Growing Nimble Families

7 ways to support your child at school move towards independence

Melitsa — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 16:20:59 +0000

Tools and ideas about moving from guided homework to independent homework with school-age kids. Homework demands change. As kids get older, there are new skills to master with homework. Examples like time management on a project, using software and overcoming problems during the process of work.

If our kids dine out on their natural talent only, eventually they will hit some hard walls as work becomes more difficult and be stuck. They need to get used to effort, hard work and learning how to get up when they hit hard obstacles.

Right around the time that many of our kids are making mistakes, learning and growing coincide with when they don’t want parental help. They are uncomfortable with the skill of asking for help. The pressure is there.

Coasting and homework

Lots of kids are coasting without experiencing the stretch of learning through challenge and moving from adequate to good and good to excellent.

Like all family related activities, this is deeply personal to each of our families. Each child is different. But we want the same thing- to know our kids have the skills so we can relax, nag less and they can fly.

The skills mentioned in today’s episode help support us now where we are. Whatever our kid’s ability we want them to succeed, be confident, have tools to support them when they encounter problems. We go deep today. It’s not a blueprint. I’m looking forward to your thoughts as you tackle empowering our kids’ homework muscle from guided homework to independent homework.

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood

Show Notes

Seven ways to support your child at school move towards independence

When silence isn’t golden, productive or helpful. Finding the right place for homework isn’t fixed and may not be what you are expecting.
Sharing the thought process that takes you seconds because you have wisdom and experience. Why it will be a big win to share what to do during this problem-solving exercise.
Getting down into the different types of homework. It’s all about the model. Give it time. Just because you have four pieces of homework doesn’t mean you start from 1 and then 2. The way to make homework easier.

resource: project working

4. Helping School-Age Kids Correct Their Work Grab our printable

5. How we respond when they don’t complete

6. 6 Questions To Ask Your School-Age Child After Homework Grab our printable

7. After the feedback

resource: Self-reflection resource:

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

So you’ve listened to this episode – if you liked it and want to hear other ones – and I really think you will….you should do this right now:

How to listen and subscribe to this show

I’d love to hear from you about the show.

Any comments about the podcast use the Voicemail and connect on Facebook

Use the hashtag #gnfsak on Twitter and Instagram

These show notes: growingnimblefamilies.com/213

If you’ve enjoyed the show, please take the time to share it with friends and leave a review for it on iTunes or Stitcher.

The post 7 ways to support your child at school move towards independence appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

Dr Michele Borba on Empathy and how to succeed in an all about me world

Melitsa — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 12:55:51 +0000

Our guest today Dr Michele Borba talks about how to help our kids tap into empathy. We talk about social and emotional learning and its value both now in school and as adults, the empathy advantage, how to talk about empathy with school age kids and what’s the most important thing to know about empathy.

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood

Show Notes

Follow: Dr Borba Website: micheleborba.com

Resource: Book discussion guide: Unselfie- Dr Michele Borba

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

So you’ve listened to this episode – if you liked it and want to hear other ones – and I really think you will….you should do this right now:

How to listen and subscribe to this show

I’d love to hear from you about the show.

Any comments about the podcast use the Voicemail and connect on Facebook

Use the hashtag #gnfsak on Twitter and Instagram

If you’ve enjoyed the show please take the time to share it with friends and leave a review for it on iTunes or Stitcher.

The post Dr Michele Borba on Empathy and how to succeed in an all about me world appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

Podcasts for Parenting Tweens and Teens

Melitsa — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 14:00:58 +0000

Welcome to the up and down world of parenting tweens and teens. It’s the time when so many things are changing. Gone are the days when you’re talking about the colour of poop and here are the days when you’re talking about when to start using deodorant and help my child just watched porn!

Podcasts are a quick and easy way to gain new information, have a digital friend and to have encouragement in areas that you just don’t know.

It’s easy to listen via your phone and select which shows and which episodes you’d like to hear. I love using either one of these apps; PocketCast especially as you can listen at different speeds and Stitcher. This is especially great for longer podcasts.

Listen on the way to work, in the car, shopping, working out and running; there are so many opportunities to stop and start that podcast during your day and get those nuggets of information, advice, reassurance and maybe a new direction.

