385- You Can Love Your Kids and Still Struggle with Motherhood, with Libby Ward

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about something every parent and educator runs into: what do we actually do when kids have big feelings? In this episode, I’m joined by Jon Fogel, and we’re digging into emotional regulation, what it really looks like to help kids move through disappointment, frustration, fear, and overwhelm, and why we can’t wait until a child is melting down to start teaching those skills. We talk about songs, games, sensory tools, and the power of practicing regulation in calm moments so kids have something to reach for when things get hard. Jon also shares the story behind his new children’s book, Set My Feelings Free, and why giving kids simple, repeatable tools can make such a difference. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Jon: Instagram: @wholeparent Website: wholeparentacademy.com Order the book: Set My Feelings Free Podcast: Whole Parent Podcast Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today I’m joined by Libby Ward—creator, author, and the voice behind Honest Motherhood—and this conversation is the kind that makes you feel a little less alone in your own brain.We’re talking about the mental load of motherhood, the pressure to be productive, and how hard it can be to rest even when your body is asking for it. Libby shares openly about self-doubt, overwhelm, and what it’s looked like to move from doing what she should do to actually listening to what she needs.We get into nervous system support, repair over perfection, and what it means to raise kids differently than we were raised—while still being human in the process.Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Libby: Instagram: @libbyward Website: www.libbyward.com Order the book: Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re getting into something that doesn’t get talked about enough in parenting: What happens when our stuff shows up in how we raise our kids. In this episode, I’m joined by Eli Harwood, and honestly, this one felt like part conversation, part therapy session. We’re talking about what it looks like when your child is wired differently than you… and how easy it is to project your own fears, needs, and past experiences onto them without even realizing it. We get into mismatch, anxiety, and those moments where you find yourself thinking, “They need this,” when really… it’s something you needed. Eli breaks down what it actually means to be a secure base for your kids. Not perfect, but steady. Being able to hold their emotions without needing to fix them. And how the real work of parenting is learning how to tolerate our own feelings so we don’t hand them off to our children. If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I messing them up?” or felt that pull between wanting to protect your child and needing to let them be who they are… this episode is for you. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Eli: Instagram: @attachmentnerd Website: https://www.attachmentnerd.com/ Order the book: How to Deal with Your ____ So Your Kids Don't Have to: An Encyclopedia for Ditching Your Emotional Baggage Podcast: How to Deal  Secure Parent Program: Here Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about the kids who often get missed. The ones who look fine on the outside, hold it together at school, and then unravel at home. The kids whose feeding struggles, big reactions, sensory needs, or shutdowns can get mistaken for defiance when what’s really happening is so much more nuanced. In this episode, I’m joined by Polina Shkadron, and we’re digging into what it looks like to truly support neurodivergent kids through the lens of relationship, regulation, and trust. We talk about feeding challenges, masking, sensory differences, executive functioning, and why believing the child’s experience changes everything. This conversation hit home for me as a parent, because so much of this is about shifting out of “How do I make this behavior stop?” and into “What is this child telling me about their experience?” And that shift matters at home, in classrooms, and in every relationship we have with kids. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Polina: Instagram: @playtolearnconsulting Website: playtolearnconsulting.com Newsletter: https://playtolearnconsulting.com/resources/ PESI webinars mentioned: The “Not So Picky” Picky Eater  Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about one of the hardest family transitions to navigate with kids: divorce. In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Dempsey-Multack, and we’re digging into what it really looks like to take a child-first approach when parents separate. We talk about how to tell kids about divorce in a way that is honest, clear, and age-appropriate, what kids actually need in those early conversations, and how to support them without putting them in the middle. We also get into the long game of co-parenting: how to stay grounded when emotions are high, how to avoid making kids the messengers or collateral, and what it means to build a childhood your kids won’t have to recover from later. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Michelle: Instagram:@michelledempsey, @michellemultack Website: https://michelledempsey.com/ Order the book: Moms Moving On: Real-Life Advice on Conquering Divorce, Co-Parenting Through Conflict, and Becoming Your Best Self Podcast: The Moving On Podcast Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before we dive in: this episode includes discussion of childhood mental health struggles and discusses suicidal ideation and self harm. Please take care while listening. You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about something that so many autism parents know in their bones but don’t always hear said out loud: sometimes what looks like defiance, aggression, or “too much” is actually overwhelm, burnout, anxiety, and a nervous system that cannot keep carrying what the world is asking of it. In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa Candera of The Autism Mom Coach, and we talk honestly about parenting an autistic child through anxiety, OCD, burnout, and big behaviors. We get into the difference between can’t and won’t, what it looks like when the strategies that used to work stop working, how our own nervous systems shape what happens next, and why support for the parent matters just as much as support for the child. This conversation felt especially powerful to me as the mom of an autistic child, because there is so much nuance here. There is grief, love, exhaustion, advocacy, and so much invisible labor. Lisa brings both lived experience and deep compassion to this conversation, and I think so many parents are going to feel less alone in it. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Lisa: Instagram: @theautismmomcoach Website: https://theautismmomcoach.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-candera-949b3175/  Podcast:  The Autism Mom Coach Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about screens, because my feed has been feeling so black-and-white lately. Screens are bad. Screens disconnect us. Avoid them at all costs. And I just don’t think that’s true, and I also don’t think it’s helpful. So we’re having a real conversation about what it looks like to raise kids in the world we’re actually living in, not the one we miss from when we were growing up. Screens are morally neutral. The question is what we do with them, what our kids are getting from them, and how we can use them as a tool for connection, instead of a source of tension. I’m joined by Ash Brandin, aka The Gamer Educator and author of Power On, and Brynn Putnam, the creator of Board, a face-to-face game console that blends the tactile pieces of board games with a digital screen so families can play together in a way that fuels connection. We talk about digital play being real play, why leisure doesn’t have to be productive, and how to build trust now so kids come to you later, when tech gets more complicated and has higher stakes. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Brynn: Instagram: @board.fun X: @brynnputnam Website: https://board.fun/ Connect with Ash: Instagram: @thegamereducator Website: https://thegamereducator.com/ Order the book: Power On: Managing Screen Time to Benefit the Whole Family Substack: https://thegamereducator.substack.com/ Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about something most of us were never actually taught how to do: healthy conflict. In this episode, I’m joined by Aly Bullock, a licensed marriage and family therapist, communication coach, and mom of three, and we’re getting honest about what happens when one partner leans into conflict and the other shuts down. We unpack why silence can feel just as loud as yelling, how to name tension in front of kids without making them responsible for it, and what real repair actually sounds like beyond a quick “sorry about yesterday.” We also dig into “accountability” and why what we’re really asking for, from kids and from partners, is the ability to understand impact. That shift changes everything-- at home, and out in the world. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with Aly: Instagram: @relationshipswithaly, @pairedapp Website: paired.com, relationshipswithaly.com Free trial & 25% off paired app: paired.com/alypodcast Aly's TALK Blueprint Course: https://www.relationshipswithaly.com/talk-blueprint Connect with us: Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Voices of Your Village, and I cannot wait for you to hear this episode. You’re about to get a preview of what’s coming in hot at our 2026 Seed Teacher Summit, happening March 10th through 12th. Each year, this summit is custom built with one goal in mind: to Transform Early Childhood and Elementary Education by supporting the adults who support kids. This year’s conversations feel especially timely-- and bonus, they're completely free. In this episode, you’ll hear short clips from several summit interviews that touch on topics like supporting anxious kids in school, how to manage disruptive behaviors, and why CRAWLING (yes crawling) matters for kids down the road, in kindergarten and beyond. These are just small glimpses of much deeper conversations you’ll have access to FOR FREE during the Summit. I hope you’ll join us and help this reach the people who need it most. Share it with your child’s teachers, fellow parents, school leaders, and caregivers who are craving practical, research-backed tools they can actually use in real life. If someone in your world could use support, clarity, or a reminder that they’re not failing and they’re not alone, this might be exactly what they need. You can register now at seedandsew.org/summit. Alright folks, let’s dive in. Connect with us: Seed Teacher Summit- March 10-12! https://www.seedandsew.org/summit Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we're going behind the scenes with two powerhouse early childhood educators who are working to shift school culture from the inside out. Kiley Linnell is the assistant director at one of Little Sprouts’ newest schools, and Alexandra Loos oversees systems-wide implementation across 41 programs. Together, we talk about what it really looks like to support teachers in real time—not just with one-off trainings, but with ongoing coaching and real tools that meet them in the moment. We explore how to help educators regulate their own nervous systems so they can show up for kids with patience and connection, and what happens when programs actually have a village behind them. If you're in early childhood or school leadership, this one is packed with takeaways to build a stronger, more sustainable culture. If this conversation sparks something for you, make sure to tell your kids' teachers about the Seed Teacher Summit, going live March 10th to 12th. It’s a free virtual event created to give educators the kind of ongoing support we talk about in this episode—tools to help them regulate, connect with kids, and feel less alone in the work. We’ll be featuring 18 incredible speakers who share our commitment to building schools where everyone—kids and adults—can thrive. You can learn more at seedandsew.org/summit. Alright folks, Lets dive in.  Connect with Alex and Kiley: Website: https://littlesprouts.com/ Connect with us: Seed Teacher Summit- March 10-12! https://www.seedandsew.org/summit Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew  Seed and Sew's NEW Regulation Questionnaire: Take the Quiz Order Big Kids, Bigger Feelings now!  Website: seedandsew.org Credits: Host: Alyssa Blask Campbell Co-host: Rachel Lounder Production/Editing: Kristin Mork-McVeigh Graphics: Kayla Kurland-Davis/ Beki Rohrig Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices