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The Balanced Parent Podcast — Education for Kids
The Balanced Parent Podcast

Parenting is often lived in the extremes. It’s either great joy or chaotic overwhelm. One moment you’re nailing it and the next you’re losing your cool. I want to help you find your way to the messy middle, to a place of balance. You see, balance is a verb, not a state of being. It is a thing you DO, not a thing you ARE. It’s an action, a process, a series of micro-corrections that we make, each and every day, to keep ourselves feeling centered. We are never truly balanced, we are engaged in the process of balancing.Hello, I’m Dr. Laura Froyen, and this is the Balancing Parenting Podcast, where overwhelmed, stressed-out, and disconnected parents go to find tools, mindset shifts, and practices to help them stop yelling at the people they love and start connecting all delivered with heaping doses of grace and compassion. Join me in conversations that will help you get clear on your goals and values and start showing up in your parenting, your relationships, YOUR LIFE, with open-hearted authenticity and balance.

Copyright: © 2022 The Balanced Parent Podcast All Rights Reserved.

Latest Episodes:

106: Making Meditation Accessible for Ourselves & Our Kids with Keli Carpenter Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

For the past couple of episodes, we have been focusing a lot on mental health and how to overcome the many hurdles we are facing in our lives. And you've likely heard A LOT that meditation can be a powerful tool for mental health and wellbeing, right? Well if you're anything like me, when I first started dabbling in meditation it seemed like a tool that is "ideal" but not really "doable". And as a recovering perfectionist, if I can't do it "right" then I may as well not do it at all. Sound familiar, or is that just me??

I had to learn how to make meditation and mindfulness work FOR ME instead of it being yet another thing I was failing at. Here are some things that helped me get started:

- Giving myself permission to keep it short and sweet. Even 30 seconds was "enough"

- Inviting mindfulness into everyday moments, like washing the dishes or observing my kids play

- Offering loving kindness to myself and others during natural "downtime" like waiting in line or at a red light.

- Seeing it as an opportunity to model imperfect action to my kids

These practices have been instrumental in helping me be a more present, aware, and attuned mom AND have directly enabled me to be able to get the coveted "PAUSE" so I can respond rather than react when I'm triggered or overwhelmed.

If you're wanting to learn more about how mindfulness and meditation can help you as a parent, and maybe even your child when they are overwhelmed, you'll definitely want to check out this week's episode!

To help me in this conversation, I am joined by Keli Carpenter. She is a Chopra Center certified Transcendent Meditation (PSM®) instructor, Forgiveness Coach and Breathwork Practitioner, and a mother herself! Her commitment to maintaining her practice has allowed her to raise three beautiful children with mindfulness, overcome limiting self-concepts, and experience unity consciousness.

105: Recovering from Adverse Childhood Experiences with Dr. Bre Gentile Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

Mental health is as important as our physical health. And as parents, we need every bit of help regarding this matter because parenting is never easy when we are mentally exhausted. Not to mention, our wonderful children have a real knack for showing us know where we have healing to do, right? And so, we are going to talk about mental health and trauma-informed practices and how understanding our pasts can help make our parenting a little bit easier.

To help me in that conversation, I have invited Dr. Bre Gentile. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology at Gonzaga University and has gone on to receive two master's degrees, one from Golden Gate University in Counseling and the second from Palo Alto University in Clinical Psychology, where she also got her Ph.D. Dr. Gentile has spent over 10 years working to improve outcomes for children, teens, and their caregivers working through her research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. Her work with mental health providers, communities, and families has allowed her to develop a keen insight into the challenges of supporting resilience through trauma-informed practices.

To get more resources, visit Dr. Gentile's website www.drgslab.com.

You may also check:

www.stresshealth.org

centerforyouthwellness.org

www.theconfessproject.com

104: How to Release Negative Self-Talk for Yourself & Your Child with Dr. Anjani Amladi Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

We all have an inner critic; this voice that ever so helpfully (but not always nicely!) tells us all the things we are doing wrong. And while sometimes we are aware of this inner negative voice, because they can be LOUD, sometimes these negative thought patterns are just kind of running in the background, outside of our conscious awareness. And it's hard to tell which is worse right? On the one hand, it can be exhausting to be beaten up from the inside all the time, but on the other hand, at least you're aware of it and can start working with the negative self-talk, right? When it's running in the background and you don't even know it's going on, it can still impact your mood and self-confidence, right?!

Now, I want you to know that there is a way to release yourself from the vicious habit of negative self-talk. While it is okay to honestly, and compassionately assess ourselves so that we can improve and move toward our goals, engaging in chronic negative self-talk isn't actually helpful. No one learns to do better by being made to feel worse, right?!

That is why for this week's episode, I invited Dr. Anjani Amladi on the show! She is an adult and child/adolescent psychiatrist who takes a holistic approach to patient care. Dr. Amladi has an extensive experience treating a wide range of psychiatric diseases, including ADHD, OCD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and other mental health issues. Her best-selling book, When the World Got Sick, focuses on guiding parents and children to discuss about the effects of COVID-19 and how to cope during this difficult period.

To get more resources, visit Dr. Amladi's website anjaniamladimd.com and follow her on Instagram @anjaniamladimd.

Get a copy of her book When the World Got Sick HERE.

103: Helping Kids with ADHD with Arti Kumar-Jain Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Not too long ago, I released an episode about ADHD and how we can help children who are diagnosed with it. And I know that one episode is not enough to give you all the resources that you need. There is still so much more to learn and apply in our day-to-day routine especially for those with kids who have it.

And that is why I'm bringing in Arti Kumar-Jain for this week's episode on The Balanced Parent Podcast. She is a parent-child family coach who focuses on providing support through deep empathy, care and a space.

If you are in my BalancingU Membership, you also have access to a training with Arti on Childhood Anxiety if you're looking to learn more from her.

To get more support and resources, follow Arti on social media and visit her website. Instagram: @loveandlight4kidzFacebook: Love & Light 4 Kidz LLCWebsite: www.loveandlight4kidzllc.com

102: How to Heal Our Own Wounds with Sonnet and Veronica Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

One of my biggest fears as a parent is that I will pass down hurts, wounds, fears, and thought & behavioral patterns that have not served me well. That through my own unconsciousness and wounding that I will hurt my child in the same way that I was hurt. That they will worry about their worth. That they will struggle with not feeling good enough. That they will feel pressure to be anything other than the imperfect beings they are.

And that is what we are going to focus on in this week's episode! I am so excited to introduce you to Sonnet and Veronica of Raising Children You Like and Conscious Mommy (two of my favorite Instagram accounts!). They are two friends who became mamas and started their motherhood journey together. Their mission is to help parents deepen their connection with their children by understanding their underlying needs and healing their old wounds in the process. And that's what they are going to bring in this conversation.

To get more support and resources, follow Raising Children You like (@raisingchildrenyoulike) and Conscious Mommy (@consciousmommy) on Instagram.

101: Helping Kids Simplify for Better Quality Play with Allie Casazza Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

Last November, I released an episode about how to move from the feeling of overwhelm to simplicity with intention and grace with Allie Casazza. And I heard from so many of you how much it resonated and helped you (I love it when that happens!). Thank you for sharing your experiences with me and how decluttering helped you find some clarity and peacefulness in your homes.

BUT a LOT of you expressed the need for specific support around decluttering with KIDS! One of the big questions that came up from that episode is how to declutter our kid's toys so that they too can find the simplicity they need to get deep into their play. And so, for this week's episode, I'm bringing back Allie (if you missed her episode on How to Move from Overwhelm to Simplicity with Intention & Grace, listen HERE).

She has a new book coming out designed specifically for KIDS (plus if you pre-order it comes with a free course, that her kids teach to your kids!! Love kids teaching kids!) and is going to share some of her secrets with us today! (Pre order here!)

To get more support, follow Allie through her social media and website:

Instagram: @allie_thatsme

Facebook: www.facebook.com/alliecasazzablog

Website: alliecasazza.com

Listen to her podcast: The Purpose Show

100: Reconnecting to Play for Our Own Wellbeing with Amanda Evans Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

It's my 100th episode in The Balanced Parent Podcast! I can't believe it has already been this long and I want to extend my sincerest gratitude for tuning in, for sending in your feedback, for sharing your takeaways with me, and for welcoming me into your homes and hearts each week. I am on a mission to bring more presence, ease, & connection to parenting, and I couldn't think of a better community to be doing this important work with. Thank you so much for your dedication to this work; I honestly believe that together we are changing the world, one child at a time.

Okay so, we are now in the second week of my 30 Days of Play Challenge and one of the goals of the challenge is rediscovering and reconnecting with play for OURSELVES. You see, as we grow older, the weight of expectations and responsibilities of adulting and parenting put so much pressure on us and we get the overwhelming message from our culture that it's time to "grow up" and leave childish things behind. And while yes, we are the grown ups and no one is coming to save us, we are also human beings, equally deserving of time, rest, and yes, even fun! But figuring out how to have simple pleasures in our lives just as we did when we were children, is so NOT simple. There are parts of us that resist it, that see it as frivolous, unproductive and therefore unnecessary, and those parts need a bit of time, attention, and healing, before we can play with ease.

Which is why this week we are focusing on how we can use play for our own inner work and healing. For this week's episode, I am joined by Amanda Evans. She is a Parent Coach, Speaker and Intuitive Energy/Play-based Healer who is passionate about supporting children and families to be their happiest and healthiest selves! Her own healing journey taught her so much about the extraordinary healing powers of play, love and connection and helped her develop her "stay and play method" to supporting both children and parents alike. She is dedicated to helping people take their health and happiness into their own hands, believing in their own magic and the power to heal from within.

To give you more support, follow Amanda on Instagram @mind_body_soul_miracles and visit her website www.mindbodysoulmiracles.com.

If you want to catch up with the challenge, you can still do so here: laurafroyen.com/playchallenge. And once you've signed up for the play challenge, don't forget to check the private podcast feed this year!

099: Mindful Tech Use for Parents and Kids with Sophie Brickman Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Nowadays, play does not only happen through the use of toys and that as we move forward in time, our kids adapt more and more with technology. Hence, play also happens through the use of phones and other gadgets. Sophie will be helping us know how to use technology mindfully.

For more information, visit www.sophiebrickman.com.

098: How to Actually Enjoy Playing with Your Kids Dec 31, 2021

Show notes

No matter what the last year has looked like for you, I want you all to know that I am so proud of you for all the efforts you've made into finding more connection, joy, and balance in your life. You have showed up here and in your homes with love, commitment, and grace and it absolutely shows! And I want you to know how truly honored and grateful I amfor trusting me to be a part of your journey. 💕 Okay, are you all set up with our Annual 30 Days of Play Challenge? We began on January 2nd but there is still PLENTY of time to join us! If you haven't signed up yet, don't worry, you're not behind, you can just jump right in today. There really is no "behind" for our kids or for us as parents. There is only starting where we are, in the here and now, and moving forward with intention at the pace that is right for us!

If you are participating in my Play Challenge, then you know that I asked you all to fill out a survey to get a starting point for the challenge. And one of the things I learned from your answers that the majority of you are hoping to learn how to actually enjoy playing with your kids AND want to connect with them on a deeper level. So that's what this week's podcast episode covers!

097: Becoming Unbusy with Monica Berg Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

As we settle into this space between the winter holidays and the New Years, I want to invite you all to slow down and drop into the present moment with yourself. Let's just take a minute to check in. How are you doing? No really, how have you been.

I don't know about you, but I've been feeling a bit harried, overwhelmed, and honestly, burnt out. I always have this big push in December as I prepare for our annual 30 Days of Play Challenge, the winter holidays, and everything else, and this year has been no different. And with the added layer of another Covid Christmas... It's a lot. But one thing I have been doing that has made it all a bit easier is to take short, simple, self-compassion breaks. I would love to invite you try it with me, right now!

Place your hand over your heart and repeat these words (aloud if you're comfortable):

May I be safe & protected.

May I be happy in body, mind, & spirit.

May I live in comfort & ease.

That's it! Repeat these words (or similar phrases with the same energy of self kindness and grace) as often as you need to. A mindfulness practice does not need to be big or complicated to reap loads of benefits! LET ME KNOW IF YOU TRY IT!

And if you're looking for another way to invite more mindful presence, and connect with your kids at the same time, I would love to have you join us in our play challenge this year. I know you're likely thinking "Laura, what does mindfulness & kids play have to do with each other??" The answer is, EVERYTHING when you approach it in the way we do in my Annual 30 Days of Play Challenge.

In the challenge you will learn how to drop into a mindful, nonjudgmental and presence-filled state with your child and it has the potential to not only improve your own and your child's wellbeing, but that of your relationship too. Plus, folks who do this challenge see a dramatic increase in their children's ability to play independently, which is 100% my number 1 secret for taking good care of myself and staying balanced as a parent. As we know, to a child "love" is spelled "T-I-M-E"(Zig Zigler) and this challenge helps you figure out how to get the time that everyone needs to feel balanced & connected

As we discuss in this week's episode of The Balanced Parent podcast with guest Monica Berg, our relationships with time and how we spend it is of vital importance to our feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment in parenting.

To get more resources, follow Monica on social media and check her website.
Instagram: @monicarberg74
Twitter: @monicaberg74
Facebook: @monicaberg74
Website: rethinklife.today

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