We just don’t know how much we don’t know when we’re trying to be the best parents we can be. So many of us learn later that we should have done things differently. That’s me. I should have done so many things differently. And that’s what drives me to help you learn now so you don’t have to correct course later.

The mistakes I talk about in this week’s episode are those that lead to lots of unnecessary conflict and drama between you and your teen and exacerbate a teen or tween’s poor behavior. I’m talking about issues that impact the way we interpret and understand their behavior, the way we handle ourselves during stressful interactions with our teenagers, our mindset and approach to discipline and how much deference we afford them in how they live their lives.

It’s impossible to be a “perfect parent” because it’s impossible to be a “perfect human” but if we can avoid making the biggest mistakes, we can save ourselves and our teens and tweens a lot of needless pain and suffering and help ensure they live their best life.

Access TRANSCRIPT here.

Thank you so much for listening to the show! If you found it helpful in some way, please share it with someone who could also benefit from it. And if you prefer listening on a podcast app, please be sure and follow the show so new episodes will automatically pop up in your que.

I make this show for you, and I really appreciate and value your feedback. I’d love your suggestions for how I make the show better. And if you’d like me to cover a specific topic or you have a parenting question that I could discuss in a future episode, please reach out, I’d love to hear from you!

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Podcast episodes that explore these topics:

Ep. #1: Why Trying to Control Your Teen Will Backfire

Ep. #3: You Can Blame Your Teen's Irrational Behavior on Their Changing Brain

Ep. #4: Why Your Teen Does Stupid Stuff (Even When They Know Better)

Ep. #6: Teaching Teens To Tame Their Emotions

Ep. #8: Your Emotional Skills Directly Affect Your Teen's Mental Health and Wellbeing: Let's Talk Emotional Awareness and Regulation

Ep. #10: Our Family's Story of Discovery and Hope

Ep. #14: Good Intentions With Poor Outcomes: Overparenting Your Teen

Ep. #15: Control, Conflict, And Autonomy: Balancing Their Push For Autonomy With Your Need For Parental Control, Without All The Conflict

Ep. #16: Settling Conflict While Supporting Your Teen's Autonomy

Ep. #22: Disciplining Teens Without Rebellion (How To Handle Consequences)

Ep. #26: Maintaining A Deep Emotional Connection With Your Teenager

Ep. #30: How Your Thoughts Have a Huge Impact On Your Teen's Behavior

Ep. #52: How To Reduce Conflict With Your Teen While Strengthening Your Relationship

Ep. #54: "Big Social Media", The Surgeon General And Teen Mental Health

Ep. #55: How to Protect You Teen's Mental Health From Social Media

Sources, Resources and Mentions: (not an affiliate for books, etc.)

"dangerous, unhealthy, unethical, illegal ,or likely to close some door better left open" Is from Laurence Steinberg's book, Age of Opportunity

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child (John Gottman)

With Mindfulness, Life's in the Moment (Harvard Gazette)

Emotional Agility (David)