The Almost Empty Nest—Letting Go, Redefined: Parenting Teens and Finding Yourself Again—with Small Jar Coach

Are you stuck between wanting to guide your teen or college kid and knowing it’s time to start letting go?

Welcome to The Almost Empty Nest Podcast, where moms of teens and college kids reframe what ‘letting go’ really means and stop second-guessing themselves to feel more connected, confident, and at peace in this chapter of motherhood.

Each week, you’ll learn how to:
• Break free from mindset traps like catastrophizing, mom guilt, and the illusion of control
• Build a stronger relationship with your teen—even when they pull away or test boundaries
• Strengthen your self-trust as you set boundaries, let go of anxiety, and explore your own purpose beyond parenting

Hosted by master life coach—and mom of two college kids—Jennifer Collins, this show offers grounded, relatable support and mindset shifts to help you stop overthinking and start showing up as the mom and woman you truly want to be.

🎧 Start with listener favorite Episode 85: The Empty Nest Straddle — The Emotional Tug of Parenting Teens and Facing the Empty Nest.

Latest Episodes:

“I'm Embarrassed by My Big Kid”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 296 Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever watched your big kid do something and immediately thought, Oh my God… what are people going to think of me?

Today, I’m talking about the embarrassment that can come with parenting teens and navigating the empty nest years, especially when your kid is rude, reckless, irresponsible, or making choices you really wish they wouldn't make.

I’ll help you separate your kid’s behavior from your identity as a mom, so you can stop overthinking what other people think, loosen the grip of shame, and get clearer about what actually belongs to you. You can still have opinions, set boundaries, and care about your kid without making every choice they make mean something about the kind of mother you are.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

This empowering podcast offers life coaching for moms and parenting support for midlife mothers raising teens as they approach the empty nest, teaching them how to let go of control, stop overthinking, and shift their mindset, while also helping them set boundaries, improve communication, reduce anxiety, release mom guilt, and find purpose in the evolving journey of parenting teens and motherhood.

Unconditional Connection: What Parents Weekend Taught Me About Letting Go When Your Teen or Adult Kid Has Less Time for You | Ep. 295 Oct 10, 2026

Show notes

What happens when the child you would happily spend all weekend with can barely carve out dinner with you?

That was the reality of my recent Parents Weekend, and it gave me a front-row seat to something so many of us moms experience when parenting teens and in the empty nest. It's the temptation to measure connection by how much time, attention, or reassurance our kids give us.

In this episode, I’m exploring what I call unconditional connection. I'll invite you to consider that you can want more time with your child without making their behavior mean you matter less. We’ll look at why letting go of time with your big kid can feel so threatening and how to stop requiring constant proof that your relationship is still strong.

What if this stage of motherhood doesn't require you to accept less love, but instead it might be invite you to learn to trust the connection, even as your relationship with your child changes.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“My Kid Has No Work Ethic”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 294 Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever found yourself more invested in your big kid’s success than they seem to be?

Maybe you’re reminding them about the job application, pushing them to study, asking for the tenth time about the chore, or wondering why they don’t seem more motivated. And before long, you’re not just frustrated by what they’re doing today, you’re worrying about who they’re becoming.

In this episode, I’m talking about the pressure we carry as moms to make our kids responsible, hardworking, resilient adults. I’ll help you separate what is actually yours to teach, model, and decide from what your teen or adult kid ultimately has to learn for themselves.

If you’re parenting teens, navigating the empty nest years, or working on letting go without giving up on your big kid, this episode will help you stop overthinking every decision and parent with more confidence and self-trust.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

Mindset Traps of Parenting Teens and the Empty Nest—Trap #13: Emotional Outsourcing—How to Stop Riding the Emotional Rollercoaster with Your Big Kid | Ep. 293 Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever noticed that when your kid is struggling, you make it your job to struggle too?

So often, as moms, we let our own peace rise and fall with how our kids are doing. They’re happy, and we can relax. They’re struggling or pulling away, and so we’re anxious, overthinking, and trying to make everything better.

In this episode, I’m continuing the Mindset Trap series with a focus on emotional outsourcing and why it becomes such an easy habit to call into during the parenting teens and empty nest years.

You’ll learn how to recognize when you’ve tied your emotional wellbeing to your child’s mood, choices, or progress, and how to begin letting go of that responsibility without becoming detached.

Motherhood actually doesn’t require you to ride every emotional wave with your kid. You can love and support them, and still create steadiness, confidence, and peace within yourself.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“I Feel Lonely”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 292 Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever had a moment when the house feels too quiet, your kids are busy living their lives, and you suddenly wonder, when did I start feeling this alone?

