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675: The Truth About Tantrums, Screens & Raising Emotionally Strong Kids | Ashleigh Warner

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Oct 7, 2025

Guest

Ashleigh Warner

Join holistic family psychologist Ashleigh Warner as she unveils the art of conscious parenting. She reveals that challenging behavior in kids can be a call for understanding rather than a problem to fix. Learn how to nurture emotional growth through play, movement, and presence, rather than over-analyzing feelings. Discover the importance of balancing parental self-care with child-rearing and why embracing dependence can foster true independence. Ashleigh's insights offer a compassionate lens to help parents navigate the beautiful chaos of raising emotionally strong kids.

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insights

INSIGHT

Behavior Hides Emotion

Behavior is a symptom; parents should look for the emotion underneath challenging actions.
Use a "bucket" metaphor: identify what fills emotional energy and find ways to release it regularly.

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ADVICE

Cut Fillers, Add Releases

Remove or reduce major bucket-fillers like overstimulating screens and overscheduling to lower baseline emotional load.
Add daily bucket-releases: play, movement to fatigue, and space for vulnerable tears to reset their nervous system.

insights

INSIGHT

Feeling Beats Labeling

Naming emotions isn't enough if children don't physically feel or release them.
Prioritise felt experiences (tears, movement) over talking for true emotional processing.

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Ashleigh's Path to Conscious Parenting

03:06 • 3min

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Which Ages and Problems Ashleigh Helps

05:48 • 2min

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Look Beneath Behavior: The Bucket Analogy

07:36 • 3min

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What Fills a Child's Emotional Bucket

11:03 • 5min

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How to Help Children Release Emotion

16:31 • 1min

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Why Feeling Beats Naming Emotions

17:49 • 2min

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Practical Meltdown Response and Safety

19:38 • 3min

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Parents' Emotional Release as Capacity Building

22:21 • 52sec

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Prioritizing Sleep and Rest as Essential

23:13 • 2min

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Integrating Self-Care with Family Life

25:00 • 3min

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What Is the Season of Dependence?

27:32 • 3min

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How Dependence Manifests and Shifts

30:07 • 2min

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Is Dependence More Toward Mothers?

32:25 • 3min

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Reframing Nighttime Parenting as Devotion

34:58 • 6min

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When Does Nighttime Parenting End?

41:00 • 3min

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How Much to Nudge: Encouraging Attendance vs. Honoring Needs

43:45 • 4min

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Attuning to Your Unique Child Over Parenting Rules

47:30 • 2min

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Simplifying Life to Increase Parental Capacity

49:30 • 4min

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Consequences, Rewards, and Gaining Cooperation

Delaying Screens and Modeling Family Choices

57:04 • 5min

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Why Ashleigh Homeschools and Thoughts on School Models

01:02:13 • 5min

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Typical Day and Cup-Filling Activities

01:07:14 • 2min

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Quick Actions: Health, Wealth, and Love for Families

01:09:05 • 2min

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Final Wisdom: Compassion Over Perfection

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What if your child’s “challenging” behaviour wasn’t a problem to fix, but a message to understand?

In this beautiful and deeply grounding episode, I sit down with holistic psychologist and conscious parenting expert Ashleigh Warner to explore what it really means to raise emotionally safe, connected, and confident children. Together we unpack how to look beneath behaviour to find the deeper needs, how to hold space for big feelings, and how to bring more calm, compassion, and presence into everyday parenting moments.

Ashleigh shares her wisdom on screens, tantrums, bedtime battles, and those tender seasons of dependence that invite us to slow down and surrender. This is a conversation that will help you see your child through a softer, wiser lens—and remind you that what they need most isn’t perfection or control, but you.

Head to www.melissaambrosini.com/675 for the show notes.

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Get Time Magic: www.timemagic.me

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