Why a Gap Year Might Be Essential | Emma B Perez | Episode 194

As parents, we want our kids to grow up happy, healthy, and successful. But there’s so much conflicting data and advice out there on everything from parenting techniques to college prep to what a happy, successful life means. So how are we supposed to figure out what works for us? Sandy Fowler joins us today, not just as the Mighty Parenting podcast host, but as a speaker and stress-relief coach, to help us answer that question. She summarizes and shares info from guest experts in her past interviews so we can get some answers on how to handle various teen behaviors, improve our relationships with our kids—and raise successful, healthy, happy teenagers. Our Guest: Sandy Fowler Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 234 From Sandy: Over 200 experts have shared tips on parenting and they all have one thing in common--we need to be calm in order to parent well. Sandy Fowler specializes in helping women reclaim their calm. Learn how you can start right now at www.ReclaimingCalm.com

We’re all well familiar with ads, TV commercials, and magazines full of tips and examples of how girls and women can get and maintain that “perfect body”; it’s an unfortunate staple of our culture uplifting one body type above all others as the “ideal.” However, that staple is not limited to girls and women only—there’s no shortage of movies, magazines and commercials outlining the “perfect body” type for boys and men as well. Author and body image expert Dr. Charlotte Markey joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler for a serious discussion on how conversations about boys and body image are important, how to be more open and show your sons it’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes, and how to help them understand and become comfortable with their body type, whatever type that may be. Our Guest: Charlotte Markey Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 233 From Sandy: Are you stressed but don't have time to deal with it? Grab Sandy Fowler’s complimentary lesson at http://sandyfowler.com/notime to find out how to start feeling better today. Our Sponsor:  Troomi—cell phones that help your child learn to live online safely and in a healthy way while giving parents peace of mind. Visit troomi.com and use the code MIGHTYPARENTING to save $50

It’s a constant around the world that nobody knows what they’re getting into when they first become parents. Parenting problems pop up everywhere and it’s exhausting at times, trying to maintain a decent relationship with your teen while still being an authority figure. So when our teens are struggling or lashing out or having issues, we tend to assume that they’re the problem. Sometimes they are—but sometimes they’re not. Parenting coach Kim Muench joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss how our own limiting beliefs about ourselves may have influenced how we parent our children, how focusing solely on behavior can create power struggles, and how we can alter our parenting style to parent with our kids instead of over them. Our Guest: Kim Muench Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 232 From Sandy: Are you stressed but don't have time to deal with it? Grab Sandy Fowler’s complimentary lesson at http://sandyfowler.com/notime to find out how to start feeling better today. Our Sponsor:  Troomi—cell phones that help your child learn to live online safely and in a healthy way while giving parents peace of mind. Visit Troomi.com and use the code MIGHTYPARENTING to save $50

Sorry about the mishap! The audio has been updated. Enjoy! COVID-19 charged into our world in 2019 and upended our entire lives, regardless of where we lived, how much we made, or whether we had kids or not. Now, three years later, we’re living in a world irrevocably changed and maybe we should be used to that by now—but those changes certainly haven’t made parenting any easier or less stressful. Parenting consultant Carol Muleta is raising twin teens and knows intimately the struggles of parenting in the pandemic. She joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to share parenting strategies, tips for regaining the joy in raising a child, and a reminder that we are not alone and never have been in this effort—even if it feels like we are. Our Guest: Carol Muleta Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 231 From Sandy: Are you stressed but don't have time to deal with it? Grab Sandy Fowler’s complimentary lesson at http://sandyfowler.com/notime to find out how to start feeling better today. Our Sponsor:  Troomi—cell phones that help your child learn to live online safely and in a healthy way while giving parents peace of mind. Visit Troomi.com and use the code MIGHTYPARENTING to save $50

We’ve had to adjust to (and sometimes struggle with) the rapid changes in economics, information distribution and communication in the past few decades—but our kids have had this from the beginning. Generation Z is the first generation to have grown up alongside the digital age; from when they were young, they’ve had access to the internet, computers, cell phones and other forms of digital connection. How has this upbringing shaped their worldview, morals, and plans for the future? And how can we better connect with our kids when our childhoods were so very different? John Della Volpe joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss our gen z kids (including insights from his book FIGHT: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America)—how they think; what they care about; their influence in social media, economics and politics; and how we can develop mutual understanding between different generations. Our Guest: John Della Volpe Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 230 Our Sponsors:  Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults  iBme offers online and in-person retreats, mindfulness courses, and weekly meditations tailored for various communities of teens and young adults (and even parents!) Visit iBme.com/mightyparenting  to learn more and register for programs, including in-person summer retreats. Troomi—cell phones that help your child learn to live online safely and in a healthy way while giving parents peace of mind. Visit troomi.com and use the code MIGHTYPARENTING to save $50.

