If choosing extracurricular activities leaves you feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, and stuck in constant mom guilt, this episode is for you. Many parents in a busy family feel pressure to do more, sign up for everything, and keep up with what other families are doing, even when it does not feel right. In this conversation, I want to help you step out of overschedulingand into confident decision-making that actually supports your child and your nervous system.

In this episode, I sit down with Rachel Fein, a licensed child psychologist and board certified behavior analyst, to talk about how parents can prioritize extracurricular activities without burning out. Rachel Fein brings both clinical expertise and real-life parenting experience to this conversation, helping parents rethink mom guilt, pressure, and what children truly need to thrive.

Together, we break down how overscheduling happens so easily in a busy family and how parents can make intentional choices that support connection, emotional regulation, and physical activity for kids without sacrificing family wellbeing.

In this episode, we discuss

1. Why overscheduling is so common in a busy family and how it quietly fuels mom guilt
2. How to evaluate extracurricular activities through the lens of family values instead of outside pressure
3. The difference between meaningful physical activity for kids and activity overload
4. How to recognize when mom guilt is driving decisions instead of your child’s actual needs
5. Practical strategies for setting boundaries around extracurricular activities without feeling selfish
6. Why protecting downtime matters just as much as physical activity for kids
7. How confident parenting reduces overschedulingand supports healthier routines for the entire busy family

This episode is a reminder that you do not need to do everything to be a good parent. When you let go of mom guilt, reduce overscheduling, and make values-based choices, you create more space for connection, regulation, and joy for both you and your child.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Episode 15: Should You Keep Pushing Your Child to Succeed or Back Off? With Kristin Mervich

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If you feel disconnected from your child, overwhelmed by behavior struggles, or unsure how to rebuild closeness without adding more to your plate, this episode is for you. I am going to show you how just 5 minutes per day can meaningfully change your relationship with your child and help you feel more grounded in confident parenting.

In this solo episode, I walk you through one of the most powerful positive parenting tips I teach as a PCIT specialist. This simple daily practice comes straight from evidence-based parent-child interaction therapy and has helped hundreds of families strengthen their relationship with your child without punishment, power struggles, or long complicated routines. I also share how I use this exact strategy in my own home when things start to feel off.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. Why 5 minutes per day of focused attention can transform your relationship with your child
2. How this approach supports confident parenting even when behavior feels challenging
3. What parents often get wrong about play and connection, and how to fix it
4. The specific positive parenting tips that make these five minutes actually work
5. How letting your child lead builds emotional safety and strengthens your relationship with your child

If you are looking for realistic positive parenting tips, want to feel more confident in your parenting choices, and are hoping to improve your relationship with your child without burning out, this episode will give you a clear place to start. Five minutes per day really can make a difference, and I want to show you how.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Read the full show notes HERE

Listen to Episode 29 with Julia Lair: Why Praising Children Matters More Than You Think: How to Praise Your Child with Julia Lair

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If you have ever worried about how diet culture is shaping your child’s thoughts about food, this episode is for you. Sehrish Ali helps us understand how helping kids build a healthy relationship with food feels harder than ever when diet culture is everywhere, and child eating habits are constantly judged.

In this episode, I sit down with Sehrish Ali, a psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist, to talk about how parents can protect a healthy relationship with food while raising kids in a world dominated by diet culture. Sehrish works closely with families and brings practical, compassionate insight into child eating habits, body image, and the subtle ways parents unintentionally pass down food rules. This conversation is full of real-world parenting resources you can start using immediately.

In this episode, we cover:

1. How diet culture shows up in everyday parenting and quietly influences child eating habits in ways parents often miss
2. What a healthy relationship with food actually looks like for kids and why perfection is not the goal
3. The language parents should stop using around food and bodies to support healthier child eating habits
4. How to model a healthy relationship with food, even if you are still unpacking your own experiences with diet culture
5. Practical parenting resources that help parents prioritize connection over control around meals

If you are looking for evidence-based parenting resources, want to reduce the impact of diet culture, and hope to support long-term child eating habits that feel calm and sustainable, this episode will give you clarity and confidence. Listen to the full episode with Sehrish Ali to learn how to support a healthy relationship with food for your child and for yourself.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Read the full show notes HERE!

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Thriving Child Center

PCIT Experts

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In this episode of the Educated Parent Podcast, I sit down with Kristin Mervich, a fellow clinician and parenting expert, to talk about how toxic masculinity shows up in subtle ways in families and how evidence-based parenting can help us raise emotionally healthy boys. We explore emotional literacy as a core skill for kids and parents, and why trusting yourself is essential when outside voices get loud. This conversation is grounded in evidence-based parenting, real-life experience, and confident parenting practices that support boys' emotional development without shame or fear.

In this episode, I talk about:

1. How toxic masculinity can quietly interfere with emotional literacy in boys and what parenting experts see happening in families every day
2. Why trusting yourself as a parent is critical when teaching boys emotional literacy through evidence-based parenting
3. How confident parenting helps boys express emotions without fear and reduces the long-term impact of toxic masculinity
4. The role of a parenting expert in helping families apply evidence-based parenting strategies that strengthen emotional literacy
5. How trusting yourself and leaning into confident parenting creates space for boys to grow into emotionally aware and resilient humans

If you want practical insight from a parenting expert on evidence-based parenting, emotional literacy, and trusting yourself while raising boys in a culture shaped by toxic masculinity, this episode will leave you feeling more confident in your parenting choices and more grounded in your instincts.

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Thriving Child Center

PCIT Experts

Calm and Connected Program

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A pep talk for parents who feel intense pressure to create perfect holiday magic, even when things are falling apart behind the scenes. If the expectations around the holidays are making you doubt yourself, a pep talk is here to support confident parenting and remind you that real connection matters more than perfection.

In this solo episode, I share a very honest parenting story from early motherhood where my attempt at creating holiday magic completely unraveled. I use that experience to offer perspective, reassurance, and positive parenting tips for parents who feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or worried that they are not doing enough. This episode is both a pep talk and a reminder that confident parenting does not require everything to go according to plan.

In this episode, I talk about

• Why the pressure to create holiday magic often makes parenting feel harder and more stressful

• How a pep talk can help reset your mindset when a holiday moment goes wrong

• What kids actually remember when parents feel pressure around holiday magic

• How letting go of perfection supports confident parenting during the holidays

• Simple positive parenting tips that help parents recover when plans fall apart

• Why confident parenting is built in small moments, not perfect ones

If you are craving reassurance, perspective, and positive parenting tips during a season full of expectations, this episode is for you. Press play for a pep talk that helps you release the pressure of holiday magic and lean into confident parenting instead.

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Thriving Child Center

PCIT Experts

Calm and Connected Program

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Holiday gatherings can feel joyful and overwhelming at the same time, and this episode will help you walk in with clarity, calm, and a strong foundation of confident parenting. When kids are navigating new environments, loud relatives, unpredictable routines, and big emotions, they need support with child emotion regulation. With the right positive parenting tips, your entire experience at holiday gatherings can feel smoother and more connected.

In this conversation, I share the approach I use in my own home to prepare my kids for holiday gatherings. You will learn how to strengthen child emotion regulation, how to stay anchored in confident parenting, and how to use simple positive parenting tips to reduce stress for everyone involved. These strategies help you anticipate challenges, understand what your child needs, and protect your own emotional well-being so you can truly enjoy these moments.

Here is what we will cover

• How to prepare your child before holiday gatherings so they enter with stronger child emotion regulation and fewer unexpected reactions

• What to say to relatives who do not understand your positive parenting tips, and how those conversations strengthen your confident parenting

• How to build a calm-down kit that supports child emotion regulation even in unfamiliar settings

• What to do when you feel like the overwhelmed parent, and how reconnecting to confident parenting helps you regulate in the moment

• How practicing positive parenting tips ahead of time makes holiday gatherings more peaceful for the whole family

You deserve to approach this season with steady confidence. Your child deserves the gift of child emotion regulation in environments that challenge them. These positive parenting tips will help you step into your holiday gatherings with more peace and more confident parenting.

Watch the Full Episode Here

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If you have ever wondered why big feelings seem to explode out of nowhere, this episode on emotional literacy is going to feel like a deep breath. I share a very real moment where I lost my cool with my kids and how understanding emotional literacy and identifying feelings could have prevented that blow-up. When we are teaching kids emotions early and model this ourselves, we reduce the overwhelm that leads to those out-of-control moments and help our kids grow into calmer, more grounded humans.

In this episode, I walk you through how I use emotional literacy in my own parenting and why it is the most powerful antidote for any overwhelmed parent. We also talk about how to stop yelling by understanding what is happening inside your own brain and body, and how identifying feelings is the foundation of teaching kids emotions that truly stick.

In this episode, we explore:

• The moment I knew I needed better emotional literacy and how that changed the way I respond to stress

• Why teaching kids emotions matters long before you expect it to work, and how it prevents future blow-ups

• The real reason an overwhelmed parent snaps and what identifying feelings can reveal about what is happening underneath

• A simple framework for how to stop yelling by using compassion and connection instead of pressure and perfectionism

• Why emotional literacy grows stronger when we model our own mistakes and repair afterward

Listen to this episode to learn how to build emotional literacy, support your child in identifying feelings, and reduce the overwhelm that leads to yelling. This is where calmer homes and fewer emotional blow-ups begin.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Read the full show notes HERE!

LET'S CONNECT:

Thriving Child Center: https://educated-parent.captivate.fm/thrivingchildcenter

PCIT Experts: https://educated-parent.captivate.fm/pcit-experts

Calm and Connected Program: https://thrivingchildcenter.com/calm-and-connected-program-for-parents

Instagram: https://educated-parent.captivate.fm/instagram

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If you are trying to prepare for parenthood and already feel like an overwhelmed parent, this episode will help you breathe again. I sit down with Dr. Kailey Buller to talk honestly about what it feels like to bring a newborn home, why even the most educated parents feel unsure, and how simple first-time parenting tips can help you feel more grounded. We cut through the noise of conflicting advice and share the kind of evidence-based parenting guidance that brings clarity back into the chaos. If you want real advice on parenting from a doctor who has delivered hundreds of babies and raised two of her own, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why feeling like an overwhelmed parent is often a sign that you are trying to prepare for parenthood with care, not a sign that you are failing.

• How Dr. Buller uses her experience to offer first-time parenting tips that make room for flexibility instead of perfection.

• The surprising ways advice on parenting can go wrong when you take it at face value, and how evidence-based parenting helps you filter out the noise.

• What new parents should know about changing medical guidance and how to stay confident while you prepare for parenthood.

• How to keep going when you feel unsure, even after reading books, taking classes, or scrolling endlessly for first-time parenting tips.

If you have ever felt like an overwhelmed parent, this episode will help you feel understood, supported, and far more capable than you think. Listen to the full episode to hear Dr. Kailey Buller’s three powerful pieces of advice on parenting and learn how evidence-based parenting can guide you as you prepare for parenthood.

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