The pivot from Parent to Partner goes more smoothly when we "keep our mouths shut and the welcome mat out" - the main theme of Jim Burns' book and The Parent Pivot Podcast.

Okay - but what is the balance between keeping our mouths shut - and dealing with our own emotions and resentment that pops up with our adult kids?

On today's "Best of" podcast, Steve and Julia help you navigate what this looks like to help strengthen your communication and ultimately your relationship(s) with your adult child(ren).

Resources mentioned in today's podcast:

1. "Doing Life with Your Adult Children" by Dr. Jim Burns [Note: We apologize but we are out of extra copies]
2. "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. (Please text Steve at 714-742-9625 for a free copy).

Order a copy of "How We Love" by Milan and Kay Yerkovich here. Get your free copy of Soul Words.

In the Cummings' kitchen is a wooden plaque that says, "Simplify." We often get overwhelmed in life trying to balance, juggle, and learn new things. Don't you wish you could just simplify life more?

On today's "Best of" The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia help us simplify how we can focus on a few things on the road to becoming a champion partner to our adult child(ren).

Get a copy of "How We Love" mentioned in today's podcast.

Take the Enneagram Test here and get a copy of "The Road Back to You" for understanding and insight.

Please rate us, write a review, and share us on social media! PROGRAMMING NOTE: We are traveling in out of the country and hope you enjoy listening to some of our "Best of" podcasts.

Your kids are grown. You love them deeply. So why does staying close sometimes feel so hard?

Join Steve and Julia for a special Parent Pivot Podcast with Dr. Gary Chapman, bestselling author of "The Five Love Languages."

We’re talking about his book, "Your New Life with Adult Children"—and the shift from telling our kids what to do to becoming someone they want to talk to.

Unsolicited advice. Difficult conversations. The power of an apology.

How do we let go of control and keep building connection?

Listen now on the Parent Pivot Podcast.

Resources mentioned on this podcast:

1. "Your New Life with Adult Children" by Gary Chapman, PhD & Ross Campbell, MD
2. "The Love Language That Matters Most" by Gary Chapman, Leslie Parrott & Les Parrott

Whether we realize it or not, or even BELIEVE it, shame can affect our relationships with our adult children. It seeks to destroy our identity as a parent and replace it with a damaged version of ourselves. The good news is: we don't have to continue to live this way.

On this "Best of" episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia unpack how shame can be overcome and you can begin to have that healthy relationship with your adult children you've always desired and didn't know how to get there.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We apologize for the late release this week but we will make it up to all our faithful listeners with an interview NEXT week with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the book, "Your New Life with Adult Children". Be sure to listen to next week's episode!

“Where did we go wrong?”

Ever asked that question while watching your adult child struggle? You taught them. Prayed for them. Did your best. And still, their choices leave you second-guessing your parenting.

On this “Best of” The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia revisit a conversation about the blame so many parents carry—and the freedom of releasing responsibility for choices that belong to our adult children.

You can love them deeply without making every struggle a verdict on your parenting.

If you’ve been carrying that weight, take a breath—and join us.

Be sure to check out The Parent Pivot: 13 Principles for Building Stronger Relationships with Your Adult Children, a practical guide for moving from authority figure to trusted partner - by Steve and Julia Cummings

And if you’ve already read the book, would you take a moment to leave an honest Amazon review? Your review helps other parents discover it.

2. Need someone to process or dump on about your adult child and what's going on? Text Julia at 714-392-2060 to set up a virtual counseling session or visit her website at: www.meadowbrookcounselingga.com

On today’s Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia sit down with author and parenting expert Catherine Hickem for a powerful conversation about one of the hardest transitions we make as parents: learning how to parent our adult children without trying to control them.

Catherine says influence has to be earned—not demanded.

We talk about expectations, estrangement, boundaries, identity, fear, and why repairing a relationship starts by looking in the mirror instead of blaming your son or daughter.

And maybe most importantly, Catherine reminds us that broken relationships can be redeemed and she explains what that looks like from her own life with her father.

If you’re the parent of an adult child, you don’t want to miss this conversation.

Resources mentioned on this podcast:

1. "The Father Eclipse: How Your Earthly Father Shaped Your Identity and How to See God Clearly Again" by Steve Cummings. Your 5-star Amazon review would be gratefully received.
2. Identity Exchange with Jamie and Donna Winship
3. Identity Exchange YouTube Videos
4. Parenting Adult Children Today with Catherine Hickem
5. Pre-order Catherine's new book coming our February 16, 2027, "It's Never Too Late to Be a Great Parent."

When your adult child is hurting, everything in you wants to step in.

Fix it. Solve it. Make the pain go away.

But what if the most loving thing you can do is… not rescue them?

On this episode of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia get very real about what we’ve been walking through with our own adult kids—and the emotional tightrope of knowing when to step in and when to step back.

How do you support them without taking over?

How do you listen without fixing?

And how do you trust that they can figure this out?

When Helping Becomes Rescuing - on The Parent Pivot Podcast.

Resources mentioned on this podcast:

1. The Parent Pivot: 13 Principles for Building Stronger Relationships with Your Adult Children, a practical guide for moving from authority figure to trusted partner - by Steve and Julia Cummings

And if you’ve already read the book, would you take a moment to leave an honest Amazon review? Your review helps other parents discover it.

2. Need someone to process or dump on about your adult child and what's going on? Text Julia at 714-392-2060 to set up a virtual counseling session or visit her website at: www.meadowbrookcounselingga.com

Every family has a “gold standard”—a picture of how life should go, how our children should respond, and what the right choices should look like.

But what happens when our adult children choose differently?

In this Best of The Parent Pivot Podcast, Steve and Julia talk about the difference between holding healthy values—and holding our children to our expectations.

The goal isn’t to lower the standard.

It’s to stop using that standard as a measuring stick that damages the relationship.

Sometimes the most loving pivot we can make is giving our adult children room to become who God created them to be.

Resources mentioned on this podcast:

1. "The Parent Pivot: 13 Principles for Building Stronger Relationships with Your Adult Children." by Steve and Julia Cummings

2. Need someone to talk to and process a situation with your adult child? Book some time with Julia by sending her a text at 714-392-2060 - or go to www.MeadowbrookCounselingGa.com