These podcasts are for parenting tweens and teens. Check them out and subscribe to their shows to learn new habits, ideas and redirection.

Sunshine Parenting

What a great title! Audrey Monke talks with guests about camp, family and happiness. I love the diversity of the show guests and the questions she asks.

Recommended episodes:

Ep. 50: How to be a Happier Parent with K.J. Dell’Antonia
Ep. 41: Getting Comfortable with our Kids’ (and our own) Discomfort with Christine Carter

Parenting then and now

Families negotiating now and looking back on then and the influence on now through stories, interview and flashbacks. I love listening into how other people are living. Both these episodes are really powerful, emotional and enlightening. So many take aways for our parenting journey. The flashback solo episodes I can totally related to and love hearing how is used to be done. Great perspective to see how we do now compared to what happened then.

Recommended episodes:

Episode 21 – The Hot Young Widow’s Club
Episode 20 – Family Ties

Growing Nimble Families

My show where we talk about raising strong flexible families. It’s a mix of interview and solo episodes for families with school age families. Support and encouragement for mothers of school age kids.

Learning Scientists

Studying is a major part of tween and teen life. Helping the kids to find the best ways that fit them and the most efficient ways that science shows is a big help as they start the study journey. I’ve been a big fan of the Learning Scientists and interviewed them here. We know more about studying and learning now. With the abundance of testing in our schools the kids need to know how to learn and study well. These are researched based practices are shared in easy to understand and try out language.
Recommended episodes:
Episode 20 – Sleep, Learning, and Self Care
Episode 16 – For Parents Interested in Student Learning Part 1

On Middle Ground

If you have a middle schooler or secondary school student then this is a great show for you. Adrianne has strategies for parenting tweens and teens; both in Math ( she’s a math tutor) and this stage of experiences ( executive function, behaviors, math issues etc) With both solo episodes and interviews you can think ahead to upcoming things and deal with new present difficulties that show during these times.

Edit your life

Between the two hosts they have kids who are traveling through this time and kids who have travelled through this time. That experience and perspective as they do the same and do differently is really helpful as parents navigating the tween and teen years. They have shows where they talk with each other on a topic or article and also interview guests.

A podcast about simplifying and decluttering home and family life. Hosts: Christine Koh and Asha Dornfest.

hand in hand Parenting Podcast

Support the changes that happen in family life and help parents reduce the stress of parenting. They use specific tools that are part of Hand in Hand Parenting.

Recommended episodes:

Growth Mindset, Winning, and Why It’s Important for Your Child

Raising Boys and Girls Differently According to Brain Science

The Family Couch Show

Mercedes video podcast is an extension of her work on Shameproof Parenting and #endparentshaming with guests that give advice and practical suggestions on raising tweens and teens. She has some amazing episodes especially good if you are experiencing new avenues through the teen years and all the episodes encourage us to have a big dose of empathy, understanding and perspective on family lives. Stories, ideas and an encouragement to reflect on your parenting.

Recommended episodes:

Episode 35: Healthy Communication with Teens

Episode 38: Helping Teens Establish Emotional Confidence

Joyful Courage

Just like the Hand in Hand podcast, Casey follows a parenting style. This time it is positive discipline. She interviews guests and also explores deeper issues during her solo shows. There are lots of other themes than positive discipline that like many of the podcasts listed here encourage you to reflect, learn a little something and try a new way.
Recommended episodes:
Eps 154: Dr. Dan Siegel Discussing the Science of Being Present
Eps 145: Deborah Reber is on Talking About Raising Differently Wired Kids

Who would you add?

The post Podcasts for Parenting Tweens and Teens appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

3 Ways To Make Sure Your Back To School Season Is Not Crazy

Melitsa — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 09:00:07 +0000

How about a different run-up to the start of back to school time?

With a little planning and a little sharing, there’s a better way to have a successful back to school season. As the school age kids are getting older, there’s a possibility that they can share in the back to school systems and get started on learning to make some school decisions.

As gatekeepers, often we know where to buy all the things, what to do first and how to organize the lists around the start of school and how to manage the school year. It makes us really busy( stressed!), and many times the kids are not grateful or understanding of our careful choices or suggestions.

