Mastermind Parenting Podcast

Gentle Parenting has become a sort of parenting movement over the last decade or so. I’ve been here for more than a hot minute and it’s interesting what I’ve noticed. You see, before Gentle there was Conscious Parenting and before that there was Love and Logic and and and. I think the original founders of these methods were probably drinking the same koolaid I like…we secretly want to raise our kids even better than our parents did. We want our kids to feel loved and enjoyed. We don’t want them to act like selfish creepos. We want them to become besties with their siblings and to have their backs. Of course, much fancier more formal lingo is typically used in the “parenting space”. And I think that’s a big part of the problem. Somewhere with all of these lofty movements, parents have become performative.  Gentle Parenting has been twisted. The parents that come to work with me lately are more permissive than I’ve ever seen and more unpack-leader-y too.  They have lost their voice, their power and their family life seems tense and frankly, miserable. I believe it’s often a case of gentle parenting gone wrong. My guest this week is Avital Schreiber Levy. She’s a mom, author, parenting coach, and designer who knows how to navigate the traps that well-meaning moms and dads end up falling into. Avital pulls no punches as we dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of current Gentle Parenting trends, and why feelings are important, but they can’t be the only thing guiding your child’s behavior. But it’s not all trash talk. She’s got real, practical alternatives and strategies you can use to give your family the Pack Leadership it deserves, with confidence, and without yelling or excessive guilt.As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-324About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/About Avital Schreiber LevyAvital Schreiber Levy is the founder of Hi Fam and the author of Reclaim Play. She helps intentional mothers break free from modern parenting traps and build strong, values-driven families that feel peaceful, connected, and confident. Avital has helped over 100,000 parents in 100+ countries through her courses, YouTube channel, and live events. She’s a mother of five, and known for blending timeless wisdom with real-world tools that actually work.Avital’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: www.hifam.com YouTube: @HiFamLifeInstagram: @HiFamLifeResources Discussed/LinksOur 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/The Coddling Of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt https://www.thecoddling.com/ The Karpman Drama Triangle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle Waking The Tiger by Dr. Peter Levine: https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Tiger-Healing-Peter-Levine/dp/155643233X

We want to raise “good kids.” Kids who are kind. Kids who share. Kids who can handle themselves in a respectable manner when they go over to a friend’s house for dinner. We don’t want our kids to be high maintenance or frankly, bratty.We want to raise kids who can get along in the world, but we also want to raise kids whose behavior shows the world that we did a good job as parents.You know what? That’s okay!Listen in as Avery and I break down this question that has been popping up for tons of moms in my orbit. We talk about WHY it’s a good thing to teach your kids how to behave, and HOW you can encourage them in that direction (without turning them into a doormat). If you’ve been worried about raising picky, bossy, me-first kids, this is the episode for you!As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-323About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/Resources Discussed/LinksOur 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

A common anxiety I often uncover with my moms is: Now that I know what I know about the dangers of tech… it just feels too late to change things with my kids.  Maybe you read the NYT best seller, Anxious Generation,  and… let’s just say, you’re feeling VERY. FLIPPIN’. ANXIOUS. You’re beginning to understand why your kids act like raccoons on meth when it comes to screens - (ipad, phone, tv, video games). You might feel like it’s a lost cause and ask: Is it even possible to undo this obsession with all things screens?  It can really feel like a no-win situation when the kids have been hooked on the iPad since preschool. “But the games were supposed to be educational!” Sigh. We didn’t know what we didn’t know…yet. None of us did. Or at least most of us didn’t. Plus, let’s be honest - we were tired and stressed and those digital babysitters came in handy. Personally, I often relied on them for my sanity. So what’s the solution? This is my main criticism of books like The Anxious Generation. Doctors, scientists and books are good at diagnosing the problem - but it leaves us parents with the problem of: Now what?!The great news is you don’t have to do it all by yourself. This week I’m talking to Titania Jordan, CMO of Bark Technologies and author of Parental Control: A Guide to Raising Balanced Kids in the Digital Age. We break down the “now what” strategies and resources to roll this toxic pattern back.  Time’s up Silicon Valley: We, the parents, are taking back the power of our kids’ developing brains. As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-322About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 27, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mastermindparenting About Titania Jordan:Titania Jordan is the CMO and Chief Parent Officer of Bark Technologies, an internet safety solution that helps parents and schools keep 7.4 million children safer across social media, smartphones, text messaging, and email. She’s also the author of Parental Control: A Guide to Raising Balanced Kids in the Digital Age.Titania’s Social LinksFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/titaniajordan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titaniajordan/ X: https://x.com/titaniajordan YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TitaniaJordan TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@titaniajordan Resources Discussed/LinksGet Titania’s Book: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Parental+Control%3A+A+Guide+to+Raising+Balanced+Kids+in+the+Digital+Era-p-9781394256563Bark Technologies: https://www.bark.us/ Mastermind Parenting Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Spoiler alert! Ya’ll probably know that I LOVE a good TV show. A comfy blanket and a cozy watch is a reliable happy place for me. So when my family recommended the Netflix thriller, “Adolescence,” I have to say I was a little resistant. But eventually they convinced me, and I am SO GLAD they did!“Adolescence” is a short 4-episode drama series about a teenage boy accused of murdering a girl in his class. But unlike most murder mysteries, this show really digs down into how a seemingly normal kid could become capable of committing such an awful crime. Critics and audiences are giving it rave reviews, and Avery and I want to tell you why. We talk about Avery’s experience growing up in the digital age, and how you can talk to your own kids about what awaits them online.MAJOR SPOILERS in this one gang, so watch the show first, then enjoy our discussion. You’ll be glad you did!As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-321About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/Resources Discussed/Links“Adolescence” on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81756069 Our 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Raising a strong-willed kid is harder. Even draining sometimes.  Sitting on the floor and playing with toys felt like the worst to me. I now realize that I found other playful ways to be with my kids… but I still sometimes feel a little guilty about not being a Barbie or Legos kind of mom.So when Dr. Shawn Hondorp invited me on her podcast, The Innovative Therapist, to talk about play and pack leadership, I have to admit, I may have baby barfed a little. But I love Shawn, and I had so much fun working out a definition of Pack Leadership with her recently, that I knew I could trust we’d have a great conversation. And I was SO right.It turns out that a playful attitude counts as playing with your kids. Woohoo. It is also a part of my personal recipe for Pack Leadership. It’s a great way of thinking about leadership in any context, and I think you’ll love this conversation as much as I did. I just love Shawn.  Enjoy!As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-320About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/About Dr. Shawn HondorpDr. Shawn Hondorp is a clinical psychologist whose goal is to create safe learning environments for those who want to explore innovative approaches to healing, one authentic conversation at a time. Learn more about her work, and subscribe to The Innovative Therapist Podcast, at https://drshawnhondorp.com/ Resources Discussed/LinksPart 1 of our discussion, What Even Is Pack Leadership? https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-318 Our 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

You want to help your kids succeed in school - that’s a given. School success is a big area of anxiety and worry I often see with parents I coach. Many well-intentioned parents get more and more involved in their kids’ homework - but more involvement often leads to more long term struggles.Becoming the homework helpline might help get your kids’ grades up temporarily. But it also teaches them to rely on you instead of learning how to figure things out for themselves. There’s no opportunity for your kid to develop agency.Without your constant concierge-level concern, the kid finds themselves flailing and potentially feeling like a failure. Obviously, this is the polar opposite of how you want them to feel. Avery is back and joining me this week to share her experiences with my less-than-obsessed attitude toward homework, and how it helped and possibly hindered her too! As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-319About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/Resources Discussed/LinksOur 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

