Episode 331: When Your Child Is Hard on Themselves When They Make a Mistake (Why Saying “It’s OK” Doesn’t Help)
Release Date: 01/09/2025
Episode 354: When Your Child’s Behavior Isn’t Getting Better and You Lose Your Cool
Your Parenting Long Game
Let’s be honest: Raising a child with big emotions can take a lot of energy. Dealing with resistance, dramatic reactions, and everything else in your life can be exhausting, so it’s natural to lose your patience (and, unfortunately, your influence). This episode shares a specific strategy to stay calm and keep your influence… even when it’s taking longer for your children’s behavior to improve than you’d like. In this episode, you’ll learn: The 3 main reasons kids don’t do what we ask Why we tend to lose our cool when there is a setback in our child’s...
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Episode 353: Why Your Child Doesn’t Listen When You’re Being Nice (and Why “Mean” Isn’t the Answer Either)
Your Parenting Long Game
Having a strong relationship with our kids is a huge priority for many of us. So when we’re setting limits or addressing our kids’ big emotions, we usually approach them in a nice (or what we think is “respectful”) way. Unfortunately, many kids won’t listen – or feel confident – when we’re being so nice. So how can we raise kids who follow limits and can handle hard feelings… without ruining our relationship? In this episode, you’ll learn: What it really means to “respect” your children One question you can ask yourself when you’re struggling to...
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Episode 352: Inside the Mind of a Strong-Willed Child (and Their Parent)
Your Parenting Long Game
Often when our kids refuse to do what we ask, it can seem like they are being deliberately defiant or strong-willed. But often in these situations, our kids are having a hard time with something beyond their control…and our frustration with them only makes things worse. Fortunately, when you take a closer look at what is really going on for a “strong-willed” child, you can see what they really need in order to feel and act more positively. In this episode, we’ll look at several real-life situations from the dual perspectives of a child and parent. You’ll learn: Why...
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Episode 351: When Your Child Gets Upset No Matter What You Say (The Power of Silence)
Your Parenting Long Game
It’s natural to want to help a child when you see that they’re upset. But sometimes our attempts to soothe their big feelings and calm them down actually makes things worse, leaving us feeling confused and helpless. Ironically, doing less in those situations – not saying much! – actually does more to make the situation better. In this episode, you’ll learn: What happens when we do and don’t try to make our child feel better How to handle a child who questions why we’re not doing more How this simple strategy sets kids up to be more resilient in...
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Episode 350: Parent Questions: Child Who Doesn’t Like Positive Feedback, Child Who Won’t Solve “Boredom” Issue
Your Parenting Long Game
This week, I’m doing something a little different: Instead of picking the topic myself, I’m answering parents’ questions. These questions demonstrate challenges that many of us face behind closed doors — and I’m sharing practical ways to handle them with more confidence and calm. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to respond to two specific situations as a connected and confident Leader Parent What to do when children respond negatively to positive feedback Why kids with big emotions frequently complain of being bored but resist any suggestion you make -- ...
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Episode 349: One Phrase to Tell Yourself to Improve Your Response in Any Situation
Your Parenting Long Game
When we’re raising children with big emotions, it can be exhausting trying to handle their behavior, moods, and attitudes along with everything else on our to-do list. Sometimes we lose our cool and say things that we regret… Other times, we find ourselves being too permissive just to avoid a meltdown. However, one simple phrase can help you find a consistent balance and become a more powerful positive influence, even in the hard moments! In this episode, you’ll learn: How to balance connection and confidence, so your kids want to follow your lead How to use this phrase in a...
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Episode 348: Reduce the Stress of Kids’ Frustrating or Confusing Behavior
Your Parenting Long Game
When we’re raising kids with big emotions, we often learn how to navigate their behavior, moods, and attitudes to avoid meltdowns and dramatic moments. But sometimes, even when we’re doing everything “right,” our children’s behavior can throw us a curveball -- crying for seemingly no reason, refusing to do something they wanted to do, or getting disproportionately angry over a small inconvenience. These situations can leave us frustrated, confused, and powerless to help. In this episode, you’ll learn: What we need to understand about our kids’ confusing...
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Episode 347: How to Feel More Confident When Responding to Kids' Reactions (Especially Negativity)
Your Parenting Long Game
Many kids with big emotions seem to default to negativity—even after a day full of fun and connection. When we witness their lack of positivity, we often think things like, “Why can’t they just be happy?” or “Why are they acting so spoiled?” We feel frustrated that their mood can derail the whole family’s energy, and we feel helpless to do anything about it. But we are not helpless! In this episode, you’ll learn: Exactly kids focus on what went wrong, even when so much went right How we keep ourselves stuck in a cycle of negativity – and a simple way to break free ...
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Episode 346: Stop Telling Your Anxious Child That Things Will Be Ok (What They Need Instead)
Your Parenting Long Game
Many children with big emotions also struggle with anxious thoughts. When our child feels scared, nervous, or overwhelmed, our first instinct is usually to reassure them that everything will be okay. But what if we are actually making it HARDER for them to feel better in the moment and build resilience for the future? In this episode, you’ll learn: Why, in our defense, we’re wired reassure our children when they feel anxious What happens in our kids’ brains when we reassure them (and why they often feel more anxious after we try to help) Three things our children...
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Episode 345: Responding to Snarky Responses Like “This is STUPID”
Your Parenting Long Game
When we see our kids struggling with things like schoolwork, or friend drama, or dealing with a teacher they don’t like, we often offer suggestions to help them get through those situations more easily. But what should we do when our children give short or snarky responses to our genuine attempts to help? In this episode, you’ll learn: Why kids are so resistant to our suggestions, even if they know they’re good ones What we almost always do that makes the situation worse How to respond to this type of attitude so that you maintain your positive, powerful influence (and...
info_outlineShow Notes:
While some kids with big emotions blame others, others are incredibly hard on themselves. And it can be devastating to hear them beat themselves up when they make a mistake! Often when they do, our instinct is to tell them it will be okay, that it’s not a big deal, that everyone makes mistakes. But as you’ve probably noticed, that doesn’t make them stop this behavior in the long run, and it can even make them feel worse in the moment. The good news is that we can use Leadership Parenting strategies to help our children – and ourselves! – handle these situations more effectively.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
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Why previous attempts to help our kids calm down haven’t worked -- and often make things worse instead
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Qualities that many children with big emotions have in common (and why it feels like they regularly get stuck in cycles of negativity)
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How to stay regulated and help kids get unstuck so they can learn how to handle their mistakes in the moment… and build resilience for the future
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Free resource: Summary of Episode 331