The Whole Person Parenting Podcast

Send us Fan MailWe're wrapping up our Becoming a Parent series with the final stage of Ellen Galinsky's parenting framework: The Departure Stage. And yes, apparently the goal of all this parenting is to eventually let them go. Who knew?In this episode, Val and Presley talk about the bittersweet work of preparing our children for independence, navigating the changing parent-child relationship, and learning what it means to loosen our grip without letting go of connection.We're also talking about a truth that brings both freedom and humility to Christian parenting: We plant the seeds, but God is the one who brings the growth. Our job was never to be the perfect parent or control the outcome. We get to love, guide, nurture, and trust that our children ultimately belong to a Father who loves them even more than we do.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Whole Person Parenting, Presley and Valeri explore the interdependent stage of parenting, a season of learning how to stay connected while allowing our children the space to develop their own identities, make decisions, and take greater responsibility for their lives.Together, they discuss the challenges and opportunities of parenting teenagers, the importance of looking inward and recognizing our own patterns, and what it means to "go first" in our relationship with the Lord. As parents, we can't expect our children to pursue growth, maturity, and faith if we aren't willing to engage in that same work ourselves.From navigating changing relationships to modeling humility, vulnerability, and dependence on God, this conversation reminds us that parenting isn't just about raising our children, it's also about allowing God to continue shaping us.Because as our children grow, we're still becoming, too.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailParenting is a journey of becoming—not just for our children, but for us as parents, too.In this episode of Whole Person Parenting, Val and Presley are back together as they continue their series, Becoming a Parent, exploring the interpretative stage of parenthood.As parents, we are continually called to interpret and reinterpret who we are as our children grow and change. At the same time, we have the important responsibility of helping our children understand themselves—making sense of their experiences, emotions, behaviors, and developing identities. The ways we interpret ourselves and our children can profoundly shape how we both grow.But this work isn't something we do once and move on from. It's a cyclical process that invites reflection, humility, curiosity, and a willingness to grow alongside our children.Val and Presley explore how these developmental tasks, when approached with intention and care, support the growth of both parent and child. They also consider how this process parallels our spiritual formation, as God continually invites us to see ourselves more clearly and become more like Christ.Join us for a conversation about seeing ourselves and our children with fresh eyes, embracing the ongoing work of becoming, and recognizing that God is at work in our growth just as surely as He is at work in the lives of our children.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailHow much do we actually influence our kids? Spoiler alert: probably more than we realize!In this episode of Becoming a Parent, Val and Jaime talk about the big (and sometimes overwhelming) responsibility of shaping the people God has entrusted to us. Our kids are ambassadors for our family!But at the end of the day, our goal isn’t just to raise kids who represent our family well. We want to raise kids who know and love Jesus and who learn to be ambassadors for the Lord wherever they go.Join Val and Jaime for a fun, honest conversation about influence, parenting, and pointing our kids toward Jesus in the everyday moments of life.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailWhat does it actually look like to parent with authority? In this episode, Val and her husband, Jaime, talk about the Authority Stage of Parenting, one of the stages Ellen Galinsky describes in her work on the stages of parenthood.Val and Jaime look back on their own parenting experience and share what it was like to set boundaries, make the tough calls, and guide their kids while figuring out the difference between authority control.They talk honestly about what worked, what didn’t, and some of the practical things they did along the way.It’s a real-life conversation about learning to lead your kids with confidence while still keeping connection at the center. Whether you’re in the middle of this stage or looking back on it yourself, we hope you’ll find some encouragement, practical ideas, and maybe a few moments that sound familiar.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailWhat allows us to develop a relationship with our child—and what can get in the way?In infancy, becoming a parent is also the beginning of getting to know a very real, very individual child. It’s a time of discovery: learning who this little person is, while also discovering who we are as their parent. But that process doesn’t always unfold the way we imagined.Before our baby arrives, we may carry hopes, expectations, and dreams about what parenthood will be like—and even about who our child will be. Then we meet the actual baby. Their temperament, needs, rhythms, and ways of connecting may be very different from what we pictured. Sometimes, the gap between what we imagined and what we experience can leave us feeling confused, disappointed, overwhelmed, or even disconnected.In this episode of the Becoming a Parent series, Presley and Val consider what helps us move beyond our expectations and become present to the child who has been entrusted to us. We explore what can get in the way of that encounter, and how the process of becoming a parent can invite us into something deeper: a willingness to receive our child as they are, to let ourselves be changed by relationship, and to trust that neither of us has to have it all figured out.We’ll also look at what can interrupt or get in the way of this important process—and how recognizing those barriers can create new opportunities for connection.Because becoming a parent isn’t simply about learning how to care for a baby. It’s about slowly discovering who this child is, who we are with them, and how the two of us come to know one another.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailWe all begin the journey of parenthood with dreams. We imagine who our child will be, what they’ll love, how they’ll grow, and perhaps even the kind of relationship we’ll share. But eventually, every parent encounters the beautiful and sometimes difficult reality that the child we imagined is not quite the child we’ve been given.In this episode of Becoming A Parent, we explore the ongoing process of reconciling our imagined child with our real child—and how that process can become part of our own maturation as parents. What does it look like to release our expectations while still faithfully guiding and discipling the child God has entrusted to us?As Christian parents, this journey may also reveal something about our own growth in Christ. Just as parenting invites us to surrender our visions and expectations, following Jesus continually calls us to let go of our imagined lives and trust the life God is forming in us and our child.What if becoming a parent is, in part, an invitation to become more like Christ—learning to love not the child we imagined, but the child we have been given, with humility, patience, delight, and grace?CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailBecoming a parent is more than bringing a baby home—it's the beginning of becoming someone new.In this kickoff episode, we're introducing a brand-new series exploring the six stages of parenting and how our role as parents grows and changes right alongside our children. Valerie shares her own story of becoming a parent—the expectations, the surprises, the ways God has shaped her through motherhood, and why parenting is as much about our own transformation as it is our children's.Whether you're expecting your first baby, in the thick of diapers, or simply wondering why parenting feels like it's constantly changing, this series will help you see the journey with fresh eyes. Join us as we explore what it means to become the parent God is forming you to be—one stage at a time.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailEvery parent has moments they're proud of... and moments they'd rather pretend never happened. In this episode, we're sharing stories of fails, victories, and the moments that have kept us humble (and laughing).We're also unpacking the idealized self—the imaginary parent who never loses their cool, always says the right thing, and never makes any mistakes. As it turns out, God has never asked us to be perfect but invites us into dependency on Him.If you've ever wondered whether you're enough as a parent, this episode is a reminder that God's faithfulness has always been the real success story.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we're talking about the "dirty lens" we all carry into parenting—the thoughts and assumptions that color how we see our kids and ourselves. Stress has a funny way of smudging the glass. Suddenly your curious toddler looks "defiant," your emotional tween seems "dramatic," and you're convinced you're failing at this whole parenting thing.The good news? You don't have to believe everything your stressed brain tells you.We'll explore how our thinking shapes our stress, how stress shapes our parenting, and why renewing our minds isn't just good theology—it's good parenting. Together we'll learn to recognize the dirty lens, wipe it clean with God's truth, and see our children (and ourselves) with fresh eyes.CDC Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app/index.htmlBabySparks - Developmental Tracker & Online Learning for Parents: https://babysparks.com/Harvard's Center for the Developing Child: Three Core Concepts in Early Development: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/videos/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/Building Social-Emotional Skills at Home: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home