In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, Kyle Wester, a Peaceful Parenting coach and father of three, shares his journey from initially planning to spank his children to advocating for peaceful discipline. 

He sheds light on his transformation, prompted by uncovering the psychology of children's behavior and redefining what strength and discipline mean as a father. 

We talk about effective ways for dads to communicate with their children, handling anger, and the importance of creating a nurturing and safe environment for children to grow. 

We talk about:

• 6:24 Did he know that he wasn't going to spank? And how his kids were raised

• 11:43 What to do when one parent wants to peaceful parent and the other isn't on board yet

• 16:11 Advice that might help dads reach that ‘aha’ moment

• 21:55 Kyle’s biggest aha moment 

• 27:21 Modeling behavior for your child in how to talk to your partner

• 31:48 Switching the energy and teaching your kids how you would like them to talk to you

• 44:29 The relationship development through different stages with your kids

• 45:41 The underlying fear that drives dads

• 49:20 Advice to his younger parent self

Kyle Wester, Licensed Professional Counselor, MHR, is in full-time private practice having worked with families and children for over 15 years; working with a variety of clientele including children, adolescents, individual adults, and families. 

Wester specializes in providing counseling to individuals who have experienced trauma, parenting skills training, and working with children with challenging behaviors including anger, ADHD, opposition, and defiance, and children going through divorce.

Wester received a Master's Degree in Human Relations (MHR) from University of Oklahoma (License number: LPC4892).

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Kyle

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofraisinghumans/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artofraisinghumans

• Podcast: https://www.parentinglegacy.com/podcast

• https://www.parentinglegacy.com/

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, Sophie joins me for a coaching episode, where we cover the adoption of peaceful parenting techniques and emotional navigation in sensitive kids. 

Sophie is a single mother who's transformed her parenting style to manage her sensitive son Peter's big emotions effectively, leading to her growth as a confident parent. We talk about therapeutic strategies, coping mechanisms, and instilling responsibility in kids, especially with ADHD tendencies. 

We also talk about their family dynamics, highlighting the importance of tailored disciplinary actions, empathy, and tactful conversations. 

We talk about:

• 3:43 The work we have done together

• 6:20 Misunderstandings about attachment parenting

• 11:09 Reparenting herself

• 17:31 Sophie's background as a sensitive person and how it affects her parenting

• 24:34 Diving deeper into the problems surrounding getting out of the door in the morning

• 29:45 Adjusting expectations

• 37:16 How to get Peter to open up

• 49:23 Two-week check in

• 50:26 Update about her mental progress

• 53:20 Using incentives

• 58:50 Systems + resource for things completing tasks like cleaning a room

• 1:01:56 Using money as a reward

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, guest expert Casey Ehrlich from At Peace Parents joins me to discuss Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). 

She provides an in-depth understanding of PDA, a profile of autism that is characterized by a consistent survival drive for autonomy and equality, and shares how it can affect everything from an individual's eating and sleeping habits to maintaining safety. 

Casey's approach centers on accommodating rather than activating the individual's nervous system. For parents raising PDA children, she shares an effective cost-benefit decision making framework that offers radical acceptance of the situation. She also touches on the hard choices parents sometimes need to make, including separating siblings for safety and allocating resources for help. 

We talk about:

• 5:10 Definition of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

• 7:32 How she found out that her son was PDA

• 13:44 5 Characteristics of PDA

• 25:51 Is Masking a form of Freeze

• 26:11 Do you talk about FON with PDA

• 29:59 How common is PDA

• 31:05 Strategies for parents

• 40:35 What do you do if one sibling is PDA and one is not?

• 45:25 How PDA adults manage this in terms of their relationships

• 52:12 Advice to her younger parent self

Casey Ehrlich, Ph.D. (she/her) is a social scientist, parent coach and educator, the CEO and founder of At Peace Parents, and a leader of the first peer-reviewed studies of PDA in the United States.  Casey brings 15 years of work experience and expertise in social science methodology to help parents and therapists understand how to connect with and accommodate PDA Autistic children. She specializes in teaching parents and therapists practical skills in the home or clinical setting to accommodate neuroception-driven demand avoidance and nervous system differences through creative techniques. Her original research as a social scientist was conducted on post-conflict reconciliation, social capital, trust, and trauma in Colombia, South America - themes she brings to her work with parents, therapists, and teachers. She has served more than 1,000 families raising Autistic, PDA Autistic, ADHD and traumatized children since 2020 and is also raising a PDA autistic son.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Casey

• https://www.instagram.com/atpeaceparents/

• https://www.facebook.com/atpeaceparents/

• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP92MJiCpuWTpgtOaFty2Cw

• https://www.atpeaceparents.com/

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

Join us inside The Peaceful Parenting Membership! Doors close Tuesday PM Jan 30

Learn more: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com/membership/

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, Mary Van Geffen, a parenting coach, mom of spicy kids, and former marketing MBA executive, shares about her experiences and learnings from parent coaching. 

She explains the difference between a 'spicy kid' and a 'spirited kid', emphasizing that both include elements of overlap, but their understanding depends on the perspectives and expectations of the parents. 

Mary discusses methods of self-care for parents, the importance of creating healthy relationships within and beyond the family, and the power of maintaining a positive outlook towards your kid. 

We talk about:

• [4:43] Definition of Spicy Ones

• [6:33] The difference between Spicy and Spirited children

• [10:53] What's great about spicy kids

• [12:13] Knowing what is truly important in your life and where boundaries need to be

• [17:19] How did her mother deal with her growing up

• [19:30] How has her relationship with herself changed through her parenting journey

• [23:37] Building what she’s teaching other parents

• [25:18] Best ways parents can support themselves

• [30:35] Advice to her younger parent self

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Mary

• https://www.instagram.com/maryvangeffen/?hl=en

• https://www.facebook.com/parentcoachforspicyones

• http://www.maryvangeffen.com/

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, we discuss why kids try to blame somebody else, and how they often blame others when they're hurt or upset. We explore reasons why this happens, including the fight, flight, or freeze response and a subconscious attempt to avoid difficult feelings. 

We cover tips to help parents effectively respond when a child blames someone for something. I also talk about my free and upcoming 'Peaceful Parenting Reset' event that helps parents better manage and empathize with their children. 

We talk about:

• [3:00] Why kids want to blame somebody else

• [5:48] Anger as a secondary emotion

• [7:23] What we can do about blame

• [9:23] Not needing to make everything a teachable moment

• [12:24] How to respond when our child is blaming us

• [17:12] Understanding our strong feelings

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

• Free reset: www.sarahrosensweet.com/reset

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, I sit down with Jennifer Anderson, Registered Dietitian and founder of Kids Eat in Color. 

Jennifer, a leading expert in addressing picky eating and food anxiety in children, shares the importance of the 'division of responsibility' in feeding kids, noting that parents decide what food is provided, when, and where, but children decide if and how much they eat. 

We also talk about promoting healthy eating habits without instilling fear of 'bad food,' and explore how diet culture, neurodivergence, and parental fears can influence children's relationships with food. 

We talk about:

• [6:33] Why it’s important to get kids to eat a variety of foods

• [10:15] Age as a factor in picky eating

• [11:50] Sensory issues with picky eating, and reasons kids might not just ‘grow out’ of picky eating

• [16:31] Realizing our own capacity and releasing parental guilt

• [18:33] Child led exposure therapy vs. ARFID

• [19:45] The line between doing feeding therapy out of concern vs. pressuring kids into eating more

• [26:42] Two sides to a good relationship with food

• [28:04] Drawing the line between genuine needed concern and diet culture influence

• [33:28] Good food vs. Bad food

• [39:33] Suggestions for how parents can talk about food 

• [42:48] Support families around feeling their kids are eating too much or little

• [55:45] Advice to her younger parent self

As a mother, wife, registered dietitian, and founder of Kids Eat in Color®, Jennifer Anderson faced challenges in feeding her children, especially when her first child began falling off the growth chart. This experience led her to specialize in child nutrition and picky eating. 

After extensive research, she developed an approach involving small, evidence-based adjustments to mealtime routines that effectively reduced food-related stress. She established Kids Eat in Color and assembled a team of experts to offer practical strategies and resources to parents struggling with similar issues. Recognizing the impact of small changes and variety in a child's diet, her platform provides guides, courses, and tools to help parents manage mealtime challenges and promote their children's health.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Jennifer 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kids.eat.in.color/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kids.eat.in.color

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/kidseatincolor/

• https://kidseatincolor.com/

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, I sit down with Melanie for a coaching episode.

Melanie is a mom of two spirited boys – Ben and Eamon. We talk about the challenges Melanie is facing, from managing often intense energy levels and instances of aggression to understanding strong emotions and dealing with non-cooperation in daily routines. 

I give Melanie solutions, like introducing one-on-one time and sensory activities, prioritizing problem-solving situations, and reminding children that their parents are on their side. 

We talk about:

• [3:49] When Melanie’s son gets lost in play and becomes physically aggressive

• [5:58] Handling meltdowns at dinner

• [12:53] Running in the street to the car

• [16:28] Random acts of aggression

• [21:31] Finding your own triggers and then knowing what to do about them

• [30:20] Prevention tips of physical violence between the two boys

• [37:00] Sensory issues

• [46:40] Check in and update

• [55:51] Eamon's random acts of violence

• [1:08:27] Helping Ben when he is tuning everything out

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, I sit down with Ginny Yurich, to discuss the numerous benefits of nurturing a slow childhood, marked by ample outdoor play and fewer structured activities. 

We shed light on how unstructured outdoor play can promote a child's adaptability, independence, creativity and resilience, aspects that are critical for success in a rapidly changing world.

Ginny Yurich is a homeschooling mother of five and founder of 1000 Hours Outside, a global movement designed to reclaim childhood. Along with her husband, Josh, Ginny is a full-time creator and curator of the 1000 Hours Outside lifestyle brand, which includes a robust online store, an app, and books. She also hosts the 1000 Hours Outside weekly podcast. A thought leader in the world of nature-based play and its benefits for children, Ginny lives with her family in the Ann Arbor area of Michigan.

We talk about:

• [7:00] Ginny’s first good day as a mom

• [17:16] Generational differences in childhoods

• [23:52] The filter in which parents look at the desire for their child to be successful 

• [29:46] How her perspective on parenting was changed by the Rich Habits Test for Parents

• [33:22] Managing your own fears so your child can have a slow childhood

• [38:00] Light, and looking at different light inside and outside 

• [42:47] Advice for parent who feel like they don’t have enough time

• [51:23] Advice to her young parent self

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

• Ginny’s Book: https://amzn.to/3GCL7hN

Connect with Ginny 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1000hoursoutside/ 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/1000hoursoutside 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1000hoursoutside 

• Podcast: https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/podcast 

• https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php 

In this episode of the Peaceful Parenting Podcast, I bring back one of my favorite holiday episodes, which is an interview with my kids, where we talk about ‘people, not stuff’.

I know many parents are concerned that their children might become materialistic due to the abundance of gifts they receive during the holiday season, which is why I highlight the importance of showing kids that there's more to life than possessions. 

We talk about why it's normal for children to desire many things, and how to remind them that we can welcome their feelings without necessarily fulfilling all their materialistic desires.

We talk about:

• [1:05] Discussion on Kids Wanting More Stuff

• [2:13] Raising Non-Materialistic Kids

• [2:19] Acknowledging Financial Privilege

• [4:33] Addressing Parents' Fears about Kids Wanting Stuff

• [8:50] Encouraging Kids to Give Presents

• [10:06] Parents' Role in Reducing Materialism

• [16:46] Kids' Excitement and Gratitude for Presents

• [24:06] Changing Values with Age

• [26:10] Influence of Parenting on Materialism

• [27:10] Importance of Anticipation in Celebrations

• [27:56] Advice for Parents on Materialism

• [28:47] Reflections on Childhood and Consumerism

• [30:14] Transition from Wanting to Appreciating

• [37:12] Understanding Gratitude and Privilege

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling 

• Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting 

• Newsletter: www.sarahrosensweet.com/newsletter

Connect with Sarah Rosensweet  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/ 

• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup

• Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com 

• Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php