Empowered to Connect Podcast

Have you ever had one of those weeks where for one reason or another, you're stuck inside THE WHOLE TIME?? Maybe kids are out of school and there's inclement weather - maybe you live in the Southern US and it snows, sending the entire town into shutdown (too soon?)...no matter the circumstances, we're here to help! The team chats about practical ways to build connection, get everyone's needs met and even...find some time to read a book?? All that and more today on Carpool Q&A!

You can find EVERY episode of Carpool Q&A and the Empowered to Connect Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and wherever you get your favorite podcasts!

We have an incredible episode for you today! One of our favorite Therapists/Adoptee Voices, Cam Lee Small, joins us on the pod to talk about lots of things including his forthcoming book: The Adoptee's Journey: From Trauma and Loss to Healing and Empowerment. We talk with Cam about everything from how identities are formed in adoptees to things he wishes adoptive parents knew to his own experiences filled with pain and beauty. This is an episode every adoptee and adoptive parent NEED to hear.

You can find Cam's work and latest offerings at therapyredeemed.wordpress.com and you can find him on Instagram AND on YouTube  @therapyredeemed  .

You can learn more about Empowered to Connect on our website or by following us  @EmpoweredtoConnect  !

One of the most common questions we get - what happens when my child from a connected home steps foot into the "real world"? It is a valid question and a completely rational deduction to make until you dive a little deeper into what connected parenting really entails - join us as we talk all about this question today on Carpool Q&A!

Carpool Q&A can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and everywhere you find your favorite podcasts!

Today we throw it way way back to one of our favorite episodes talking about the power of giving your 'yes' to your children.

As any parent with Netflix has probably seen, there's a famous ETC Principle in the newest Jennifer Garner movie "Yes Day." No, ETC didn't make a movie, but there is lots to learn from it! JD, Tona and Mo sit down to talk about one of the most foundational principles in the ETC world - the power of saying yes. 

"Isn't that just permissive parenting!?" "If you give these kids an inch, they're ALWAYS going to take a mile." "We aren't trying to spoil our kids." All very common responses to the principle of giving our kids 'yes' often. Yet research and experience from 15 years of ETC Parent Training will tell you otherwise. Join JD, Mo and Tona and learn why 'Yes' is a superpower in your parenting arsenal!

During the interview we reference several different resources on this topic - below we've linked those articles as well as some other resources from ETC on the Power of YES: 

https://empoweredtoconnect.org/the-privilege-of-saying-yes/
https://empoweredtoconnect.org/building-trust-by-saying-yes/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SF6GmV7zg0
https://www.mindful.org/dr-dan-siegel-hearing-yes-childs-brain/

To learn more about ETC, check out empoweredtoconnect.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Where is the line!? That's the common question in LOTS of parenting relationships when trying to decipher how to teach your kids excellence and effort without becoming THAT over the top parent who pushes their kids too hard and breaks relationship. Well. We've found the line and we're going to share it this morning!

Actually, sorry, that is false advertising. We ARE, however, here to help guide you to finding that line for you and your family and giving a few practical tools to help you navigate teaching a really essential life skill (trying your best and striving for excellence). It's not easy, but we're here to help!

New episodes of Carpool Q&A drop every Thursday in the Empowered to Connect Podcast Network feed and are 15(ish) minute conversations about one topic to get you from point A to point B! You can find every episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!

You've made it! Or so you thought - your kids have begun that final ascent into adulthood! Congratulations! No more parenting?? HA! Yeah Right! 

Hear Becca, Tona and JD Discuss the shifts that must inevetibally be made as we go from parenting children to parenting young adults - how do we handle independence? What can we do to ensure they're remaining connected and at the same time, finding their place in the world? Today's episode is aimed directly at that question! 

Each week, Carpool Q&A Tackles one question from JD Wilson, Becca McKay and Tona Ottinger discuss one topic in 15 minutes or less to help you get from point A to point B!

You can learn more about Empowered to Connect on our website, Instagram or YouTube!

Boundaries are talked about a LOT within relationships, particularly within the parenting realm. We all recognize that humans need boundaries - we can't do everything we want all the time without it costing us dearly...if you're a parent, OR you work with children, you see evidence of that on the daily! Boundaries can be hard to set and often the act of "setting boundaries" or "holding boundaries" can place us oppositionally from our children and create an unwanted "us vs. them" mentality which can jeopardize connection, so how do we navigate this? GLAD YOU ASKED!

We asked therapist Lauren Wantz that very question and she joined us recently to talk about how not to set "boundaries", but "loving limits" - hear Lauren explain how a simple mindset shift and some practical applications of that mindset can transform discipline in your home on today's episode!

To learn more about Empowered to Connect, you can visit us on our website or follow us on social media! You can also catch every episode of the Empowered to Connect Podcast and Carpool Q&A, as well as hundreds of hours of additional video content on our YouTube Channel!

Oh boy. Buckle up for this one, the question that we all ask as we cover our faces in shame. What about when it's not just a kid, it's ME losing it? Again!? Don't worry - it happens to all of us. Something triggers us again and before we can catch ourselves and regulate, there we go, flying off the handle again. What do we do in those circumstances and HOW DO WE DO IT!? Tona Ottinger, Becca McKay and JD Wilson from ETC have you covered. Buckle your seatbelt and come along for the ride with us on today's Carpool Q&A!

Carpool Q&A Episodes are one-topic episodes about 15 minutes long, designed to get you from point A to point B and drop every week right here on YouTube and in the Empowered to Connect Podcast feed.

You can learn more about Empowered to Connect at empoweredtoconnect.org!

Continuing our series on discipline this new year, we've got a good one for you! Today on the show we have Dr. Matt Smith from the Memphis Family Connection Center here to walk us through the 3 C's and 3 D's of discipline when connected parenting. I cannot stress enough how valuable this episode is in its' practicality - if you are struggling with discipline in your home, this is the episode to help you bounce back! Hear practical steps and advice for why connected parenting and discipline is so vital for our kids growing in healthy attachment and how you can help heal and give predictability to your kids and your home.

You can find every episode of the Empowered to Connect Podcast as well as Carpool Q&A, our 15 minute, one-topic episodes that drop weekly, here on youTube or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!