Podcast appearances and mentions of meghan leahy

Meghan Leahy, parent coach and columnist at the Washington Post, joins Lisa Dent to discuss her upcoming lecture for the Glenbard Parent Series. Leahy shares advice to parents on helping them connect with their kids. Then, Leahy previews her discussion for the Glenbard Parent Series.

People tell me ‘oh, you're in it' or ‘don't worry, it gets better,' but as a mom of a two-year-old and a six-month-old, I'm like: ‘Okay, but…WHEN? When does that actually happen?”Good question. When DOES parenting start to get a little easier? Today Meagan and Sarah try our best to get specific with the above question, posed by Sarah Limberg from our contributor team. We chat about specific parenting milestones that felt like leveling-up when we were in the trenches, and offer hope and realism in equal measure to those of you in this season. Join us!HELPFUL LINKS:The Mom Hour was featured in Real Simple‘s subscriber magazine Celebrate. If you subscribe to Real Simple, look for us, and check out the online version here (last page!).The Last Parenting Book You'll Ever Read is coming in 2025! Congratulations, Meagan!Meagan's article about parenting teenagers was featured in The Washington Post.Sarah recommended following The Washington Post's parenting section. Here's a few episodes featuring The Washington Post parenting section experts:BONUS: Not Aunt Becky!? The College Scam & Parenting CultureParenting Outside The Lines: Voices 66 With Meghan LeahyHere's a link to Meghan Leahy's On Parenting Advice Column with The Washington Post.Sarah has a piece in her local paper about family photo shoots. Link coming soon!Relevant Episodes From The Archives About Having More Babies (Or Not):Are You “Done” Having Babies?: Episode 07Should I Get Pregnant Again? Episode 187What's One More? The Practical Realities of 3+ Kid Families: Episode 230A member of our team Sarah Limberg–who inspired this episode– is taking over our instagram stories this week. Follow Along!OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:Visit our websiteCheck out deals from our partnersFollow us on InstagramJoin our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)Sign up for our newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We talk a lot on this show about how critical it is to maintain a strong relationship with our teenagers to nurture their mental, emotional, and social well-being. It is also a protective factor against anxiety, depression, drug use, and so much more. But knowing it and doing it are very different things. Many parents tell me that they want to connect with their teens, but their teens don't want anything to do with them. So what do we do? Today I'm joined by Meghan Leahy, a renowned parent coach and parenting columnist at the Washington Post. Meghan specializes in helping caregivers build and strengthen connections with their children, even when it feels incredibly hard.     Resources Mentioned in This Episode Meghan Leahy's parenting column in the Washington Post FREE Guide: Dr. Cam's 10 Pro Tips for Raising Teens Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others would appreciate the guidance and encouragement, please take a quick moment to rate and review. Reviews from my listeners are extremely valuable and greatly appreciated. Review on iTunes.   Subscribe to the Podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Google, Spotify. You can also subscribe from the podcast app on your mobile device or listen LIVE in my Private Facebook Group.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 2, 2023 is: obstinate • AHB-stuh-nut • adjective Obstinate at its most basic means "stubborn." It describes people who refuse to change their behavior or ideas in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion, and it describes things that are not easily fixed, removed, or dealt with. // The project that had been the group's main focus for weeks was temporarily stymied by one obstinate member's refusal to compromise. // The planning committee discussed ways to mitigate the obstinate problem of gentrification. See the entry > Examples: "... [Louise Bates] Ames has an uncanny way of capturing the essence of children at different developmental stages, and when you understand that it is your child's work to behave this way, that the behavior is serving growth and maturity, you are less likely to try to squash it. For instance, when you've nicely asked your 2-year-old to stop jumping on the couch and they look you in the eyes and keep jumping? It's helpful to know that this obstinate behavior is normal and is not a reason to double-down or punish your child. Instead, speak less, redirect and provide other things for your child to jump on." — Meghan Leahy, The Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2022 Did you know? English has no shortage of words to describe stubbornness, and obstinate is one you might want to latch onto. It suggests an unreasonable persistence and is often used negatively to describe someone who is unwilling to change course or to give up a belief or plan. Animals can be obstinate, too—for instance, say, a beloved pet cat that refuses to get out of your easy chair when you want to sit down. Such an example makes a lot of sense with regard to obstinate's history, too: the word traces back to a combination of the Latin prefix ob-, meaning “in the way,” and a word related to stare, meaning "to stand." But if you're adamant about describing Whiskers' stubborn behavior in more faunal terms, allow us to suggest bullheaded, dogged, or mulish.