In this episode, I’m exploring the different ways loneliness can show up during the teen and empty nest years. Sometimes we simply miss our kids. Sometimes we’re grieving the closeness or relationship we thought we’d have. And sometimes motherhood has shifted so much that we’re beginning to see just how much we want more friendship, community, connection, or purpose of our own.

I’ll help you look beneath the thought “I feel lonely” and understand what your loneliness may actually be asking of you. Because some loneliness is meant to be felt, and some may be inviting you to create something new, without making your kids responsible for filling the empty spaces in your life.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

What if this Is Hard AND Everything You've Ever Wanted When Parenting Teens and Navigating the Empty Nest?| Ep. 291 Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever noticed how quickly your mind can skip right past what’s going well and land on the one thing that still feels unresolved?

Parenting teens and navigating the empty nest can hold so many contradictions at once. You can be proud of your kid and worried about them. Grateful for this stage of motherhood and grieving what has changed. Happy for their independence and still struggling with letting go.

In this episode, I’m talking about why our brains keep scanning for problems, why the finish line with our big kids keeps moving, and how that habit can fuel anxiety and overthinking.

You’ll learn how to make room for what’s hard without letting it become the whole story, and how a simple mindset shift can help you feel more grounded, present, and connected to the life you have right now.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“I Feel Like a Failure as a Mom”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 290 Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

When your big kid is struggling, pulling away, or making choices you don’t understand, how quickly does your brain start asking, “What did I do wrong?”

In this episode, I’m talking about the way we moms can use our kids’ choices, struggles, relationships, and happiness as evidence of how well we’re doing in motherhood. That gets especially painful as we move through parenting teens and the empty nest years, when our instinct to help is still strong but our ability to control the outcome has changed.

I’ll help you separate making mistakes from being a failure, understand why self-blame can actually feel safer than letting go, and rethink what success looks like in this stage of motherhood.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

Why the Right Boundary Can Still Feel So Wrong When Parenting Teens and Adult Kids | Ep. 289 Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you set a boundary, hold it, communicate it clearly… and absolutely nothing changes?

In this episode, I’m talking about why boundaries can feel so confusing when you’re parenting teens, college kids, and adult children. At this stage of motherhood, we often judge whether a boundary “worked” by looking at what our kid does next. Did they change the behavior? Take it seriously? Learn the lesson?

I’ll help you rethink what a boundary is actually meant to do, so you can stop overthinking every decision and putting pressure on yourself to find the perfect consequence or the perfect words. You’ll learn how to get clearer about what you are willing to support, pay for, participate in, or be around, while letting go of the part you cannot control.

That shift can help you feel more grounded, confident, and peaceful even when your big kid is still figuring things out.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“I Can't Stop Worrying About My Kid”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 288 Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever checked your big kid’s location, reread a text, or offered one more piece of advice because you were hoping it would finally help you relax?

I’ve been noticing this in my own life lately, and it made me curious about what’s really underneath all that worry. In this episode, I’m exploring why anxiety can feel so hard to put down during the parenting teens and empty nest years, and why constantly seeking reassurance rarely gives us the certainty we’re looking for.

I’ll help you see the connection between worrying, trying to influence your child’s choices, and the belief that being a good mom means preventing things from going wrong. You’ll leave with a different way to think about letting go: not caring less, but trusting yourself more, knowing what belongs to you, and allowing your big kid’s life to belong to them.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

Mindset Traps of Parenting Teens and the Empty Nest—Trap #12: The Approval Trap—Why Your Big Kid’s Disapproval Makes You Doubt Yourself | Ep. 287 Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

How many times have you felt clear about a decision as a mom, only to watch that confidence disappear the moment your big kid became upset?

As we parent teens and navigate the empty nest, our kids’ disapproval can feel like evidence that we’re setting boundaries incorrectly, damaging the relationship, or failing at motherhood. Before we know it, we’re overexplaining, backpedaling, or changing a decision just to keep the peace.

In this episode, I’m unpacking the Approval Trap and why letting go of your need for your kid’s agreement is essential to building self-trust. You’ll learn how to tell the difference between thoughtfully reconsidering a decision and reacting to someone else’s disappointment. I’ll also give you practical questions to help you stop overthinking, stay grounded when your kid pushes back, and listen to their perspective without abandoning your own.

You don’t need everyone’s approval to become the mom you want to be.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

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