Have you ever stopped to question the version of success that you may be pushing your kid to achieve? Do you wonder if you’re over-involved in your tween or teen’s life, or not enough? Do you want your kids to get straight As and secretly get a thrill if they say “I think I want to go Stanford or Harvard or Yale”? And then you kind of feel anxious about the pressure and what that means for them?
As parents, we all have an internal compass that guides us as we raise our kids. And it today's competitive world, it's more important than ever for parents to raise their kids with intentionality and grace.
Today’s guest, Cindy Muchnick, co-wrote the book, The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness and Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World to help us navigate questions like this, and help us calibrate our parent compasses towards our kids’ wellbeing.
Listen to hear:
- The downsides of over-involved parenting
- When and how to nurture self-advocacy in your tweens and teens
- A tip for teen self-advocacy that Cindy’s never shared before!
- The ask that can forge new connections with your tween and teens
- What parents need to do before looking at how they're raising their kids
And more nuggets of wisdom!
About Our Guest, Cynthia Muchnick
Cindy, a graduate of Stanford University, is an expert in the college admission process: she got her start in admission offices before opening a private study skills and college counseling business in Southern California, which she ran for over fifteen years. As an Assistant Director of Admission for the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, she screened and reviewed over three thousand applications, interviewed prospective students, and served on the admission committee to evaluate borderline applicants and appeals cases. Then, as a private counselor, she helped hundreds of high school students navigate their academic journeys, including course selection, study skills, time management, and college applications. Since closing her private educational practice in 2011, Cindy has focused on public speaking to student, parent, school and business groups on a variety of education-related topics.
Over the course of her career, Cindy has written numerous books; The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness and Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World (Familius/Workman/Hachette, 2020) is her tenth. Her other titles include The Best College Admission Essays (co-author, ARCO/Peterson’s, 1997), The Everything Guide to Study Skills: Strategies, Tips, and Tools You Need to Succeed in School (Simon& Schuster, 2011), Straight-A Study Skills (co-author, Simon& Schuster, 2012), The Everything College Checklist Book (Simon& Schuster, 2013), Writing Successful College Applications: It’s More than Just the Essay (Peterson’s Publishing, 2014), and four other books (Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House). Her essays have appeared on Zibby Owens’ Moms Don’t Have Time To Write Medium platform, Your Teen Magazine, College Confidential, Raising Teens Today, The Los Angeles Times, and The Mom Experience, among others.
Cindy holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Art History from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Nova Southeastern University. Some of the other twists and turns in her multifaceted career include her stints as a campus tour guide and volunteer student coordinator for Stanford’s Office of Undergraduate Admission and a tenth-grade history teacher at The University School, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. She is a professional speaker and panelist on the subjects of education, study skills, parenting, and mental health in tweens and teens and has been interviewed as an expert on dozens of talk shows, radio and news stations, podcasts, magazines, and newspapers.
Cindy raised her family in Newport Beach, CA, and moved to Menlo Park, CA, in 2018, where she resides with her husband and is parent to two teens who are still at home, a college student, and a college graduate who is a teacher. For further information, or to inquire about a potential speaking engagement, feel free to visit her website at www.cynthiamuchnick.com.
To learn more about Cindy and her work, connect with her here:
- Website: www.parentcompassbook.com
- Facebook: FB/TheParentCompass
- Instagram: @parentcompass
References in this Episode:
About Your Host, Carmelita / Cat / Millie Tiu
Mom, spouse, coach, podcaster, wordsmith, legal eagle. Endlessly curious about how we can show up better for ourselves – because when we do that, we also show up better for our kids and those around us. Visit carmelitatiu.com to learn more about Cat, and for info on 1:1 coaching, the mom collective, and her monthly newsletter.
Know Them, Be Them, Raise Them
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