It’s said that once something is on the internet, it’s there forever. Given the rise of the digital age and how intertwined the internet is in our teens’ lives, it’s not a surprise that they post things constantly—the key is that they’re not always aware of the consequences, short- and long-term, of certain comments, posted videos or shared photos on their reputations and futures. Evan Nierman makes his living in PR management and crisis resolution for clients around the world; today he’s joining Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to discuss how teens can fall into social media pit traps, what the legal consequences might be for seemingly innocuous actions, and how we as parents can pull our teens up before they go too far and get into serious trouble. Our Guest: Evan Nierman Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 229 Our Sponsor:  Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults  iBme offers online and in-person retreats, mindfulness courses, and weekly meditations tailored for various communities of teens and young adults (and even parents!) Visit iBme.com/mightyparenting  to learn more and register for programs, including in-person summer retreats. Troomi—cell phones that help your child learn to live online safely and in a healthy way while giving parents peace of mind. Visit Troomi.com and use the code MIGHTYPARENTING to save $50

It’s common to hear college students joking about pulling all-nighters and drinking truly unwise amounts of caffeine to get through classes and clubs and survive that one irritating professor who likes assigning ten-page papers every week. However, this trend of increasingly sleep deprived teenagers is not limited to college students alone; in 2018, the CDC declared a global public health crisis for high school students after many studies showed they too were sleeping far too little to be healthy. Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright join Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler this week to discuss this juvenile sleepless epidemic (including their book Generation Sleepless) and how to combat it with our own teens, including adjusting nighttime routines, family screen time, and social media habits. Learn how to help your own sleep deprived teenager and get them back to a healthy schedule. Our Guests: Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 228 Our Sponsor:  Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults  iBme offers online and in-person retreats, mindfulness courses, and weekly meditations tailored for various communities of teens and young adults (and even parents!) Visit iBme.com/mightyparenting  to learn more and register for programs, including in-person summer retreats.

We don’t want to believe that we could lose our children to something that we can’t fight for them; unfortunately, depression, addiction and suicidal tendencies have become significantly more evident in teenagers around the world in recent years. And that is terrifying to every one of us who have teens of our own. How do you fight your child’s own mind? Judy Davis is one such parent, who nearly lost her son to addiction and suicide before she even realized he was struggling so much. She returns to Mighty Parenting, joining Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to share her story and her son’s—a story of hope for parents, to remind us that suicide prevention is possible and so is recovery, be it from addiction, depression, or other mental and physical illnesses. With the right tools and support for yourself and your child, you can help them save themselves—and maybe one day, they can save others too. Our Guest: Judy Davis Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 227 Our Sponsor:  Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults  iBme offers online and in-person retreats, mindfulness courses, and weekly meditations tailored for various communities of teens and young adults (and even parents!) Visit iBme.com/mightyparenting  to learn more and register for programs, including in-person summer retreats.

One of the major problems our kids have with education after high school is that there are so many options to choose from, and those options don’t narrow much if they decide they want to go to college—there’s everything from the degree type, to the area of study, to the scholarship and financial aid options, to the commute, and so on. Student mentor Emma B Perez is back to answer parents’ and students’ most burning question: What is the best way to choose a college? She joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler to give us choices and answers to narrow down our kids’ options and reduce their stress levels surrounding choosing the next step in their future. Our Guest: Emma B Perez Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 226 Our Sponsor:  Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults  iBme offers online and in-person retreats, mindfulness courses, and weekly meditations tailored for various communities of teens and young adults (and even parents!) Visit iBme.com/mightyparenting  to learn more and register for programs, including in-person summer retreats.

Being confident and being bold are not, in fact, the same qualities. Confidence is a state of mind; boldness is taking action. However, both of these are all too often difficult for our kids to develop for themselves. Entrepreneur and author Fred Joyal joins Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler and explains to us how we can adjust our parenting styles to increase confidence and encourage boldness in our kids, to help them find security in themselves and take joy in life even when societal norms would dictate otherwise. Our Guest: Fred Joyal Detailed Show Notes and Support at MightyParenting.com episode 225 Our Sponsor:  Inward Bound Mindfulness Education — Mindfulness courses and retreats for teens and adults  iBme offers online and in-person retreats, mindfulness courses, and weekly meditations tailored for various communities of teens and young adults (and even parents!) Visit iBme.com/mightyparenting  to learn more and register for programs, including in-person summer retreats.