You’ve probably heard me talk about pack leadership, and how I believe it’s the holy grail in creating a more peaceful family. Humans learn through stories, and I have SO MANY stories about empowered parents, stronger family connections, and sensitive kiddos who finally feel understood.But sometimes you have to go back to basics, like I did this week with therapist, podcaster, and long-time Masterminder, Dr. Shawn Hondorp. On a recent episode of her show, The Innovative Therapist, she asked a simple question. What is pack leadership? The answer was a discussion about feminism, society, parenting styles, and the expectations we place on ourselves to be super great at raising kids. Whether you’re just starting to ask how you can step up for your family, or you’re a confident pack leader yourself, you’ll get something helpful out of our exploration. Enjoy!As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-318About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/About Dr. Shawn HondorpDr. Shawn Hondorp is a clinical psychologist whose goal is to create safe learning environments for those who want to explore innovative approaches to healing, one authentic conversation at a time. Learn more about her work, and subscribe to The Innovative Therapist Podcast, at https://drshawnhondorp.com/ Resources Discussed/LinksOur 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Apologizing can feel hard. Maybe even harder than we care to admit to ourselves. It’s vulnerable to look at a situation where you may have hurt someone you love…especially when that someone is your own kid.  Owning your mistake in a heartfelt way can potentially repair a fractured relationship.Which is why Avery and I had to talk about a very public apology we listened in on, from a recent episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast. Mel and her daughter Sawyer talked about their new book The Let Them Theory, and had a candid discussion about Mel’s presence in Sawyer’s life when she was growing up.Avery and I both thought their reckoning left out some important steps. We thought walking through it would be a great way to help you learn what makes a genuine, empathetic apology, and how learning to apologize better can deepen the trust in your family.As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-317About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/Resources Discussed/LinksOur 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

It might feel like terrible news that building our pack leadership involves going back into our own childhoods. It can feel scary to go back to the “belly of the beast”… after all, you survived your childhood. Who on this God’s green earth would actually choose to look back when you’re so focused on changing cycles and moving forward? When the patterns we’re trying to break involve the often invisible trauma of emotional neglect, they can be extra tough to identify. Grownups raised by neglectful parents can feel like their experiences weren’t “bad” enough to count, or that they should just feel lucky because other kids had it way worse. My guest this week is Ruth Cohn, an amazing therapist and author who writes about what she calls “the invisible trauma” of neglect. Why it can be hard to realize that neglect IS traumatic, how it affects the way we live, and how much we tend to blame ourselves for things that aren’t in our control. If you’re a parent who’s trying to do better than the way you were raised, you have to hear her wisdom!As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-316About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/About Ruth Cohn:Ruth Cohn, MFT, is a psychotherapist living and practicing in the San Francisco Bay area. She has been specializing in work with survivors of trauma and neglect, their intimate partners, and families since 1988. She is a Certified Sex Therapist, certified in Neurofeedback, EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Imago Relationship Therapy. Ruth is also the author of numerous articles on sexuality, trauma, and neglect, and three books: Working With the Developmental Trauma of Childhood Neglect: Using Psychotherapy and Attachment Theory Techniques in Clinical Practice, Coming Home to Passion: Restoring Loving Sexuality in Couples With Histories of Childhood Trauma and Neglect, and Out of My Mind: Late Night Contemplations About Trauma and Neglect.Ruth Cohn’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://ruthcohnmft.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RuthCohnMFT/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthcohnmft/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-cohn-1331b9b/ Resources Discussed/LinksThe Apology, by V (formerly Eve Ensler) https://www.eveensler.org/pf/book-the-apology/ Our 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Did you know that the parenting tools you learn on this podcast also work with other strong-willed creatures? I’m chatting with Avery “favorite daughter” Rubenstein this time about pack leadership and what she has learned from “Ben, the strong-willed horse”.  I think it’s incredibly helpful to practice the tools you are learning here by applying them to other areas of your life…your work, your adult relationships and even your relationships with animals. You see, pack leadership is about becoming and remembering the person you were meant to be…the kind of person who shows up again and again with curiosity and badassery. I think you’re going to love our banter on this episode as well as Avery’s insights about using MMP tools with animals and understanding her equine therapy clients…many of which are on the Autism spectrum. As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-315About Randi RubensteinRandi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.Randi’s Web and Social LinksWebsite: https://mastermindparenting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparentingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/Resources Discussed/LinksOur 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/