Connection — An unofficial parenting guide to raising successful humans

276. Are you having fun yet?, featuring Catherine Price

As a parent, you have a lot on your plate—and sometimes you end up sacrificing self-care and any small things that bring you joy. But actually, fun is a feeling rather than an activity, and happiness is something you can choose.

Catherine Price is a science journalist and author who is passionate about helping people make positive changes in their lives and have more fun. She explains the three components of fun and why each one is so important to your well-being. So what would it take to rearrange your day to look for the pockets where you could create joy?

241. Own your crazy spots + how to love your teenager well, featuring Lisa Damour

The secret is out we don’t really know what we’re doing - “Parents are only people that had kids!”

Truly, I think teenagers have it rough because they’re going through massive developmental changes, which is similar to parents navigating their kiddo as well as their own personal changes throughout the parenting journey.

Bottom line, we all need MORE SUPPORT + MORE GRACE because it’s pretty stressful at times.

We also have limitations and blind spots - or crazy spots as @lisa.damour calls them - which makes it easy to get wrapped up in our own heads, leaving us feeling stuck or alone.

As adults, we need people to both call us out on our craziness and be our biggest fan—and our teenagers are no different. They also need to be seen, understood, and accepted.

Dr. Lisa Damour shares why it’s important to recognize and talk about our “crazy spots,” and how to actually help our kiddos mature, rather than simply age into adolescence and adulthood.

240. The journey of loving others, featuring Lisa Nichols

Why is it so hard to make friends as adults?

Maybe it’s because you’re not always in situations where you automatically meet people in the same life stage as you. But also, maybe it’s because you close yourself off, quick to judge others and afraid of being judged yourself, and unwilling to take a chance.

Building community takes time, not to mention vulnerability.

Today, motivational speaker Lisa Nichols reminds us that kindness matters, and being receptive to new friendships could actually change your view of yourself and of the world. You just have to be open to it.

235. Children can't be what they can't see, featuring Lael Stone

Do you ever feel like you manage life well…until the small people in your life don't want to go along with your plans? That’s when the heat turns on, when they find the most inopportune moments to lose it. But the truth is that their cries and outbursts are a way to be seen and heard.

Parenting educator Lael Stone nudges you back to your kids’ side, reminding you that your level of compassion and nurturing and how you regulate your emotions in these early years has an impact on who they become. You have the power in how you show up to teach either anxiety and depression, or kindness and compassion.

233. Forget vitamins, go have some fun instead, featuring Catherine Price

What made you smile today?

If it’s tough to answer this, you’re not alone. We get overwhelmed with all the things of life—work, home, kids—that it’s easy to miss the small moments that would bring us joy.

Catherine Price is a science journalist and author who is passionate about helping people make positive changes in their lives. Surprisingly, her solution to stress, life, better parenting, and all the problems we face, is simple:

Have more fun.

Catherine explains why this matters, how it affects our health, and how it’s a choice we make rather than an experience. If you need more happiness in your life, you won’t want to miss this.

232. Love is space making, featuring Marcus Buckingham

Our instinct as parents can be to hold our kids tightly in order to protect and guide them into the life we want for them. Sadly, such a tight rein can squash their unique traits—pieces of them that should be celebrated and allowed space to learn and grow in their own way.

In a society that likes to point out weaknesses and conform you to fit a specific mold, Marcus Buckingham wants to turn this thinking upside down by helping you (and your kiddos) to define strengths, innate tendencies, and personal loves.

In this clip, Buckingham shares the extremes of his own experiences, from his ex-wife and son’s involvement in a college admissions scandal, to his own childhood filled with space to become his own person.

231. Don't regret your regrets, featuring Dan Pink

Do you find yourself sometimes blaming your current unhappiness and dissatisfaction on past choices? While that’s a common sentiment, regret can actually have a positive effect on your life. The trick is to find the gift in your regret, and learn from it as you move forward. Author Dan Pink has collected over 16,000 regrets from people around the globe, and today he shares the four core regrets we all face, and explains how to transform your regrets into a life you enjoy more.

229. It's a matter of life and death, featuring Dr. Chelsea Shields

As July wraps up, let’s take a moment to honor Social Wellness Month. Your personal well-being and connection network is important for not only your health, but the health of your family. Scientists are finding that the strength of your community can have powerful effects not only on your health, but can also influence your biology, lengthen your life, and improve your overall well-being.

Dr. Chelsea Shields, a biosocial anthropologist, will explain social wellness in detail, and why it’s crucial that you take daily steps toward community and relationships. She shares three simple tips to move toward healthy social wellness.

228. From overwhelm to the life you love, an interview with K. Domiana Ndour

Even with a 4-month baby in her arms during our interview, K. Domiana Ndour emanates an authentic and grounding presence. She’s not only a wife and mom of three, but also a retired pro basketball player, two-time best-selling author, somatic healer, coach, international speaker, certified yoga instructor and educator. She’s on a mission to equip busy moms like you and me with the tools to self-heal and regulate emotions, all while breaking the cycle of burnout and overwhelm. This is definitely an episode you won’t want to miss!

225. The blueprint for relationships, featuring Philippa Perry

Recently I noticed myself trying to tame my child’s complaining by teaching a big lesson on gratitude. Anyone relate to this? Now of course teaching gratitude is important, but not at the cost of shutting down communication about honest feelings and potentially damaging our relationship.

Today’s throwback episode (Episode 168) is truly the Cliffs Notes on how to be a parent, and how to cultivate healthy relationships with your kiddos. Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist and author who is passionate about helping parents navigate their own past in order to change their patterns of parent-child dynamics. She explains how to be authentic, why we need to define ourselves and our own needs to our kids, and how to build a positive blueprint for every future relationship they will have.

Sponsors and discounts:

Better Help — use code PGISH for 10% off your first month
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Our Favorite Things—A Resource Guide!

Show links:

Watch the full clip.
Read The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read: (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did).

224. The Power of One More, featuring Ed Mylett

Do you ever feel out of alignment, helpless from trying to carry the weight of the world, and wondering if what you do makes a difference? As parents, we can’t fix the whole world for our kids—but we can start small and take just one step at a time. Today’s talk by Ed Mylett will inspire you to keep going one more day, to keep showing up for your kids to prove to them that they matter.

Sponsors and discounts:

Better Help — use code PGISH for 10% off your first month
Our Favorite Things—A Resource Guide!

Show links:

Watch the full clip.
Learn more at edmylett.com.
Read The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success.

223. Real leadership creates a boom, featuring Simon T. Bailey

As parents, we rely on our kids’ schools every day to help them thrive. But the truth is that it starts with the culture we create at home. We have the opportunity to provide an environment of energy, action, momentum, hope and possibility. When kids know they have an adult in their corner who believes in them, they will do better.

Today Simon T. Bailey shares how we can be the catalyst to help our kids view their education as something special, to create a vision of possibility that is often desperately lacking in our school systems. You are the first, and most influential, teacher in your child’s life—so use that opportunity to inspire them to a greater future.

Sponsors and discounts:

Better Help — use code PGISH for 10% off your first month
House of Wise — use code PGISH for 10% off
Pique Tea — use code PGISH for 5% off
Our Favorite Things—A Resource Guide!

Show links:

Watch the full clip.
Learn more at simontbailey.com.

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220. Their life depends on you

Today I’m sharing something that’s heavy on my heart this week—an interaction I had with a child (who isn’t mine) that broke my heart and reminded me of my mission to support and encourage other parents on this journey. We all know there’s no guidebook for parenting. So when the tough moments pop up, we can easily feel lost.

What I keep realizing is that at the end of the day, it all comes down to connection. Humans need other humans, and our kids need us to come down to their level and truly connect by spending time together. Don’t we all just want to be seen and loved where we are? Finding time to first fill our own cup so that we can pour into our kids is a daily struggle—but it’s a cause worth fighting for. No matter how many imperfect tries it takes, just keep showing up.

Links to our favorite things:

Better Help — use code PGISH for 10% off your first month
House of Wise — use code PGISH for 10% off
Pique Tea — use code PGISH for 5% off
My Green Mattress

218. Become the one you’re waiting for, featuring Valarie Kaur

Today’s episode is speaking specifically to moms. Today is a reminder that your power as a mother (or woman, for that matter) can change the world. Your emotions are valid and important, especially your act of love. Day after day you continue to labor and choose love, even when it’s hard.

Valarie Kaur, a renowned civil rights leader and best-selling author, reminds us that real love is a choice. Together we can choose to shift the culture as we continue to tell our stories and lean into love, which can truly be a force for justice.

210. Hold their heart to capture their mind, featuring Dr. Gordon Neufeld

Sometimes it seems like as a parent you work so hard to find the best way to parent your kiddo, only to miss the mark. Parenting strategies can be helpful, but if you’re not paying attention to the big picture of building real connection, you lose sight of what matters.

Dr. Gordon Neufeld is a developmental psychologist and author, whose ideas are based on the attachment theory of parenting. The way he dissects his thoughts today is almost poetic, as he explains why relationship and connection matter more than anything else we could possibly try to do.

207. The hardest part about change, featuring Dr Joe Dispenza

Dr. Joe Dispenza is a chiropractor with training in neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and epigenetics. He’s most interested in teaching others how to make measurable changes in their lives. With the amount of stress you’ve endured over the last two years (and probably more!), now is the time to leave it behind and try a new path to find a healthier, happier you.

Catch up on the latest episodes!

Have more fun.