In this conversation, Orla Donoghue, a single parent coach, and Emily Hughes discuss the challenges faced by single parents, including emotional overwhelm, guilt, and the need for self-care. They explore the importance of intentional moments of rest, creating a supportive network, and redefining success metrics to empower single parents. The conversation provides valuable insights into managing the emotional and practical challenges of single parenting.

Takeaways

• Recognizing the emotional overwhelm and understanding its drivers is crucial for single parents.
• Self-care is essential for single parents, and intentional moments of rest and recovery are important for managing overwhelm.
• Creating a supportive network of friends and seeking connection is vital for single parents to feel supported and less isolated.
• Redefining the metrics of success and curating a lifestyle that aligns with personal values is empowering for single parents.

You can Find out more about Emily at www.findingflowparenting.coach

Find Out more about Orla

https://www.solascoaching.com/about

And check out her podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/3r5m8i0oCV9FsoKMVnRCdQ

Chapters

• 00:00 The Overwhelm of Single Parenting
• 11:04 Empowerment and Self-Care
• 23:50 Managing Emotional Overwhelm

The conversation explores the challenges of being present in parenting, emphasizing the importance of embodiment, capacity building, and setting boundaries. It delves into the impact of cultural pressure, parental enjoyment, and the role of environment in fostering presence. The discussion highlights the significance of integrity, energy protection, and collaborative parenting in creating the right conditions for presence.

Charlotte Mindell is a UK-based somatic therapist, writer, and mother who specialises in supporting women—particularly mothers—to reconnect with themselves through body-led healing. Her work focuses on helping mothers move beyond stress, resentment, emotional exhaustion, and inherited patterns by using trauma-informed somatic therapy that works with the nervous system rather than only the thinking mind. Charlotte’s approach is gentle, intuitive, and grounded in helping women feel safer in their bodies so they can parent, relate, and live with greater authenticity. She is also the creator of The Embodied Mother, her signature therapeutic programme designed to support mothers in releasing stored emotional tension, rebuilding self-trust, and experiencing motherhood with more presence and ease.

Website: Charlotte Mindell official website
The Embodied Mother programme: The Embodied Mother programme page
Instagram: @the_embodied_mother on Instagram

Takeaways

• Building capacity for presence is a gradual process
• Setting gentle boundaries to protect energy is vital for sustained presence

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Finding Flow Parenting
• 06:15 Embodiment and Distraction
• 12:29 Acceptance and Fighting with Oneself
• 18:20 Children's Play and Parental Presence
• 24:10 Integrity, Boundaries, and Energy Protection

Find Our Course HERE https://findingflowparenting.coach/bedtimebattlesolutions

You can find Emma at www.iseethemoon.co.uk and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/iseethemoon_sleep where she shares free, evidence-based info, practical sleep tips and regular Q&As. She offers 1:1 sleep coaching packages and aims to create a calm, safe space for parents to talk through their sleep challenges and feel genuinely heard.
If you’re looking for responsive, developmentally informed sleep support that combines practical tools with a clear understanding of what normal sleep looks like, you can explore ways to work with her on her website. Emma also offers downloadable guides, including freebies on safer bedsharing and navigating nap transitions, as well as the self-paced Bedtime Battles course for parents wanting gentle, practical support around tricky bedtimes.

The conversation delves into the challenges of bedtime routines, the importance of meeting parental needs, shifting perspectives to understand the child's experience, creating space for worries, setting boundaries, empowering children at bedtime, and the Bedtime Battles Solution course.

Takeaways

• Self-care before bedtime routine
• Understanding the child's perspective

Chapters

• 00:00 Understanding Bedtime Challenges
• 07:37 Shifting Perspectives
• 16:07 Setting Boundaries
• 23:43 Empowering Children at Bedtime