In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler are joined by Meghan Leahy, a parenting coach and a published author of parenting books. They discuss parenting. The conversation includes how parenting has changed over the last 100 years, different approaches parents can use with their child to problem solve, and the importance of building bonds with your community can help with parenting.  Links from the Episode: Meghan Leahy Website Parenting Outside the Lines (Book Link) Show Notes: (2:25) - What is Parenting Coaching? (4:18) - The Parenting Problem Exposed by the Industrial Revolution (5:45) - The Problem with Modern Parenting (7:41) - The Conundrum with Setting Boundaries for Kids (9:43) - Parent Coaching: Finding the Middle Way to Explain Consequences (13:16) - The Collaborative Approaching to Problem Solving with Children (14:30) - What if the child refuses to go to school?  The middle way approach. (16:16) - The Ultimate Goal of Parenting (17:07) - The Consequence of Harsh Parenting (18:20) - The Goal of Meghan's Book for Parents (21:24) - How To View Parenting Over the Long Term (24:05) - Is it ever too late to change how you communicate with your child? (27:03) - Do apologies mean a loss of parental power? (28:15) - Can adults form relationships with children who aren't their own? (30:33) - Creating Micro-Connections with Other Parents In Your Neighborhood (32:06) - How Transmitting Values Builds Stronger Communities (33:34) - The Power of “Do No Harm” Transcript: Susan Stone: Today's podcast is going to discuss the value of using a parenting coach. And Kristina, wouldn't you agree that we deal with parenting issues every day?  Kristina Supler: Oh, uh, In so many different ways, whether we're working on a campus, title IX case, special education, student discipline, there's issues in our practice that really lend themselves to parent coaching  Susan Stone: well, and our clients often look to us to help guide them as to what decision domain. Susan Stone: So much so. That in 2021, both of us became certified in positive discipline, which we've had a podcast on "What is PO positive discipline" and how you can incorporate those thoughts into everyday parenting.  Kristina Supler: We also though, at times, Sort of really believe in the importance of, of using a tough love approach. Kristina Supler: And it really just sort of depends on the context in which we're representing a student and working with families. But we really think it's important to work with all sorts of different outside professionals to support students and their families through crisis. Yeah.  Susan Stone: And we've made a lot of referrals to outside therapists and coaches, and today we're lucky to have a great coach online. Susan Stone: So why don't you kick off and introduce our guest today.  Kristina Supler: Today we are pleased to be joined by Meghan Leahy. Hi. Hi, Megan. Meghan Leahy: Hello. How are you?  Kristina Supler: Great. Megan is a former teacher and school counselor who now owns her own business as a certified parenting coach. She has a master's degree in school counseling from Johns Hopkins University. Kristina Supler: She's a weekly columnist in the on parenting section of the Washington Post, and she's also a published author. Her book is titled, "Parenting outside the lines. Forget the rules, tap into your wisdom and connect with your child". And most importantly, Megan's a mother to three and she brings her real world experience and relatable insights to her work. Kristina Supler: So thanks for joining us, Megan.  Kristina Supler: This is my pleasure. Thank you for having me.  Susan Stone: So we're gonna kick off with a very basic softball question. What is a parenting coach?  Meghan Leahy: Yeah. It's kind of a BSE job, it feels like. I essentially help the same problems I feel like I create. So, , what do you mean? A hundred years ago? Meghan Leahy: Not even that long ago. You didn't need a parent coach. You had a community, a church, a synagogue, a village, a village, and everybody was like-minded. , rightly or wrongly. If everybody was whooping their kids, at least you had that in common. You lived here I  Susan Stone: was whooped. My parents will deny it. Just so you know. I got the belt.  Meghan Leahy: Yeah. Yeah. I got all kinds of things. And so we, we had our family around. and it was a true generational passing down of your ancestry, your lineage, how you parented, good or bad, right? So I'm not gonna paint a picture that it was great. A lot of bad stuff was passed down. Meghan Leahy: And then as we industrial revolution moved away from each other and away from community, we have become increasingly so we had an up down opposite thing. We became obsessed with our kids cuz we had fewer of them, right? And we used to have a lot of kids to work the farm cuz you'd lose some in a bad winter. Meghan Leahy: Do you know what I mean? Like, and women couldn't stop having them. So thank God for the pill. And then as women could have less kids, and we got more obsessed with them. So the obsession went higher and the support went lower. , as religion fell away and as psychology came up, we started to realize that we were sending our kids to therapy when the identified patient should have been the parent. Meghan Leahy: So the kids weren't the problem. , the parents were. And when I say problem, I put that in air quotes. They just need support. They just need somebody to tell them they're doing a good job and here's what else we can do, and here's what is typical child development for this age. They just need support. So that's what I do, that's what I try and do, support them. Kristina Supler: Megan, have parents gotten too soft today? I mean, it's interesting that your initial response sort of looked back in history. in today's time. I mean, I, I just wonder about this issue of soft parenting, cuz I know when I was growing up and being raised, my parents were very strict with rules, boundaries, consequences. Kristina Supler: Yeah. Good or bad. I mean, Susan, it sounds like you had some of that  Susan Stone: as well. Well, I did, but I know that we, I, I know Kristina's parents and I would say they were very effective old school parenting with you, correct. Absolutely shout out to Jim and Dolores . Can we give you a  Kristina Supler: shout out to my wonderful parents? Kristina Supler: It just seems today as we're dealing with families in crisis and in various contexts, cuz of course we're lawyers. So generally when, when people are with us, it's because they're at a low point in their life. Often it's feels as though parents are reluctant to impose rules. What are your thoughts on that? Meghan Leahy: Yeah. So what what you see in society is bing bonging from one extreme to another. So if we were in a scene not heard kids were at the very bottom of the totem pole we came out of an agricultural kind of, I mean, remember, humans have been around a long time. We think we're important. We are not. We are a speck of sand in this universe, and even in the longevity of humans. Meghan Leahy: Here we go. Now you're asking me have parents gone soft. So they were too harsh. Mm-hmm. , right? Not in every culture, but let's just take culture. Right. And harsh for no reason. Mm-hmm. , right, right. And controlling for no reason. But kids were also given a little bit more freedom to go outside, to go into woods to. Meghan Leahy: now we fast forward and we didn't like how we were raised. A lot of us, so we swing too much into the other extreme. Sure. So back in the day, if you went to go, you know, if you were little and you kicked your parents in the shins, right? You got spanked. You got sent to your room, you got yelled at, you got harshly reprimanded. Kristina Supler: If you said, no, I won't do that, you were in  Meghan Leahy: trouble. Right? Harshly reprimanded, right? Oh, I  Susan Stone: got soap in the mouth when I used the F word as a little girl. I still remember that. Me, me too. I, I was a mouthy kid. And the soap in the  Meghan Leahy: mouth, you want a trauma bond over it. We can .  Susan Stone: The funny thing is I don't look back on it as being traumatic. Susan Stone: I think it was. what you did when you had a mouthy kid. And I was Back then. Back then?  Meghan Leahy: Yeah. Back then. So what we have now is though, is that people don't wanna be raised how they were raised. And so then they go into when the kid kicks them in the shins, they're like, please don't kick mommy. Meghan Leahy: That makes me feel sad, right? There is. , a lack of boundaries, and the kid doesn't respond well to that either. So if you look at it as a fence around a house, if the fence is too tight around the house, that leads to disobedience. Power struggles. Rebellion. Rebellion or shame, right? If the fence goes too wide away from the house, the kids don't know where the boundaries are. The natural hierarchy is not in order, and the kids don't feel safe. So as humans, we feel safe when we know where the rules are. Now, what I see a lot is people saying, well, I was raised like this, and I'm fine. Great. Somehow, right? Like somebody's temperament with how their parents were with their birth order Meghan Leahy: that alchemy. Oh,  Susan Stone: first children, right? Those first born, no,  Meghan Leahy: first children are hot mess. . They're cage, they're ill. They are perfectionistic. Yeah. They are highly medicated and very successful. Yes, I would agree. Yes. And oh, they look great, but go live with them. Okay. I'm a firstborn. Married to a firstborn. Meghan Leahy: We're a fricking nightmare.  Kristina Supler: I love your analogy about the fence around the house, though. I think that's, I love it. That's, that's really  Meghan Leahy: good. And why this is good is that different kids need different fences even within the same house. Sure. Yes, yes.  Susan Stone: Yeah. You know what, we were just, uh, I was just talking. I have a junior. Susan Stone: It's time to really kick it in for college, and that's a really real consequence. I'm not imposing it saying kick it in. You need to really finish your junior year with great grades and great scores, or  Kristina Supler: you might not go to the schools you wanna go to. That's,  Susan Stone: that's not me imposing the rule. That's the world. Meghan Leahy: So in what I do in my parent coaching is I find the middle way, give us the middle  Susan Stone: way under that fact pattern. Okay. Let's talk about grades and scores.  Meghan Leahy: Okay, so let's say you have a kid, junior year, has spent the last two and a half years in some kind of BS covid situation. Sure, yep. With you. , they have lost social skills. Meghan Leahy: Mm-hmm. skills within the classroom, confidence building skills, as well as important learning skills. English and math are the lowest they have ever been since they have started testing in the sixties. A  Kristina Supler: bunch of news articles have come out recently highlighting that, and it's, it's  Susan Stone: in the new, it was in the New York, York Times, and I heard SAT scores and ACT scores are down by five points, which is a lot. Meghan Leahy: So now, now we come in hot as parents. Mm. . Okay. So we are bringing our old expectations to a new way of life, So the old way is I'm gonna sit you down. You're gonna do this work, you're gonna apply these schools, you're gonna write these essays, you're gonna get this resume. Do, do, do, do. One way. The opposite is, well snooze, you lose, you don't do it. Meghan Leahy: You're f okay, the middle way is "Hey, Brian. Things have been a little wacky. We are like out of the habit of maybe some organizational skills. What's important to you this year? When you look ahead?" They may look at you and be like, blink. Blink. What do you mean? Well, let's look ahead, right? Let's look ahead and so you start at the beginning. Meghan Leahy: That is the middle way of where are we now? Where can we go given what your kid is experiencing. So natural consequences for kids who are suffering only cause more suffering. So if you are have a broken leg and you're at the bottom of the stairs and I scream at you, get up the stairs, what is, well, the consequences are you don't get up the stairs. Meghan Leahy: who would ever do that to another human?  Susan Stone: No, but it is a real consequence. So I, I wanna challenge you on this. . Sure. Okay. Are you up for the challenge? Kristina and I All day work? Yeah, all day. Kristina and I work with kids who are accused of various misconducts at college or younger in college. In college. Susan Stone: It could be sexual assault. It could be cheating, and some of our cases, they're at real risk of getting indicted, let's say, a hazing case.  Meghan Leahy: Okay. And, and  Kristina Supler: we have cases in the criminal justice system, so yeah.  Susan Stone: It is cruel to say, get your act together, or you could get kicked outta school or get charged. But guess what? Susan Stone: Those are the facts, Jack, right? Yep. Yeah. So. . I, I, I can't, as a lawyer and Kristina as a lawyer, I can't soften that. That is the real world face in you, babe. Yeah. So what do you do when you have opportunities like get your grades up, get your scores up, live right? I I, yes. You won't get up to the top of that stair. Susan Stone: So give us a mid-level approach that's kinder, but real, real world base. How  Kristina Supler: do you coach under those circumstances? . Yeah.  Meghan Leahy: So, I really love the Ross Greene approach, g r e e n E. This is a collaborative problem solving approach, which takes both needs of both parties into equal weight. Okay? So, for instance, the parents are saying okay, this kid has Cs, but you wanna go to UNC. Meghan Leahy: And the kid is saying, well, I don't really care. Right? You meet in the middle with Ross Green's approach, where you start to work on small problem solving, small amounts of problem solving. Because for the average adolescent, now listen, when they're 18 and they've been, they've hazed someone like. Meghan Leahy: What's gonna happen is gonna happen, right? My work is when people call me for the ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen year old. If we can work with them there you are less likely to have a kid who is going to sexually assault while drunk, haze somebody while drunk, right? Like make these decisions with lifelong impacts. Meghan Leahy: So my interest is problem solving in the middle way. It is easier. in the moment to say sink or swim. It's, it's easier. It's easier for the parent. It's easier to go like this. But for instance, I have a kid who, I had a parent family who the kid stopped attending school. It's a lot of school refusal. Meghan Leahy: We've dealt  Susan Stone: with that. Yeah. Yeah. And actually running away from home. We've dealt with that too. Yeah.  Meghan Leahy: And so they, they were we're gonna send them away to this wilderness  Susan Stone: camp. Oh my gosh. We deal with school with that.  Meghan Leahy: Yeah. Yep. So I said, okay, so your kid's gonna wake up, be grabbed by strangers and taken to Utah. Meghan Leahy: Do you wanna destroy your relationship with them forever? My questions are, are they addicted to drugs? Are they a danger to themselves? Are they a danger to anyone in the house? No. No, no. Oh, okay. So you want to rip them away from the family when they're already struggling. Oh, well, I guess not. Meghan Leahy: Okay, so the middle way became how do we make small movements toward, so rather than the answer is go to school or not go to school, it's What does online school look like One hour a day? , then it's two hours a day? It's  Susan Stone: that mid-level approach. Well,  Kristina Supler: I I, i, I hear your point, and I think it's an excellent one that there, there's gotta be buy-in from both sides. Kristina Supler: Otherwise, you're not making any progress. Meghan Leahy: I'm not looking, wait. My goal in my human life while I'm here is to not crush souls. . Right? So by the time they get to you guys and they're looking at jail time, that's soul crushing on that side. Yeah, it really is. That's, that's a life ender for a lot of these kids. Meghan Leahy: Yeah. That's now their invitation into not being able to have a good career, not being surrounded by the right people. Not being right. So my job on the front end is for that child to look at the parents and the parents' eyes say to them, I love. , I am here for you. I'm not giving up on you. Ever. Mm-hmm. Meghan Leahy: ever. And we have goals every day. We have goals. Whether your kid is eating disordered, cutting themselves, in dangerous behaviors, not doing homework. For me, always having an adult in that children's life that says, I'm never gonna give up on you. Ever. ,  Meghan Leahy: that's beautiful. And, and it builds or can help build a sense of security. Meghan Leahy: And again, the bring the fence maybe really wide back in a little bit. To tie back to your initial point, the only  Meghan Leahy: way a human has moved forward besides the military is through connection. Mm-hmm. , humans do not move forward with carrots and sticks. Now, if we take on parenting as the beatings will continue until morale improves, you will get the behavior you want, but you will not get a relationship you want. Susan Stone: That's right.  Kristina Supler: Let's lighten it  Susan Stone: up a little bit. Oh gosh.  Kristina Supler: I need that . We, we got heavy, we got a little dark, but really, really important. And valuable insights. So thank you for sharing that. And, and  Susan Stone: thank you for trying to lighten it up already. Susan Stone: I was like going, oh my God, I haven't had my lunch and not enough coffee.  Kristina Supler: Let's talk about parenting outside the lines. So your book is, it's funny, it's informative, it's full of really practical advice. For our listeners out there, share a little bit of your humor with our parents. Share a little bit about the book that you think parents should know about. Kristina Supler: So they go check it out. Meghan Leahy: I tell a lot of my own stories with my own kids, which is its own s show. And me growing up I Meghan Leahy: I, this is a parenting book where I just want somebody to read it and go, oh, I don't feel as bad. It's not lofty. I don't want you to put it down and go, oh my God, I'm a changed person. Cause I haven't really ever seen that happen. , right? Um, it's like reading books about stomach crunches. Nobody gets outta bed and does them , right? Meghan Leahy: I want somebody to just read the book and go, oh, right. So for instance you know, when I open the book, I just go through all of the different parenting styles, helicopter parenting, snowplow parent, all the different iterations, right? And you people will recognize themselves in those. Meghan Leahy: And I say it's okay. if it works. I'm trying to kind of lift the burden of parenting one way.  Susan Stone: Right. You know, I was thinking about humor and Kristine and I have a really heavy practice. We deal with serious issues. And what gets it, you mean the me Too sign? Yeah. No, it's, every day is challenging and I know that What gets me through the day is the fact that I just have to say this. Susan Stone: My law partner Kristina Supler is hilarious. Well, thank you. Isn't that amazing? I know, and you know, a lot of people don't get that side of her because she is such a consummate professional, but really that's what gets us through the day is that we have to  Meghan Leahy: laugh. You have to laugh. Well, one of the things, when I coach with people and in the book, you know, I would be getting a one-year-old, a four-year-old, a seven-year-old out of the house by myself. Meghan Leahy: Um, my husband went to work at 5:00 AM Everybody was screaming ins in some sort of undress, right? Like never fully dressed. And I'm supposed to be the parent coach on my block, right? So I'm in a full flop sweat and we're late and we get in the car and I click everyone in and I'm like, we made it, we're in the car, we've won the day. Meghan Leahy: Victory . And all the kids are like, what? , okay, whatever  Kristina Supler: Mom drive, right?  Meghan Leahy: This is winning. I'm a, oh, this is winning. Right. You know,  Susan Stone: one of the things that I wanna share on a personal level of what winning is, and I. my number two. They always say that number one are rule followers. And then number two, always likes to break the rules in three rules. Susan Stone: What are they? I don't know if you've ever heard that. Yeah. But I was just talking to my 23 year old and seeing the adult come out. Mm.  Susan Stone: Like that is the payback, you know? A hundred percent. Yeah. But you sometimes.  Kristina Supler: You wondered  Susan Stone: if you'd ever get there. I didn't think I'd ever get there. And he is amazing. Susan Stone: Really. And he's, it's so gratifying. It really is gratifying. Yeah.  Meghan Leahy: And I think, part of the, the hard part for all of us is that you're parenting for the long game. Right? This, it's hard to explain to parents sometimes That the small gestures they're making right now manifest years down the road. Meghan Leahy: So one of the major things that I teach parents is the family meeting. It's just really getting together and talking, right? And, um, and it has rules around it and, and it sounds so dumb with a three-year old. Right. Like, what is your rose and thorn? What did you love about Oh, we do that in my  Kristina Supler: house. .  Meghan Leahy: Right. But eventually, you know what it's turned into, at least in my family, is, um, you know, well, let's sit down. Meghan Leahy: Um, mom, there's a boy being bullied in my class, and if I speak up, I'm bullied too. Ah, uh, okay. But what do we do about. . Right? It's, it's like  Kristina Supler: a beautiful sort of invitation for the kids to speak about whatever's on their mind.  Meghan Leahy: And so the parents though, have to create that. Mm-hmm. , because in our culture today, there's not time. Meghan Leahy: We just pick up our kids and bring them to A, and bring them to B and drop them off at a, and then take them to soccer and then to like, we actually have to consciously create that time.  Susan Stone: You know what I say? The goal in life is that we spend a couple years diapering our kids, and if we do it right, they'll wanna diaper us one day when we can't make it to the bathroom. Susan Stone: And, and, and all of us who've been through menopause, you know what I'm talking about  Meghan Leahy: right? Oh geez. as I sweat right now. But you know, talking about like your son being an adult and being so proud of him, right. That is the result of a lot of what you didn't do, like has nothing to do with you in many ways, which is the mind f of parenting, like sperm met egg in there. Meghan Leahy: He was all, all his potentiality. , all his IQ, hype, goodness, all everything, right? And then we are the gardeners, right? We make sure that he can fully grow up. So we, we are both in helping him and getting out of the way.  Susan Stone: Yeah, I like that, the gardener cuz sometimes you need to add water and sometimes you need to pinch something off. Susan Stone: I mean, that's a good metaphor since, uh, your husband. That's his biz. Right?  Susan Stone: It is working with his plants. Well, so  Kristina Supler: let me ask you, Megan, you're we're talking about when our children grow. What's your advice for parents of older kids, say late teens college? Is it ever too late to change things to sort of rewire how you communicate with your children and your family dynamic?  Susan Stone: Even if you screwed it up badly? Meghan Leahy: No, it's never too. . It's never too late. And they used to think it was, and now neuroscientists know it's not. And also we can't blow smoke. It's hard when a parent has realized they have mistepped and they have done the work to see that, and they're ready to apologize and humble themselves. That does not automatically click the dominoes into forgiveness and changing of behavior in the child. Meghan Leahy: So if you have a older teen that you have bossed around since they were born, or shamed or manipulated, and you see the light and you get help , you have to kind of see it as like, that's how far off I 95 you drove maybe for 18 years. So to get back to I 95 is gonna be that journey too. Mm-hmm. . So there is, there has to be a, a cultivation of patience and persistence because humans, when I tell you, oh, I've changed. Meghan Leahy: Oh, that's nice. Prove it. Prove it. Prove it. prove it. But one of the most important things to know about kids of all ages, including us, is that we are always hungry for a relationship with our parents. It never, it  Susan Stone: never, absolutely. Oh, it never ends. And our family, I mean, I was on the phone last night with my 99 year old aunt, and I check in once a week or so with her and Right. Susan Stone: She's very meaningful in my life.  Meghan Leahy: and that is should give people a lot of hope that even if there is an apology to make and something to make right, As a parent that deep desire to be connected to your family never goes away. Never goes away.  Kristina Supler: It's interesting, Megan, as I'm listening to you talk, I'm, I'm, I'm thinking, and it's sort of, it, it, please correct me if I'm wrong, but a theme throughout your work is this idea of vulnerability. You, you're vulnerable in sort of putting your family's own stuff out there. You know, some days you get it, right? Mm-hmm. , sometimes you get it wrong. And what we just talked about, the analogy of having the car off the highway and turning it around, and really at the heart of that is parents, admitting to their own children. Kristina Supler: Look, I, I made a mistake, I screwed up. Let, let's, let's regroup it. It's okay to do that. And that's a means of forming connection .  Meghan Leahy: Oh, one of the biggest, right? In therapy, they call it rupture repair. It's like the basis of a human relationship. In my book, I have a, a chapter on apologizing, right? And it's, you know, what's a good apology? Meghan Leahy: What isn't, how it works, how it doesn't. Because everyone thinks connection looks like going to the zoo or going to the park, or all these things, right? The obvious things. But connection. Humility, vulnerability, and you can absolutely apologize while keeping all of your parental power.  Susan Stone: You know, I do wanna go back and circle to the village idea because I still. Susan Stone: It's not just on parents. I think we have to all do our part for being, playing a role in children that are not our own. That might be our friend's kids. You know, when I grew up, my mother had, she passed her best friend from seventh grade cooking class. And I considered her like an aunt Aunt Eileen and Aunt Eileen would remember me and buy me, I remember this, I wanted desperately a Bonnie Ball lip smacker, and I got that from Aunt Eileen. Kristina Supler: They were amazing.  Susan Stone: They were amazing . And I was thinking today that Kristina came into the office with York Peppermint Patties from her son James. I mean, I just trick-or-treating  Susan Stone: leftovers. Amazing. Yeah.  Susan Stone: Yep. And I think that, , it's on. We've become so insular bec Yes, especially with Covid, that we forget that we are a community and we can form relationships with children not our own. Susan Stone: And that can be deep and meaningful for kids.  Meghan Leahy: The science is very clear that as soon as a baby is born, whoever picks up that baby is the parent. because mothers die during childbirth all the time. Not to be dark, but I just, there's a big kind of culture of like mother love and the specialness. Meghan Leahy: Biologically, that's not it. Okay. Biologically we can connect to anyone in those early days of life who loves us. Right? And that continues and continues throughout our life. And the power of showing up . For, for your community though, I just wanna be very clear for everyone listening, you are not crazy if it's hard. Meghan Leahy: All our culture makes it hard. We are both in suburban homes where the garage door shuts and we're on this, so you have to decide to reach out. You have to decide to like go out on your front yard and invite the neighbors over. You have to decide to do what you want to do. It's not as organic as it used to be. Meghan Leahy: Even maybe when we were growing up, right, where the kids were here or there, and you knew the neighbor, and the neighbor knew the, and your family and your cousins. , it's harder for families now.  Kristina Supler: So I hear sometimes people talk about how, you know, back in the day, the good old days, kids would just walk around the neighborhood and pop in and out of everyone's house here, there, and everywhere, and parents often didn't even know where their kids are versus now where. Kristina Supler: It's a sche, uh, uh, a structured schedule and you schedule play dates, you know, in 30 minute increments, weeks out. And, you know, it's sort of this discussion of why can't we go back to the good old days? And I think it's something that, you know, as you point out, it's important to be really mindful of the ways to build connection, both intentionally but also perhaps organically. Meghan Leahy: And remember, you know, when you are running the carpools, when you're standing on the sidelines at the soccer tournament in the gymnastics thing. The, these are micro ways to create connection. Mm-hmm. , these are little teeny ways to tell the kids, get off your phones. Tell me what's going on. Right. To pick up a headline to turn to the parent. Meghan Leahy: I mean, like how, how have you guys been? Right? Like, cuz we're not gonna return to everyone running around and frankly, the good old days were not great in a lot of ways. But, but we can. , we can stop and do little micro connections. Even sending another parent an email like, I saw your son on the field today and he picked up the opposing teams player like by the arm after he knocked him down. Meghan Leahy: What a great kid. Absolutely.  Kristina Supler: And and I think so often we're looking for these really formalized opportunities to build connection and it doesn't have to be that,  Susan Stone: and you wanna form those connections so kids Feel responsible that, you know, not to get all religious on anybody, whatever faith, but am I my brother's keeper? Susan Stone: Totally. Are we responsible for one of them? And you know, that's a universal spiritual concept is that we live, we're social, we care about each other. And this is such a divisive time that I think connecting on a human level is important. I think when you have that foundation you wanna do  Meghan Leahy: well. Yeah, and I really love what you say there cuz you're, what you're talking about is transmitting values. And there's a couple different ways to do it. Meghan Leahy: One is modeling it, one is saying it one, like every parent can say, what's my wheelhouse? What am I good at and how can I do connections? , right? Like maybe you're just good at the grocery store connections, but let your kids see it and tell them why it matters. There's not a one size fits all approach. No, correct, correct. Meghan Leahy: Maybe you are the organizer parent. Maybe you are the block party parent. Enjoy that. Find what your thing is and also the different seasonality of our lives. So I have a bunch of tweens and teens. I just sent one to college. I'm actually super tired right now. The only thing I can focus on is I've decided to get to know the parents of my youngest kid. Meghan Leahy: That is my focus for this year. Everything else I'm not doing. That's okay. Right?  Kristina Supler: And saying no can be freeing.  Meghan Leahy: Yes. And so look at what do I have the energy for? How old are my kids? What is my work life balance? What is real for me right now? You know, it's  Susan Stone: funny, I was thinking about this energy thing. Susan Stone: That's a real thing. Kristina and I were just on a business trip together and it was grueling. It was grueling. And of course she has younger kids, so she had to go trick-or-treating. Not hat, wanted to, but wanted to, but yes, wanted two. But I, like I had to get in my jammies and crawl in bed. Yeah. You know? Susan Stone: Yeah. That's a real thing.  Meghan Leahy: and paying attention to it is a gift to the world, right? Because especially women, you know, we have the invisible labor constantly. Mm-hmm. , constant, invisible labor. Yes. Schedule keeper, schlepper to the doctor, caretaker of the dog care, making sure there's milk, constant email watching, and that's not even our work. Meghan Leahy: No. Right. getting into bed and resting is, is a gift because I say a lot to parents when I coach. Um, it's not very sexy, but one of the big things we work on is doing no harm. How can you do no harm? Mm-hmm. , how can you not do damage to your spouse, to your kids?  Susan Stone: How about this? We so often wanna put on social media this picture of us smiling and at this social event or that social event, but maybe it's when the phone is off, the doors are closed. Susan Stone: Are we treating the people in our home like the best? Right? And doing it when no one's looking. Mm. ?  Meghan Leahy: No, not usually. We usually, here's what's funny too, is that we come home from work or get offline and go down and we're like this and we're dead and we've, we don't have a lot left. And now there's dinner and you know, a night ahead of you. Meghan Leahy: Right. And we're not our best selves. Our kids are the same. They are, and we call it misbehavior. Yeah. We blame them when their cups are empty. Why are you rude? Who do you think you are? Why are you sassy? Why don't you wanna sit down and do that stupid math worksheet? Let's, which, let's face it, is stupid. What's wrong with why are you right? Meghan Leahy: We are not any better . Yeah. I was thinking  Kristina Supler: you're the, your comment about the goal of doing no harm and how. Some people might respond, well, gee, isn't that, isn't that a low bar? Do no harm? Yes. Come on. Because we're  Meghan Leahy: low bar, a  Kristina Supler: high achieving drive, drive, drive society. But I think that it's actually really accurate and, and I, I like your points about parents thinking about how they feel when they come home from work. Kristina Supler: Kids feel the same way, but we label it with a negative. We, we put a negative label on it. Susan Stone: I'm a big believer in saying to a kid, why don't you? What would be your good transition activity? For my oldest, she loved tv. Or is it getting into a hot shower? How can you, you know? I know when I get home, the first thing I like to do is get outta my work clothes and put on my jammies. Kristina Supler: Me too. I'm the same way. My husband doesn't get it. Oh my God. Pajamas on at like six 30. I'm like, yes. Free  Meghan Leahy: the  Susan Stone: girls. Free the girls.  Meghan Leahy: Well, I mean, yeah, people come into the house with my bras sitting on the couch, and of course I'm at an age where I'm like, whatever. Oh,  Susan Stone: I'm with you. I'm with you. Anyways, this has been, this has been a real treat. Susan Stone: Really fun. I feel like if you were in Cleveland, you'd be our  Kristina Supler: girlfriend. Yeah, I'd say let's go get wine. Thank you so much for joining us. Meghan Leahy: One of my favorite cousins, li moved out to Ohio and uh, her husband works at the Cleveland Clinic and so does she. And I will say it's been like a culture shock for her a little bit, but her son is at a high school. She says she's never met so many lovely, lovely people. Susan Stone: Well, hopefully this is the beginning. Wonderful family for us as a new friendship. Kristina Supler: Yes, Meghan Leahy, thank you so much for joining us today. And to our listeners check out her book and her other work on columns and she's all over the internet, so thank you. Yeah. And  Meghan Leahy: check out us. Thank you guys for all the hard work you're doing on this other end of the hard behavior. Meghan Leahy: It's rough, so definitely keep your spirits up as it gets darker. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks. 