Back to school systems for school age kids

This episode we focus on sharing our family values, teaching some of our school systems to our kids, so they have some autonomy and letting them wrestle with some low stakes decision making.

It might be easier and quicker if we do everything ourselves but in the long run, it’s not okay to keep a tight reign on everything always.

Come with me on a journey as I share three ways we can give back to the family, so there’s less crazy and more understanding during the back to school season. As we show them how to manage significant transition times- like a boss! ( because they are not going to experience things like this…….soon?) The big bonus is that it spills into the school year and sets us all up for much more collaboration, understanding and less burden of being the keeper of the mental load.

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood

Show Notes

When we control, every little detail kids will find ways to take back some control somehow. During the school-age years while we need to teach and direct we must find ways to share why we do what we do, give ample opportunity and space to talk through and allow the chips to fall on the simple things when the stakes are low and real learning can happen.

After years of being solely in control for many times, the school-age years seems trying and tiring as the kids push against the rules and want to know why? It is really hard as parents to let go of doing it- whatever ‘it’ may be- just one way when you know it to be true or better. Risk taking seems all the harder when they are at school, but they need to know we’re there for them to guide, mentor, share and tell, when necessary.

Kids learn by doing. We can be there while they are doing something, like back to school so that next time they can try and do for themselves. They have the new knowledge they need the practice and to sharpen those skills.

Not all kids are the same, and you know your family. I hope that while you listen, you’ll keep your family in mind and perhaps find somewhere to start.

Resources mentioned in the episode:
Video: The Holderness Family

Healthy school lunch

Other places for inspiration

Awesome emotionally healthy kids

Your guide to mastering whole family systems during the school age years

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

So you’ve listened to this episode – if you liked it and want to hear other ones – and I really think you will….you should do this right now:

How to listen and subscribe to this show

I’d love to hear from you about the show.

Any comments about the podcast use the Voicemail and connect on Facebook

Use the hashtag #gnfsak on Twitter and Instagram

If you’ve enjoyed the show please take the time to share it with friends and leave a review for it on iTunes or Stitcher.

The post 3 Ways To Make Sure Your Back To School Season Is Not Crazy appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

Rethinking learning, motivation and grades for kids that are 11+

Melitsa — Sat, 19 May 2018 00:49:47 +0000

Middle and secondary school kids have a lot of new things to handle. We’ve talked about managing projects and how to study in previous episodes. Today we’re talking with Jessica Lahey, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed.

We’re talking about some of the big questions to do with motivation, learning and grades that appear in middle school including portals and letting them ask for help. Middle and Secondary school is a big step for us as parents as we learn to let go carefully, thoughtfully and in due time.

This is a good episode for new incoming parents and parents wanting to change their current situation.

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood

Show Notes

Jessica talks about Middle school and Secondary school students:

What led you to write a book like this?
If you have a child that’s not motivated in school should you pay them for better results?

Resource: The opposite of spoiled by Ron Lieber

How do you show recognition as a parent if your child does really well? ( Honors, A grades, full marks)

What is Process over product?
Good questions to ask about good work?
What a good student/parent-teacher conference looks like.
What’s the deal should I pay for grades or should I not?
What parents really need to know that our kids don’t tell us

What is Autonomy supportive parenting?
What are two things that we can confidently stop doing ( and it will be much better!)

Jessica on Twitter Jessica on Instagram

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

So you’ve listened to this episode – if you liked it and want to hear other ones – and I really think you will….you should do this right now:

How to listen and subscribe to this show

I’d love to hear from you about the show.

Any comments about the podcast use the Voicemail

Use the hashtag #gnfsak

If you’ve enjoyed the show please take the time to share it with friends and leave a review for it on iTunes or Stitcher.

The post Rethinking learning, motivation and grades for kids that are 11+ appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

How do you help support and gently direct your child in choosing a career path

Melitsa — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 16:33:59 +0000

Jobs are disappearing and lots of new types of jobs appear all the time. The path towards school age kids future career and job ideas doesn’t have to be random. With the student ratio of students to career counselor in many schools being 491:1 it is really important that parents are involved in supporting the whole process.

Our guest today is Jamie Beck, M.S, speaker and former CSU Career Counselor. She’s the founder of Career vision by jamie.com where she is reshaping the way job seekers fundamentally conceptualize, search, and apply for work. She’s bringing information for parents of all the ages of school age children that help us be involved but the kids doing the learning.

Lots of the ideas Jaime shares apply throughout the school age. You don’t have to be a middle or high school parent for this episode.

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood

Show Notes

Jamie talks about

Tips and ideas for elementary, middle and high school parents on supporting their children as we’re the best careers support for them.

What’s your career bank like?

What to do if your child gets stuck on ONE idea that’s not practical?

What’s one thing parents can do to understand future job/career prospects?

An alternative way of looking at future career ideas that don’t keep us fixed or stuck with one idea.

Helping kids see the reality of careers

Practical things to do if the kids have NO idea about career ideas. How to get them going.

The significance of the number; 32, 850 and our children

When your child wants to do an irregular income career you’re not happy about….how to navigate this path as a parent and child.

Resources: Pi day activities

Brain Sort Question from the podcast: What is it that you ( the parent) love that you would do for free 40 hours a week? ( Ends: March 24 9pm Eastern)

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

So you’ve listened to this episode – if you liked it and want to hear other ones – and I really think you will….you should do this right now:

How to listen and subscribe to this show

I’d love to hear from you about the show.

Any comments about the podcast use the Voicemail

Use the hashtag #gnfsak

If you’ve enjoyed the show please take the time to share it with friends and leave a review for it on iTunes or Stitcher.

The post How do you help support and gently direct your child in choosing a career path appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

Remember hobbies? Try them 21st Century style for a changed family life

Melitsa — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 18:25:08 +0000

Everyone had a hobby when I was growing up!

Some of it had to do with belonging to Guides or Brownies. How else did you earn your badges?

We had tropical fish and I wrote my share of projects and essays where they were the main feature. Then there was the coin collection. The Stamp collection. Or the active hobbies of bird watching and going for a family bike ride on a Saturday afternoon.

What’s so good about hobbies anyway?

Having hobbies taught me valuable life skills. Although many of the hobbies of yesteryear aren’t loved by our current school age kids. We shouldn’t give up on hobbies.

Hobbies give kids a chance to try something they find interesting and grow with it. As they try out the new skills they experience the variety of emotions, mistakes, obsession, failure, hitting the wall and perseverance.
Hobbies can last a season or grow into long term projects. Both are completely acceptable, wise to understand the difference and know when to stop.
It’s through hobbies that we learn about ourselves; what we love or prefer.
It’s through hobbies that we learn patience and how to perfect systems and processes.
It’s where we can dwell for the longest time, hang out and enjoy ourselves. Completely lose time and know our purpose in life was to play, make, gather or do!
That inner peace and joy when school work is hard but our hobby is not. Hobbies let us shine!
Hobbies let us learn about our bodies- what we can do and what we might be able to do with practice. We find our boundaries and limitations.
Hobbies are self directed activities. Kids have some autonomy over how they approach and proceed. They want this confidence and need space to work on these character values.

These all seem good reasons for our kids to participate but they just are not. There are probably many reasons but here’s one.

Why aren’t kids participating in hobbies?

School age kids sports have changed a lot. In the past, you would play for a season. Practice was once a week with a game once a week. Most kids in sports now are often year round. Seasonal sports are pretty intense with multiple sometimes daily practices, fundraising and uniforms. Time for the sports child has just become squeezed. You played football or soccer for fun then. You could also have multiple sports and other hobbies. Getting on the team was a matter of showing up. Sports has become a lot more professional and much less about being a hobby for the child to develop. Kids love sports. Parents love sports. The demands on time though have really changed the way families run. Sports place a huge commitment not just to the player but the family. The time for other hobbies is forever changed.

Challenge

What if we had the challenge to encourage three hobbies in our kids?

You’ve probably seen this one

What would happen if we encouraged our school age kids to spend time finding out about themselves through the experience of different hobbies?

