The Empowered Parent Podcast

Some of our kids have big emotions. Chris talks with Ryan and Kayla about how we deal with drama when the emotions go from big to bigger to biggest. Resources Mentioned in the Episode Harry Chapin - The Cat's in the Cradle One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy Executive Producer: Ryan North

Listener Jamie asks, how do we prepare the kids already in our home for the journey into foster care? This is something as parents we do not always consider, especially if the kids already in our home are very young. Chris talks with Ryan and Kayla about ways to help kids prepare for and deal with the ups and downs of life as a foster family. One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy Executive Producer: Ryan North

Listener Jamie asks the team about resources for family members and friends to help educate them on how they can best support their family as they navigate foster care and adoption journeys.  Resources Mentioned in the Episode The Whole Brain Child TBRI Overview Video The Science of Neglect Video Brene Brown TED Talk on Vulnerability The Connected Child Back2Back Ministries One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy Executive Producer: Ryan North  

Whether we admit it or not, it's a thought adoptive and foster parents have at least once: how do I love my child when I don't like them? Chris, Kayla, and Ryan explore this in detail, starting with the need to continually remember behavior is an expression of a need. We need to do the detective work to help our kids! Resources Mentioned in the Episode Les Carter - When Pleasing You Is Killing Me: A Workbook One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy Executive Producer: Ryan North

Listener Jeremy wants to know about prepping kids from hard places for summer camps, so Ryan, Kayla, and Chris discuss the best ways to manage this. They also discuss how those working at these camps might be able to help out in that environment. Resources Mentioned in the Episode Sky Ranch @ Horn Creek Adoptive & Foster Family Camp, August 5-11, 2018 One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy Executive Producer: Ryan North  

It's time once again for another episode of everyone's favorite game show! Okay, alright, maybe not *everyone's* favorite game show, but it's certainly ours. Ryan and Kayla go head-to-head once again in Give Me an Example! They'll discuss repairing your mistakes, how to encourage and praise liberally, and responding to sensory processing needs. Who will win this round? It's a thrill a minute!  Resources Mentioned in the Episode Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Carol S. Dweck One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Toony" by Liberty Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy Executive Producer: Ryan North

Helping kids from hard places involves more folks than just parents. There are teachers and professionals, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and dear friends gathered around our families. If they're not gathered around, we need to bring them in to the fold, because it's important our kids have a TEAM helping them heal and reach their potential. Chris talks with Ryan and Kayla about the best way to do this. One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy

There are so many places where our unmet expectations get in the way of connection with our kids. Chris, Ryan, and Kayla are joined again by Allison Highton, and they talk about these various expectations, which begin even before our kids come home. Resources Mentioned in the Episode Mealtime Struggles episode The Connected Child The Body Keeps Score One Big Happy Home Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Podcast Swag Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy

Even if you haven't been to an adoption and foster care conference, such as Empowered to Connect or CAFO Summit, you may have attended a seminar or one-day class that had you coming out of it thinking, "Yes! I can do this! I'm going to change the way I parent my kids!" But the excitement wears off. Motivation falters. And what are we left with? In light of the 2018 Empowered to Connect Conference happening April 13-15, and CAFO Summit coming up in May, Chris, Ryan, and Kayla tackle these issues. We all want to start with correcting behaviors, but we'll have long-term success with connection first. Connection is the foundation for everything else to click together. The team walks through how that might look for parents, offering practical examples to get started. Resources Mentioned in the Episode I Love You Rituals by Becky Bailey CAFO Summit 2018 One Big Happy Home: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Window Decal Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla are joined by Allison Highton. Allison, along with her husband Russ, is an Empowered to Connect parent trainer in New Jersey. Allison works with Miriam's Heart, a non-profit adoption ministry that radically supports families who take action on behalf of adoptive and foster children. The group discusses various schooling options for our kids from hard places, from public to private to homeschooling. Is your adopted or foster child in public school? You should know what an IEP is, and be your kid's biggest advocate. They also talk about being flexible on the home front after kids get home from school. Back to School: Teachers are Important One Big Happy Home: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy

The team discusses how playing with our kids is a great way to connect with them. Play is fun and disarming and makes us enjoy our kids as much as it makes them enjoy us. Play is the language of children but is sadly something most of us are no longer fluent in. One Big Happy Home: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy    

Chris is joined once again by Kayla and Ryan North to talk about something that can be quite irritating to all parents: sassy talk. They discuss various ways to counteract it and get our kids to a place where they can talk respectfully not just to parents, but others as well. Baby Owl Lost Her Whoo - Cindy Lee The Frequency and Intensity of Behavior Dictates the Frequency and Intensity of Response - S3E2 One Big Happy Home: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy

Ryan and Kayla join Chris to talk about mealtime struggles. The team discusses the typical concerns parents of adopted and foster kids see at meals: food sensory issues; eating too much; before-meal snacking; not wanting to eat what is being served, and actually getting kids to the table! They talk about setting expectations and using transitions, as well as other things that have worked in their families. One Big Happy Home: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Email Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy

Chris talks with Ryan and Kayla about how the brain processes trauma, and how this affects our kids' relationships with us and the world at large. The Whole Brain Child The Brain with David Eagleman Tapestry's Empowered to Connect Podcast: Lying Join our Facebook Community Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy

With all of the craziness that comes this time of year, Chris, Ryan, and Kayla talk about some ways families can simplify holiday time to reduce stress on moms, dads, and the kids. The team discusses everything from gifts to traditions, holiday travel, extended family, and more. Join our Facebook Community Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Produced by Dallas Stacy

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla respond to a lister email asking about one-on-one/play time with their children. The team discusses things they have tried in the past and how creating an environment of felt safety changes the way their kids interact with them. Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate One Big Happy Home | Ryan's Blog Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy

Listener Tracy writes in asking about an episode devoted to TBRI with kids under the age of 4. How do we use compromise and other tools seen in The Connected Child when our little ones don't always have the words or understanding to utilize them. Chris, Ryan, and Kayla talk about how these concepts can be put into practice for toddlers and preschoolers in our households. I Love You Rituals - Becky Bailey Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate One Big Happy Home | Ryan's Blog Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla discuss a listener's question, "How important is maintaining biological family relationships for foster/adoptive children? Is this something that we should put a lot of effort into for long-term benefit? Will our children remember visits from when they are very young, and will those be something they look back on an appreciate?" Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate One Big Happy Home | Ryan's Blog Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy

Chris is joined once again by Ryan and Kayla as the team talks about the need for mindfulness. As Curt Thompson says, "You need to pay attention to what you're paying attention to." They discuss why this is especially important with adoptive and foster children. Star Wars | A Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure! Goo Timer Spiral Timer Liquid Motion Timer Toy Liquid Motion Zig Zag Timer Toy Adorox Liquid Bubble Drop Motion Wheel Zig Zag Desk Toy Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter One Big Happy Home | Ryan's Blog Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy    

The 2017 Tapestry Conference will feature Curt Thompson, author of Anatomy of the Soul and The Soul of Shame. Dr. Thompson's work is an integral part of the Empowered to Connect Parent Training classes; Anatomy of the Soul is one of the books that parents read as part of the training. The 2017 Tapestry Conference will be held October 20th and 21st at Irving Bible Church, in Irving, TX. Use the discount code PODCAST20 for 20% off your registration. Anatomy of the Soul The Soul of Shame Cindy Lee on Amazon Cindy Lee on the Tapestry Podcast Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Donate Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter One Big Happy Home | Ryan's Blog Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere Engineered and Produced by Dallas Stacy