I had the pleasure of joining Rebecca Greene on The Whinypaluza Podcast for an honest conversation about parenting, communication, boundaries, conflict, and guilt. We discussed why children may tune out repeated explanations, how parents can recognize their emotional buttons, and why children do not always need to agree with a boundary. They simply need to understand and follow it. I also shared practical ways parents can help children manage big emotions, repair relationship

You explain. You say, “I’m not discussing this anymore.” You say “No” five times. And still, your child argues with your decision. So you explain some more. You remind them why you said no. You tell them again that you’re not discussing it. You answer another “But why?” ou think you are taking charge and being decisive. But your children may be hearing something very different: They hear, “This is still up for decision.” Why does this keep happening? It’s a question I hear a

I was reminded of this while booking an airline ticket. I'd found the perfect flight at a price that fit my budget. Halfway through booking, an error message appeared: That fare is no longer available. If I wanted the exact same seat on the exact same flight, I'd have to pay significantly more. My heart started pounding. I started sweating. The voice in my head screamed, "That's it. I'm never traveling again." Nothing dangerous had happened. Yet my body reacted as though it h

Nothing tests a parent's patience more than a child in a gift shop during a fun, but long excursion day.

I don't mean never tell your kids, "no". I mean don't avoid it. It's like the parent who told me about a time her son asked if he could have a sleepover that weekend. She hesitated. It had been a long week, the calendar was full, and she already knew the answer was no. But instead of saying it, she said what many of us say: “We’ll see.” Over the next few days, he kept bringing it up. “Did you think about it?” “Can I invite him?” “Have you decided yet?” Eac

Parents ask me this a lot. They describe the behavior: 🤯lying 🤯refusal 🤯defiance

Business teams don’t run smoothly because everyone is trying harder .They run smoothly because there are policies, procedures, and routines in place. Imagine a company where: Employees have to be reminded to log into their email every morning Meetings start only after someone tracks people down No one knows the steps for submitting an expense report It’s a systems problem . Yet at home, we parents often operate without systems while managing more emotional intensity, unpredi

☕🍴No matter how many times you dip it in, it’s not going to work. It’s frustrating, messy and you’ll still end up thirsty. That’s what it’s like when parents keep using the same strategy, hoping this time it’ll finally lead to lasting behavior change. The problem isn’t the parent. And it’s not the child. It’s the tool 🔧 . When the approach doesn’t fit the situation — when we keep repeating explanations, give reminders, or threaten punishment — we’re using a fork 🍴 when th

Experiencing trauma, loss, and pain changes us. We don't "bounce back" to our previous state. We change and cope.

I saw this Facebook post yesterday on Thanksgiving. Being a mother is literally the most unfulfilling, unrewarding job in the world. ...

Does your child have trouble bouncing back from meltdowns, tantrums, and disappointments? One powerful skill you can teach your kids is...