Find out more about the challenge find 3 hobbies challenge

The post Remember hobbies? Try them 21st Century style for a changed family life appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

Getting on with the changing school age kid without losing your mind

Melitsa — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 13:57:38 +0000

Anyone else experiencing a new normal with the kids? Things are different. There’s more of things happening that didn’t use to happen like arguments or talking back. You know it’s part of growing up but this doesn’t seem like the kids you know.

Where has my child gone?

This episode is all about how to be comfortable in this transition. Honor who they were, are and going to be and without losing your mind. Encouragement to establish new baselines and figure a way for more autonomy to happen.

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction +Transitioning rites of passage for parents

Where has my child gone?

6:25 Prompts to remind us of the passing of time

9:36 Affirming our children

12:10 Unconditional love and how they see love vs what we show them

12:55 Keep talking activities suitable for school age kids

14:50 We need rites of passage reminders because there are things we want to pass on to them

18:56 When we’re present we can share how to recover and be resilient

Resources: After the encouragement comes action. Rituals to help us as parents move from little kid to bigger kid to teen. Here’s what you can do colour edition || Black and White edition

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

So you’ve listened to this episode – if you liked it and want to hear other ones – and I really think you will….you should do this right now:

How to listen and subscribe to this show

I’d love to hear from you about the show.

Any comments about the podcast use the Voicemail

Use the hashtag #creatingfamilyhaven

If you’ve enjoyed the show please take the time to share it with friends and leave a review for it on iTunes or Stitcher.

Pin and Share

The post Getting on with the changing school age kid without losing your mind appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

4 books every parent needs to understand & parent teen and tween boys

Melitsa — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 18:40:13 +0000

I was a middle school teacher when I started having kids.

I knew tweens and teens. I was terrified of what to do with this totally dependent bundle of joy! What my husband and I did from the start was to focus on what each child needed and learn as much as we could to support them.

We developed the habit of reading and listening to podcasts about what was to come. Some would say it was just like those pregnancy books that talk about each week. We enjoyed learning about stuff to come or where we were.

I’ve been looking forward to the tween/teen years- not just because I have boxes of books (still) that I can’t wait to share but because it’s a brilliant time of awareness, interest and good ole trial and error. They are sometimes childlike and childish and then mature and wise. They hold opinions and experiment with their voice, which may not be what their parents think. I love this dynamic phase.

I wish more parents felt this way that this adolescent stage is exciting and not to be feared. Also, I wish we talked more positively. Before you think I had a bump on the head, I think the language we use feeds into the way we act.

So if I keep saying my child is crazy it’s not really helping the situation, noticing what’s the problem or empowering positive change. For my child to hear or overhear me talk about him in that way surely will impact his internal compass about himself. Maybe what’s really happening needs a reframe by us so that we are helping them to advocate, reflect and learn new things.

We’re raising three boys and I’ve shared my boy books reading list. They are all still valid for the tween and teen times as most of them are split up into the different childhood sections.

Before when you glanced at it, it probably seemed meh! But now you are in the season- let me tell you- pour over those sections!

The fun thing about those books is that we bought different ones according to each of our sons. Not everything related or fit. We tried some things and didn’t go near others. Nothing beats though going through this with someone in real life. Talking things through with a friend. Words can only do so much on a page- hearing is so much more powerful.

4 Books every parent needs to understand & parent teen and tween boys

Here are the books that I’d encourage you to read to support you parent teen and tween boys and help you develop your family ideas.

Under pressure- Putting the child back in childhood

This book looks at different aspects of childhood and how we manage it. Before we are headlong sucked into technology or homework, for example, the author shares the current state of play. By the end of each chapter, you certainly have a sense about how you want to manage things in your home or how you don’t want to go in that direction. I particularly like how he addresses the ones that creep up on you like toys and discipline. Before you know it you’re overrun with toys and get stuck in a discipline rut. Good food for thought and not expecting a one size fits all parenting solution.

UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

For some kids skills like empathy, compassion and service come very easily. It seems to be just part of their personality. Boys, in particular, have a harder time with these types of skills. They often are seen as girly or makes them look soft, especially during the childhood years. Now we know that emotional literacy is vital for success in life and work this book gives examples to help children be more empathetic. They have ideas for school age and through adolescence. It’s a very practical book. I’ve been able to try activities with the boys and find positive ways of talking about empathy.

