One of the most common things I hear from parents is, “What if I had found you sooner?”
It’s such a powerful question, and my answer is always the same—it’s never too late. Whether your kids are young, teenagers, or fully grown adults, repair is possible, and it can transform your relationships.
Parenting is a delicate dance between setting boundaries and nurturing your child’s emotional well-being. It’s challenging, especially when your child might be thrashing against the world or trapped in anxiety.
Repair helps bridge those moments when things don’t go as planned.
In this episode, I share personal stories and practical advice on how embracing connected parenting as a philosophy—not just a strategy—builds trust and stability within families. I also explain how the Calm Technique allows you to develop emotional capital, so even when things go off track (as they sometimes will), you can always find your way back to connection.
Jennifer's Takeaways:
- Understanding Repair in Connected Parenting (01:55)
- Situational Repair and Apologies (04:59)
- The Calm Technique and Its Components (07:38)
- Practicing Repair and Self-Regulation (11:17)
- The Flow of Connected Parenting (14:57)
Meet Jennifer Kolari
Jennifer Kolari is the host of the “Connected Parenting” weekly podcast and the co-host of “The Mental Health Comedy” podcast. Kolari is a frequent guest on Nationwide morning shows and podcasts in th US and Canada. Her advice can also be found in many Canadian and US magazines such as; Today’s Parent, Parents Magazine and Canadian Family.
Kolari’s powerful parenting model is based on the neurobiology of love, teaching parents how to use compassion and empathy as powerful medicine to transform challenging behavior and build children’s emotional resilience and emotional shock absorbers.
Jennifer’s wisdom, quick wit and down to earth style help parents navigate modern-day parenting problems, offering real-life examples as well as practical and effective tools and strategies.
Her highly entertaining, inspiring workshops are shared with warmth and humour, making her a crowd-pleasing speaker with schools, medical professionals, corporations and agencies throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
One of the nation’s leading parenting experts, Jennifer Kolari, is a highly sought- after international speaker and the founder of Connected Parenting. A child and family therapist with a busy practice based in San Diego and Toronto, Kolari is also the author of Connected Parenting: How to Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really): Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011).