The Heartful Parent Podcast

Sometimes life gives you lemons, sometimes it sends you a bomb cyclone! Well, for my family this week it was the bomb cyclone. 

And while this situation came with its challenges, no power, no internet, no school, no way to record a brand new episode for you––there was a little bit of a silver lining around the clouds that lingered after the storm. 

One, a chance to reflect on what’s important as we approach U.S. Thanksgiving, the holiday all about gratitude. And two, the chance for me to pull a GREAT past episode out of the vault and polish it up for you this week. 

In this fabulous throwback, I’m digging into all the benefits of inviting more gratitude into your life daily, weekly, and beyond.  I’m giving you the numbers of how an active gratitude practice benefits your emotional and social wellbeing and helps you get the D.O.S.E. chemicals that benefit your overall physical health. 

BUT not all gratitude practices are created equal! While even just listing things you are grateful for can benefit your overall health, today I’m sharing some ways to take your gratitude practice a little deeper. And I’m giving you some ideas of things you could do to help deepen the connection you have with your family by inviting more gratitude into your lives. 

No matter if it’s lemons or a bomb cyclone, I’m here for you. I’d love to hear how you’re inviting more gratitude into your life. Reach out, [email protected]. And pass this episode along to someone you appreciate so they can invite more gratitude into their lives too. 

Resources

Ep 6 | Heartful Parenting Practice: Family Meetings

Listener Question: How much should I push my child to succeed? Should I be a tiger mom? Am I doing her a disservice by being laid back and not pushing her to do more?

Get your parenting question answered, email me [email protected]

Rate, review, and share! We are not meant to parent alone. 

The Heartful Parent Academy is a great way to find support. Use code PODCAST to get your first month for only $7. Join HERE.

Balancing parenthood with work and life demands a lot of our mental energy, which can end up leaving us feeling completely mentally depleted. If you’re stuck in a place of negative emotions––feeling constant exhaustion, anger, or resentment––you may feel like you are trying to function with an empty tank. Your stress might feel chronic and inescapable. Can you relate?

If you are nodding and thinking 'yes, that’s me!', it may be burnout that you’re experiencing. It’s not a great place to be, but there is a way out. 

In this episode of the Heartful Parent Podcast, I’ve invited Marissa McCool to join the conversation. Marissa is a renowned burnout coach, specializing in helping female leaders and mid-career professionals manage work stress and achieve work-life balance. Marissa shares her personal journey overcoming burnout and offers practical strategies for processing emotions, setting boundaries, and prioritizing self-care. 

For parents who are juggling the stress of parenting alongside anything else that life throws at you, you’ll find some really valuable tidbits in this conversation. Marissa and I highlight the connections between chronic stress, burnout, and its impacts on personal and professional relationships. Marissa also shares the signs of burnout and how to recognize if you are in burnout or you’re just tired.

We also both strongly believe seeking support is SO important to crawling out of burnout and finding a healthier balance. We cannot do this alone. This episode is a great place to start, so share it with another exhausted, possibly burnt-out, parent. 

If you need more support, reach out! Marissa and I would both love to support you. 

Resources:

Marissa McKool on LinkedIn - @marissa-mckool

mckoolcoaching.com

Listener Question: How do I handle my teen’s big feelings about boundaries, as she’s going between two households?

Get your parenting question answered, email me [email protected]

Rate, review, and share! We are not meant to parent alone. 

The Heartful Parent Academy is a great way to find support. Use code PODCAST to get your first month for only $7. Join HERE.

Awww….Elf on the Shelf. One of those holiday traditions that maybe you grew up with, maybe you didn’t––but come December 1st, pictures and posts of crazy shenanigans that all the happy little elves (SPIES!) are doing will be all over the place.

Are you feeling pressure to join in the *fun* for the sake of your kids? Does this holiday tradition bring you–not your kids–but YOU joy? Does pressuring your kids to “be good” by having an elf spy on them foster love and connection during the holidays?

I’m diving into this holiday tradition today, not to tell you to stop doing it, but to help you think about how it serves your family. If you would like to use “Shirley” the Elf or “Rocco” the Elf to create magic around your house during the holidays, more power to you! But as we do that, let’s think about how we can use Shirley and Rocco to spread love, joy, connection, and heartfulness with our kids during the holiday season.

And if you do not take part in the Elf on the Shelf tradition, don’t worry! There are still some really insightful tips for you in this episode too! Positive Discipline and Heartfulness have a place in all seasons, no matter what you believe or how you celebrate. Listen and share as we dive into this busy time.

Resources:

You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry: Positive Discipline and Elf on the Shelf

In this Heartful Bonus episode, I am coming to you to help bear the emotional weight we are feeling following the U.S. Presidential Election earlier this week. If you are grieving, feeling lost, wondering what to say to your kids, and how to move forward, I’m here to support you.

I’m sharing my thoughts, the thoughts of a few others, and giving you a little guidance on what to say to our kids in light of the outcome. Thanks for joining me. If you need more support, reach out, [email protected]. We are not in this alone.

Learning multiple languages can benefit our kids in more ways than just being able to speak two or more languages. Being bilingual, or multilingual, can give kids more confidence and increase their ability to use both sides of their brains. Above all else, it can give kids an understanding of other cultures and provide them with tools to navigate a multicultural world.

Dr. Sugely Solano is an Administrator of Multilingual Learners and has over 16 years of experience as a school counselor, ESOL teacher, coordinator, and administrator of multilingual learners. As an English language learner and language enthusiast,  she advocates for multilingual learners' education. Dr. Solano collaborates with parents, teachers, and leaders in the school district where she works.

Dr. Solano joins me on the Heartful Parent Podcast today to discuss the challenges she faced while pursuing her own education, which motivated her to become a school counselor and help others. Dr. Solano and I touch on the importance of bilingualism and the cultural and cognitive benefits of learning multiple languages. She also shares some advice for those listeners who would like to support your own child on their language-learning journey.

You can connect with Sugely, sign up for her newsletter, and learn more about raising a language learner at raisinglanguagelearners.com.

Resources:

raisinglanguagelearners.com

NEA Article: Why Pronouncing Students’ Names Correctly is So Important

Listener Question: How do I start difficult conversations when my teen just shuts down?

Get your parenting question answered, email me [email protected]

Rate, review, and share! We are not meant to parent alone. 

The Heartful Parent Academy is a great way to find support. Use code PODCAST to get your first month for only $7. Join HERE.

Have you noticed that kids seem more anxious and overwhelmed than ever?  Doesn’t it feel like parenting now poses unique and difficult challenges compared to generations before? How do we equip our kids to be resilient through all they will face in today’s world?

Laura Gaines, a mental health professional with decades of experience supporting kids, teens, and their parents, joins me on the Heartful Parent Podcast today. We’re exploring resilience from many angles, including its psychological basis and its practical application in parenting. 

Laura points us to lean into joy, meaning, and healthy routines to nurture resilience. We both agree that the broader goal is to raise well-adjusted adults, not just children. 

Find Laura’s comprehensive blog at learnmodelteach.com, full of tips and tools for growing resilience in your kids. 

Resources:

learnmodelteach.com

Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

How to Raise an Adult Julie Lythcott-Haims

Listener Question: How do we help our children stay authentic to themselves?

Get your parenting question answered, email me [email protected]

Rate, review, and share! We are not meant to parent alone. 

The Heartful Parent Academy is a great way to find support. Use code PODCAST to get your first month for only $7. Join HERE.