Since bringing in Conscious Parenting to my coaching practice and my personal life, I have seen a powerful positive change in how I relate to my children. This is why today’s interview with Sandra Fazio is personally so wonderful for me. Sandra not only teaches parents how to begin bringing the principles of Conscious Parenting into their homes, but she also loves it out with her own daughter. Sandra, like many parents, thought she had everything planned out to perfection. As we all learn once we become parents, children rarely align with even the best-laid plans. Sandra found it difficult to relate to or discipline her daughter, and so she turned to Conscious Parenting to end some of the strife in her home. What she unlocked was a whole new way of not just thinking about her child, but about herself too.
When the pressure of being a Solo Parent pushes you to a breaking point, Conscious Parenting reminds you to check in with yourself. Self-kindness is easily one of the most powerful tenants of Conscious Parenting, and it’s a step that Sandra has taken to heart. She now encourages everyone to parent through deep connection and open communication. I am thankful to include Sandra’s story and perspective into the Solo Parent Community because she has faced many of the same setbacks that we have as well.
Sandra’s story reminds us to take each day one step at a time. Your relationship with your children is ever-evolving, and it is time to trust that you know how to listen and respond to your children in a conscientious way.
More in this episode:
Resources:
Facebook - Sandra Fazio
Parent Listening Group
It can be difficult to find moments of peace in the middle of our crazy lives. Sometimes, we feel so overwhelmed and out of our depth, and we simply want to step away from it all. Unfortunately, if you are a solo parent, you can’t always pass the kids along to your partner for 10 minutes of quiet. How can you, as a single parent, cultivate some peace and positivity into your daily life? I have an expert guest with me today that is going to give you incredible, easy tools you can use to take care of yourself and connect with your children.
Dr. Laura Markham is a Clinical Psychologist and founder of Aha! Parenting. Laura loves working with parents to help them build mindfulness and peace back into their parenting. She knows how unsupported parents feel as they try to guide and connect with their kids, so she has generated resources and written books that you can use at any time. Her most recent book, The Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook is filled to bursting with exercises that will help you rewire your thinking and build peace back into the day-to-day. Knowing that parents are always busy, and single parents even more so, Laura has crafted her resources to fit any schedule.
Today, we are going to chat about how to build up your inner resilience, understand your parenting triggers, and work through difficult situations in a helpful way. Whether the kids are bickering or your child is shouting, Laura’s techniques will help you regulate your emotions and transform high-tension moments into moments of peace. Her skills are founded on coaching principles that focus on positivity, rather than simple survival. You will breathe a sigh of relief once we are done talking today! Peace is possible, and we are going to get you there.
More in this episode:
Resources:
Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook plus all of Laura’s books!
Connect with me!
Busy Solo Parents often wonder how they are going to get food on the table, let alone make something jam-packed with nutrients that everyone will eat. Life is already chaotic enough! I am here to tell you today that making, simple, healthy, and delicious meals are absolutely within your reach! I’ve brought on a guest today who is going to walk us through the process of creating nutritious meals children will love. As an added bonus, she’s a mom herself who has seen her fair share of struggle. Welcome with me to the show today, Maria Quintana-Pilling!
Maria is a functional nutrition and lifestyle practitioner, certified nutrition consultant, and the chef-founder of Urban Spice Nutrition. After struggling with her own health and digestion, Maria found the strength to make significant lifestyle changes, including her diet. She certainly knows how difficult it can be to raise kiddos while your health is failing, so now she is committed to empowering women struggling with similar hormonal and digestive issues with her incredible nutrition programs.
I know you are going to find this episode just as helpful as I did. Maria emphasizes that planning your meals ahead of time gives you power over those key nutrients your kiddos need. Today, she will teach us how to be mindful of how we prepare meals, and why balanced nutrition is so important! Our nutrition affects everything from our energy levels to our hormone balance. When we are putting more of what is good for us in, we can only see positive results. Maria believes the key to a healthy future is giving our children the tools and resources they need to make healthy choices for the rest of their lives. What could be a better gift than a legacy of healthy food to power them through life’s biggest moments?
More in this episode:
Resources:
Co-Parenting Resource
One of the biggest fears many parents face is the fear that we are not preparing our kids for the “Real World.” Life skills are difficult to teach, but they are so important for our children to be successful. The official name for this vital skillset is “Social Emotional Intelligence,” or the ability to navigate social problems with empathy and self-respect. I am excited to begin to dive into this topic with Jennifer Miller today. Jennifer is the founder of Confident Families Confident Kids, an online compendium of resources all about parenting children with a high Social Emotional Intelligence. She is quite the expert on the topic, and today she will share practical examples as well as encouraging stories showcasing exactly why we should be prioritizing Social Emotional Intelligence in our parenting.
After realizing there really was not a simple, research-based resource for parents on Social Emotional Intelligence, Jennifer set out to create one. She used her own personal struggles as well as her informed perspectives to write articles and offer up tips for parents. When her son was very young, Jennifer noticed she had quite an emotional response to his misbehaviors. Rather than being content with these feelings and challenges, Jennifer armed herself with knowledge and changed her parenting to model and reflect Social Emotional Intelligence. I think Jennifer’s approach is admirable, and I know you will be encouraged by her stories. Rather than hiding the struggle, Jennifer embraces the process of slowly developing the skills that will set her son up for an incredible future.
You do not have to be ruled by the fear of failing your children. Thanks to Jennifer, you have resources at your disposal to help you develop Social Emotional Intelligence with your kiddos. Listen today to find out how to get started!
More in this episode:
Links
Confident Parents Confident Kids
NBC Parent Toolkit
Parenting your pre-teens and teenagers has its own unique set of challenges. While there might not be any more diapers to change or tantrums to manage, older children still need a specific kind of love and attention. Most of the time, parents end up frustrated! This phase of life can often be isolating for Solo Parents. Without carpool lines and trips to the park, it can be difficult to find a place to commiserate with fellow teen parents. This is exactly the kind of thing that my guest, Vickie Vann, is trying to fix!
Vickie is a fellow therapist in the area who loves to work with adults and families. She has a teen son and felt she was missing a safe place to express her concern, get advice, and vent a little. After finding there were no opportunities for parents of teens to connect and support each other, Vickie cofounded with Deb Blum parent support groups at her son’s high school. The groups have taken off, and many parents are finding comfort and confidence through genuine connection with one another.
Vickie is going to share just how powerful communities really are. She’ll dive deep into the mind of a teenager, and come up to bat for the dreaded “helicopter parents.” She is a wealth of advice on everything from scheduling sleepovers to pushing through homework blocks. If you are a teen parent, you are definitely going to want to give this show a listen! Parents of little ones, this episode is a glimpse into what’s coming for you in just a few short years. Pre-teens and teenagers require parenting in a different way. Don’t be afraid of these challenges! Instead, Vickie encourages us all to seek out opportunities to shape your children into the adults they will become. Deny it all they want, these teens still need mom and dad. We promise!
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