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

Before the kids get to change schools to secondary or middle school this is the book to read. It will help you as a parent navigate these next years confidently. Split into three parts each challenges our 21st-century parenting talking about failure, encouragement, mistakes, success and succeeding at school. Lahey doesn’t just offer suggestions but guides you through the process and explains why we should or shouldn’t clearly.

Whether to pay for grades or bring in forgotten homework the author goes through this common conundrum that parents slip into and explains how they really play out in the long run. I love the food for thought and again it’s not prescriptive. She just gives you the information and you decide for your family. It’s one of my favourite book recommendations. I loved the audio version as a reminder.

Mindsets for Parents: Strategies to Encourage Growth Mindsets in Kids

Lots of books say, don’t do that but do this instead which is good. But sometimes we want to know why we shouldn’t do what we are doing ( Seems to work well. It’s what I’ve always done. Worked on me etc) This book breaks down one way and shows an alternate and why it is better. It’s been really useful as the type of praise we use has changed from straight, ‘ Good job’ to more descriptive and strategic praise.

The authors take time to explain with examples so it’s easy to relate to our everyday home situations. Just like the previous suggestion, this book is a cheerleader for parents helping them to develop a way of thinking that supports adolescent life. It talks about brain development, growth mindset, perseverance, resiliency all things that need plenty of development and can’t be just switched on.

Articles

We are learning new things regularly with studies giving us new and valuable insight into parenting ideas we’ve always used. The first talks about the explosive field of brain development. The second encouragement to remain involved even when the going gets tough.

“New and ongoing scientific research, utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (f MRI), demonstrates that during adolescence nearly every aspect of the brain is undergoing dramatic changes–changes that are not just genetically determined, but are greatly affected by experiences and environment. The “nature versus nurture” debate is no longer relevant, as research clearly documents that both have impressive impact.” American College of Pediatricians – May 2016

“As parents’ rights have been diminished, children’s rights have been expanded…… The undermining of parental rights and expansion of children’s rights is happening during an era when scientific studies clearly demonstrate that children need their parents. This is based on imaging technology in the assessment of brain development. American College of Pediatricians – May 2013

What I think you’ll enjoy about these selections is the upbeat, positive way each of these authors leads you through the tweens and teens time.

If you liked this, you will LOVE these other posts:

Books you should read on Raising Boys

Peaceful solutions to minimize family strife when things just aren’t working

Start with teaching kindness online with Galit Breen

When they make mistakes and fail-practical ways to help parents and children learn how to navigate this undertalked about topic during childhood

The post 4 books every parent needs to understand & parent teen and tween boys appeared first on Growing Nimble Families.

Awesome Emotionally Healthy Kids

Melitsa — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 15:16:33 +0000

As school age kids mature they bump up against a few truths.

They are not perfect or the best. There are others who are better.

They have to work harder at some things than others and it doesn’t seem fair that others find it easier.

Feelings are hurt. They question themselves. They wonder, ‘I used to be good- great- amazing. What happened?’

“I can’t do this? I’m embarrassed to ask?’

‘What do you mean I missed the deadline? It’s not that late. No one told me it was important! It’s not my fault! ‘

‘ That was humiliating! They were way better than me. I thought I was good? I’m not going again.’

‘ I’m not doing it. I don’t want to. I don’t care.’

But if families want to raise emotionally healthy kids there needs to be a careful navigation of the messages, support, guidelines kids receive so they feel confident and ready to move through the teen years and into young adulthood.

This episode we talk about the messages kids get in the first 10 years of their life that give them freedom, warmth, nurture, unconditional love and if this is all they receive they might just become entitled teens and adults with unrealistic expectations with negative self-talk or lack motivation.

However, there are an awesome set of second messages that kids really need to know that give them wings to fly, confidence to get up again, the courage to thrive and seek out solutions. I’m excited about sharing this episode as it’s a mindset shift and super easy to do.

This growing up thing is tricky to navigate for parents and kids. Let’s do this together!

Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood