Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

Latest Episodes:

Summer throwback - Eps 275: How Does Firmness Show Up For You? Jul 04, 2024

Show notes

Firmness tends to be challenging when we are focused on centering relationship with our kids... AND it is super important that we flex into connected firmness as we raise teens. Critical thinking, setting boundaries, health and well-being - these are all dependent on a certain level of firmness in our homes...

Find all the show notes and info about our sponsors at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-275-solo-show-how-does-firmness-show-up-for-you/

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Eps 501: Growing a family through foster care with Mark Daley Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Mark Daley, and he’s here today to talk about all-things foster care.

Mark shares the path that led to him writing his new book, “Safe,” gives us ideas on ways that people can help support foster kids, and explains what foster kids need. I bring up how scary it can be thinking about opening your home to a stranger and ask what upstream interventions are in place to improve the foster care system. Mark leaves us on a happy note when he brings up the amazing people he works with and a first step if you’re interested in learning more about fostering children.

Takeaways from the show

Hear about Mark’s new book, “Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family”
Why do people choose to foster?
There’s a critical shortage of foster parents
There are many ways to help foster children besides fostering
“These aren’t bad kids; these are kids in a bad situation.”
How and where can foster kids pick up the life skills they need to be successful?
What’s a starting point if you’re interested in fostering or learning more about fostering?

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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Eps 500: Finding common ground during the summertime with your teen Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Join me this week as we get into how to tighten things up and find the same page with our teens during the long days of summer. I talk about being explicit with our communication, agreements, and the power of collaboration. Check it out!

Find more show notes and information about our sponsors at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/Eps-500-Finding-common-ground-during-the-summertime-with-your-teen/

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Eps 499: Making the world safe for all kids with Ed Center Jun 24, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is our returning friend, Ed Center.

I kick off our conversation asking Ed what Pride month means to him, and he shares his thoughts: we want to celebrate our families, the history of our community, and acknowledge that we weren't always able to have these rights & privileges. It’s a celebration of family. I ask what we can do to get out of our bubble, and Ed shares simple, do-able ideas around how to talk to your kids and how to grow as a better advocate, while giving yourself grace. We dig into how not letting discomfort or not knowing the exactly right thing to do can stop us from helping others and why we have to lean into that discomfort.

Takeaways from the show

Pride month is an opportunity to share with our kids that they live in a family with a different arrangement than other families
There are many family-friendly Pride events
How do you talk to your kids? What’s your default language around family, class, race?
Pushing assumptions and changing your language to expand your and your kids’ perspectives
We have to stand up for all kids, not just our kids
Pride month challenge: Find and reach out to or donate to small LGBTQIA+ communities & resources in a red state
Be nice and stay grounded in love

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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Eps 498: Building the house of Positive Discipline as parents of teens Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

Join me this week as I share about the layers of scaffolding that come with building a home environment steeped in Positive Discipline. Starting with a foundation of parental personal growth and development, and building on top of that by focusing on relationships, creating systems and routines so that everyone is on the same page, and finally, mutually respectful, in-the-moment tools. Join me and consider how you can bring your takeaways into YOUR home and YOUR relationship with YOUR adolescents.

Find all show notes and information about our sponsors at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-498-building-the-house-of-positive-discipline-as-parents-of-teens/

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Eps 497: Inclusivity through fashion with Elizabeth Brunner Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Elizabeth Brunner, the founder of StereoType Kids, a gender-inclusive fashion brand inspired by her boy/girl twins. Elizabeth shares her story, what gender-inclusivity means to her, and what blended fashion is. We talk on unlearning social norms & gender stereotypes, and I share a surprising story of a time this came up for me personally when Ian was young. Elizabeth shares the difference between how people react when her daughter dresses more traditionally-masculine versus when her son dresses in more traditionally-feminine clothes and how she coached her son to reply when someone tells him what he “can’t wear.” I bring up the dance between encouraging our daughters to express and wear whatever they want while still keeping them safe from dangerous people.

