Show Notes
Showing up for our kids seems simple enough, right?
Showing up means more than just your physical presence in a room. Showing up for your child is about the quality of your presence. Showing up means connection and attention–putting your phone down while your child is on the playground, taking advantage of every second of the three minutes your child engages with you about their day.
Showing up is about making sure our kids feel soothed, safe, seen, and secure.
And the research on child development clearly demonstrates that one of the very best predictors for how any child turns out–in terms of happiness, social and emotional development, leadership skills, meaningful relationships, even academic and career success–is whether they developed security from having at least one person who showed up for them.
Across cultures and around the globe, these studies reveal a universal finding about how we can parent well, if not flawlessly.
Today’s campfire guest is mama bear, Michelle.
Michelle is a Latinx cisgender woman and mother of three. She and her husband, who is white, live in suburbia with their youngest child. Their oldest child is off conquering the world, and their middle child died in late 2020 by suicide. We’re going to be talking much more about how Michelle chose to show up for her kids and what that has meant for them and for her entire family.
Content warning for discussion of suicide.
Check out the full episode to hear about:
How Michelle showed up for her kids with listening, regularly acknowledging she didn’t have all the answers, non-judgment, and accountability Why you need to know when your kids are most open to conversation, whether it’s face to face, in the car, or outdoors Why Michelle says being able to laugh at ourselves is a key lesson to model for our kids
Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham:
Wildheartsociety.org wildheartsociety.org/downloads Wild Heart Society on Facebook Wild Heart Society on Instagram
Resources: The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired, Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel J. Siegel
More from Camp Wild Heart
When parents bring their kids to see us at Wildheart Society, sometimes they show up scared. Scared of what this means for their kid, of what it means for their relationship, and underneath it, really they’re afraid of change.
In today’s episode, we have a parent story from mom, Shannon.
So many of us are trying so hard to protect our kids from failure of any kind.
Recently, a friend invited me to a comedy show and as we watched the set, I was delighted to find that the performer and I had a bunch of similarities.
You may be aware that there is a significant overlap between neurodivergence and transness. So today, I’m talking with a guest who is both an expert in neurodivergence–and he’s autistic himself–and a parent of queer and trans children.