

Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens
Casey O'Roarty
Welcome to the Joyful Courage Podcast - a place where parents of tweens and teens come to find inspiration, information and encouragement in the messy terrain of adolescenceThis season of parenting is no joke - and while the details of what we are all moving through might be slightly different, we are having a collective experience.This is a space where we center building relationship, nurturing life skills, and leaning into our own personal growth.My name is Casey O’Roarty, I am a parent coach, Positive Discipline LEad Trainer, and captain of the adolescent ship over at Sproutable. I am also a speaker and published author. I have been working with parents and families for over 20 years and continue to navigate being a mom with my own two young adult kids.I am honored that you are here… Please give back to the pod by sharing it with friends, or on social media, and rate and review on Apple or Spotify - work of mouth is how we grow!Thanks - enjoy the show!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 22, 2023 • 32min
Eps 394: SOLO SHOW Making room for our older teens to practice independence
Showing up today to tease apart an email from a mama of an older teen. How do we maintain relationship, AND expectations, AND room for independence and practice with our older teens? I dig into all of it in this week's solo show. Check it out!Full show notes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 19, 2023 • 47min
Eps 393: College financial planning with Ann Garcia
My guest today is Ann Garcia, and this episode is full of resources & advice you can use right now. Ann is an expert on paying for college and has two kids in college right now, so she really gets it. Ann starts with an explanation of why some college educations are so expensive, what other options are available, and why you need to define your budget for college. Ann shares tips for staying focused on goals & how to talk to your teen about college. Ann tells me when it could be right to take student loans and gives lots of info on how to get scholarships. We also touch on financial aid, FAFSA, CSS Profile, & institutional merit aid. Takeaways from the show
Not all kids are college bound
Why is college so expensive?
Finding college at every price point
Figuring out your college budget
How and when to talk to your teen about your college budget
Focusing on goals, not constraints
Scholarships for every student
Student loans
FAFSA, CSS Profile, & institutional merit aid
Financial planning & parenting
For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 14, 2023 • 36min
Eps 392: SOLO - The importance of holding our teens as capable
Join me this week as I dig into the ways that our human-ness can get the better of us, even when we are the parenting coach!! I share about a recent interaction that I didn't love with. my own son, why it is hard to hold our teens in their light, and how to do better.See full show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-392-SOLO -importance-holding-teens-capable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 12, 2023 • 57min
Eps 391: Navigating school boards with AJ Crabill
My guest today is AJ Crabill. AJ and I have a great conversation this week about school boards and the education system. AJ explains why adults are hesitant & sometimes resistant to changing the way schools operate and why we need to teach resilience (not just make things easier for our kids). AJ shares exactly what student-led restorative practices are and the benefits that come with them. I love hearing all the overlap between AJ’s work and Positive Discipline: the sense of belonging, classroom meetings, a focus on repair, and teaching life skills. We dig into why student behavior will not and cannot change until adult behavior changes. I ask AJ exactly what school boards do, how members get elected, and how parents can get involved effectively and usefully with the board. AJ finishes up by inviting parents to stand up and be the difference maker at their children’s schools. Takeaways from the show
Student-led restorative practices
Why adults are resistant to changing the way schools operate
The importance of students feeling of belonging
Teaching & parenting in a way that builds resiliency
The overlap between student-led restorative practice & Positive Discipline
Student outcomes don’t change until adult behavior changes
How can parents get involved usefully with the school board & school leadership?
What exactly does the school board do?
For more show notes, including full transcripts, visit our website here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 8, 2023 • 27min
Eps 390: SOLO SHOW - 3 myths of tough love and what teens actually need
Parents are often drawn to "do something" when their kids are making mistakes - but tough love (and by tough love I mean punitive consequences and punishment - taking things away, grounding our kids, isolation, yelling, blaming, silent treatments) doesn't typically deliver what you may intend for it to deliver.There is another way to frame it, another way to think about what our teens need to thrive into young adulthood.Listen in as I tease it apart during today's solo show!Find out more at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts//3-myths-tough-love-what-teens-need Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 5, 2023 • 52min
Eps 389: Motivational Interviewing with Dr. Emily Kline
My guest today is Dr. Emily Kline. Dr. Kline shares all kinds of useful information this week around why and how we can communicate with our adolescents with the best results. We touch on relinquishing control and asking curiosity questions, then we dig in deep into what motivational interviewing is and why it’s so helpful. I ask Dr. Kline what motivational interviewing might look like when a teenager is using marijuana, and we agree that the best tool we have to influence our adolescents is relationship. Dr. Kline shares tips on how to start tricky conversations and what you can learn in the first 10 seconds. She tells me what limits, consequences, boundaries, etc. look like to her, what we do when teens disregard those limits, and listening for motivation to change. Takeaways from the show
Relinquishing control
Motivational interviewing
Teens trying marijuana
The best tool for influence is relationship
Staying respectful & curious
How to deliver advice & why we listen first
Staying neutral & consistent around hard conversations
Expectations & limits without punishments
Avoiding socially isolating consequences
Listening for motivation for change
For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 1, 2023 • 30min
Eps 388: Solo Show - 4 steps for being the support your teen needs
This week's solo shows explores the iceberg and the belief behind our teens behavior in a new way. We have been here before and I am bringing you back to get ever better and teasing apart what it is your teen needs, and how you a can meet them there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 26, 2023 • 58min
Eps 387: Supporting atypical teens with Dr. Norrine Russell
I’m really excited to introduce Dr. Norrine Russell to you all. Dr. Russell has truly walked the walk with her own complex children which has changed her parenting & professional paths. Dr. Russell shares what she loves about her work, what hurdles complex kids face in traditional schooling, and what parents can do to help support their atypical kids as learners. She talks on why teens need to figure out what they’re good at and how important it is to tell your teens how much you love them and the strengths you see (empowering encouragement, anyone?). I ask Dr. Russell how families can scaffold to support their complex kids, and we discuss how important it is to listen and observe your own teen, as well as how much individualizing you can do in your home to support your adolescent. We talk about how to reframe it when your kids look like “they don’t care” and whether or not “trying their best” is a reasonable and helpful expectation. Dr. Russell also shares her thoughts on motivation, laziness, ADHD, rewards, & consequences. We finish up talking about how to get teens to buy-in to coaching and what Dr. Russell wishes parents knew about complex teens. Takeways from the show:
School angst & school struggles for complex kids
Lack of flexibility, training, & resources in schools
Helping teens figure out what they are good at
The importance of “I love you” & encouraging atypical kids
Listening to & observing your teen
Individualizing things at home
Watch & wait before jumping in to help
Are “doing their best” and “trying their hardest” helpful & reasonable expectations?
When teens “don’t care” & what teens do care about
Appearing lazy, ADHD, & motivation
Getting adolescents to buy-in to coaching
For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 23, 2023 • 36min
Eps 386: Limiting beliefs and our two selves
Another intimate exploration of what it means to be human WHILE raising teenagers. We are deep diving (yet again) into our own stuff. This week focusing on the limiting beliefs we may be holding that keeps our kids small, and the war between our two selves. Join me for some personal growth and discovery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 22, 2023 • 58min
Eps 385: School avoidance with Jayne Demsky
I am so glad that you are back with me and my amazing guest, Jayne Demsky. So many of you have talked to me about school avoidance and how to navigate this, and we’re digging in deep this week! The good thing - there is hope! Jayne shares her story & why she’s so passionate about school avoidance, and why we can’t just “make them go.” Jayne talks about different therapy options like CBT & exposure therapy, the school’s role, underlying causes, & advocating for your child. We discuss how hard school refusal is on the parents & adults and why punitive consequences do not help. I ask Jayne what parents should do first when they start seeing school avoidance or refusal, and we finish by chatting about education reform & improving schools for kids and how parents can self-care during challenging times. Takeaways from the show
What is school avoidance & school refusal?
What are the signs?
CBT & exposure therapy
The school’s role
Underlying causes
Advocating for your child
Why punitive consequences don’t work
When to intervene & what to do first
Self-care for parents
For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices