The Empowered Parent Podcast

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla discuss why self-care is an important but overlooked part of parenting. The team offers advice on how to take better care of yourself and why self-care can be effective in 15-minute increments.  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

We are back from family vacations and the start of the school year with a special episode. Directed at parents of kids from hard places in the Houston area, devastated by Hurricane Harvey, Chris is joined by Ryan and Kayla, and special guest Toni Steere. Toni is the Director of Legacy 685, an Adoption, Foster & Orphan Care Ministry at Houston’s First Baptist Church. She has been caring for orphaned and vulnerable children for the past 17 years. She served for many years as a teacher, house-parent & social worker at a large orphanage in Central America. During her time there she adopted a baby boy who is now 16! As a mom of a child from a hard place, Toni understands both the immense joy and the unexpected challenges of the journey. She leads Empowered to Connect's Spanish Training Team, she is a TBRI Educator, and a Sexual Abuse Prevention Instructor, among many other disciplines involving foster care, adoption, and trauma.    If you would like to help Toni and Houston's First with disaster relief

Chris invites Ryan and Kayla to participate in another game of sharing examples of various TBRI parenting tools. They discuss: Total Voice Control Time-In instead of Time Out Think Before You Consequence Respond to Fear with Connection Who will take this round’s trophy? Listen and find out! 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    

Parenting is hard enough, but add traumatized children, and the difficulties can increase exponentially. Chris, Ryan, and Kayla discuss these hardships, and why it’s so important to build a community around your family that understands trust-based relational parenting and is supportive of your efforts to parent this way. 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

Sibling relationships can always be tenuous, and even more so when it comes to kids from hard places. Chris, Ryan, and Kayla talk about strategies for dealing with these rivalries and the struggles of sibling interaction. 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

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla respond to an email about children who engage in sneaking behaviors. Listen as they discuss if it's developmentally appropriate or trauma related, and why you need to become the world's leading expert in your children. Yes Jar: Video | Article   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  

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla tackle an issue in this episode that most of us deal with; bedtime struggles. They discuss the value of routines (structure) and rituals (nurture) at bedtime and why the cause of the issue may or may not be what you think. 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

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla spend some time discussing teenagers. The teen years are difficult for most as identity and power struggles are magnified. TBRI for Teens video 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

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla discuss a question they get from many parents. And that question is, "why do my children lie and what can I do about it"? The answer requires a lot of grace and may not be what most people think it is. 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

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla are joined once again by Maggie Popp and they discuss how to implement TBRI concepts and strategies in large families. The three families have 15 kids between them.    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

  Chris, Kayla and Ryan are joined by Maggie Popp to discuss why traditional parenting doesn't work for foster and adopted kids. They discuss, amongst other things, why time-outs and yelling don't work. Maggie is an Empowered to Connect parent trainer with her husband Brian in the St. Louis metro area. They have six children: two adopted out of the foster care system, three biological kids, and one foster child. 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    

Chris, Kayla, and Ryan discuss how we can create an environment of felt safety in our homes with predictability. A lack of consistency and can be processed as chaos by our children and they need predictability to feel safe.   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

Chris, Kayla, and Ryan discuss how practicing outside of the moment helps us respond appropriately in the moment. They also discuss how parents need to have developmentally appropriate expectations while helping their kids grow and heal. Navigating the Holidays 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

Chris, Kayla, and Ryan preview the upcoming Empowered to Connect Conference in Franklin, TN April 7-8. They discuss what you can expect, why you should attend (in person or at one of the 450 simulcast sites), and why it's good for you to attend even if you're not new to connected parenting.

The team discusses why empowering our kids is a crucial part of their healing process and can move them from fear-based responses to trust-based responses. A key component is creating an environment of felt safety in our homes. They offer practical examples you can use at bed time and explain why it's important that we learn to speak our kids language.  Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere

Chris Turner plays a round of "Give me an Example" with Ryan and Kayla North. Our team has some fun sharing examples of what a "yes" sandwich is amongst other things. Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere

Chris invites Ryan and Kayla for another "lightning round" of Give Me an Example, this time focusing on the Parenting Tools taught in the Empowered to Connect class. They discuss: Focus on Nonverbal Communication Encourage Feelings Get Your Child Moving Feelings Flashcards - Todd Parr Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere

Chris, Kayla, and Ryan answer some listener questions about struggles at nap time, whether their child's behavior is trauma-related or a developmental delay, and resources for play with our kids. Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter Intro/Outro Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere

Chris, Ryan, and Kayla talk about the fear that connected parenting doesn't prepare our kids for the real world, and why the reasons behind this fear are unfounded. Cast Away on IMDB Tapestry: Web | Facebook | Twitter Empowered to Connect: Web | Facebook | Twitter Music: "Home" by Moses Uvere

Ryan and Kayla North are joined by Chris Fonte as they discuss one of the most commonly heard concerns about being a foster parent; "It would be too hard to let anyone go." They share from their experiences how they have dealt with and processed the realities of foster parenting.  Tapestry Web | Facebook | Twitter Empowered to Connect Web | Facebook | Twitter Into/Outro Music: Moses Uvere Audio Engineering and Editing: Chris Fonte