In this episode, Jon slows the conversation down to sit with one parent’s deeply human question: what do our kids actually remember when we’re struggling? Responding to a mom navigating her first Christmas after separation, he unpacks why toddlers don’t store memories the way we fear—and why repair matters more than perfection. Parents will leave with relief, neuroscience-backed reassurance, and a clearer understanding of how safety, emotional honesty, and returning to connection shape a child far more than a tense moment ever could. 

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In this episode, Jon reflects on the ROUGH moments at family gatherings where love, history, and boundaries collide.... especially when you’re parenting in front of the people who raised you. Anchored in the reminder that “love does not require you to violate your boundaries,” he walks through real parent questions about food comments, gift overload, and forced affection. Parents will leave feeling less alone, more grounded in their authority, and clearer about how to protect their kids without carrying everyone else’s feelings.

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Links to help you and me:

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In this throwback episode, Jon takes on the Santa question: the moment every parent eventually faces when wonder collides with honesty. Framed around the tension between magic and trust, he explores how Santa works in a child’s developing brain and why the real issue isn’t whether Santa is “real,” but how we show up when kids ask big questions. Parents will walk away with clarity, compassion, and practical ways to navigate Santa conversations in a way that protects imagination, emotional safety, and the parent-child relationship. 

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Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
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In this episode, Jon explores why losing hits kids so hard—and why meltdowns over games are rarely about the game itself. Centered on the idea that “losing feels like a threat when a nervous system can’t predict what’s coming next,” he reframes sore losing as a regulation issue, not a character flaw. Parents will walk away with clarity, compassion, and practical ways to build frustration tolerance and resilience without shaming, fixing, or lowering expectations.

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Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
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In this episode, Jon explores why parents often find themselves reacting on autopilot—saying things they swore they’d never say, in a tone that feels uncomfortably familiar. Centered on the idea of “factory default settings,” he explains how stress, fatigue, and old neural pathways quietly take over, even when our values are different. Parents will leave with relief, self-compassion, and practical nervous-system tools to interrupt inherited patterns and respond with more intention when it matters most.

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Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
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Episode Summary

In this episode, Jon explores what it means to hold boundaries when your child is angry with you—and why that discomfort doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Grounded in the truth that “kids aren’t supposed to like your boundaries all the time,” he reframes children’s anger as a normal, even necessary part of development. Parents will leave with reassurance, nervous-system insight, and a clearer sense of how to stay emotionally available without overexplaining, rescuing, or giving up their limits.

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Support the show

Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
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In this episode, Jon unpacks why toddlers seem to say “no” to everything—even the things they want—and why this phase isn’t defiance or manipulation, but their earliest tool for agency. Framed as a selfhood struggle, not a power struggle, the conversation reframes constant refusal as a sign of healthy development. Parents will leave with clarity, reassurance, and simple ways to reduce battles while protecting connection and supporting their child’s growing sense of self.

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Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
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Get your Downloadable Christmas Scavenger Hunt HERE

In this short Christmas episode, Jon shares the five grounding practices his family turns to every year—small rituals that help kids feel anchored and connected when the excitement, overstimulation, and big feelings of the holiday season hit. Centered on the idea that “kids need something predictable to hold onto when everything else feels big,” this episode offers simple traditions you can use today to bring more calm, closeness, and delight into your home.

Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
• Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting 
• Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
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In this episode, Jon answers three real parent questions about clinginess — those “Velcro moments” when a child won’t let you leave the room and panic replaces logic. Through stories, brain science, and attachment research, he explores why clinginess is not a sign of overdependence, but a child’s way of saying “you are my safe person.”

Parents will walk away with a clearer understanding of what clinginess really communicates, how to respond without reinforcing fear, and practical rituals that build connection, confidence, and emotional resilience.

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Support the show

Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
• Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
• Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
• Follow Whole Parent on
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In this episode, Jon digs into the real reason transitions feel so “impossible” for kids — not because they’re being dramatic, but because shifting out of a moment they love can feel like a genuine shock to their system. Through stories, neuroscience, and deeply relatable parent questions, he explores why task-switching is so hard for developing brains and how a “satisfying end” can change everything. Listeners walk away with clarity, compassion, and concrete ways to support their child through the chaotic in-between moments without power struggles or guilt.

Send us a text

Support the show

Links to help you and me:

• To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
• Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
• Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
• Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
• Follow Whole Parent on
  • Instagram,
  • Tiktok,
  • Facebook,
  • Youtube