Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

Latest Episodes:

Eps 665: Marriage and the teen years with Shilo Minor Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Parenting teens has a way of surfacing everything we've been avoiding in our marriage. This week I'm talking with Shilo Minor about what happens when the connection thins out and you start feeling more like roommates than partners. We get into fawning, self-abandonment, boundaries that actually hold, and why the inner work is worth doing even when you're the only one doing it. If you love your person and still feel alone in the middle of the teen years, come listen.

Guest bio:

Shilo Minor is the founder of Your Real Life Love Story and the creator of the Real Love Method, a process that helps women build soul-satisfying marriages without couples therapy. Her heart is in guiding good women to break generational cycles of being emotionally neglected and taken for granted, so they can finally get the love, support, and affection they need from the partner they already chose. When she's not doing this work, you'll find her in the garden, in the sauna, or somewhere in the middle of a good conversation. She lives in rural Nova Scotia with her husband and their two small boys.

For more info and show notes, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-665-marriage-and-the-teen-years-with-shilo-minor/

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Eps 664: Parenting and launching your teen Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

In this solo episode, I answer a question from a mom whose oldest is heading off to college across the country. How do you show up for your kid in the months before and after they launch? I talk through letting them practice freedom before they go, keeping routines and contributions in place, holding the both/and of excitement and sadness, and setting up communication that actually works. If you're sending a teen to college soon, this one's for you.

For more show notes got to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-644-parenting-and-launching-your-teen/

To enroll in the Sexy and Regulated Mama Summit, go to https://bit.ly/sexysummit

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Eps 663: Moving through crisis without losing yourself Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

This week I'm getting honest about being in my own season of crisis and what it's teaching me about the fawn response, that fourth survival instinct after fight, flight, and freeze. If you've ever walked on eggshells with your teen or someone else you love, or have struggled to hold a boundary because you're scared of losing the relationship, this one's for you. I share the Adlerian roots of people-pleasing and a grounding practice called Think Tree to help you come home to yourself. Press play.

Find more info and show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-663-moving-through-crisis-without-losing-yourself/

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Eps 662: PART TWO of Teen Cannabin Use with Susan Notis Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

In part two of my conversation with parent coach Susan Notis, we move past the information about teen cannabis use and into what you can actually do about it. We get into regulating your own nervous system before you talk, communicating without slipping into lecture mode, and how to tell when a consequence is safe to let unfold versus when it's time to call in help. If your teen is using and you feel stuck, this one's for you.

Guest bio

Susan Notis is a certified parent coach and bestselling co-author of The Perfectly Imperfect Family. She wrote the chapter "The Silent Epidemic: Teen Marijuana Dependency" for Raising Teens Who Talk to You, which Casey also contributed to. With more than two decades of experience supporting children and families, Susan brings a whole-family lens to high-stakes challenges like teen cannabis dependency. She runs the Cannabis Conversation Circle, an online community for parents concerned about their teen's pot use, and her coaching program, Raising by Example.

Find more show notes, links and all the things at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-662-part-two-of-teen-cannabin-use-with-susan-notis/

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Eps 661: Diane Sorensen on Lifelong Motherhood Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

I loved this convo! My guest, Diane Sorenson shares what shifts when you stop performing motherhood and start treating it as a lifelong relationship. We talk boundaries as an expression of your truth, why holding a firm line is connection rather than its opposite, and how to stay steady when your teen is furious with you. If you've ever folded to make the bad feeling go away, press play.

Guest bio: Diane Sorensen has spent over 30 years working with kids and families. A former teacher turned boundary and empowerment coach, she hosts the Chaos to Connection Podcast. Her daughter's mental health crisis at 17 became the catalyst that moved Diane from the "lens of good and right" toward the "lens of connection," work she now shares with parents everywhere.

find more show notes and info at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-661-diane-sorensen-on-lifelong-motherhood/

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Eps 660: Lori Petro on Obedience Culture Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

What if the way we treat our babies and teenagers could actually predict whether they grow up peaceful or violent? In this episode, I welcome back Lori Petro to dig into the buried research of Dr. James Prescott, the pull of obedience culture, and how shame around our kids' bodies and emotions shapes who they become. We get honest about parenting teens, sexual development, and choosing curiosity over control. It's messy, it's tender, and it left me hopeful. Come listen.

Guest bio: Lori Petro is a writer, educator, and child advocate, and the founder of Teach Through Love. Her own experience growing up as a highly sensitive, neurodivergent kid in an abusive home ignited a lifelong mission to dismantle obedience culture and restore emotional intelligence to how we raise children. She created the Conscious Communication Cards to give parents real-world language that replaces punishment, shame, and control with connection. Her new video series, The Roots of Love and Violence, shines a light on the suppressed research of neuropsychologist Dr. James Prescott.

For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-660-lori-petro-on-obedience-culture/

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Eps 659: Free-Range Teens with Lenore Skenazy Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

What if our teens are far more capable than our anxious culture lets us believe? (spoiler: they are) In this episode, I sit down with Lenore Skenazy to talk about raising independent, resilient teenagers in a world built on fear. We dig into why kids crave independence, how "worst-first thinking" keeps us stuck, and practical tools to help your teen practice real-world skills before they launch. If you're ready to trade control for trust, this conversation is for you.

Guest Bio: Lenore Skenazy is a cultural critic, longtime New York–based journalist, and TED mainstage speaker who sparked a global conversation when she wrote about letting her nine-year-old ride the subway alone. She founded the Free-Range Kids movement and co-founded Let Grow, a nonprofit helping kids build confidence, resilience, and real-world skills through greater independence. Her work has been featured on CNN, the Today Show, and in The Atlantic.

Find more info and show notes as: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-659-free-range-teens-with-lenore-skenazy/

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Eps 658: Lisa Woodruff helps us tame home chaos Jun 09, 2026

Show notes

We don't parent in a vacuum, my friend. Midlife and the teen years pile on the paperwork, the appointments, the mental load—and so many of us are drowning in reactive mode. In this episode, I sit down with organization expert Lisa Woodruff to talk about the invisible work of running a home, moving from reactive to proactive, and her game-changing Sunday Basket system. If you're a parent of teens craving calm and grounded systems, this conversation is for you. 🌱

Guest Bio: Lisa Woodruff is the founder and CEO of Organize 365 and host of the top-rated Organize 365 Podcast, with 24 million downloads and counting. A former teacher and professional organizer, Lisa is on a mission to prove that organization is a learnable skill. She helps women reduce overwhelm, clear mental clutter, and build the operational systems a household needs to actually run. She's the author of the new book Escaping Quicksand: 10 Steps to Overcome the Overwhelm of Modern Home Life.

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Eps 657: Attia Qureshi and negotiating with teens Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

Negotiation isn't a boardroom skill—it's a parenting skill, and every hard conversation with our teens is a training ground. In this episode, I talk with negotiation expert Atiya Qureshi about asking for what we need, managing our own emotional storms, and finding the relational middle ground between passive and aggressive. We dig into understanding interests over positions, the internal negotiation we have with ourselves first, and why being listened to opens our kids up to hearing us. Come learn alongside me.

Guest Bio: Attia Qureshi is the founder of Attia Qureshi Consulting and an adjunct at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. A former instructor at MIT Sloan and the Ross School of Business, she has worked on behalf of the US State Department in conflict zones around the world. She is the co-author, with John Richardson, of Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to Get What You Want (Simon & Schuster).

For show notes and more info go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-657-attia-qureshi-and-negotiating-with-teens/

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Eps 656: What if your teen is having a problem, not being one? May 26, 2026

Show notes

If your teen's disrespect, eye rolls, and slammed doors have you feeling stuck, this solo episode is for you. I'm unpacking a game-changing reframe: your teen isn't being a problem, they're having a problem. Drawing on Positive Discipline and the Rudolf Dreikurs's Mistaken Goal Chart, I share why discouraged teens act out, how power struggles and revenge cycles trap us, and five practical moves to interrupt the pattern. Children do better when they feel better — even teens. Come listen, my friend.

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