Beyond Bike Helmets: Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Safety in Parenting- Ep. 21
Release Date: 07/24/2025
Multicultural Family Hub
We are sooo excited to share this episode with you. We had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Jennifer Noble, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Free to Be Collective. Dr. Jenn shares her personal journey growing up as a mixed-race individual, and offers clear, compassionate guidance to help parents support their mixed-race and multicultural children with confidence. You’ll hear insights on: Regional differences in racial identity across the US (we’re looking at you, GA and CA) How children process looking different from their parents, and some amazing scripts on how to have...
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This week is a real treat. You get to hear the back story of one you know and love, Andre! This week Andre shares his journey being a third-generation multicultural individual navigating life in the American South with deep Caribbean and East Indian roots. And ya’ll, it is SO POWERFUL. Andre shares his family’s powerful lineage, including his grandmother’s Maroon heritage in Jamaica, a story of strength, rebellion, and survival, and reflects on how colonialism, colorism, and migration shaped his family’s story across generations. Through candid storytelling, Andre opens up about...
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What does it mean to live between cultures, languages, and identities, and still feel whole? In this incredible conversation with Nora Alwah we explore the beauty and complexity of being an n’betweener: someone who moves through the world carrying many identities that don’t fit neatly into one box. Not only is Nora a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and somatic psychotherapist, but a TEDx Speaker and powerful storyteller. She shares powerful stories of navigating belonging; from always needing to prove that she “belonged” with her Danish mother, to finding belonging in the...
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Our 8-year old can go through an entire box of tissues in a few hours. How do we know? We’re in cold season. We’ve been hearing from so many parents how challenging this time period is. We’re feeling the weight of sniffles, missed plans, and long nights Surprisingly, how we are sick differs so much from culture to culture, and can stir up a lot of conflict. This week, we’re not changing systems to better support parents, or making a miracle cure to wipe out the common cold, but we are sharing a few mindset shifts that can help ease the tension of cold season. We also...
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Screen time struggles are real - For kids and adults. This week we’re introducing how we use a multicultural mindset to tackle the challenge that is screen time. Too often, screens get labeled as “good” or “bad,” leaving parents feeling like they’re winning or failing. In this episode Kjessie & Andre use the question: “How is this mutually beneficial?” to help us explore the gray area of screen time. This episode offers practical, reflective questions to help you navigate screen time with more balance, less guilt, and more connection.
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Woo hoo! It’s guest time! We cozied up at the kitchen table with Ashley Rodriguez, pHD for a heartfelt conversation about what it means to grow, heal, and parent in multicultural families. Ashley is a licensed psychologist who supports parents during pregnancy and postpartum, and she brings her lived experience as a first-generation daughter into the way she walks with families. In this wide-ranging conversation we talk about the invisible barriers first-gen kids often navigate on their own, how cultural stories and intergenerational trauma ripple through parenting, and what it looks like to...
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In this episode, we dive deep into the art of navigating difficult conversations—with family, friends, and especially in the midst of transitions. From back-to-school stress to parenting challenges, we explore how our nervous system shapes the way we listen, respond, and connect. We share personal stories of what happens when we enter conversations unregulated—how fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses can take over—and what changes when we pause to regulate first. Together, we reflect on how cultural layers, family history, and personal expectations can intensify conversations with...
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This quick reset is designed for busy moments, on the go. Whether you’re sitting in the car, stepping into a meeting, or pausing before a hard conversation, in just five minutes, you’ll use simple breathwork and grounding techniques to settle your body, quiet your mind, and return to a more centered state. Think of it as a mini recharge for your nervous system—easy, portable, and always available when life feels overwhelming. Want more tools? Go to Ep. 25 of Kitchen Table Conversations: Hard Conversations? Here’s Your First Step. for the full conversation
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It’s the first day of school, folks! 🎒 We just dropped off our kids in a brand-new state after a cross-country move from Northern California to Savannah, Georgia—and yes, we’re feeling all the things. In honor of back-to-school season, we’re diving into the culture of school and one of our favorite parenting topics: helping kids grow intrinsic motivation instead of chasing gold stars, grades, or grown-up approval. Andre shares how Outkast and the Red Hot Chili Peppers gave him permission to follow his own compass as a teen, sparking a lifelong practice of intrinsic motivation....
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We’re so excited to welcome our very first guest, Dr. Myrna Perez! In this expansive and thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Dr. Perez—a scholar, mother, and bold truth-teller—to explore what it means to live, parent, and think across cultural and racial borders. A HARVARD-educated professor (yes, the bold will make sense when you listen!), Dr. Perez leads courageous conversations about science, religion, gender, and sexuality at Ohio University. She speaks candidly about the many cultures that shaped her—from growing up in a San Diego border town surrounded by Filipino and...
info_outlineToday we’re digging into something that shows up every day for us as parents—anxiety around our children’s safety. But we’re not just talking about locks on doors or helmets on bikes.This is the 3rd episode of our Parental Anxiety series and it’s a real humdinger.
We're unpacking the deeper dimensions of safety: physical, emotional, and spiritual. So many of us are parenting under the weight of stories we inherited—about what it means to protect, to provide, and to prepare our kids for the world. And when we don’t slow down to examine those stories, fear can quietly take the wheel.
In this conversation, we explore:
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The difference between feeling anxious and parenting anxiously
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Why emotional safety can’t be outsourced to a “good school” or a quiet neighborhood
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How overprotectiveness might increase long-term risk
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Why creating emotionally safe spaces matters—for our kids and for us
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Soil Science as a metaphor for creating a safe space (that’s right folks, we’ve got a farmer with us, and she’s bringin’ the plant metaphors)
We share personal stories from our own parenting journey, including how safety looks different when you're raising a multicultural family. We also reflect on how our own upbringings shaped our fears, and what it means to redefine safety as something that includes belonging, self-expression, and curiosity.
If you’ve ever found yourself spiraling about whether your child is truly “safe”—or wondering if your anxiety is running the show—this episode is an honest place to land.