What what do you do when your child has bad feelings? What do we usually think of when we say “bad”? Typically, these are the kinds of emotions that may be very intense and, as parents, we may not know how to deal with them. Some of the highlights of this episode: - how the child’s expression of emotion is different from ours, - what 3 emotions tend to be labeled as “bad”, - the emotional cycle and why it is important, - the 3-step process of responding to intense emotions.

Have you ever felt resentful as a parent? Have you ever felt guilty for wanting to do less rather than more? Have you ever wanted to spend a little bit of time on your own? These and other thoughts and wants can make us feel guilty as parents. But instead of dwelling on guilt, which is an unproductive state of mind, we can learn to understand its nature and let it resolve into things we can actually take care of and do something about.

Is there a way to raise the child’s self-esteem? There sure is. Though… it is not as easy as giving the child a compliment or showering them with praise. Building self-esteem is a process that the child has to complete independently. We cannot raise self-esteem on our child’s behalf, it is the inner work of the child. But, our consistent approach and confidence in our children, will create the environment where they are free to be themselves.

A lot is being said these days about respecting children, and a lot of things we do as parents we may do in the name of respect.   If we do not have a good perspective on what respecting children means, we may feel like setting limits goes against the child’s need for freedom and against showing respect to them for who they are. In this episode, we are looking at the respect as a balance of freedom and limits.

When we get closer to our child's emotions and learn to be with them, we give priceless lessons to our children about their own inner world. It is not something to run away from, to be mad at, or feel hopeless about. It is a rich environment full of information, because emotions are very telling. Besides serving as clues to the quality of our experience, emotions have social value as well. For children, in particular, emotions is the way they communicate with us, a way for them to be seen and...

Staying connected with our children is important. But what does it even mean? What does connection look like when it’s there, and how do we know when it’s missing? We may first notice lack of connection when we feel some kind of difficulty to get our children to listen. This is certainly a part of it, but this is not the full perspective that can really help us troubleshoot connection issues. In today's episode, I am offering a shift in perspective that may give you a very clear look as to...

The feeling of guilt is all too familiar to parents. It is so deeply rooted, it almost feels unavoidable, and we kind of learn to live with it. But is it really serving us? Understanding where parent guilt may have originated from can help us have a more supportive perspective towards our work as parents.

There is no doubt every parent loves their child. It would be hard not to. But what kind of love do children need? Since so many of us parents think that our job is to love our children, wouldn't it be great to know how that job is done? What does love look like? What kind of love is supportive of our child's development?

What are BOUNDARIES and what do they have to do with parenting? In this episode we explore the Essential Element of BOUNDARIES. In broader terms, we are looking at BOUNDARIES from the perspective of a) something that defines an individual and why that is important, and b) as a process of interacting with others (including our children) to maintain a healthy dynamic between what we need and what other people need.

The VALUES Element is another essential to our parenting practice. In this episode, we will look at values from the standpoint of an internal system of beliefs and attitudes that guide our behavior. Whether we are aware of it or not, we parent from a place of beliefs and expectations, and every choice we make as parents is guided by our values.

The NURTURE element is one of the 3 Essential Elements of parenting, and it has many facets. The simplest way to understand it, is to consider it from the point of needs -- the needs of the child on the one hand, and the needs of the parent on the other.

In this episode we are talking about the 3 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF PARENTING that form the foundation of the Minimum Viable Parenting framework. These critical essentials help us calm the overwhelm and focus on what matters most in our journey as parents. 

As parents, we have many questions & just about everywhere we turn -- someone's got the answer! But how do you tease out what really matters? MINIMUM VIABLE PARENTING framework is your guide to parenting essentials. Subscribe for new episodes!