingly positive messages about “healthy” eating can sometimes create anxiety, guilt, shame, or rigid food rules. They discuss why restricting foods can create scarcity, how kids learn from the way adults talk about their own bodies, and why labeling foods as “good” or “bad” can be confusing for children.

They also tackle a common issue for parents of teens: What do you do when your teenager isn't eating enough?

From skipped breakfasts to executive functioning challenges around preparing meals, the conversation offers practical ways parents can make food more accessible without turning mealtimes into another battle.

In This Episode:

• How diet culture shows up in today's “healthy eating” messaging
• Warning signs of disordered eating
• When parents should seek professional support
• What a healthy relationship with food actually looks like
• How parents can break generational patterns around food and body image

About Christiana

Christiana Cortina, MS, is the founder of Nutrida, a family-focused nutrition practice dedicated to helping individuals and families build positive, sustainable relationships with food.

Using a weight-inclusive and compassionate approach, Christiana supports children, teens, adults, and parents navigating nutrition, feeding challenges, body image concerns, and disordered eating without shame or rigid rules.

A former elementary school teacher, she brings a child-centered perspective to her work and helps families create more peaceful and connected experiences around food and mealtimes.

Connect With Christiana
Website: Nutrida / Feed Your Soul
Instagram: @nutrita_feedyoursoul
Email: [email protected]

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

Send us Fan Mail

What if some of the skills that make you a better leader at work could also make you a better parent at home?

And what if parenting could make you a better leader, too?

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam and Melissa sit down with executive coach, leadership expert, and Ambitious Dads founder, Jeff Hittner, to explore the surprising overlap between leadership and parenting.

After interviewing more than 200 fathers, Jeff discovered that many dads care deeply about being good fathers but don’t always have the tools, role models, support, or even language to talk about the challenges they’re facing.

Jeff shares what he calls the six dad gaps, including challenges around time, confidence, brotherhood, role models, co-parenting, and legacy.

But this conversation isn’t only for dads. Sam, Melissa, and Jeff explore how all parents can become more intentional about the way they show up for their children, especially when they’re tired, stressed, frustrated, or running on autopilot.

About Jeff Hittner

Jeff Hittner is an executive coach, leadership expert, and founder of Ambitious Dads, a movement helping fathers lead with as much clarity and purpose at home as they do at work. After discovering he couldn’t become a biological father, Jeff reimagined fatherhood as an identity grounded in emotional presence and intentionality, and is now the proud dad of two boys. Having interviewed more than 200 fathers about the challenge of succeeding both at work and at home, he began writing extensively on the topic and launched the Ambitious Dads Podcast, sitting uniquely at the intersection of executive coaching and modern fatherhood.

Learn more at ambitiousdads.com.

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped, Sam Straub and Dr. Melissa Wellner unpack one of the biggest parenting trends of the summer and explain why this conversation goes far beyond bikes.

While e-bikes offer fun, freedom, and independence, they also introduce new questions about child development, executive functioning, peer influence, and risk-taking.

Sam and Melissa discuss why children's brains haven't changed even though technology has, and why parents should consider developmental readiness before handing over the handlebars.

In This Episode

• The different classes of e-bikes
• Executive functioning and adolescent decision-making
• Peer pressure and risk-taking
• Helmet safety and traffic awareness
• Questions to ask before buying an e-bike
• Helping kids build independence safely

Whether your family owns an e-bike or is simply considering one, this episode provides practical tools for making thoughtful parenting decisions that prioritize safety, responsibility, and long-term growth.

As always, thank you for listening. We love you, we love your kids, and thank you for raising the next generation of world changers.

Contact: [email protected]

Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Parenting Shrink Wrapped for the latest episodes.

Follow:
Sam – Instagram & Facebook
Melissa – Facebook

Work with Us:
Sam – Teen Savvy Coaching
Melissa – Annapolis Psychiatry

Save your spot in the next FREE Teen Savvy Parenting Masterclass.

Free Parenting Resource: Learn the L.O.V.E.D. framework for handling tricky convos.

Listen & Review: Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care.