The Parenting Lab (Help for the Healing Parent)

We say “love” all the time - I love my kids, I love my dog, I love sushi. But is love really enough to sustain our closest relationships?

In this week’s episode of The Parenting Lab, we’re exploring a truth that might surprise you: love is the easy part. What’s harder is how we live that love out. From truly knowing the people we care about, to allowing growth and change, to challenging and holding others accountable - real love takes work.

We’ll dive deep into why boundaries are an act of love, how to stay connected through change, and what it looks like to practice love through curiosity, honesty, and repair.

Whether you’re parenting, partnering, or simply trying to love the people in your life more intentionally, this conversation will help you move beyond “I love you” or "I hope they know I love them," into the everyday actions that make love last.

✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why love is abundant - but not always enough

• What it really means to know someone

• How to let people (and yourself) grow and change

• Why healthy boundaries protect love, not block it

• How challenge, repair, and forgiveness deepen connection

If you’ve ever wondered why relationships can feel hard even when the love is strong, this episode will help you see that love isn’t just felt - it’s practiced.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney 

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

🔬Download Lab Three: Aligned In this episode of The Parenting Lab, we’re unpacking two tiny words that carry enormous weight in our parenting journey: “I Am” vs. “Am I?”

On the surface, they look almost the same. But in reality, they shape everything - our confidence, our motivation, even how our nervous system responds in the hardest moments of parenting.

“Am I a good mom? Am I enough?” These questions are familiar to so many of us, especially in a culture that thrives on comparison and perfectionism. While self-reflection has its place, living in constant doubt drains our energy and joy.

By shifting into “I Am” statements - like I am learning, I am patient, I am doing my best - we anchor ourselves in truth and abundance. In this episode, I’ll walk you through:

• Why “Am I” keeps us stuck in self-doubt

• How “I Am” statements can rewire your brain and regulate your nervous system

• The danger of negative “I Am” labels (like I am failing or I am broken)

• Practical tools to flip your inner dialogue and model confidence for your kids

• How to build a supportive community that reflects truth back to you

If you’ve ever struggled with parenting guilt, comparison, or self-doubt, this episode is for you. Together, we’ll explore how to move from uncertainty into confidence, and from scarcity into abundance - one “I Am” at a time.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney

💵For more free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

📸Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

Click ⁠HERE⁠ for your Free Bedtime Connection Guide!

Bedtime isn’t just about getting kids to sleep - it’s one of the most powerful parenting tools you have!

In this episode of The Parenting Lab, we’re talking about the surprising secret to building stronger connections with your kids of any age: tucking them in.

I’ll share the science behind bedtime routines, five powerful benefits of those last few minutes of the day, and real solutions for the common challenges that make bedtime hard. You’ll learn how a simple tuck-in can calm your child’s nervous system, create one-on-one moments, open communication, and leave them feeling safe, seen, and loved.

Whether you’re parenting toddlers, teens, or kids in between, these practical strategies will help transform bedtime from chaos into connection.

✨ A few intentional minutes at night can change your parenting - and your relationship with your child.

♥ Your Parenting Coach, Brittney

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

In this episode of The Parenting Lab, we dive into the heavy, invisible “shoulds” that keep parents trapped in guilt and self-judgment. I share five things I no longer feel guilty about - and how letting go of these rules has transformed my parenting, my relationships, and my own sense of freedom.

We explore:

• How to be honest and share your feelings with your kids without projecting emotional responsibility onto them.

• The power of saying no to things that don’t align with your values and boundaries - without shame.

• Why it’s okay to say yes when a no isn’t truly necessary, and how flexibility can strengthen connection.

• How making mistakes and handling things poorly can become opportunities for repair and modeling resilience.

• Taking time for your own growth, education, talents, and dreams - and how self-investment benefits the whole family.

If you struggle with guilt, perfectionism, or the feeling that you must always follow invisible rules to be a “good parent,” this episode is for you. Learn how to parent authentically, let go of unnecessary shame, and model healthy adulthood to your kids.

What guilts are you ready to let go of?

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

Have you ever looked at your child - whether they’re a toddler, a teen, or a grown adult - and wondered, “Did I miss my chance? Is it too late to change?”

In this powerful episode of The Parenting Lab, I’m unpacking one of the most common and painful questions parents ask: Is it too late to change myself… and my relationship with my kids?

We’ll explore:

• Why it’s never too late to transform your thoughts, behaviors, and parenting style

• The science of neuroplasticity - how your brain and nervous system can actually rewire, no matter your age

• How to start repairing relationships with young children, teenagers, and even adult children

• Practical ways to model transformation and mindful parenting (even if you’ve never done it before)

• My own story of learning these tools late in my parenting journey - and how it shifted everything

Whether you’ve been practicing empowered parenting for years or you’re just starting now, this episode will give you hope, language, and concrete tools to begin again - no matter how old your kids are or what’s happened in the past.

Listen in and learn how to apologize openly, narrate your growth, name your triggers, and practice consistency so trust can grow back. It’s not too late - for you, for them, or for your relationship.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney 

💵For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

📸Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

Download the FREE Core Values Worksheet

Do you ever find yourself stuck in a thought loop - rehashing the same scenarios, worries, or “what ifs” over and over again? In this episode of The Parenting Lab, we’re talking about why our thoughts spiral out of control and what you can do to stop it.

You’ll learn:

• Why spiraling happens in the brain and nervous system

• How thought loops keep us stuck in shame and anxiety

• Three practical steps to break free: looking for patterns, looking for evidence, and looking for alignment

If you’ve ever replayed an argument in your head, questioned whether you’re a “good parent,” or spiraled into worst-case thinking at 2 a.m., this conversation will give you tools to calm your mind and come back to clarity.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

✨ Don’t forget: Grab your free ⁠Core Values worksheet⁠ to help you define what’s most important in your parenting.Lately it feels like every week a new parenting style is trending - gentle parenting, conscious parenting, empowered parenting, permissive, free-range, helicopter, tiger… even FAFO parenting. The labels alone can spark big feelings: curiosity, defensiveness, judgment, or confusion. But what do these labels really mean? And do you actually need one?

In this episode of The Parenting Lab, we’ll dig into:

• The problem with parenting labels (and why they’re so loaded)

• Why we’re so eager to name and categorize our parenting in the first place

• Whether you need a label at all - or if something else matters more

• How to create your own “parenting compass” rooted in values, not buzzwords

• Practical ways to explain your parenting approach to others with confidence and clarity

If you’ve ever felt pressure to “pick a style” or defend the way you parent, this conversation will help you move past the noise and focus on what really matters in your family.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

Have you ever felt like you’ve disappeared since becoming a parent? In this episode of The Parenting Lab, we dive deep into the experience of parental invisibility - that quiet loss of identity that happens when we’re seen only as “Mom,” “Dad,” or “the one who keeps everything running.”

We’ll explore:

• Why parents often feel unseen in their partnerships and by their children

• The Invisibility Wound - how childhood experiences of neglect, role assignment, or parentification can shape how visible we feel as adults

• The hidden cost of living unseen: resentment, disconnection, and shrinking into smaller versions of ourselves

• How to reclaim your identity through awareness, self-recognition, and taking up space

• Practical ways to feel more visible in your relationships and model authenticity for your kids

This is an honest, compassionate conversation for any parent who has wondered, “Do they really see me?” You’ll walk away with insight, validation, and steps toward healing - so you can show up not only as a parent, but as your whole, vibrant self.

You are not invisible. You matter.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney 

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

Here’s the truth: most of what we call self-care isn’t care at all - it’s self-maintenance. And while maintenance matters (yes, get your sleep, eat well, do the laundry), it’s not the same thing as the practices that actually bring you back to life.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the real difference between self-care and self-maintenance, and why it matters more than you think. We’ll talk about:

• Why those “self-care lists” on social media can leave you feeling inadequate (and what real self-care looks like instead)

• The flip side - when you’re great at intuitive care but neglect the basics that keep you healthy and grounded

• How to tell the difference between the two in your own life

• Four steps to find a better balance, so you feel both steady and alive

Here's the kicker...You’re probably not actually bad at self-care - you’ve just been taught to confuse it with maintenance. Once you know the difference, you can give yourself permission to stop just getting by and start truly caring for yourself.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney 

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram @theparentinglabpodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]

Start your own healing journey with The Transformed Series!In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Madison to talk about her journey through the healing process: awareness → healing → transformation.

Even though she’s not a parent yet, the principles of this work have had a huge impact on her relationships with her parents, siblings, and the people closest to her. Madison shares how defining her core values helped her connect more deeply to her authentic self, what it’s really like to do the hard work of healing, and how transformation is changing her life in profound ways.

Her story is such a beautiful reminder that the work is worth it - and as you listen, you’ll hear practical takeaways for your own journey. Whether it’s giving yourself permission to slow down, exploring your own values, or finding peacein the messy middle, Madison’s story will leave you encouraged, grounded, and inspired to keep going in your own healing process.

♥ Your Parent Coach, Brittney

For free resources, online courses, or to join the mailing list, please visit theparentinglab.org

Follow on Instagram: @TheParentingLabPodcast

Email Brittney: [email protected]