Show Notes
When was the last time you asked for help, or accepted it when offered? As parents it's easy to feel like we're all furiously rowing in our own boats, doesn’t it? That we're required to be independent. That having people see us when we’re struggling is a sign of weakness. But the truth is, we need those connections — and that help — from other people. Today we visit a place, and time, when a community of parents felt a shared responsibility to one another. And we talk with Mia Birdsong, author of the book How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community, on how to build meaningful connections with other parents — and remind you why it’s necessary. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More from Childproof
Melissa Gould lost her husband Joel nearly nine years ago when their daughter, Sophie, was 13 years old. The mother and daughter processed the loss in their very own, very distinct ways: Sophie grieved mostly in silence as a young teen, not wanting to attract pity or stand out from her peers. Melissa grieved loudly – and then publicly, when her memoir, Widowish, came out last year. We talk to both Melissa and Sophie about how complicated it can be when grief takes different shapes in the family, and how their mother-daughter relationship is evolving into one between two adults. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode we celebrate the caregivers and chosen family members who bring so much into our lives. Yasmeen talks to sisters adrienne maree brown and autumn brown, hosts of the podcast How To Survive The End of the World. As writers, facilitators, activists (and queer aunties), they know a lot about nurturing community. They discuss the growth of their relationship as parent/auntie, the radical possibilities of ‘auntiehood’, and the real work of nurturing chosen family. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When the kids are away, how do parents play? Sure, we all have interests we can tick off and activities we like doing as grown-ups. But when that rare chunk of free time comes along, what’s going to serve you well in that moment? In this episode, Yasmeen explores how we can all figure out what we really want to do when we have time to ourselves – along with how we can find moments of personal freedom while parenting. We reach out to two “experts” on the matter: Yasmeen’s mom, who took up a long list of various activities over her years of raising kids, and Sara Shapouri, a mindfulness teacher who occasionally moonlights as an animal-costume-wearing musician. Try a meditation for parents from Sara Shapouri in the Ten Percent Happier app. In this meditation, Sara helps you settle your nervous system and then ask: what do I need right now? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Erin is a mother of three teenagers. As her oldest prepares to leave home, she wonders how she can go about strengthening their strained relationship. She wrote to Childproof for advice and we enlisted the help of veteran meditation teacher James Baraz, who has personal experience healing his own relationship with an adult child. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Being a parent means dealing with a wild range of emotions all the time, both our own and those of our children. Sometimes we may feel rage, sometimes total elation. How are we supposed to make sense of that? Today we’re sharing the first two episodes of a new show at Ten Percent Happier called More Than a Feeling. It dives into the confusing, exhilarating, and messy world of human emotions — and how to make sense of them. In More Than A Feeling’s first episode, we hear host Saleem Reshamwala grapple with defining emotions in the first place (we don’t always have the best language for this). Then, in an episode called “Get Me Out Of Here,” producer Mark Pagán goes deep on one emotion: fear. Specifically, his own fear of riding the New York City subway. We follow along for the (actual) ride. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.