You Ask, We Answer. Todd Farmer & Sam Wright get the answers to help you make important life decisions from gardening to financial planning.  If you are a parent, this episode is for you.  Todd and Sam speak to parenting coach and published author Meghan Leahy.  She answers their questions on how to create meaningful connections with their children, what parenting rules they should break, and how to survive each stage of childhood.   If you like what you hear, make sure you subscribe to where you listen to podcasts.  If you love what you hear, make sure you share and leave a review.  If you have a topic in which you would like us to cover, please submit to our website at whatshouldyouask.live  _____________________________________________________________________________________________Meghan Leahy Coaching Website: https://www.mlparentcoach.com/Meghan Leahy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeghanLeahyParentCoach/Meghan Leady Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlparentcoach/?hl=enMeghan Leahy Washington Post Column: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/meghan-leahy/Meghan's book Parenting Outside the Lines: https://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Outside-Lines-Forget-Connect/dp/0525541217Website: Whatshouldyouask.live Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatshouldyouask Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatShouldUask Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatshouldyouask/ YouTube: What Should You Ask?  _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Podcast Sponsor: Farmer & Wright, PLLC - For more than a decade, our bankruptcy attorneys have helped our friends & neighbors in Western Kentucky to get out of debt with bankruptcy and get the money they deserve in personal injury and disability cases.  We can help you too!  If you need assistance, visit us at farmerwright.com or call us at 270-443-4431. _____________________________________________________________________________________________  Outro Disclaimer: The information provided on this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice on any subject matter. You should not act or refrain from acting based on any content mention without seeking legal or other professional advice in your area.  The hosts, guests, and sponsors remove themselves all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content in this broadcast.         

In this episode, John and Vanessa talk all about parenting with parent coach and author, Meghan Leahy.Meghan Leahy is the mother of three daughters. She practices Zen Buddhism, holds a bachelor's degree in English and secondary education and a master's degree in school counseling and she is a certified parent coach and Neufeld Institute Facilitator as well as the On Parenting Columnist at the Washington Post.You can follow Meghan on Instagram @mlparentcoachYou can buy Meghan's book: Parenting Outside the Lines: Forget the Rules, Tap into Your Wisdom, and Connect with Your Child HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast will focus on how parents can get away from the pressures of perfectionism and the rules of what they “have to do” as parents. Mothers and fathers need to learn how to parent outside of the lines, tap into their own wisdom and connect with their child in order for their families to thrive. Forget helicopter parenting, tiger moms, positive parenting or being mindful in the middle of a meltdown and instead discover relatable ways to stay connected to your kids. The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Meghan Leahy - Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it thrown across the room or attempted to reason with your 5-year-old about why you should stay at the party so you could have some “adult-time” after they were more than an hour past done, done? We hear about the endless “shoulds” of modern parenting– and yet real life just needs real solutions. Today, we are going to discuss how we can parent outside of the lines with guest, Meghan Leahy. Meghan Leahy is the On Parenting columnist for The Washington Post, and a certified parenting coach. She is the author of PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES and is the mother of three daughters. She practices Zen Buddhism, holds a bachelor's degree in English and secondary education and a master's degree in school counseling. She has appeared on NPR, ABC and in numerous other publications. Leahy lives with her family outside Washington DC. The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom This podcast will focus on how parents can get away from the pressures of perfectionism and the rules of what they “have to do” as parents. Mothers and fathers need to learn how to parent outside of the lines, tap into their own […] The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Meghan Leahy - Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it thrown across the room or attempted to reason with your 5-year-old about why you should stay at the party so you could have some “adult-time” after they were more than an hour past done, done? We hear about the endless “shoulds” of modern parenting– and yet real life just needs real solutions. Today, we are going to discuss how we can parent outside of the lines with guest, Meghan Leahy. Meghan Leahy is the On Parenting columnist for The Washington Post, and a certified parenting coach. She is the author of PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES and is the mother of three daughters. She practices Zen Buddhism, holds a bachelor's degree in English and secondary education and a master's degree in school counseling. She has appeared on NPR, ABC and in numerous other publications. Leahy lives with her family outside Washington DC. The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

This special episode with Washington Post columnist Meghan Leahy and her daughter, Sophia Rasevic, walks through a family's atypical puberty journey. Though Meghan is a parenting expert, in this episode she wears her “mom hat'' as she and Sophia share the experience of Sophia's diagnosis with a condition that dramatically impacted her journey through puberty.   Show notes Meghan Leahy Instagram: @mlparentcoach Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeghanLeahyParentCoach Twitter: @mlparentcoach   Produced by Dear Media  

"Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom." The call of the wild toddler rouses us from the deepest sleep. It's nice to be needed, right? Well, not CONSTANTLY. You do have a life, after all. (You do have a life, right?) It may seem like your toddler is unable to play alone, but that's not unusual. Teaching your kid to entertain himself is a process, and luckily there are some methods you can use to make that process a little more bearable and a little less tearful. (His tears and yours.) In this episode, Molly and Blaire discuss: How to start your kid (and yourself) off slowly The specific challenges of only children How to have patience with yourself during this process Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in today's episode: janetlansbury.com: "Stop Entertaining Your Toddler (In 3 Steps)" Laura Grande for Today's Parent: "5 ways to get your kid to play alone" Meghan Leahy for The Washington Post: "When Kids Want Parents to Play All the Time" Special thanks to this month's sponsors: Auto Approve makes vehicle refinancing easy and gets your more money for what matters most. Get your free quote at autoapprove.com/adalyst. Firstleaf Wine Club delivers personalized wines you'll love right to your door. Join today and you'll get 6 bottles of wine for $29.95 and free shipping. Just go to tryfirstleaf.com/toddler Hiya Health makes sugar-free gummy vitamins for kids. Go to hiyahealth.com/toddler to get 50% off your first order. Peloton has thousands of workouts on their app for every goal, day, and mood! We're fans of the yoga, meditation, and dance cardio, but there's truly something for everyone. Learn more: onepeloton.com. Plant People makes doctor-formulated, regenerative plant and mushroom supplements that unlock people's potential. Go to try.plantpeople.co/toddler to get 15% off your first order. Prep Dish is the best way for busy people to get healthy meals on the table without stress. Subscribers receive an email every week with an organized grocery list and instructions for prepping meals ahead of time. Check out prepdish.com/laughing for a free 2-week trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Zaldonis and Meghan Leahy take a deep dive into their new roles as the Expert Growth Advisor team. They also discuss what goes into producing those light bulb moments that help Winmo's clients close that next big deal.

Meghan Leahy is the "On Parenting" columnist for The Washington Post and a certified parenting coach. She's also the author of PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES: FORGET THE RULES, TAP INTO YOUR WISDOM, AND CONNECT WITH YOUR CHILD. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, three school-age daughters, and her dog.  In her work as a parenting coach, Meghan finds that we parents are often "unreliable narrators" of our own stories. For example, we might ask for help by saying "The problem is my daughter never listens to me!" when the actual issue we need to face might be more about connection and less about teenage insolence. In this episode, we discuss how to make connection with our kids our foremost goal as parents, and how attachment with our kids might occur in ways far beyond the well-meaning "So how was your day?" As Meghan explains, even boundaries are forms of connection. On the other hand, a few lowered standards right now (like some extra lunch plates in kids' rooms after Zoom school) can really make family life better for all of us, even moms. You can find out more about Meghan Leahy's one-on-one parent coaching, online classes, and writing on her website: mlparentcoach.com. In this episode we discuss the CPS Method for family problem-solving, which we discuss in more detail in this interview with Dr. Stacy Haynes. Special thanks to our sponsors for this month:  Athletic Greens supports your sleep quality, energy, immune system and more with just one scoop per day. Get a free one-year supply of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase at athleticgreens.com/laughing. Beam makes products for sleep, calm, focus, and recovery. Get $20 off any purchase over $75 at beamorganics.com/FRESH, or just type in the code "FRESH" at checkout. Betabrand has reinvented comfort and style with their Dress Yoga Pants, and we love ours! Get 30% off your first order when you go to Betabrand.com/LAUGHING. Betterhelp Start taking charge of your mental health– no matter where you live! Go to betterhelp.com/fresh to get 10% off your first month of counseling. Flowkey lets you learn piano at your own pace. Go to flowkey.com/whatfreshhell to receive 7 days of Flowkey Premium for free and 20% off the first year of an annual subscription.  Indeed is the only job site where you're guaranteed to find applicants that meet your requirements-- or you don't pay! Upgrade your job post with a $75 sponsored job credit through 3/31/22 at indeed.com/laughing. KiwiCo projects make science, technology, engineering, art, and math super fun. Get 50% off your first month at kiwico.com with the code MOTHERHOOD. Membrasin is the totally natural, estrogen-free, clinically-proven feminine moisture formula. Go to membrasinlife.com to find out more and use the code FRESH10 to get 10% off. Once Upon a Farm fruit and vegetable blends are made with whole, organic, farm-fresh ingredients . Go to onceuponafarmorganics.com and use the code FRESH25 for 25% off your first order. Prose now makes supplements personally tailored to address your specific cause of hair shedding. Get 15% off your custom hair supplements at prose.com/laughing.  School Toolbox makes shopping for school supplies for your kids easier– and also creates fundraising opportunities for your school! Find out more at schooltoolbox.com/whatfreshhell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From toddler tantrums to big kid anxiety, parents feel so much pressure to tackle these challenges in the right way. Are we expecting too much from our kids . . . and ourselves? In our latest Voices interview episode, Sarah has a conversation with Meghan Leahy, parenting expert and author of a new book, Parenting Outside the Lines. In her signature honest and humorous tone, Meghan shares some valuable insights about what's going on behind common kid behavior phases. She also reminds us all that WE are the best experts in our kids and that holding empathy for both our kids AND ourselves is the key to combatting perfectionism. The post Parenting Outside The Lines: Voices 66 With Meghan Leahy appeared first on The Mom Hour.

Author and Washington Post columnist Meghan Leahy is back on the podcast today to give you some straightforward answers to your trickiest parenting conundrums, along with debunking some of what we're told about "getting on the same page" as our spouse and why being on different pages can actually be helpful in raising our children. If you love hearing from Meghan like I do, check out her book "Parenting Outside the Lines," an Amazon Editor's Pick, here.

Meghan Leahy is one of our favorite parenting experts. Her advice is grounded in experience (she's got 3 kids and is a parenting columnist for the Washington Post), understanding (again: she's got 3 kids!), and compassion (like the rest of us, she's exhausted and overwhelmed). She's honest, engaging and an absolute hoot. Her latest book, Parenting Outside the Lines: Forget the Rules, Tap Into Your Wisdom and Connect with Your Child, was published just over a year ago -- so we thought this would be a good time to re-visit our conversation with her, which we originally released in September 2020. (You know, just as most of us were freaking out over the beginning of a very unconventional school year.) Some gems: “I haven't yet found a parent who's really changed their parenting based on ‘studies say,' I've never told a parent, ‘Well, studies say if you don't yell, your kid will be happier,' and had the parent say, ‘oh my god, I didn't know that! Now I'll stop yelling.'” and  “Strategies are neither here nor there. One may work; one may not. But if the underpinning of compassionate, boundaried connection isn't there, it doesn't matter.” In this episode, Jen, Janet & Meghan Leahy discuss: The importance of connection Learning to trust yourself How modern culture has made parenting more difficult Why it's OK to not know what to do What to do when your son doesn't want to do an activity he once loved Parenting during the pandemic The link between kindness and resilience Screen time (and why you need to look at your screen habits before tackling your kids' screen time) How to enjoy parenting Links we mentioned (or should have) in this episode: Parenting Outside the Lines: Forget the Rules, Tap Into Your Wisdom and Connect with Your Child — Meghan's book Meghan's Washington Post On Parenting columns mlparentcoach.com — Meghan's website How to Raise a Boy with Michael C. Reichert — ON BOYS episode mentioned at 07:11 The Neufield Institute — courses, events and resources from Gordon Neufield, PhD (mentioned at 8:47) Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids, by Kim John Payne and Kim Ross — book mentioned at 16:07 My Suddenly Sedentary Teen Seems Stuck. How Much Should I Push Him to Move? — Meghan's column about the soccer player (mentioned at 17:24) Sponsor Spotlight: Hiya Health HEALTHY children's vitamins — no sugar or “gummy junk” included! Made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits & veggies, Hiya Health vitamins are the easy way to get your boys the nutrition they need.  Use discount code ONBOYS at checkout to save 50%.    will you check the beginning to make sure it lines up okay?  thank you!!  and we should let her know it's going live, too...  

Join me for this delightfully unexpected conversation that feels more like stand-up comedy than parenting advice. I had no idea what I was in for when I asked my guest, parenting coach and Washington Post columnist, Meghan Leahy, to come chat with me. She’s like the anti-parenting-expert expert, if that’s a thing. I don’t even know, but her words will be the balm you need as we talk about why the one-size-fits-all Super Nanny approach doesn’t work, the pitfalls of rigid parenting philosophies (attachment parenting cough cough), pandemic regressions in kids, our “North Star” as parents, and why she punched someone in the face as a kid. She’s hard AF and I had no idea! So. Much. Laughing.

As a mom raising a child with dyslexia, you may feel like you have to be perfect and not make any parenting mistakes. That's what society wants you to think ~ do this, do that, and it will all be ok. But, we are raising actual human beings. An individual who has thoughts, feelings, and (lots of) emotions. On today's show, Meghan Leahy gives you a permission slip to practice imperfect parenting with an emphasis on common sense, empathy, and laughter. Refreshing? Right? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast today!Join the DYSLEXIA MOM LIFE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dyslexiamomlife/To get a copy of the show notes, go to http://dyslexiamomlife.com/episode43

She's back! Everyone's favorite parent coach, Meghan Leahy, chats with me about all things parenting, covid, family meetings, best practices, her new book, and of course, her love of make-up. ENJOY! Thanks for listening. Questions/ comments/ reflections? pleasance@lilomm.com. You can learn more about our community at lolacommunity.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/support

Meghan Leahy is a parenting coach after our own heart: She's all about finding what works for you and your kids and ignoring the rest. We discuss a chapter titled "The Invisible Work of Parenting" from her excellent book, Parenting Outside the Lines [https://www.mlparentcoach.com/book/], on giving yourself credit for everything you do--and don't do--to nurture your kids. Mentioned: The viral video of a dad and baby having a conversation (https://qz.com/1639907/the-viral-video-of-a-dad-talking-to-his-baby-demonstrates-a-crucial-parenting-skill/; Catherine apologizes for misgendering the baby).

