Every new year I ask myself, my students, and parents I work with the same thing: What's your theme, intention, or word for the year?

If you like this episode, thank you for rating, reviewing, and subscribing to Spotify or Apple Podcasts, so other parents like you can benefit!

Listen in now! 

This year has given us countless opportunities to be challenged. (An understatement, I know!) 

I truly believe these challenges are stretching us towards our best selves as educators, parents, and people if we take the time to reflect on what we've learned. When you're in the thick of it, it can be a challenge to see the purpose or the light at the end of the tunnel.

As a tribute to all of YOU, I produced this episode to serve as a reminder of how far you've come, and to remind you of where you're going - to a present and future filled with more peace and meaning for yourself and your adolescent than you ever thought possible. 

Listen in now.

Ah, yes, self-care. The term that started as perhaps a well-intentioned motivator to take care of yourself, but that can sometimes end in a shame spiral that you're not doing enough. And, it holds a whole different meaning for your early adolescent! 

When you or your early adolescent find yourself running ragged, stressed, or snappy it's no time for shame. It's simply time to take care of yourselves. 

In today's podcast, I invite you and your early adolescent to listen in as I'll share 3 simple self-care requirements and break down examples I suggest for both of you that have BIG payoff. 

Listen in and discover the true meaning of self-care. And, never forget: you're worth it. 

Your early adolescent is now developing their own inner world filled with existential questions, temptations, and input from all sides, and you want to do what is essential to keep the doors of conversation open between you. But, sometimes they shut you out or shut you down. You might be left wondering how to approach a conversation that needs to be had without walking on eggshells.

In today's podcast, I'll be sharing the top 3 essentials to bring with you to any conversation - especially the tricky ones when you want them to open up to you. Without these essentials, there will be a lot of gaps that can be filled with misinterpretations, judgments, reactions, or defensiveness. These essentials communicate your ultimate goals: #1: you care, #2: you're there to support them, and #3: you see and hear them for exactly who they are. 

I've created a free PDF guide with these essentials, as well as simple prompts to get you thinking about what will work for you during your next conversation. Visit elevatedadolescence.com/podcast! 

Here we are! The holidays. 

Uncle Tom wants to talk politics during the holiday dinner.

From holiday shopping, to work, to bills, and cooking family meals - you've got a lot on your plate this time of year.

Since you're inundated with gratitude-speak this week, I'll keep this podcast episode simple and actionable. First, I'll share the science of how gratitude affects the very real anxiety you and your early adolescent might be feeling. And, second, I'll share simple ways you can cultivate a gratitude practice in your life. 

Think: the middle of t-giving dinner and Uncle Tom starts spouting off his political views...and you have tools to turn to in that moment!

Today I'm talking about your greatest resource in life. Something more precious than money or things. Something that you can never get back. Four letters - long I and magic e. That's right: TIME.  

So, how do you guide your early adolescent kid to become more aware of this precious resource, and to maximize productivity during after-school hours? This short block of time is often all they have to tackle schoolwork, fit in extra-curricular activities, and socialize, but they might lack the awareness, motivation, and skills to do what needs to be done.

In today's podcast I'll cover:

By beginning with a time experiment, uncovering patterns and roadblocks, and guiding them to develop an end-of-week routine, you're assisting them in building the skill of becoming more productive, which includes essential skills necessary to feeling truly successful, and to making their dreams a reality.

Be sure to head on over to elevatedadolescence.com and download "Time Experiment", a free PDF in the show notes of this episode I created to guide you through this process! 

"I loved middle school!" "Adolescence was a breeze." "I felt so confident throughout junior high." said hardly anyone in the history of ever.  

Chances are likely your middle school or junior high years were either something you just 'got through', or a stage you would never want to relive. You've made it to the other side, so why would you want to go back to the drama, the pimples, and the awkwardness?

And, yet here you are having to witness your own child go through these years. Only now you're telling yourself this common lie: 

"I'm so scared for my kid to go through middle school." 

This lie is rooted in something much deeper, and by repeating it you're actually blocking yourself from greater awareness, confidence, and effective action. 

Listen in to discover what you're really afraid of, and how to make the shifts necessary for greater confidence and connection for both of you. 

Parents, you're busy. And, you want to have access to simple, effective tools to remember in real-time with your middle schooler so that you boost your connection and confidence. Today's podcast is for you.

Neuroscientist Dr. Jaak Panksepp developed his theory around the most important 9 minutes of a child's day in order to optimize and nourish our kiddo's well-being. I've intertwined his theory with the RELATE method, so your conscious efforts to prioritize these 9 minutes creates big payoff for both of you. 

If you're ready to jump off the hamster wheel of wondering if what you're doing is enough or feeling disconnected from your middle schooler, listen in now. 

You pour your heart and soul into a vision, and you're ready to execute, but you encounter obstacle after obstacle. Your middle schooler tries their best, but they don't get what they'd planned on. These experiences happen to every human on the planet.

We've all been conditioned to focus so much on the doing of life, and our identities are so caught up in our to-do list, it can feel deflating for you and your middle schooler when things don't go according to plan. 

In this episode, I share a simple story about how focusing on your own being with acceptance and patience for what comes up leads to greater success in your doing. 

If I could suggest two words of action for you and your middle schooler as we head into the holidays it would be this: simplify and acceptance. Simplify where you can, and accept what is. Practice releasing the expectation that either of you need to be or feel anything else. Your well-being isn't connected to a to-do list. 

Listen in now to understand the connection between simply being and getting the burst of insight or energy you both need to move forward.

Well-intentioned experts (myself included) are coming out with information and research on the effects of trauma and its impact on our lives. There's a collective awareness brewing that we've all been traumatized a little...and so many parents are becoming afraid of traumatizing their own kids.

Maybe you're letting go of the idea of the perfect appearance, a Pinterest birthday party, or the perfect family (good for you!). But if you're still worried that with every argument, angry outburst, or less-than-perfect reaction you're F-ing-up your kid, this podcast is for you. 

As I tell all students and parents I work with: there are no bad emotions - it's what you do with them that matters. If you're reading this you're an imperfect human being, and expecting yourself to not have a full range of emotions is expecting the impossible. Are you getting better at showing up for your middle schooler? But you're forgetting to have patience with your own imperfect self? 

Perfect parenting is for the birds. Listen in to learn what you both really need!