The Parenting Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Invisible Backpack: What Your Child Brings Home | Ep. 224 Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Our children have whole parts of their lives we’ll never witness. We can’t follow them into those moments—but we can become the place they want to return with them.

In the Conversation

The “invisible backpack” our children carry home from school, activities, friendships, and everyday life

Why connection—not simply information—changes the conversations we have with our children

Good questions that help children open up without making them feel interrogated

Why availability and timing matter, especially as children move into the teen years

How listening can get lost when we move too quickly into teaching, correcting, or fixing

Recognizing the unexpected windows when children are ready to talk—and making room for them

Quotes

“The goal isn’t information. What we need is connection.”

“They really just want me to know them.”

“You’ve lived a whole life that very easily no adult in your life could know about if you didn’t share it.”

“Sometimes the best gift we can give them is just listening.”

“We can’t make those moments happen. We can make room for them.”

“Sometimes the most important thing we can give our children is the feeling that whatever they’re carrying, they don’t have to carry it alone.”

Encore: School Choice — What Matters More Than the Method | Ep. 223 Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Public school, private school, homeschool—we can put a lot of weight on getting that choice right. But what if some of the things shaping our kids most have very little to do with where they go to school? As a new school year begins, we’re bringing back a conversation that might help us look at what matters a little differently.

IN THE CONVERSATION

• The difference between parenting principles and the methods we choose to live them out

• When our children’s education and performance become tangled up with our own identity

• What children notice about the way we respond to families who make different educational choices

• Building connection in the small spaces of ordinary family life

• Releasing children toward independence while remaining a safe place to come back to

• Making room for grace, apologies, resets, and do-overs

FROM THE CONVERSATION

“I caught so much of my identity based on my choice of how I was educating my kids.”

RELATED EPISODES

This conversation originally followed our three-part series with parents from different educational paths:

Episode 134 — Parenting on the Public School Path: An Insider’s Look

Episode 135 — Parenting on the Private School Path: An Insider’s Look

Episode 136 — Parenting on the Homeschooling Path: An Insider’s Look

Questions or thoughts? Email: contact@theparentingpodcast.com

Don’t Drift Into Your Evenings | Ep. 222 Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

Most of us spend more time getting ready for school than getting ready for the season we’re about to live together. Sometimes one small, intentional change in an ordinary evening can quietly change the culture of a family.

It’s Just Tuesday: The Decisions That Don’t Feel Like Decisions | Ep. 221 Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Most parenting decisions don’t feel life-changing. They feel ordinary. But what if some of the smallest choices we make every day are quietly shaping who our children are becoming? Sometimes the difference isn’t finding the right answer—it’s asking a better question.

What Are We Really Reaching Back For? | Ep. 220 Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Why has the idea of a “‘90s summer” struck such a chord with parents? Maybe we’re not trying to bring back another decade. Maybe we’re trying to hold onto something we don’t want our children to miss.

Tell me more | Ep. 219 Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

Sometimes our first response as parents isn’t wrong—it just comes too soon. We often speak or act before our children feel fully heard. What changes when our children no longer feel the need to edit themselves before they come to us?

When Other People’s Opinions Follow You Home | Ep. 218 Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

Other people’s opinions will always be there. The harder question is how much influence they’ll have on your parenting. This conversation unpacks why those voices can feel so powerful and what helps us stand with greater confidence and clarity.

Parenting for an Audience | Ep. 217 Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

Most parents know the feeling. A look across the room. A raised eyebrow. A comment that li gers longer than it should. This conversation explores the pressure of parenting under the weight of other people’s opinions.

Maybe It Doesn’t All Have to Be Fixed | Ep. 216 Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

The desire to get parenting right can be a gift. It can also become a weight we were never meant to carry. Somewhere along the way, caring deeply can begin to feel a lot like carrying everything.

The Parents We Thought We’d Be | Ep. 215 Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

We all want to grow as parents. The question is whether we’re being shaped by wisdom—or by the pressure to become someone we think we’re supposed to be.

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