Podcasts about parent club

Powerful ways To Solve Your child's sleep issues using the Hand in Hand Tools Your kid is going crazy about taking a bath. Just won't. You wrangle and wrestle. It's nearly bedtime after all. You are sooo close! Then when you finally make it to the bedroom, your child refuses to put on pyjamas. Then requests a drink. And then another. Doesn't want to brush their teeth. Needs a certain toy who, yes, you guessed it, is missing.  Will sleep ever come? Finally, your child makes it under the covers but as you go to turn off the light, your child screams, "No!" I'm scared of the dark." "Mama. Don't go." Should You Stay or Should You Go? And you are left with the question, do you stay or will you go? (Or at least try?) We called this podcast powerful ways to solve your child's sleep issues because, oh boy, if there was ever a parenting challenge made to test, it's this.  The end of the day.  Alone time insight.  A moments peace or a chance to rest yourself.  Sleep looms bright in our minds.  But so many times looms dark for our kids.  Why Do Some Kids Just Hate Bedtime? Today we're talking why kids have such a hard time with bedtime. (And why we do!). And why sleep issues can be easy to dismiss. Know this - they are MUCH MORE to do with us than our kids.  On Powerful Ways to Banish Fear of the Dark (and other things kids say go bump in the night) we cover: Lights? Music? Do distractions work? How to take tiny steps toward fear One key thing about leaning in and connecting  The counteractive way to banish bedtime blues Hunting down the feelings behind your child's words Listen now to Powerful Ways to Banish Fear of the Dark More Resources to Solve Your Child's Sleep Issues Like this thinking? Read Three Gentle Ways to Fight A Child's Resistance to Bedtime or Sleep and The One Question You Need To Ask To Help a Child Sleep Better Get more pre-bedtime games here: Five Games to Help with Bedtime Refusal Take inspiration from this mom's story about how she used play when her child got scared at bedtime Last chance to transform your parenting in Parent Club. Grab your spot now, doors close Wednesday. Click here to discover your bonuses, and everything else Parent Club offers you.

So there it is. An invitation. Your child is waving it in your face with a grin brighter than gold.   And you? Does your heart soar? Or sink? Acceptance Similarity Belonging Self-worth Influence Betrayal Here's Why OUR Friendships Matter Friendships can arouse big feelings - in us as well as our kids - and how we approach the joys and the ickiness friendships can bring requires us to separate. We need to remove the "us" from the "them." But it can be tough untangling our own feelings when we invite friends into our families. (or they invite us).  This week, we’re inviting you to spend a minute or two thinking about the friends your child has, and the common challenges that come up when kids make friends (or don’t!). From Friends to Frenemies - the good, the bad and the ugly with kids and friends An explanation about why kids exclude others that you may not have considered Why friendships are fluid and how to use the Hand in Hand Tools to anchor relationships When to get involved in friendships and drama, and when to let go Why your friendships influence how you handle children, friends and their fallouts One tool you can use to ease your children’s friendships along One conversation to try when your child is getting controlled in a friendship Helping Kids Get Along: How Laughter Can Bring Friends Together highlights a great way to help kids build bridges.  Need New Friends? It can feel lonely parenting in a new way. And it's hard to forge a new path without support. It's why we created the Parent Club, a daily online spot where you can go find your tribe. Get answers from instructors, tailor the tools to your own family, take classes, get coaching, and meet together for weekly and monthly Lives with instructors (and our founder Patty).  The Parent Club is open now - for one week only! From September 19 to 25th, you can join the Parent Club. Click here to learn more. 

Have you ever asked your child to do something simple, like pack their toys away before dinner? For a second they stare back and you wide-eyed, all chubby-cheeked cherubic sweetness. And then they scrunch those eyes and tell you to $#@ off? oh no, she didn’t… Kids who cuss are more common than you might think. If you put those terms into any search engine results throw up videos full of kids swearing. Some people, apparently, find kids swearing hilarious. Others not so much. And as we share on the podcast this week where you are on the parenting swearing spectrum has much to do with how swear words showed up in your own childhood. This week we’re talking about why some kids swear with glee and other kids, well meh, they’d rather go draw a comic. We’re talking the parenting shame and humiliation that happens when your kid swears and what you can do. We’re talking about getting light around swearing while at the same time setting limits on sassy language. And we’re talking about how swearing can offer fertile grounds for connecting. Yes, you read that right, you can use swearing to bring you closer. try a little four-letter fun… And because this podcast is the shizzaz we’re sharing four strategies you can use to get clear on where your family stands with swearing and handling your kids when their searing looks like its spiraling. If you’ve been asking why is my kid swearing? Listen to the podcast this week and discover why there may are many reasons your child is swearing, and why none of them are bad. a little something extra Oh and here are 15 of Shakespeare’s swears (that Abigail mentioned) and they are way too fun. Would thou wouldst burst? This post shares more on why kids get hooked on bad words and how you can respond. find your tribe School’s out and so are we Summer enrolment for the Parent Club is closing soon. Check out our special summer offer…before it’s gone Become Mother-Flipping-Awesome! Join Abigail’s rocking new community and be mother-flipping-awesome. Go here to get registered now. Stay connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our newsletter    

You sink down on the rug in tears and wonder how you can ever keep going. Then you see your daughter’s abandoned stuffie under the sofa, next to an overdue library book, so you scoop them out, tuck them on the shelf, shove your hair in a bun, and get started with the laundry. What happened to your tears? You discarded them like your daughter did her stuffie. Welcome to mom overwhelm. Mom overwhelm is the science of feeling crushed by the weight of life and living it anyway! This week, we’re making space for overwhelm and talking about the ways we can bust through it. If you feel like a cog in a wheel of making breakfast and answering email and rushing to activities and getting laundry done and finding lost library books and washing bodies and reading story books and wait, when did you last really see your partner? Listen in. quick smart tips to conquer your mom overwhelm Today we talk turning that overwhelm around… Why is overwhelm like eating a really hot curry Why modern life creates a perfect environment for overwhelm to flourish How to cultivate walk away moments Why you need to listen to warnings as whispers and see if they grow loud How redefining your mom role can create space and recognition Why urgent and important are not the same thing How to go to bed feeling happier you moved the needle find your tribe School’s out and so are we Summer enrolment for the Parent Club is closing soon. Check out our special summer offer…before it’s gone Become Mother-Flipping-Awesome! Join Abigail’s rocking new community and be mother-flipping-awesome. Go here to get registered now. Stay connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our newsletter  

Read on to learn why it pays to keep positive with your kids "Last cookie," you say, lightly. "No." Your son says. Then he stuffs the cookie into his mouth, grabs three more and runs from the room.  You're just about to charge from the kitchen in a chase when your eyes fall on another set of eyes. Your younger son. Wide-eyed and wondering.  Who's in charge here? his eyes seem to say. How far can we push you? Are you going to...lose it?  This week we're talking the kid that pushes your buttons...and the brothers and sisters who are watching.  How does what you say or do in the heat of the moment reflect on them? Abigail shares a big win when she got her over-tired tween to bed early, despite his resistance at every opportunity. But what surprised her most was how her younger son responded. Listen in and feel inspired if you: Struggle with keeping calm in Staylistening Feel like one of your kids is playing you or pushing your buttons Get sucked into debate and reasoning with your child when you set a limit You feel like one child takes up so much more of your energy than the other Power battles between you and one child results in your kids taking sides Feel like you always give in... You'll see how your responses can impacts everyone in your house - including you! And why it pays to keep positive with your children in ways you might not imagine.    find your tribe School's out and so are we Summer enrolment for the Parent Club is closing soon. Check out our special summer offer...before it's gone Become Mother-Flipping-Awesome! Join Abigail’s rocking new community and be mother-flipping-awesome. Go here to get registered now. Stay connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our newsletter

This week Abigail and Elle respond to a mom who is Staylistening to her child, but never sees tears. Worse, it seems to her that the more she leans in to listen to her child's feelings, the more her child gets angry, starts scowling and tries running away. How can she listen to anger? So, this week we're asking if Staylistening should always result in a cry, and if not, what can we do? Why we as parents find it so hard to listen to a child's anger, and how can we trust them to do as they need with their feelings. Join us this week if you've ever felt like you've "failed" at Staylistening, or it doesn't look in your house how you expected or thought it would - we have soothing news for you.  Get More Resources for Parenting an Angry Child Sometimes all an angry child needs if for you to listen. Read Getting from Angry to Happy in 20 Minutes or Less Listen to this next - we talk more about Staylistening in this podcast: When Staylistening Doesn't Go As Planned Get the e-book Reaching For Your Angry Child Here's a free cheatsheet about everything we covered today around Staylistening. You can download it here. Get community, get support, get listening partnerships, everyday – in The Parent Club. Try it free for 30 days. keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our Newsletter

This week Elle and Abigail finally meet face-to-face! No wonder they felt inspired to make this podcast. "It takes a village," so the old proverb says, and anyone who tunes into our podcast for parents often knows that this is all too true. In fact, it's the reason we made the podcast - to share a weekly space for parents so you don't feel alone. And, as we meet this first time, we also realise the value in coming together week after week to share, to listen and laugh, to comfort and cry as we make the episodes. And we want the same for you... Where's Your Village?   So many of our reviews about the podcast say the episodes help parents feel part of something bigger - and we want that for you not just once a week, but every day and at any time you need it!   Your village doesn't even have to be close physically - we're living proof of that! When you have a village, you have a guide, a force, and a strength behind you as you face your parenting challenges - and we've learnt this year that having that makes them so much easier to overcome.   We're asking you to think about who else you want in your village? It's time to reach for your people! Reach for your support, because parenting shouldn't be a solo sport.   Listen in today and find out why you need to build that village for yourself, and how you can do it. More Resources About Building A Parenting Village There are so many ways to reach out and get the support you need within Hand in Hand Parenting. If you haven't already, join one of our facebook groups: Parent Support Group or if your child is 10 and over Parenting By Connection for Older Children. If you have read our book Listen and want to connect with other like-minded parents, consider a Listen Book Club. For daily support from instructors, plus regular Q&A call-ins with them and our founder Patty Wipfler, try the Parent Club free for 30 days. For a deep dive into the tools, and an introduction to Listening Partnerships, with small groups of parents, take our 6-week Starter Class. And you can find all of our talks and classes here. Stay Connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our Newsletter

This week, Abigail and Elle respond to a listener who has a 5-year-old picky eater. How can she get her to eat more than a few reliable meals? Elle talks about her own process parenting her picky eater, including how she discovered that a good, workable solution was as much about her as it was her child. And Abigail shares the varied healthy diets her sons sampled (endured!) following their early health scares, and the tips and tools she used to get them on side. On this episode, we talk about the many things you can try with your picky eater, including: Play - how it can help at the table and completely away from dinner Choices - What, how and when to eat, and variations you might consider Getting cries out ahead of the dinner table Deciphering the actual issues Why it's useful to evaluate your own expectations and eating philosophies as you work with your picky eater Finding peace with your picky eater! Picky eating can be incredibly stressful and frustrating, even for the most peaceful parent! Listen to How to Get a Child to Eat When They Refuse a create a workable plan for you and your little one. More Resources for Dinner Times and Picky Eaters 20 Playful Ways to Help Picky Eaters is a fantastic resource if you can be playful around food. Making connection as high a priority as your meal plan can help ease dinnertime battles. Read why and how in Are You Missing This One Vital Ingredient To Stop Dinnertime Battles Making connection as high a priority as your meal plan can help ease dinnertime battles. Read why and how in Are You Missing This One Vital Ingredient To Stop Dinnertime Battles Get your free guide to partnering with your child around food Get community, get support, get listening partnerships, everyday – in The Parent Club. Try it free for 30 days. keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our Newsletter

The Timber Rattlers Manager is returning for his 9th year in the dugout, and Matt reflects on the relationship with the Parent Club, his staff and expectations for the new season.

The Timber Rattlers Manager is returning for his 9th year in the dugout, and Matt reflects on the relationship with the Parent Club, his staff and expectations for the new season.

Have you ever asked yourself where the fun parent went? The parent you that says yes to play-dough tea-parties, the parent you that says yes to piggy-back races and then suggests races to the dinner table? If you have, you probably also have many different responses. You left that fun parent under the washing and work pile. You packed her away in your laptop when you went back to work. You lost him under a mountain of unpaid bills and worries. He got muddled in with the recipes you labor over that get returned complained about and uneaten. And still your kids ask for more. More time, more attention, more fun, more play. And. It. Just. Feels. Like. You. Can't. So the next time they yell. You yell. And you rage. And rail. And cry. This week on the podcast we're looking at that line we all meet as parents and wish we never had to: The Breaking Point. We look at why parents - especially moms - have their limits overstepped so often, and how we contribute to it, and why having our limits overstepped too much leads us to rage, confusion, isolation and, finally, parent burnout. How can you listen to yourself and the signals that show you're on the road to parent burnout? How can you give as much as you need to, get your own limits met and make them sacred so that you can get back to being the fun, parent enthusiastic parent you want to be? Join us on the podcast this week, and find out how to stop feeling heavy about all you do in parenting, and start celebrating everything you give, not because you have to, but because you choose to love - every day and beyond measure - the little humans you are raising. Listen to Are You Headed Towards Parent Burnout? More resources to help with Parenting Stress and Burnout Already at Breaking Point? Join Abigail's Intensive and rediscover how to choose love and love parenting. Contact her at abigail@realtimeparenting.com Understanding Parenting Stress - you just can't give what you didn't have. Reduce Parenting Stress: Why do we put off Listening Time? Don't! Listening Partnerships are gold. Get community, get support, get listening partnerships, everyday - in The Parent Club. Try it free for 30 days. keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our Newsletter

  Why are we always compelled to start a new year with a list of resolutions that even a saint would be hard-pressed to keep up with? If there's one thing every good parent is good at, it's over-extending! We're all about the #parentgoals! We are so happy to be starting the new year with you, our beautiful, caring community of parents. We know that you being here each week with us is because you are always striving to be doing better by your kids, in your parenting, in your communities. That's not a New Year's flight of fancy, that's a constant, and that's amazing. And while we think there's nothing wrong with new year's resolutions, creating new habits, bettering ourselves or developing new skills, we also see the pressure in that. Lots of pressure to do more, generate more, be more. So, how about we DON'T make New Year's resolutions? Instead, why don't we do something equally as mindful, equally as transformative, and, some might say, just a little bit easier? We're not talking self-care, more self-preservation. Because let's face it, we already have PLENTY on our plates. Join us this week on the podcast for an uplifting new take on New Year's resolutions, and start 2019 a little less stressed and a lot more supported. Listen to Why Your Best New Year's Resolution Could Be "No Resolutions"... More Resources about Parenting And Resolutions If you really have your heart set on making some new resolutions this year (go mama, go papa) you might enjoy last year's New Year's podcast - the one Elle mention's this week: Making Changes: New Year's Resolutions That Actually Succeed  If commitment is something you are working on in your family, this post will help: How to Help Your Child Keep Commitments   Start writing or type / to choose a block keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe!   Get weekly tips, ideas, and inspiration for your parenting in our Newsletter   The Parent Club is our monthly membership where we really put the Hand in Hand Tools to work with our families. Click here to learn more and get the support you need and deserve.  

Have you ever? Watched as your child did something and then immediately blame someone else? Heard, "I have no homework," from your child and then discovered it stuffed at the bottom of her school bag? Had a parent come to you and congratulate you on your new car / your child's new triumph in soccer or trombone / or to wish you well on an upcoming trip - none of which you know anything about? This week on the podcast Abigail and Elle are looking at the lies our kids tell and why. And we discuss practical strategies you can use when you discover your child in a lie - that don't rely on punishment. Join us this week on the podcast and discover: Why lies are so commonly misunderstood Asking and answering the question: Should I ignore lying or insist on the truth or something in between Ways to help a child that lies without using punishment How to find lightness in the lies Listen now to Children Lying: Why Children Lie And Ways to Respond more resources about children and lying This in-depth article talks about the different lies children tell and what they can mean with advice on how to help a child who lies to you. Read When Children Lie This mom responded calmly despite her alarm when she found her son had lied about money in Helping My Son With Lying Get this eBook How Children's Emotions Work to find out how lying can be a call for extra connection keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Listen on iTunes.  Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Get updates on everything Hand in Hand! Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums live call-ins and resources.  

Are you shy of disappointing your kids? Over the last few episodes, Abigail and Elle have been decoding emotional projects - in part one we looked at noticing behaviors which signal an emotional project, and in part two we spoke about when and how to work on an emotional project using the Hand in Hand tools. Why it's OK to Disappoint Our Kids For the last part in this series, we're taking a look at how disappointment is linked to the emotional project, why we, as parents, are so scared of disappointing our kids and why disappointment is both unavoidable and a totally acceptable part of parenting. If you ever fund yourself torn about saying no to your child or have a hard time setting boundaries with them, listen in as we discuss the plus side of disappointing our kids, it's role in building resilience and - despite all the odds - closeness. Listen to Why Are We Parents so Scared to Disappoint our Kids? and find out why when we disappoint our kids - and support them through it - we can impart some useful life lessons. Find out: Why parents will always disappoint their kids How to reframe disappointment from a negative to a positive How we can support kids as they feel disappointment More Resources About Kids and Disappointment This post demonstrates how Hand in Hand Instructor Anca Deaconu supported her son through a disappointment Handling Child Disappointments keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Get updates on everything Hand in Hand! Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.

To share, or not to share, is that the question? So many parents in our parent groups and The Parent Club come to us with questions about sharing, it's a subject that we knew we had to cover! Why is sharing such a hot-topic conversation? Well, sharing brings on big feelings for parents and children and there are so many differing thoughts and views on how to handle sharing.  And sharing can feel unfair, or questionable.  Like when your child demands another child's toy at a playgroup, for instance, it can feel like second nature to make him or her wait. But when another child demands a toy from yours, we often feel propelled to hand it over. But, what if we went beyond what fair sharing looks like, and into why sharing so often doesn't happen? What if we treated the symptom, instead of the problem? Try This Entirely New Spin on Sharing So today, Abigail and Elle share an entirely new spin on parenting, with some concrete tools on handling sharing with the children in your lives.  Join us this week and listen to An Entirely New Spin on Kids and Sharing More Resources About Sharing At Hand in Hand Parenting, we're fans of this "I'll be with you while you wait," strategy. This way of listening to a child has multiple benefits for your child's emotional health, and it also stops the back and forth taking turns that can be so frustrating and stressful to put in place. Find out more about that here It's Mine! All About Sharing keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message about challenges you might be facing in your parenting. Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  Wish parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community.    

How can we help children towards building a positive self-identity? An "I Can!" attitude? This week Abigail shares the life-changing moment she cracked her tens times tables at 8-years-old, and how this win led to a paradigm shift in mindset - between what she thought she could do and what she could actually do. A sense of accomplishment and winning can spur a sense of interest, self-directed learning and discovery, but how can we work with a child to help them win at challenging tasks, even when we do not feel good or confident about the task? And how can that support change in our children's outlook and influence how they view their abilities for the rest of their lives? One Tool You Can Use To Build Resilience and Confidence In an age of entitlement, we're talking about why it is still important to cultivate a growth mindset - a mindset that allows us to celebrate our wins, our children's wins and makes space for winning - and losing. How Can We Foster Growth Mindset with our Kids? Now, what if your child is not yet attuned to his or her own greatness, even if you are? On the episode, we also examine the ways kids can fight their own abilities, why things feel hard for them and one tool you have to help your child shine. Join us and listen to Growth Mindset, Winning, and Why It's Important for Your Child: How to support your child and a sense of self-identity What notions do we have as parents that might set up roadblocks for our kids as learners and winners? How can we foster a climate of growth mindset? What can we do to support a child that resists? Why failure matters too keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message about challenges you might be facing in your parenting. Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  Don’t forget to subscribe! Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and vowed to yourself that you are going to make it A GREAT DAY? And then, 10 minutes later, your kids are bickering over who got the best bowl, homework is missing, and you can't find your purse? And it's like, seriously?!! What happened? And it continues like that, on a downward spiral, all through the day. Worrying about getting to school on time, sniping at your children who are sniping at each other, bribing a kid to take a class, threatening a kid to EAT SOMETHING, yelling at a kid to get IN THE SHOWER. Forget happier, peaceful, supportive parenting! At this point, you don't much like your kids. You don't like the way you handled things so you don't even like yourself. There doesn't feel much to be happy about! And then you get into bed and wonder - how am I going to face all that again tomorrow? The Key to Happier Parenting Is This... But what if you could change that? What if you could go to bed content in being the parent you are, confident in the decisions you made. Happier, because you own your parenting? That's what we're talking about on the podcast today. Owning your parenting means making decisions based on your own family's needs, and feeling empowered not powerless when moments get sticky. Owning your parenting means, ultimately, being a happier parent and in this episode, Elle and Abigail talk about how to get to that point. We find out: How false expectations can wreck our parenting experience How to love the kids you have not the kid you wanted How to feel happier about yourself as a parent even when things don't go as planned Getting past the "I shoulds," "I coulds," and "I bet other people are..." comparison parenting Parenting is tough, but when we can own parenting, we can remain strong, sure and secure when our kids put us through our paces. And when we own our parenting, we can love them fiercely, no matter what. What could be happier than that? More resources on Happier Parenting Hand in Hand Parenting isn't a one size fits all approach. Instead, the five tools can be used and adapted for all of your parenting challenges as you need them. Read more about them here in Learn Five Tools That Will Transform The Way You Parent In One Week The book Listen: Five Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges is available now in paperback, ebook or audio and lists hundreds of ways real-life parents use the tools. Listen to a section of the audiobook here Read What if Parenting Is an Emotional Practice? keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message about challenges you might be facing in your parenting. Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  Wish parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community.  

Abigail responds to a mom who has difficulties answering her young daughter's questions - most likely because it feels like answering will confirm her child's worst suspicions! And Elle admits finding some of her kid's simple questions difficult - especially when they ask her if she's leaving for work. Even when she's half out the door, she admits, she doesn't want to 'fess up and just tell them she's going. What's going on? Avoidance! Getting Honest about Honest Parenting This week on the podcast Abigail and Elle get honest about answering children's questions honestly. Abigail talks about how children pick up on avoidance, and the science of how the brain perceives what you see and feel, plus the confusion that ensues when presented with a different picture. The hosts also reveal why some parents do feel uncomfortable with some questions and not others, and how to lean into questions, rather than make judgments about what a child is feeling, or simply run away! If you've ever felt put on the spot and not wanting to answer your child's questions, join Abigail and Elle for an honest discussion on why, ultimately, it pays to answer kids questions honestly whenever possible - and how to do this in a way that will actually bring you and your children closer! In this week's Episode:  Why don't we want to answer our kids' questions anyway? How we can send our children tracking signals off if we avoid their questions How being honest where possible sets kids up well for the future Why we can better respond when we attempt to uncover the why behind questions How to make answering questions about curiosity and connection, not battles and stand-offs More Resources for Answering Your Kids Questions Honestly Here's the e-book on decoding How Children's Emotions Work that Elle mentions, and this article talks about answering kids' core questions well. keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message about challenges you might be facing in your parenting. Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.  

Summer is winding down for Abigail and Elle. That means it's almost time for their kids to head back to school! So this week the hosts ask: How do YOU feel? That's also the first step Abigail and Elle outline in a four-point plan for getting back smoothly into the school routine. Join us for a Back to School Connection Plan We hear a lot about how difficult life is for our children going back to school, but what we hear about less is how difficult it can be for parents too! So this week we're asking: What if you like a more laid-back routine? What if you worked and felt you missed out on the holidays? What if you have big issues making the school lunch, getting out early or battling over homework? What if you just can't wait for school to start (like, yesterday!!) Our feelings can have a lot to do with how our children react when school starts. Add to that the fact that many children can react to the transition back to school with big feelings, whether that shows up in crying and meltdowns, or rigidity and defiance, and need us to anchor them more than usual. If you need tips for dealing with all of these challenges and more, listen in as we share a four-point plan for getting back to school feeling less stressed and with fewer battles! More Resources for a Less-Stress Transition Back To School This extensive post details what children experience starting school and how you can work together to really boost connections and keep it strong: Starting School Part 1; How to Pack the Backpack This post is also very helpful How to Keep Calm on School Mornings If you find the Hand in Hand podcast helpful in your parenting, consider joining our Parent Club for even more help and support for your parenting. Click here to find out more and get a free 30-day free trial. keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter 

A lot of parents ask us about our tool for parents, the Listening Partnership, about how they should run and what they should sound like, so this week on the podcast Elle and Abigail give a demonstration of the tool. New to Listening Partnerships? What Are They Anyway and How Do They Help Parents De-stress? Listen Partnerships are one of Hand in Hand's five parenting tools and is the only tool to focus on parent self-care. These sessions can really help lighten the load! Parents can use the tool as a space to air their confusions, stress or parenting challenges, with a parent who listens without offering solutions, for a set amount of time, before switching turns. The tool is an excellent resource for parents, and allows them to clear blocked thoughts and emotions so that they can return to their families with renewed energy and enthusiasm for the tough role of parenting! Abigail and Elle have both come to value the immense effect Listening Time can have on helping them in their parenting. What Does a Listening Partnership Sound Like? But lots of parents wonder about how LIstening Time really works or what a Listening Partnership "should" sound like. So, this week, Elle and Abigail switch listening time, with each focusing on parenting through the summer. Join us as we: Set up the listening partnership turns and timing Decide who records the time Share our feelings on summer Wrap up the Listening Time with a question for one another If you've been reluctant or nervous to begin a Listening Partnership, or you've had doubts or worries about "doing it right," we hope you'll enjoy hearing to how this listening time unfolds and feel inspired to dive in. More Resources About Hand in Hand's Tool of Listening Partnerships Read about how Listening Partnerships can reduce stress and transform parenting Get tips for your own Listening Time in Establishing Good Listening Partnerships and Knowing When to Move On If you'd like to find a Listening Partner, join our Parent's Support Group on Facebook where lots of parents post looking for Listening Partnerships. Learn the science behind why this kind of listening is so effective in this online class on Building a Listening Partnership with Hand in Hand founder Patty Wipfler. Find out how to select what topics will serve you best, and how to listen and respond well to a Listening Partner. Over 25 video and audio examples take you through the process step by step. keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message at podcast@handinhandparenting.org Don’t forget to subscribe! Get updates on everything Hand in Hand! Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.

Imagine this. Your kids are on a playdate. Everything is fine. There are a few giggles. Some stomping. The next minute? The kids are laughing manically, and the house is so trashed it looks like it has seconds until it falls down around you. The kids have gone wild. What To Do When The Kids Go Wild! This episode on the Hand in Hand Parenting Podcast we're talking about those moments kids seem to lose all control. Why does crazy happen and what can you do when it hits? Ever felt like, as a Hand in Hand parent, you should be the playful parent, the one encouraging play? And then you find yourself standing in your kitchen being sprayed by the kids from outside by a water hose? That's what happened to one mom who came to Abigail asking, "How can I reign things in when my kids go wild!" Abigail and Elle talk about the need for limits and how helpful they are, and how you can set good firm limits and STILL BE PLAYFUL! Join us this week for a lively chat and discover: What are the differences between being a playful parent and a permissive parent? How to monitor behavior boundaries When to step in and set a limit How to step in when the child is not your own Playful strategies to get everyone listening, on board with your limit and STILL having fun. More resources for coping when kids get crazy! This video Seven Ways To Help Kids Get Along gives you seven tools in seven minutes to help solve squabbling. Keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message about challenges you might be facing in your parenting. Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  Listen on iTunes.  Listen on Stitcher Don’t forget to subscribe! Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.

Have you noticed that sometimes your child just becomes rigid? Say he is building a tower and decides the next block for the tower "has to be" the red block. The one after "has to be" blue? Or, he wants the cars all lined up the "exact same way" Or she cannot allow any cups on a table while she is coloring? This week we're looking at the times a children's behavior becomes rigid and what's at the root of a child's "perfectionism." We look at how these behaviors form. How the brain perceives and codes danger and how this plays out in a child needing to do things in a very.exact.way over and over again and how placating this can propel the behavior. On this week's Hand in Hand podcast: Sorting rigid behavior from particular behavior Why we end up walking on eggshells when behavior gets rigid and how we can avoid this We talk about two tools you can use to re-write those codes Supporting the child through the feelings they have about a situation and letting them know if life turns outside differently. Establishing a growth mindset and modeling resilience yourself around your child rather than teaching it What messaging about mistakes are your passing down, and how can you get past your own perfectionism? When a child decides that things have to be perfect, there are often big feelings lurking behind. Getting to the point where the code is revealed can also help it get rewritten. Listen in this week and get ways to help your child past the perfectionism. Listen to Getting Past a Child's Perfectionism here More resources for Getting Past a Child's Perfectionism Here's the video from Carol Dweck on growth mindsets and building resilience. This e-book on How Children's Emotions Work helps you understand your child's emotional life and shares practical solutions for support keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  Don’t forget to subscribe! Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.  

How did you feel when you found the Hand in Hand Parenting approach? Most of us feel a sense of relief when we try one of the tools and have a positive outcome. We read the blog posts, listen to the podcast. Try a few more tools. We see changes. That's exciting! Things feel pretty good. You can't wait to tell the people you love most that you have found a breakthrough in your parenting. Except, when you try, they don't want to know. Your partner has no time for listening to a child cry. Your friends don't understand why you'd want to devote time to Special Time. Your parents have no idea why you want to understand what's behind your children's whining, when you could issue a timeout and send them to their room. These are generalizations, of course, but very often we can feel removed when we are parenting differently. And that's when parenting can feel pretty lonely. On this week's episode, Abigail and Elle discuss those times and the practical tools you can use to overcome parenting loneliness: How to make space for your feelings and take the heat off your relationships Why accepting how we all come to parenting with our own stories can help us gain a better understanding of why others may be resistant How you can use Hand in Hand's parenting tools in new ways to involve others (without them even knowing!) Why noticing what is going well helps you come to relationships with a sense of warmth When you use these tools, you can feel less lonely in your parenting. Listen to "Let's NOT talk about the kids": When Parenting Feels Lonely now More resources on what to do when parenting feels lonely: Listen to this replay of a call-in with our instructors When Friends and Family Don’t Understand Your Parenting  Read Parenting from Different Pages Get this download on 5 Revolutionary Ideas That Make Parenting Less Stressful  keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter  You can listen to this episode and every episode on iTunes. Don’t forget to subscribe! Wish Parenting was less stressful? Join Hand in Hand’s Parent Club for support and community. Your own Parent Club with moderated forums, live call-ins and resources.    

Has anyone ever told you what an angel your child was? A school teacher, a parent after a playdate? And you thought? Huh??? An angel? Certainly not at home! This week on the Podcast we are chatting about why our children can be hard to deal with at home even when he or she is seen as an angel outside. Why the screaming, defiance and tantrums? Why the backtalk, squabbling, and drama? Why is all this anger and fire coming right at you? Why, oh why, oh why?! Why Kids Save Their Big Feelings and "Bad Behavior" for home? Abigail and Elle talk about why kids save their big feelings and "bad behaviors" for home, and how hard it can be to see all these behaviors when no-one else does. Plus they reveal secrets to turning things around so that you can enjoy and appreciate your kids as much as the teachers and other grown-ups in their lives that praise them. During the episode we chat about: How to see the good in your child daily - even when the going gets tough Embracing your kid's wilder side as part of their whole self Finding ways to check your boundaries and as a parent to keep a balance on behaviors Join Abigail and Elle for this week's podcast to find out why kids might be angels away even if they are hellions at home, with tools and advice to help find your peace when kids save their big feelings just for you! More Resources on Kids That Lose it At Home This week Elle mentioned this awesome Setting Limits and Building Cooperation online class. The awesome news is you can also get it free when you join Hand in Hand's new Parent Club.    Find Your Parenting Village Online! Join the Hand in Hand Parent Club. With private group moderated by instructors, weekly call-in live sessions and a lively community you can get the support you need to be the parent you want to be. Opening June 19th, 2018. Get your Special Introductory Price. Keep Connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter