The Parenting Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Ones We Think Are Fine | Ep. 234 Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

SUMMARY

Some children make so few demands that it’s easy to overlook how much is happening beneath the surface. There’s a difference between appreciating the child they are and discovering the person we’re still getting to know.

IN THE CONVERSATION

How the quiet, cooperative, or responsible child can fade into the background of busy family life.

When being helpful and doing what’s expected become part of a child’s identity.

The difference between responding to children’s demands and intentionally reaching toward them.

Getting to know our children through curiosity, thoughtful questions, and genuine interest in their world.

Finding opportunities for connection in everyday routines without adding more to an already full schedule.

Creating space for children to open up in their own time, and learning to listen without an agenda.

The Company We Keep | Ep. 233 Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Summary

Some friendships become such a natural part of our lives that we hardly stop to think about them. But as we grow and change, we may begin to see those relationships a little differently. What do we do when we still value the friendship, but aren’t quite sure it should stay the way it’s always been?

Talk Notes

The subtle influence friendships have on who we’re becoming.

Recognizing when negativity, gossip, or criticism becomes part of a friendship.

Why our desire to belong can make difficult friendships harder to navigate.

Knowing when to speak up, set boundaries, or adjust expectations.

Learning to disagree without taking sides or damaging relationships.

Why friendship doesn’t require us to think alike.

The difference between loving someone and trusting them.

When a friendship can change without having to end.

Modeling healthy friendships and respectful disagreement for our children.

Where Do Friends Fit? | Ep. 232 Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

SUMMARY

There’s something special about having women in our lives who really know us. Yet even when we long for those connections, friendships can slip to the edges of our busy lives. Maybe it’s time we gave a little more thought to just how much they matter.

TALK NOTES

Why making friends as an adult can feel surprisingly difficult.

The loneliness moms can experience, even when surrounded by people.

How friendships change through different seasons of motherhood.

Why friendship requires vulnerability, trust, and a willingness to take some risks.

Looking beyond our usual circles and expectations of who might become a friend.

The importance of having friendships that are our own, apart from our children’s relationships.

Why nurturing our friendships matters for us—and for our children.

When Their Wrong Hits Home | Ep. 231 Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Summary

They did something wrong. You know it has to be addressed. But in that moment, how do you correct without losing the connection you’ll need to walk through what comes next? This is one of those stories that stays with you.

Talking Points

When a child makes a choice that is clearly wrong

Correcting without making shame the whole story

What empathy can change in a hard parenting moment

Why honesty from a parent can open the door to honesty from a child

Separating a bad choice from a child’s identity

Staying close while still being clear about what was wrong

What it looks like to repair, make things right, and move forward

Becoming a safe person our children can come to when they have failed

Parenting Without the Answer Key | Ep. 230 Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Some parenting questions have clear answers. These were not those questions. We put a few of them on the table—and discovered how different they look from the other side of raising children.

Talk Notes

The parenting rules we swore we’d never break

What never came naturally to us

Battles we eventually decided weren’t worth fighting

What we think we actually did well

The parenting jobs we’re happy to leave behind

Where Mom and Dad handled things differently

What we wish we’d been more consistent about

What our children might say we got wrong

What we understand differently with hindsight

The ordinary parts of raising children we miss most

When the Bills Change Hands | Ep. 229 Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

As our kids grow up, who pays for what gets surprisingly complicated. Generosity is good. So is responsibility. Figuring out when the bill belongs to us—and when it belongs to them—is where things get interesting.

Talk notes:

The changing financial relationship as kids move toward adulthood

Generosity, responsibility, and knowing when each is appropriate

Looking at patterns: Is this a genuine need or ongoing irresponsibility?

What is our financial help producing?

Giving young adults real experience managing their own money

Gradually transferring financial responsibility

Setting expectations before college, weddings, cars, and other major expenses

Matching funds and shared expenses as practical options

When financial support unintentionally becomes control

Leaving with our kids what is appropriately theirs to carry

When Helping Gets in the Way | Ep. 228 Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

We love our kids. We want to help. And sometimes we actually can fix what’s hard. But should we?

TALK NOTES

When helping gets complicated

Doing for our children what they need to learn to do for themselves

Why struggle isn’t necessarily harm

Building capacity instead of removing every difficulty

Scaffolding: support that’s meant to change

Knowing when to step in and when to step back

Giving our children room to grow in confidence and independence

Why the answer looks different for every child and every stage

Encore: Parenting on a Full Plate | Ep. 227 Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

SUMMARY

There never seems to be quite enough of us to go around—and as parents, we feel that most with our children. When the hours are already spoken for, how do we make the time that’s still ours really count? This conversation was newly edited from an earlier episode of The Parenting Podcast.

IN THE CONVERSATION

Why the struggle for enough time isn’t limited to working parents
Thinking of time as a limited resource—and choosing how we want to use what we have
Why consistency can matter more than creating elaborate or picture-perfect experiences
How simple family rhythms and traditions can build connection over time
Making room for our children within the things that already have to be done
How our devices can quietly take us away from the time we meant to give

QUOTES
“We can love our kids with our whole hearts and still end the day wondering if they got enough of us.”

“We may not be able to stretch the hours. But there may be more room inside them than we think.”

“Even small things done consistently build quality.”

“They just see the other side of our phone case.”

“Thanks for spending some of your time with us. We’ll meet you back here next time.”

Destination Addiction: When We’re Always Almost There | Ep. 226 Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Summary: We can spend a surprising amount of life looking ahead to what’s next—or back at what was. How do we keep both from taking too much of the life we’re living now?
Talk Notes:

Destination addiction—living for the next thing
When looking ahead gives us needed hope
The difference between hope and wishing a season away
Nostalgia and the way we curate the past
Why every season carries both good and hard
Slowing down enough to notice what’s around us
Letting children help us rediscover what adults hurry past
Ambition without sacrificing contentment
Accepting who our children actually are
What we communicate when we tell parents, “Just wait until…”
Looking for the sweet without denying the hard
Living this season instead of continually comparing it to another

The Invisible Backpack: What Are We Sending With Them? | Ep. 225 Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

We won’t be beside our children for every moment that shapes their day. But our influence doesn’t end where our reach does. What stays with them when they move beyond us?

IN THE CONVERSATION
• The difference between giving our children a strong sense of who they are and burdening them with who we expect them to be.
• How easily our own expectations can become weight our children carry—academically, socially, spiritually, or simply in trying to make us proud.
• Giving our children permission to fail, learn, apologize, and begin again.
• Learning what communicates love and significance to each individual child rather than assuming they all receive it the same way.
• Why margin matters: sometimes what our children need from us before the day begins is less doing and more of our calm, available presence.
• The unexpected gift of our own mistakes—and what children learn when they see humility, apology, forgiveness, and repair lived out in front of them.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected