The Calm Empowered Parent

Parenting spaces are not just for mothers, so it’s time for the fathers to shine! In this panel of six incredible dads, they provide a powerful example of parents who have experienced tremendous growth after embracing mentorship for their parenting. Each of these dads has been a part of Vanessa’s Family Foundations Immersion program and share the most important things they’ve learned from the program, the personal growth and development they’ve experienced, and insights from the ups and downs of their unique parenting journeys.

In part one, the dads discuss the importance of emotional regulation, the steps they’ve taken to achieve family cohesion, and the immense personal growth that they’ve found on their journey to becoming even better fathers. Listen for tools and strategies that have produced real-life positive results for their families and for powerful reminders to give ourselves the same grace that we give our children. You, too, can learn to understand your children’s emotions and how to better manage them, and along the way, you might just learn how to harness your own emotions for greater healing and success.

Here are the topics we covered on Dad Panel Part 1: Finding Personal Growth and Development Through Parenting.

• Dads share the most important thing they have learned in their parenting journey
• When should I wave that white flag and ask for help?
• Tools and strategies that have produced real-life positive results for their families.
• How learning about our children’s emotions opens up a greater consciousness about our own emotions and how we deal with them.
• Getting on the same page with co-parents and kids to achieve family cohesion.
• Learning to give ourselves the same grace we give our children.

Hope you enjoyed today’s episode and learned something new on Finding Personal Growth and Development Through Parenting.

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Discover more about Vanessa’s signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers, The Family Foundations Immersion, at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts.

How do we help children in navigating grief​, loss, and overwhelm, when we ourselves are struggling through it? Whether you’re facing the grief of a death, the loss of a relationship or job, a major move, or any other major life transition, Grief Guide Reverend Jenn Cormier and Transition Coach Barb Matias Haynes are here to help. Both leapt feet first into the world of guiding others through grief and healing after the loss of their fathers and now help their coaching clients meet their grief with grace and authenticity.

In this episode, Vanessa Callaghan, MED  interviews Jenn and Barb, including questions from listeners like you, to gain their advice on how much to share with our children around loss and how to help children become more resilient to loss. They also share simple yet powerful practices for navigating grief and loss​ and literally moving (our bodies) through it. Unfortunately, loss happens to us all, but this episode will leave you feeling more prepared to face it equipped to guide your children.

Here are the topics we covered on Navigating Grief and Loss: How to Help Your Kids Cope.

• The dangers of sheltering our children too much and the beauty of including them in major life events such as births, weddings, and deaths.
• The crucial nature of storytelling for building connection and understanding before death.
• What happens to our brains when we grieve and what can we do with the awareness of how we process and experience grief?
• Is my hardened and less open heart after loss of self-preservation and healing, and is this less sensitive reality my new normal?
• How do I help my children to grieve the parts of my mom that have been lost to dementia?
• Movement practices to help us literally move (our bodies) through grief.
• Bringing your authentic self to the grief process and how to talk to your children about loss.

Hope you liked this episode and learned some valuable lessons for the whole family on navigating grief and dealing with the loss of loved ones.

Find out more about Rev. Jenn Cormier’s work, pick up her complimentary 7 Steps to Walk Through Grief with Grace Guidebook, and book a complimentary Grief Breakthrough Session at www.walkthroughgriefwithgrace.com.

You can listen to her podcast, Walk Through Grief with Grace, on all major listening platforms

Learn more about Barb Matias Haynes on her website www.barbmatiashaynes.com and on Instagram @barbmatiashaynes.

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts.

We all have dreams about the kind of family we want to create, but can hit some major roadblocks. How do we show up and keep going as family leaders for ourselves, our children, and for our work when personal challenges tempt us to give up? This is a question many of us find ourselves asking, and one that Leadership Coach Rachelle Archer has faced head-on multiple times. In this episode, Vanessa Callaghan, MED. interviews our very own Coach Rachelle, who shares the crossroads that she faced when her marriage ended when she was 5 months pregnant. Instead of giving into the darkness, she chose to build herself up and create a life that worked for her and her son.

Borrowing from Rachelle’s 25 years of experience working as a trauma-informed practitioner in arts, education, and leadership, and the lessons she learned along the way, you’ll learn how to incorporate powerful practices into your life to help you start each and every day with clarity and purpose. Rachelle and Vanessa share their parenting leadership framework where parents shift into a more creative, empowered, and calm mindset. Rachelle also reminds us that these difficult times you are in will pass faster than you think and demonstrates how we can actively choose to create joy and peace, right now. Listen to this episode for the empowerment that you need to become a leader in your life and your family.

Here are the topics we covered in Embracing Parenting Leadership to Create the Life We Want.

• How to show up for ourselves, our children, and for others when we are faced with so many personal challenges.
• Learning to ask the questions, “Who am I?” and “What am I creating?” in order to decide what we really want for ourselves and to shift into a more creative, empowered, and calm mindset.
• How to incorporate powerful practices in your life that help you start each and every day with clarity and purpose.
• Why framing parenting or caregiving as a leadership role in the family system is one of the most life-changing parenting practices.
• Challenging the idea that you’ll be happy when your child reaches certain milestones and instead encouraging you to create that joy and peace in your life right now.
• Learning to notice the better parts of our lives and expanding on them, bit by bit.

Hope you enjoyed this episode and learned the art of parenting leadership to create a better life for you and your family.

Discover more about our signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers, The Family Foundations Immersion, at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion.

Find out more about Coach Rachelle and her work at www.rachellearcher.com or @artfulleadership on Instagram, and you can listen to Coach Rachelle’s podcast The Artful Leader on all major listening platforms.

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts.

How can I help my child overcome feelings of shame? How can we set routines that work for everyone in the family? These are questions asked by parents like you, and Vanessa is here to help, providing strategies for getting on the same page as a family and navigating difficult feelings and emotions, including how to deal with sibling jealousy. Vanessa tackles each question with anecdotes that will make you feel seen and classroom and kid-tested practices that will help you feel equipped with strategies to tackle issues in your home, whether they’re with toddlers or teenagers. 

Here are the questions covered by Vanessa including minimizing emotional outbursts, how to deal with sibling jealousy, and much more.

• How can I support my child through and minimize emotional outbursts that include hitting, throwing, and crying?
• In the face of challenging behaviors, how do we get on the same page as parents and find common ground when it comes to disciplining our child?
• How can I help my child overcome feelings of shame?
• How to deal with sibling jealousy and rivalry and set routines that work for everyone in the family?
• What’s the best way to navigate the journey of tweens wanting to fit in above all else?
• Is there anything I can do to help my teenager be more affectionate towards me?

 There’s usually something for everyone in these live coaching episodes! Let us know what tool or strategy stood out to you.

Show Links

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Discover more about our signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers, The Family Foundations Immersion, at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts.

Now more than ever, parents have so many questions about getting their children assessed for learning disabilities, ADHD/ADD, and autism. Should I get my child assessed? When should I get them assessed? What is the assessment process? How do I find the right provider? In this episode with Licensed Clinical Psychologist Dr.Jessica Patel and Licensed Educational Psychologist Erin Crawford, they answer all of these questions and more.

These incredible providers demystify the assessment process, give you a step-by-step guide to finding the best provider for your family, and debunk the stigmas and myths around assessments. After listening to this episode, you’ll feel more empowered to navigate this process to better understand your child’s needs and the support that they can receive.

Here are the topics we covered in Understanding the Student Assessment Process.

• How assessments work and why this conversation is more important than ever with this generation

• The most common and helpful times to have an assessment done and why some periods of development and school might make issues come to the surface

• How to pick the right person to assess your child and a list of helpful questions to ask when finding a provider

• Debunking the stigmas and myths around student assessments

• Building a team and outsourcing help, especially when kids aren’t receptive to help or advice directly from their parents and teachers

Hope you enjoyed this episode and learned key insights about the assessment process with our experts Dr.Jessica Patel and Erin Crawford.

Discover more about our signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers, The Family Foundations Immersion, at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion.

Learn more about Dr.Jessica Patel and her work at www.drjessicasnowdenpatel.com

Learn more about Erin Crawford and her work at empowered-psych.com

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts

Divorce, moving, new relationships, new jobs... we all face major life transitions, and they can be incredibly overwhelming. Vanessa’s coaching client and Coach-in-Training Katerina Barron knows this well, and shares her journey from having a challenging and tense home life with her husband to finding the courage and support needed to divorce him, to explore her queer identity, and to eventually introduce her new partner, Nicole, to her 3 children.

You will get a personal look at how Vanessa walks parents through tricky transitions and common challenges with their children with tenacity, vision, and heart. You’ll also hear Katerina reflect on the strategies and tools she used to build resilience in the family and find the “eye of the storm” in the midst of significant life changes. It’s a wild ride filled with profound lessons on having the courage and support to ask the hard questions, to find different strategies that work best for each child, and to bring that ‘bonus parent’ into children’s lives as seamlessly as possible.

Here are the topics we covered on Finding the Courage for Major Life Transitions.

• Katerina’s journey to finding the courage and support needed for her to ask the hard question, “What would our home look like if he [her husband] was not in it?” 
• The tools and strategies from the Family Foundations Immersion program that helped Katerina get out of survival mode and create stability.
• Learning the lesson that what works for one child does not work for all.
• Katerina’s experience exploring who she was outside of being a mom and embracing her queer identity.
• Tips for finding a parenting style that feels authentic, blending families, and adding a ‘bonus parent’ into children’s lives.

Hope you enjoyed this episode on Finding the Courage for Major Life Transitions with Katerina Barron and learned some valuable tips to implement in you life!

Discover more about our signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers, The Family Foundations Immersion, at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion.

Katerina Barron can be reached at [email protected] or book a free Clarity Call for coaching at https://calendly.com/katerinakarrys/clarity-call and for trauma-informed tutoring at https://calendly.com/katerinakarrys/clarity-call-tutoring.

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts.

Have you hit a wall when it comes to getting your child to sleep? Do you crave a solution to your own chronic sleep deprivation and parental fatigue? In this episode, Vanessa is joined by Pediatric Sleep Strategist Jessica Bryant and Sleep Consultant Katie Sullivan to share the tips they have used to help thousands of families on the path to better sleep. 

In less than an hour, you’ll learn how to recognize what sights truly mean your children are tired through better communication, following their milestones to adjust your strategy to their stage of development, and creating a powerful sleep plan alongside your child. Jessica and Katie also answer questions from parents just like you and give relevant advice when it comes to tackling night terrors and fears around sleep, building comfort and familiarity into the routine, and simply getting out of survival mode. No matter their age, your child is capable of sleeping well, and we’re here to help your family achieve that path to better sleep.

Here are the topics we covered in Path to Better Sleep: Expert Tips!

• Creating a written plan with room for flexibility for calmer and happier children in the long run.
• Attuning ourselves to our children’s needs and following their milestones, because the things that work in one stage may not work in the next.
• Ways that we soothe our child’s bedtime fear.
• Giving our children more autonomy through choices and input in the bedtime process.
• Introducing sleep jobs and the difference they make, even from a young age.

Learn more about Jessica Bryant and her work at www.sleephappyconsulting.com.

Learn more about Katie Sullivan and her work on Instagram @parentingdoula and her website www.parentingdoula.com, and check out her current events at www.parentingdoula.com/events.

Hope you enjoyed this episode and learned useful tips from our experts for creating a path to better sleep for your entire family.

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts

Do you find yourself struggling to regain control of your emotions with your ‘spicy’ or highly-sensitive child? It can be beyond stressful to navigate big emotions and the sometimes explosive reactions that they bring on, but Vanessa is here to help. She brings her years of experience as a Montessori preschool teacher, a parenting coach, and a resilience researcher to teach you practical tips to help you face meltdowns and other strong emotional episodes with calm and confidence.

Through this podcast episode, you can learn to embrace big emotions as a way to get our needs and desires met, to recognize the signs of upset that are hardwired into children’s brains, and to turn power struggles into “power snuggles”. Vanessa will help you feel ready to get in the weeds with your kids through real stories of struggle and success, research-backed insights, and tried-and-true methods that work for teachers and parents alike.

Here are the topics covered in Navigating Big Emotions: Tips to Turn Meltdowns into Connection:

• How to be calm, kind, confident, and connected during emotionally challenging moments.
• Vanessa’s personal journey to becoming a “Meltdown Expert” as a Montessori preschool teacher.
• Understanding the link between big emotions and getting our needs and desires met
• Learning to recognize the signs of dysregulation so we can help our kids manage and make sense of their big emotions.
• Learn the steps to self-regulate and co-regulate so both the kids and the adults can regain their composure.

Dr. Daniel Siegel’s video explanation of the Brain in the Palm of the Hand (for ages 9+): https://youtu.be/f-m2YcdMdFw.

Hope you enjoyed this episode and learned useful tips on navigating big emotions in kids to turn meltdowns into connection.

Want to learn more about the different models of motivation that Vanessa mentions in this episode? Check out Episode 2 of Season 1 of The Calm, Empowered Parent Podcast!

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts.

We don’t have to inherit our parenting skills. We can intentionally become the parents we want to be, incorporating some aspects of our own upbringing along with new, better parenting techniques.

In this episode, Vanessa is joined by her clients Siobhan and Tony to talk through the parenting journey they have been on to gain confidence and skills in raising their 5-year-old son. Together with Vanessa, they walk through a tough parenting situation they have faced, what they have learned through their coaching and parenting work, and participate in a live coaching demo of an issue they are currently facing. Live coaching helps us all get out of the vague hypothetical style of parenting advice and into actual concrete tools that can help parents just like you. You will walk away from this episode with new parenting strategies and the inspiration you need from these incredible parents to try them out yourself.

Here are the topics we covered in Parenting Journey: Breaking Patterns to Raise Confident Kids.

• Using the social stories technique to help manage a difficult bedtime routine.

• Finding the value of simple yet effective tools that meet the developmental needs of our children.

• The impact of being willing to say ‘yes’ to new parenting techniques and strategies.

• The power of involving children in decision-making in everyday activities.

• Parenting in community and how this helps us gain appreciation for other parenting methods and confidence in our own parenting.

• Live coaching where Vanessa guides Siobhan and Tony through their latest struggles in their parenting journey with their ‘bossy’ 5-year-old and helps them identify best-fit tools to let him know what is negotiable and what is not.

Discover more about Vanessa’s signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers creating a legacy of love at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion. 

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts 

Has having children affected your marriage and other relationships? Marriage Coach and published author Imani Aieshah is here in this episode to tell you that it’s completely normal for couples and co-parents to face challenges after having children! In this episode, you’ll learn how to get on the same page as a family, master your children’s emotions along with your own, bring playfulness into each and every day, and promote personal growth and accountability for everyone in your home.

Here are the topics we covered in strengthening partnerships with Marriage Coach Imani Aieshah.

• Identifying the challenges that couples and co-parents face after they have children.
• Getting on the same page as a family about routines, limits, discipline, and other crucial aspects of raising children.
• Mastering not just our children’s emotions, but our own emotions.
• The power of personal growth and accountability.
• The importance of bringing playfulness into each and every day by incorporating it into even the smallest moments.

Discover more about Marriage Coach Imani’s work with married folks at https://themarriageculture.com/ and about our signature yearlong program for parents and caregivers creating a legacy of love at https://bit.ly/RORImmersion

Go to www.thecalmempoweredparent.com to get your free copy of Vanessa’s Calm Parent Strategy Guide, to submit a question, to stay up to date with upcoming events, and to explore how to bring one of Vanessa’s low-cost workshops to your school or group.

Music by Jabari Martin instagram.com/iamstolenartifacts