Peace at Home Parenting Podcast

The school year is underway, and the pressure is already building. Homework, friendships, busy schedules, big emotions—and that nagging question so many parents carry: Am I doing enough to help my child thrive?

Here's some reassuring news: Supporting your child's mental health isn't about being a perfectly patient parent, signing up for more activities, or having all the answers. Some of the most powerful things you can offer your child are also the simplest: connection, emotional safety, and a steady relationship they can count on.

In this episode, Peace At Home Parenting founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, talks with Marianne Barton, PhD, retired Clinical Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Connecticut, about what really protects children's mental health and emotional well-being.

Together, they explore what it means to be your child's calm center, especially when you're stressed, exhausted, or running out of patience yourself. They discuss how a secure parent-child relationship helps kids feel safe enough to explore the world, face challenges, and develop confidence as they grow.

And because parents need support, too, Ruth and Marianne explore why taking care of yourself isn't selfish or something you have to earn. Having people you can lean on helps you show up for your child with greater steadiness and connection.

In this episode, you'll explore:

• What helps protect children's mental health during the school year
• Why emotional safety and connection matter for confidence and resilience
• How to be your child's calm center without expecting perfection
• What it means to be a secure anchor as your child becomes more independent
• How parental stress can affect family relationships
• Why parents need support and connection, too
• How everyday interactions can strengthen your child's emotional well-being
• Why helping kids thrive involves more than grades, activities, and achievement

Whether you're raising an elementary schooler navigating friendships, a teenager dealing with academic pressure, or a child somewhere in between, this conversation offers a compassionate reminder: Your child doesn't need a perfect parent. They need a caring, dependable connection—and you deserve support along the way.

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Some mornings, just getting everyone dressed, fed, and out the door with backpacks in hand can feel like a major accomplishment. Add homework, activities, screens, dinner, and bedtime, and family life can quickly start to feel like one long negotiation.

The good news? Simple, predictable routines can make a surprisingly big difference.

In this episode, Peace At Home Parenting founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, talks with social-emotional learning expert Erica Brentan, MEd, about how everyday family routines can reduce stress while helping kids build confidence, independence, self-regulation, and executive function skills.

They explore practical ways to make mornings calmer, help kids decompress after school, take some of the struggle out of homework and bedtime, and gradually give children more responsibility as they grow. You'll also hear why something as ordinary as eating together regularly can offer meaningful opportunities for connection and support children's emotional well-being.

And this isn't about creating a perfectly scheduled household. It's about finding predictable rhythms that work for your family—and adjusting them as your kids' needs change.

Whether you're parenting an elementary schooler who needs lots of reminders, a middle schooler learning to manage more on their own, or a teenager whose schedule seems to change by the minute, you'll come away with realistic ideas for making daily life feel a little calmer and more connected.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why predictable routines can help kids feel more secure and regulated
• How routines support executive function, independence, and school success
• Ways to make busy mornings less stressful
• How to create an after-school routine that includes time to decompress
• Strategies for homework, evenings, and bedtime
• Why family mealtimes can be an important opportunity for connection
• How chores and everyday responsibilities help children build competence
• Ways to adapt routines as kids become more independent
• How screen-free moments and one-on-one time can strengthen family relationships

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Screen time can become one of the biggest sources of tension in family life—but the goal doesn’t have to be finding the “perfect” number of hours or fighting over devices every day.

In this episode, Peace At Home Parenting founder Ruth E. Freeman, LCSW, joins Aaron Weintraub, MS, and Tanika Eaves, PhD, LCSW, IMH-E® to explore a different way of thinking about technology: focusing less on fear and more on connection, development, and how kids are actually using their screens. The conversation emphasizes that children’s need for a secure relationship with caring adults remains important from infancy through adolescence.

You’ll hear practical, compassionate ideas for reducing screen-related power struggles, including how to create routines and family agreements, protect sleep and screen-free downtime, make room for boredom and unstructured play, and help kids transition away from devices with less conflict. The experts also discuss why parents’ own technology habits matter—and how small moments of undivided attention can strengthen connection.

One especially helpful reframe: think beyond “screen time” to “screen usage.” Making music, FaceTiming Grandma, or playing a game together aren’t developmentally equivalent to endlessly scrolling or hours of solo video game play, simply because they all happen on a screen. The bigger question is what technology is adding to—or crowding out of—your child’s life.

You’ll learn how to:

• Reduce power struggles around turning screens off
• Build technology limits collaboratively instead of relying only on rigid rules
• Use routines and rituals to make transitions easier
• Protect sleep, quiet time, play, and family connection
• Consider your child’s age, development, needs, and actual screen usage
• Model healthier technology habits without expecting perfection
• Strengthen the parent-child connection that helps kids develop self-regulation over time

Whether you’re parenting a preschooler who never wants the tablet to go away, a teen who seems permanently attached to their phone, or anything in between, this conversation offers a reassuring place to start.

