Play shapes every aspect of who your child is becoming and you might not even know what it really is. Do you want your child to have strong social/emotional skills, become a creative problem solver, be confident, have healthy relationships, develop cognitive skills for math and reading, grow strong motor skills and be empathetic? Not exaggerating – it ALL comes through play.

This episode is Layne’s mini-manifesto about how you can enter into your child’s world and really see who they are, how to connect on a deeper level and how you can guide who they are becoming all by understanding what play really is and how to support it. We talk about how to understand your child’s behavior through the lens of what THEY think they are doing, strategies to navigate your dueling agendas and ways to cultivate a strong relationship built on trust and respect.

Join Very Good Mothers Club to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at Jessica Hover on Youtube and @jess_hover on Instagram

Find Layne @enquiryco on Instagram

Dr. Sam Rader returns to teach us why anger is an essential part of love, how to recognize and express when our boundaries are violated and how to use our anger as fuel to get our lives where we want to them to go. She shows us how to keep our natural, healthy anger from becoming toxic and how to encourage our children to grow a healthy relationship with their own emotions. Sam gifts us with a guided mediation and journaling prompts to help us get back in touch with our instinctive nature and to process stuck emotion from our pasts.

This is a DON'T MISS episode and we can't wait to discuss it with you on our next community call.

Find Sam's work:

Course mentioned in the episode - ⁠Stuckness to Flow Mini Course⁠

Website - drsamrader.com

Instagram - @drsamrader

Join ⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

This week we debrief Jess' big announcement (we don't want to use the "C" word but check out the Youtube link below if you need to catch up) including our big feelings, insights into the timeline and a few big lessons we've already learned on this very new journey. We tease an interview that's coming next season because the conversation taught us so much about how to handle when people don't like you (it's so good we can't even save it for when the episode comes out). And then we reflect on our favorite parts of the conversations we had in Season 4.

During this break, we'll be re-releasing some really great episodes from the archives so you guys can revisit those!

Please rate and review the podcast while we're away and send it to your friends ❤️

We'll be back soon!

Jess's News: I have cervical cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcHVsguFMag

You can still find us in REAL LIFE inside the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

It's an opinionated week on the podcast: first we realize we've both had close encounters with reality TV and have spicy feelings about it, then Layne shares some hot takes about rules (not a fan). We deep dive into why it's more effective and EASIER to focus on teaching kids what they CAN do than trying to enforce a list of "rules". We discuss why traditional rules are too abstract for little kids to follow, why rules provoke anxiety in both kids and parents, and which very normal parenting habits are totally ineffective (plus what to do instead!).

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

It's easy to wonder if we're doing enough to get kids ready for next stage in their lives. In this episode, we make a case for why the best way to prepare a child for the future is to let them be exactly where they are right now. We dive into why making your 3-year-old sit still will not actually get them ready for kindergarten, why you don't need to worry about memorizing the ABCs and how the skills they're building as babies and toddlers are the foundation for everything to come. We finish up with some thoughts on school in general and a reminder that living in the present is all we can really do, anyway <3

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

We all want our kids to be happy and we all hate tantrums. But how much "yes" is good for them and when does appeasing to avoid tantrums start to damage our parent-child relationship? Weaving in lots of practical support and encouragement, Jess and Layne dig into why it feels impossible for some of us to stand up to our demanding little ones. We talk about ways our own childhoods affect our personalities and impact our parenting using examples that have come up recently in the community like:

What to do when a breastfeeding toddler is refusing to wean?

How to hold set limits and hold boundaries when I hate conflict?

How do I respond when my child scratches and bites me?

How to course correct when a child is showing signs of entitlement?

...and more :)

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

This week is a collection of the best advice for having a great holiday with your kids from the podcast so far. We cover topics like:

How to define what you want at the holidays and avoid disappointment

How to release the pressure to make holidays perfect

Creating a calming and cozy holiday atmosphere at home

Managing kids' expectations and avoiding overstimulation during the holiday season

How navigate social media and comparison

How to let life be magical even when there are hard things going on

What to do with grief and pain when holidays are supposed to be a happy time

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

This week's listener question:

We're joined this week by the captivating Vee King-Cunningham who shares the story of losing her husband in her twenties (while pregnant!), parenting while grieving, falling in love again and thriving as a blended family. She shares her experience of learning how to let people help you, how to process grief in your own personal way, and how to stay connected to the memory of someone who's gone (and help your kids remember them, too). While the topics are heavy, this conversation is not - Vee is a funny, honest, excellent storyteller whose perspective on life is an absolute gift to hear.

Find Vee:

Blog - veronking2003.blogspot.com

Instagram - @thelettervee

Soaring Spirits (organization she recommended) - https://soaringspirits.org/

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessica Hover⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Youtube and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jess_hover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@enquiryco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram