parenting — 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.

238. Making space for peace, featuring Hal Elrod

What things in your life feel unfair and cause you to get worked up? We all have those triggers—and in those moments, it’s easy to feel powerless. But what if we shifted the narrative by changing our own reaction, instead of being angry at what can’t be changed? Author and speaker Hal Elrod explains that while we can’t always change our circumstances, we always have the power to choose how we respond, and that can change our entire experience of life. It is in those moments that we create space for more beautiful things to grow in us and in our kids.

236. Ready or not, kids take their cue from you, featuring Madeline Levine

Do you ever lose sight of the end game? Sometimes as parents, we focus on the short game—grades, extracurricular activities, and how to fix things immediately for our kids. But does that actually serve them well as they grow into adulthood?

Dr. Madeline Levine, a psychologist with 40 years experience, explains that kids don’t need us to fix everything. They actually need adaptability, mental agility, curiosity, collaboration, tolerance for failure, resilience and optimism. And how do they learn those skills? By watching how we handle life and how we trust them to handle it well too.

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.

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.

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!

227. Refuse to die an unlived life, featuring Les Brown

Most parenting advice is all about how to get your kid to follow your rules and your schedule. But the real secret to parenting that most people won’t tell you? Work on yourself. Of course, that’s much easier said than done, because introspection is tough to fit on your to-do list amid parenting, working, cooking, cleaning, and all the things that life requires.

Renowned motivational speaker Les Brown shares that you have greatness inside of you, and taking the time to understand what you really want and the impact you want to make is of first importance. Listen as he gives a few tips on how to upgrade your life in big ways.

226. 30 minutes is all you need to change your life, featuring Dr. Wendy Suzuki

When the weight of the world is too much, too heavy, too chaotic, you can make some simple changes to be the calm in the storm—and exercise is one of those tools.

Dr. Wendy Suzuki, a professor of neuroscience and psychology and dean at NYU, breaks down how exercise has both immediate and long-term effects on your mood and body, and how these effects alter and protect your brain. And the best part?? Getting this exercise might be simpler than you think.

Sponsors and discounts:

House of Wise — use code PGISH for 10% off
Our Favorite Things—A Resource Guide!

Show links:

Watch the full clip.
Learn more at wendysuzuki.com.
Read Healthy Brain, Happy Life and Good Anxiety.

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
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.
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.

Subscribe, leave a review, or follow PG-ish on IG @pgishparenting,

221. Happiness is a choice, featuring Connie Podesta

As parents, there are so many things we want to teach our kids. We want them to be happy, but the truth is that we can’t teach that to them—we can only model it ourselves. Happiness begins with the parent. Today, award-winning author, speaker, and therapist Connie Podesta shares some truth about becoming a happy role model, and why (regardless of what is happening in our lives) happiness is a daily choice we have to make.

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

217. Of birthdays and Mother's Day, a love note

If you’ve been listening for a while, you may know that my motto as a parent is to be worthy of emulating. You’re a mirror, and your kiddo is going to reflect what you put out, good or bad. We don’t need perfection—simply conscious effort. As this week marks both my birthday and Mother’s Day, I’ve been thinking about what those celebrations really mean, and I decided I should share another piece of my own journey as a mom and how I continue to learn to become the person I want my own daughters to be.

Catch up on the latest episodes!

Have more fun.