Prep for the Holidays: You Can Do it - with Grace, Boundaries -- and Self-Awareness

Your adult child calls. Again. The rent is due. The car payment is late. There’s another financial crisis — and once again, you’re being asked to help. So what do you do when you know your adult child is struggling, but you also know that some of the struggle comes from their own financial choices? In this short episode of Straight from the Listener Line: Real Questions, Real Answers, Denise turns to psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein to answer a question many parents wrestle with: “What...

What does it really mean to be a “good daughter”? For many women, it means remembering birthdays, making the phone calls, planning the holidays, buying the gifts, checking on aging parents, keeping siblings connected—and carrying an enormous amount of emotional and mental work that nobody else sees. Dr. Alison Alford, author of Good Daughtering: The Work You've Always Done, the Credit You've Never Gotten, and How to Finally Feel Enough, calls this work “daughtering.” Her research explores the...

How do you set boundaries with an adult child struggling with addiction when every limit feels frightening—and potentially dangerous? In this episode, a listener describes the painful cycle her family has been living through: addiction, crisis, promises, hope and then another setback. She loves her adult child and wants to do everything possible to keep them safe. But she is also exhausted, frightened and no longer sure whether repeatedly stepping in is helping—or allowing the cycle to contin...

If you've listened to Bite Your Tongue for a while, you may remember this conversation with friendship expert Shasta Nelson. I'm bringing it back because when I listened to it again, I realized just how much is packed into this episode. Yes, we talk about friendship—but we also talk about something at the very heart of this podcast: How do we build a healthier, more adult relationship with our grown children? Shasta introduces us to what she calls the Friendship Triangle: positivity, consiste...

If you've ever stared at your phone wondering whether to send that text, this episode is for you. Sometimes the silence lasts longer than you want. Sometimes you feel them pushing away. That's why this episode of Straight from the Listener Line: Real Questions, Real Answers, tackles one of the most emotionally difficult dilemmas parents face. If your adult child isn't reaching out, should you call? Text? Wait? And how do you stay connected without feeling like you're chasing them?...