Takeways from the show

Get to know StereoType Kids, a gender-inclusive fashion brand
What is gender-inclusivity? What is blended fashion?
“We try to fit into society and society norms, and that’s not actually normal. We’re meant to be expressive.”
Unlearning social norms
We don’t realize all of our conditioning until we have to confront it
Being curious about our responses to our child(ren)
“Me is all I want to be.”
Keep growing, keep being curious, & keep discovering new parts of yourself

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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Eps 496: Fortune telling and considering that our teens lives are unfolding FOR them Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

What if everything is going to be fine? What if we decide to live in the uncertainty of parenting teens from a place of faith and possibility? How would that change right now for you? Join me this week as we explore the qualities that are driving us crazy as we parent our kids WHILE ALSO knowing these exact same qualities are going to serve them one day... Stretch your mind, grow your perspective, listen in.

Check out all the show notes and more info about our sponsors at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-496-fortune-telling-and-considering-that-our-teens-lives-are-unfolding-for-them/

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Eps 495: Showing up for our LGBTQIA+ kids with Ed Center and Jaimie Kelton Jun 10, 2024

Show notes

My guests today are Ed Center and Jaimie Kelton, and they’re answering questions from YOU! This is a juicy one - we get into how to react when your LGBTQIA+ teen comes out, whose news that is to share with others, and what to do when people who don’t treat our adolescent(s) the way we’d like (cue Mama Bear). The latter half of the episode gets into online safety & pornography, the importance of knowing queer role models in real life, using TV & books as teaching tools, and talking about sex with our queer kids.

Takeaways from the show

What’s the preferred and most up-to-date language and acronym? Do we say queer?
What can straight parents do to best support their questioning or queer teen?
Coming out stories and reactions - whose news is this to share?
Coming out is an ongoing process. It is hard & scary!
We all hold internalized homophobia
How do we handle family or friends who don’t support our queer teen?
“Choose love, choose love, choose love.”
Online safety
The importance of knowing real-life queer role models
Sex-ed & sex talks with our queer kids
Consent versus enthusiastic consent

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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Eps 494: Having faith when we feel out of control Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

Join me today and consider how we can better be with the unfolding. So many in the Joyful Courage community are moving through big things with their adolescents right now - end of school year, transition into summer, teen risk taking, having a tough time with relationship - it is all real and relevent. AND, what if the contrast and discomfort we're feeling is an indicator that we can expand our mindset and try and see things in a new way?

For show notes and info about sponsors, go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-494-having-faith-when-we-feel-out-of-control/

Join the Joyful Courage for Parents of Teens FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jcforparentsofteens

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Eps 493: The gender journey with Alanna Beebe Jun 03, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is my dear friend and the cofounder & managing director at Sproutable, Alanna Beebe! You’ll recognize Alanna from the Art of Connected Parenting series we did earlier this year.

I’m so excited that Alanna is here to kick off Pride! Alanna is an amazing parent, and she’s here to share some of her child’s gender journey with us. Alanna’s child, was born male, transitioned to female around age 3, and more recently has transitioned to nonbinary. I have so many questions for Alanna, and although her child is still an elementary-schooler, we can still learn from so much Alanna does and how she holds space for her own child. I ask how a 3 or 4 year old knows their gender, what going through this process was like for her as a mother, and where her fears & hopes are.

We hit on a lot this week: inclusive conversations & language, the political aspects that play in, how to best support your kiddo when unkind or unsafe things happen, how to make sure your message of love is getting through, using gender-neutral language, and how it looks differently supporting transgender teens versus transgender children.

Takeaways from the show

Alanna shares her child’s gender journey with us
“Our kids can’t be in the world what they can’t see.”
What age do kids start to notice and identify with a gender?
What comes up for us as adults when we see our child(ren) questioning or transitioning their gender?
How do we have those constant, hard conversations around gender?
Making home a safe, loving place to come back to - as a parent, you are their safe space
How to stop yourself from future tripping (spoiler: it comes back to teaching those life skills!)
“All you have to do is love and accept the kid that’s in front of you.”
Transitioning is not rebelling!
What happens when we pushback? What happens when we give them space?
Supporting transgender teens & adolescents (even when we’re feeling fearful & unsure)

For more details, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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