Family meetings can you help adapt your parenting to fit the changing needs of your family.  Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels One of the most challenging (and demoralizing) aspects of parenting is realizing that you must constantly revise your parenting strategies. The tips, techniques and discipline strategies that worked so well when your little boy was 2 don't work at all when he's 6 -- and whatever you do when he's 6 won't work when he's 16. It can be hard for parents to adapt to their kids' development changes. The very fact that we have to change our approach often comes as a surprise. "Nobody tells us, 'Oh yeah, you figured it out all these years, but now you gotta do something different," Janet says. Children often experience significant intellectual and emotional growth around age 9, a phenomenon Waldorf educators call the "9 year change." It's a time when children begin to realize that others have different thoughts, when they begin to question the world -- and their parents. "Their opinions might be one way on Monday and completely different by Thursday. But that's all part of the growth process," Janet says. "That's all part of them expressing their thoughts, expressing their opinions." As boys grow, parents must shift their role from Director to Collaborator. Family meetings can be helpful as parents and sons navigate this shift, as the meetings create opportunities for everyone in the family to share their ideas and concerns. In this episode, Jen & Janet discuss: The 9 Year Change Disrespect vs. developmentally appropriate questioning Coping with kids who "know it all" Moving toward a collaborative form of parenting How to start and plan family meetings Benefits of family meetings Tips for successful family meetings In this episode, Jen & Janet discuss: The Simple but Critical Purpose of Family Meetings: To Listen -- Washington Post article by our friend Meghan Leahy (if you haven't listened to our podcast episode w her, do so now!) Parenting Teenage Boys with Joshua Wayne -- ON BOYS episode mentioned at about 24:00 BoysAlive.as.me -- Schedule a FREE Breakthrough Session w Janet STAY CONNECTED WITH JANET & JEN: Join the Building Boys FB group and the Boys Alive! FB group Be sure to opt-in at  Boys Alive! .com for your free report “3 Simple Tips to CONNECT with Your Boy.”  And subscribe to Building Boys Bulletin, a weekly email newsletter filled w boy-specific info & inspiration. Follow us on Instagram:  @on.boys.podcast and @boys.alive Twitter:  @ParentAdvisor and @BuildingBoys  LinkedIn:  use this link for Janet and use this link for Jennifer

Meghan Leahy is the On Parenting columnist for The Washington Post and a certified parenting coach. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, three school-aged daughters, and her two dogs. Leahy has appeared on NPR and ABC, as well as numerous publications. Please visit Meghan at her website www.mlparentcoach.com. IN THIS EPISODE, MEGHAN AND I DISCUSS: Why “expert” advice is hurting us more than it’s helping us The cacophony of parenting styles and what we can learn from them (and leave behind) Why we’re afraid our children will turn into “spoiled brats” when they don’t express gratitude and why we’re mostly mistaken Why you should stop counting bites at the dinner table How to apologize to our children and know when we’re doing it too much or need to be doing it more How kids feel when we set boundaries for them, and what their meltdownsafter-the-fact really mean

Parenting outside the lines frees us up to connect with our children in an authentic way. It allows us to skip over the "must do's" and simply, instead, do the next right thing in any given moment. And if the "right thing" ultimately takes us a direction we don't want to go, it gives us the opportunity to apologize and course correct. It encourages us to trust the wisdom deep within. "I haven't yet found a parent who's really changed their parenting based on 'studies say,'" says Meghan Leahy, a mom of three, parenting coach and author of Parenting Outside the Lines: Forget the Rules, Tap Into Your Wisdom and Connect with Your Child. "I've never told a parent, 'Well, studies say if you don't yell, your kid will be happier,' and had the parent say, 'oh my god, I didn't know that! Now I'll stop yelling.'" Early in her career as a parenting coach, Meghan taught parents strategies they could use to manage their kids' behavior. But only some parents were successful with those strategies. Other parents used the same exact techniques and did not see the positive changes they were expecting. She learned that "strategies are neither here nor there. One may work; one may not. But if the underpinning of compassionate, boundaried connection isn't there, it doesn't matter." In this episode, Jen, Janet & Meghan discuss: The importance of connection Learning to trust yourself How modern culture has made parenting more difficult Why it's OK to not know what to do What to do when your son doesn't want to do an activity he once loved Parenting during the pandemic The link between kindness and resilience Screen time (and why you need to look at your screen habits before tackling your kids' screen time) How to enjoy parenting Links we mentioned (or should have) in this episode: Parenting Outside the Lines: Forget the Rules, Tap Into Your Wisdom and Connect with Your Child -- Meghan's book Meghan's Washington Post On Parenting columns mlparentcoach.com -- Meghan's website How to Raise a Boy with Michael C. Reichert -- ON BOYS episode mentioned at 07:11 The Neufield Institute -- courses, events and resources from Gordon Neufield, PhD (mentioned at 8:47) Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids, by Kim John Payne and Kim Ross -- book mentioned at 16:07 My Suddenly Sedentary Teen Seems Stuck. How Much Should I Push Him to Move? -- Meghan's column about the soccer player (mentioned at 17:24) Sponsor Spotlight: Hiya Health HEALTHY children’s vitamins — no sugar or “gummy junk” included! Made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits & veggies, Hiya Health vitamins are the easy way to get your boys the nutrition they need.  Use discount code ONBOYS at checkout to save 50%.  STAY CONNECTED WITH JANET & JEN: Join the Building Boys FB group and the Boys Alive! FB group Be sure to opt-in at  Boys Alive! .com for your free report “3 Simple Tips to CONNECT with Your Boy.”  And subscribe to Building Boys Bulletin, a weekly email newsletter filled w boy-specific info & inspiration. Follow us on Instagram:  @on.boys.podcast and @boys.alive Twitter:  @ParentAdvisor and @BuildingBoys  LinkedIn:  use this link for Janet and use this link for Jennifer

Ned Johnson chats with Meghan Leahy, author of Parenting Outside the Lines. In her new book, the Washington Post columnist offers many concrete (and hilarious!) tips for throwing away the rule book & building genuine connection with your kids instead. Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Meghan at @mlparentcoach.

S5 Ep 45: In this episode, meet Kelly Treleaven, Justin Taylor, and Meghan Leahy. Join each of these authors in the recording booth as they discuss their news books, the complexities of teaching and learning, and the intimacy that the audio format can bring to the written word. Love, Teach by Kelly Treleaven: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/561720/love-teach/ Riding with the Ghost by Justin Taylor: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/609916/riding-with-the-ghost/ Parenting Outside the Lines by Meghan Leahy: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/602361/parenting-outside-the-lines/

Parenting columnist for the Washington Post , Meghan Leahy joins Lynn on The Mountain Life this week. Leahy has written a new book, PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES: FORGET THE RULES, TAP INTO YOUR WISDOM AND CONNECT WITH YOUR CHILD which is full of no-nonsense, sanity-saving insights for anyone who’s drowning in parental pressure and advice that doesn’t work.

Author and parenting expert Meghan Leahy joins Cory to talk about the challenges parents are facing during the pandemic, facing back-to-school decisions as a family, and how to reconnect or stay connected with our kids are they grow. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Meghan Leahy – Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it […] The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy appeared first on Dr Drobyn Silverman.

Meghan Leahy – Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it […] The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Meghan Leahy – Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it […] The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Meghan Leahy – Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it […] The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy – ReRelease appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Meghan Leahy - Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it thrown across the room or attempted to reason with your 5-year-old about why you should stay at the party so you could have some “adult-time” after they were more than an hour past done, done? We hear about the endless “shoulds” of modern parenting– and yet real life just needs real solutions. Today, we are going to discuss how we can parent outside of the lines with guest, Meghan Leahy. Meghan Leahy is the On Parenting columnist for The Washington Post, and a certified parenting coach. She is the author of PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES and is the mother of three daughters. She practices Zen Buddhism, holds a bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education and a master’s degree in school counseling. She has appeared on NPR, ABC and in numerous other publications. Leahy lives with her family outside Washington DC. The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Meghan Leahy - Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the stress and perfectionism of our overparenting culture–and at the same time, yearned for solutions to ease the struggles of everyday family life? Perhaps you have been caught at the grocery store with a tantruming 2-year-old, made organic salmon for your 4-year-old only to have it thrown across the room or attempted to reason with your 5-year-old about why you should stay at the party so you could have some “adult-time” after they were more than an hour past done, done? We hear about the endless “shoulds” of modern parenting– and yet real life just needs real solutions. Today, we are going to discuss how we can parent outside of the lines with guest, Meghan Leahy. Meghan Leahy is the On Parenting columnist for The Washington Post, and a certified parenting coach. She is the author of PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES and is the mother of three daughters. She practices Zen Buddhism, holds a bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education and a master’s degree in school counseling. She has appeared on NPR, ABC and in numerous other publications. Leahy lives with her family outside Washington DC. The post How to Forego Impossible Parenting Standards & Tap into Our Own Wisdom with Meghan Leahy appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Parent coach, Washington Post columnist, and author of "Parenting Outside the Lines" Meghan Leahy talks about embracing imperfection and vulnerability in our parenting lives. For more info, visit: www.tiltparenting.com/session220

In this episode of Raising Fearless Girls:    Sara talks about WashingtonPost.com columnist Meghan Leahy’s advice for a mom with a 9 year old daughter who is having trouble with friends during quarantine.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/the-pandemic-has-my-daughter-feeling-left-out-of-her-friends-bubble/2020/06/16/b4ec7d38-ac33-11ea-9063-e69bd6520940_story.html Follow our Podcast IG @RaisingFearlessGirls Facebook.com/RaisingFearlessGirls http://raisingfearlessgirls.com/   Follow our Host IG @saravanessamcg Twitter @saravanessamcg   Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our free private Facebook group of #girlmoms.   This week’s question is: Is your daughter having trouble with her friends during quarantine?   If you are a new listener to Raising Fearless Girls, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today!