Progress, not perfection. Connection first.


👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Back-to-school season can bring fresh notebooks, new routines…and a whole lot of worry. Will my child make friends? Like their teacher? Keep up with the work? What if they’re already saying they don’t want to go?

In this episode, Peace At Home Parenting founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, talks with Dana Asby LaBranche, MA, MEd, about helping kids navigate the worries and uncertainty that come with starting a new school year.

Whether your child is heading into a new classroom, making the leap to middle or high school, or facing another big school transition, you’ll hear practical ways to recognize anxiety and respond without accidentally adding to it. The conversation explores how parents can help kids feel safe while still building the confidence to face uncomfortable feelings and new experiences.

You’ll learn how to open conversations about school worries, create routines that make transitions feel more manageable, and help your child build resilience instead of trying to make every anxious feeling disappear.

Because confidence doesn’t mean your child never feels nervous. It grows when they discover, with your support, “I can handle this.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How back-to-school anxiety may show up in children
• Ways to talk about worries without making them bigger
• How your own anxiety can influence your child’s experience
• Simple ways to bring more optimism and connection into the transition
• How predictable routines can help kids feel safer
• Ways to support confidence while allowing kids to work through manageable challenges
• How to help your child approach a new school year with greater resilience

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

If you've ever wondered whether you're doing enough to help your child with anxiety, emotional outbursts, or challenging behavior, you're not alone. Many parents feel caught between trying behavior charts, considering therapy, and simply wanting to understand what's really going on beneath the surface.

In this thoughtful conversation, Peace At Home founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, is joined by child psychologist Marianne Barton, PhD, and parenting expert Aaron Weintraub, MS, to explore why connection is often the missing piece when children are struggling. Rather than asking, "How do I stop this behavior?" they invite parents to ask, "What is my child trying to communicate?"

Together, they discuss how a strong parent-child relationship creates the foundation for emotional growth, why many behaviors are signs of immaturity rather than defiance, and how evidence-based approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can work alongside attachment-based parenting—not in competition with it. The conversation is filled with relatable examples, practical strategies, and compassionate guidance for responding to children with curiosity instead of conflict.

You'll also hear answers to real parent questions about disrespect, school behavior, sibling conflict, ADHD, transitions, emotional regulation, and supporting children through everyday challenges.

Whether your child is struggling with big feelings, anxiety, challenging behavior, or simply having a hard time, this episode will leave you with a deeper understanding of what helps children grow—and how your relationship with them can be one of the most powerful tools you have.


👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Originally recorded June 11, 2026.

Co-parenting isn't about agreeing on everything—it's about helping your child feel safe, secure, and loved, even when the adults don't see eye to eye.

In this thoughtful conversation, Peace At Home founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, sits down with relationship researcher Brian Doss, PhD, to explore what decades of research tell us about the powerful connection between parent relationships and children's emotional well-being. Together, they discuss how the way adults communicate, handle disagreements, and support one another has a lasting impact on children's mental health, behavior, and resilience.

You'll hear practical, compassionate strategies for navigating parenting disagreements, reducing conflict, and working as a team—even if your parenting styles differ. The discussion also tackles real-life questions from parents about toddlers' tantrums, blended families, divorce and separation, handling disagreements in front of children, and repairing family relationships after periods of conflict.

Rather than striving for perfection, this episode offers reassurance that small changes in how parents communicate with one another can make a meaningful difference for the whole family. You'll come away with research-backed ideas to help you approach difficult conversations with more curiosity, less blame, and a renewed focus on what matters most: your child's sense of security.

Learn more about today's experts:

• Ruth Freeman, LCSW: peaceathomeparenting.com/our-experts
• Brian D. Doss, PhD: ourrelationship.com/team

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Every parent has questions—and sometimes the most reassuring answer is knowing you're not alone.

In this special Ask Ruth Anything episode, Peace At Home Parenting founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, responds to real parenting questions from families navigating everyday challenges. Drawing on decades of experience and research, Ruth shares practical, compassionate strategies that help parents build stronger relationships with their children while reducing conflict and stress.

The conversation covers some of the most common parenting concerns, including getting children to cooperate, responding to emotional meltdowns, supporting independent and strong-willed kids, reducing power struggles, and helping children develop important life skills like organization and problem-solving. Rather than focusing on control or punishment, Ruth explains how emotional safety, connection, predictable routines, and collaborative problem-solving help children thrive.

Whether you're parenting a preschooler, school-age child, or teenager, you'll find reassuring guidance grounded in child development and evidence-based parenting practices.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why cooperation grows from connection—not compliance
• How emotional safety helps children regulate their behavior
• A simple "when...then..." approach that encourages responsibility without threats
• Why reflecting feelings often works better than asking lots of questions
• How to support spirited, independent children without damaging your relationship
• Better alternatives to punishment and repeated nagging
• How to coach children through organization and executive functioning challenges
• Strategies for responding to emotional meltdowns with both kindness and clear limits
• Why routines and positive attention can dramatically improve cooperation
• How your own stress and childhood experiences can shape your parenting responses

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Every father has a story—and that story shapes the way he parents.

In this thoughtful conversation, Peace At Home expert Aaron Weintraub, MS, and fatherhood advocate Doug Edwards, founder of Real Dads Forever, explore how our own childhood experiences influence the way we respond to our children, build relationships, and handle life's challenges. They emphasize that understanding your past isn't about dwelling on it—it's about using that insight to become the parent you want to be.

You'll learn why strong parent-child attachment is one of the greatest protective factors for children's emotional health, how everyday moments of connection build trust and resilience, and why children need to feel safe, seen, and delighted in by the adults who love them. Aaron and Doug also discuss how fathers can break generational patterns, strengthen co-parenting relationships, and create a family culture built on connection rather than fear or perfection. Whether you're a new dad, a seasoned father, a co-parent, or another caring adult, this episode offers compassionate, research-informed guidance to help you build deeper relationships with the children in your life.

In this episode, you'll learn how to:

• Understand how your childhood influences your parenting today
• Recognize emotional triggers and respond with intention instead of reaction
• Build secure attachment through everyday moments of connection
• Create emotional safety that helps children thrive
• Break unhealthy family patterns and build healthier ones
• Strengthen communication with your co-parent
• Support your child's resilience through presence, delight, and attunement

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Do you ever feel like you’re repeating yourself all day long—only to be met with blank stares, pushback, or total silence?

In this warm, practical conversation, Peace At Home founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, is joined by Viana Turcios-Cotto, PhD, and Aaron Weintraub, MS, to explore one of the most common parenting struggles: why kids don’t listen—and what parents can do instead of yelling, nagging, or escalating the power struggle.

The truth is, children’s behavior is often less about defiance and more about development, stress, emotional regulation, and connection. When we understand what’s happening beneath the behavior, we can respond in ways that build cooperation instead of conflict.

In this episode, you’ll learn simple, research-informed strategies to reduce daily battles, strengthen your relationship with your child, and create calmer routines at home—especially during the less-structured summer months. Whether you’re parenting a preschooler who ignores every request or a school-age child who pushes back on everything, this conversation offers compassionate tools that actually work in real family life.


👪 About Peace At Home Parenting 

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. 

Start here: https://peaceathomeparenting.com/getting-started/

🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Classes with Experts
• 1:1 Parent Coaching
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home 

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention.

Learn more: https://peaceathomeparenting.com/corporate/

📲 Follow + Connect
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeaceAtHomeParenting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peaceathomeparentingsolutions/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@peaceathomeparenting/videos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peaceathomeparenting/

Questions? Email us at [email protected]


👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!

Letting go isn’t easy—especially when your child heads off to college. Suddenly, you have less insight into their daily life, fewer ways to help, and a whole new set of worries about their well-being.
In this honest and deeply reassuring conversation, Peace At Home founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, is joined by college mental health experts Tanika Eaves, PhD, LCSW, and Jonathan Beazley, LMFT, to explore how parents can stay connected and supportive—while still honoring their young adult’s growing independence.

The college years are a critical window for mental health, with many conditions first emerging during this stage of life. This discussion helps you understand what’s typical, what might be a red flag, and how to respond in ways that truly help.

You’ll learn how to recognize early warning signs like changes in communication, class attendance, or social behavior—and why how you talk with your college student matters just as much as what you say.

Most importantly, this conversation will help you shift from worry and guesswork to calm, confident support—so your child feels understood, not pressured, during one of the biggest transitions of their life.


In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize early signs your college student may be struggling
• Stay meaningfully connected—even when communication drops off
• Start conversations that invite openness instead of shutdown
• Balance support with independence (without becoming overbearing)
• Navigate privacy laws and prepare for emergencies before they happen
• Respond to serious concerns, including depression or suicidal thoughts
• Help your student access campus resources and build support systems
• Support your own emotional adjustment during this transition

👪 About Peace At Home Parenting 

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. 

Start here: https://peaceathomeparenting.com/getting-started/

🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Classes with Experts
• 1:1 Parent Coaching
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home 

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention.

Learn more: https://peaceathomeparenting.com/corporate/

📲 Follow + Connect
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeaceAtHomeParenting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peaceathomeparentingsolutions/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@peaceathomeparenting/videos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peaceathomeparenting/

Questions? Email us at [email protected]


👪 About Peace At Home Parenting

We’re a team of 40+ parenting experts in child development, mental health, and education. Our mission is to help families strengthen connections and create more peace at home. Explore all resources by topic


🛠️ What we offer:

• Quick Video Solutions
• Live Workshops
• 1:1 Parent Consulting
• Full Access Parenting Subscriptions

💼 Productivity at Work Begins with Peace at Home

Support working parents and boost employee wellbeing. Our corporate programs reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and increase retention. Bring us to your workplace!