Meghan Leahy, Parent Coach is back on the podcast for some tips and wisdom around parenting & "homeschooling" during this time of shelter in place with our families. You can find Meghan at https://www.mlparentcoach.com and her new book is for pre-order now, released in August. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/support

Today, we speak with Meghan Leahy; author, parenting coach and Washington Post columnist about raising your kids with confidence, patience and even joy! Meghan Leahy is the mother of three young daughters, a certified parenting coach, and a columnist for The Washington Post, writing about all things parenting! She is the author of the upcoming book, "Parenting Outside the Lines: Forget the Rules, Tap into Your Wisdom, and Connect to Your Child." REMINDER Don’t forget you have until November 26 to enter our Spark Joy Giveaway. We’ll announce our winners during our “Best of” show on December 3. Head over to sparkjoypodcast.com/reviews for instructions on how to leave a star rating and written review on iTunes. Then, shoot an email to contact@sparkjoypodcast.com with your username for a chance to win one of 6 coveted KonMari-themed prizes that spark joy in celebration of our two-year anniversary. Thanks again for your support! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Meghan’s path to discovering that parent coaching was her passion just by chance, hard work and perseverance. Learn about Dr. Gordon Neufeld of the The Neufeld Institute and the attachment-based developmental approach. The struggle of setting boundaries for parents and the commonly faced organizational concerns. How the constant influx of stimulation impacts children’s ability to focus, maintain their attention and, ultimately, learn. Hear about Meghan’s new book about how parents can examine their preconceptions and to be empowered to follow their own way. Kids need boundaries and how to determine how to set them. Learn what “Silent Compassion” means. It’s a great technique for expressing understanding and love along with boundaries. Meghan’s favorite tidying tip: Clean the kitchen every evening for a much better start for the next day. (We love this one!) What sparks joy for Meghan: The amazing things on TV these days and relaxing with her kids around great TV shows. And, MAKE UP! On top of everything else she’s juggling, Meghan is training to become a make-up artist! To connect with Meghan, you can kind find her at mlparentcoach.com. mlparentcoach.com You can sign up for Meghan’s free ebook, From A to Zzzz: How to Get Your Kids to Sleep on her website. You can also sign up for her online parenting class, "From Conflict to Cooperation: Understanding and Preventing Power Struggles with your Children" here You can more of Meghan’s’ tips via the Washington Post as the Parenting Expert in the “On Parenting” column. Gems - “Parenting is not an automatic thing, it’s a learning on the job kind of thing.” - “My job was to illuminate why kids were struggling which is the first step to understanding how to get it right.” - “So starts an avalanche of ‘Screw it, I’ll do it myself.’ which leads to resentment.” - “There’s a lot of books about parenting skills..in my view all these these books are true and untrue…I didn’t want to write a book where parents had to ascribe to a theory…instead it’s about paying attention to your actual child and your actual life.” - “It can be positive and fun, but when it falls apart, you just pick up and go on.” You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy Special Guest: Meghan Leahy.

Brandon and Jesse catch up on what's new with their kids this week: parenting studies, family time, and baby steps. Then we dig into this week's topic: getting the hang of this parenting thing. We all fall in the trap of feeling insecure or guilty about our parenting skills (or lack thereof) from time to time. Sometimes it's as small as changing a diaper wrong, and sometimes it's as big as wondering if you should have jumped into fatherhood at all. This week we try to break down some of those common doubts and fears. LINKS: Meghan Leahy of The Washington Post on "loving" being a parent: https://wapo.st/2CWTIuu Listen to the end for a groan-worthy dad joke and don't forget to share us with fellow dads! Also, we stream most of our recording sessions on Facebook Live, so be sure to follow us! Here's how... Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DadsplainingPodcast Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dadsplainingpod Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/dadsplainingpodcast Or send us an email at dadsplainingpodcast@gmail.com.

My darling, hilarious, brilliant friend, Meghan Leahy, is back on the podcast. This conversations digs deeps into anxiety in our lives, where it comes from, how we work with it and perhaps some new ways of looking and living with it. You can learn more about Meg here. Please send your comments and questions to pleasance@lilomm.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/support

This episode is a behind the scenes discussion of marketing and coaching strategies and how some are perpetuating the "NOT ENOUGH" mentality. Meghan Leahy, Parent Coach, and I talk about our experiences in biz and sharing tactics that a lot of our industry use to get people to enroll in courses. We want you to be aware of this when you are finding support for your life. We would love your comments and questions, pleasance@lilomm.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/support

This one is for all the parents out there! My best friend, Meghan Leahy Parent Coach shares her wisdom, humor and honesty with you all. Warning: ADULT LANGUAGE! You can learn more about Meg at https://www.mlparentcoach.com- ENJOY! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lolacommunity/support

[sgmb id=”3″]      Back to school: while some psychologists say we parents must “maintain a positive attitude about summer ending,” we say the end of summer sucks for all concerned and we might as well admit it. Do you try to impose some order on the countdown to school in your house? Or do you just run hard until the night before and take the pain all at once? As the first back-to-school photos creep into our Facebook feeds, these are the questions we are here to answer.   In this episode we discuss: * back to school shopping * the batching of unpleasantness (haircuts, dentist appointments) into those last precious moments of freedom * all the summer reading and math sheets our kids haven’t done yet * how we really better start moving bedtime a little earlier now * and the one great upside: the return of “Mom office hours” Here’s some links to resources discussed in this episode: * Meghan Leahy for Washington Post On Parenting: 4 Ways to Ease the Back-to-School Transition  * Bethany Hardy for PBS.org: Back to School: Transitioning Your Family From Summer to School How are you managing the back-to-school transition? Join us on our Facebook page and show us your happy (or not so much) back-to-schoolers! We’re proud to be sponsored by SmartyPants Vitamins. SmartyPants makes a 1-for-1 nutrient grant to Vitamin Angels , which helps expectant mothers and children around the world get the life-changing nutrients they need. That means that every bottle of SmartyPants you buy improves your children’s health– and the health of children around the world. And SmartyPants has just passed the four million mark: 4.2 million women and children helped! Find out more here.              Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode 20 of the Baltimore Annapolis Psychotherapy Podcast, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Washington Post parenting expert Meghan Leahy, who is a parent coach in the Washington, DC area.  She's a parent coach helping parents who are overwhelmed with their children's behavior. Yet she is the first to admit that she gets overwhelmed with her children's behavior too. Seem counterintuitive? Not if you talk to Meghan.  Meghan states that her job is not to tell parents what to do. Her job is to teach parents what their children need She teaches that the problematic behavior is the child's developmentally appropriate way of telling the parent what he or she needs. Listen in to this fascinating interview in which Meghan shares why she doesn't tell parents what to do, why self care is important - hint: it's NOT so we can take better care of our kids! - and tells us about the theory informing her work. 

Life coaches abound, but how many do you know who spend several thousand dollars on their education and training? Or who have a weekly paid column in one of the most prestigious newspapers in the country? Meghan Leahy is a parenting coach (and total spitfire - there are no dull moments during this episode). She's at a totally relatable stage in her business where everything isn't perfect, but despite hiccups, Meghan sticks to her guns and her theories to help struggling parents finally get some sanity.

If you're dealing with those tender years that fall between high chairs and high school, then this show is for you! We're talking to parent coach, Meghan Leahy, who shares some of the wisdom you'll find on her website, Positively Parenting. From two to twelve, being a great parent to this agre group is challenging, exciting, frustrating and fun - but Meghan will shed some light on the things you should be doing including: Timeouts? Yes or no? Sibling Rivalry Over-scheduled kids What your kids really need from you How to gain conrol over your family schedule These are the busy years! So I hope you'll take a few moments to enjoy this useful information. References from this Podcast: Information on Meghan Leahy Meghan's website: Positively Parenting