Heartmanity's Blog

Do you know the recipe for keeping your relationship with your preteen and teen strong and healthy? As a parent, are you aware of the critical responses needed to support and ensure vital teen brain development? Simple and crucial parental responses can make the difference.

One of the greatest concerns of every parent is keeping their teen safe when teenage rebellion and risk-taking are prevalent. Science shows that teens rebel more when parents react and are unable to regulate their own emotions. Too often, parents engage in fighting matches and arguments, flinging reprisals and wielding [...]

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." ~Abraham Lincoln

All parents want to raise responsible, self-reliant children—but getting there doesn't happen overnight. It takes years of nurturing to prepare our kids for a life of independence. Not only do we need to actively teach our children responsibility, but we also need to model the behaviors we want to see. And it's also important to avoid making critical parenting mistakes that could undermine our goal of raising independent kids.

No matter how long ago it was, you probably remember what it was like to be a teenager: feeling alienated from the world as if no one could understand you. A common and familiar theme.

When you’re a teen, the inner critic, negative self-talk, and anxiety can spiral out of control unless you know the right coping skills, how to regulate emotions, and develop intrinsic motivation.

When you’re the parent of a teen, it can be challenging to access the mindset needed to relate to the struggles of adolescence. This can create a rift between you and your children as they enter their teen years. [...]

Every parent of a toddler is familiar with the incessant "whys" that litter each day. At first, they are endearing and cute. Parents take great delight in hearing that sweet voice and seeing the expressive, curious face of their child. However, after the first hundred times or so, or on a particularly stressful or hectic occasion, the question often begins to irritate parents. Fortunately, this stage passes somewhat quickly, as the child's language development expands to include more and more words. And then before you know it—the teenage years greet you!

The stages of development in [...]

Being a parent is difficult and complicated. On top of parenting being a full-time job, it costs an estimated quarter of a million dollars to raise each child to the age of eighteen. We dedicate ourselves to keeping our children safe and healthy for nearly two decades—a huge feat in this crazy world. Even after they’ve grown up, we have heartstrings connected to them 24/7, no matter where they live or what they’re doing.

It can really hurt when we unexpectedly find our adult relationships with our children strained. Do you think to yourself, "Why is my grown son so mean to me?" or "Why is [...]

Every couple is unique. Each couple has a different response to the news of being pregnant and having a baby. Yet, nothing is more exciting—and terrifying—than becoming pregnant and knowing that you're going to be responsible for another human being.

It's common to dive into all of the information online and buy a few books to devour. And it's natural to fill your thoughts with possible baby names, pursue midwives, and make that first check-up appointment. It's common to immediately seek to understand the stages of the embryo and fetus development and plan for the major event of [...]

One of the most challenging times in life is when your child hits the teenage years. Parenting teens is as much a rite of passage for you as it is for your teen. It’s when your sweet, agreeable child turns grumpy, rebellious, and pushes you away seemingly overnight. I’ll never forget my own experience as a first-time parent of a teenager. During one incredibly difficult time, my 14-year-old son and I had just had an argument, and he had stormed off abruptly. My daughter, who was five years younger, had witnessed the whole blow-up. As she saw the tears welling in my eyes, she looked up at [...]

As parents, we all know how difficult it can be to keep our patience with our vivacious children, especially in their innocent moments of exploring their world at full throttle. Parenting with patience can be challenging when our child is misbehaving, especially when we don't know how to redirect children's behavior without squelching their spirits.

What parenting strategies lead to positive discipline and greater patience? How do we prevent losing it with our children? And are you a bad mom when you are impatient?

Many parents come to me because they’re concerned about their children’s coping skills. It’s clear that a lot of parents are at a loss for how to teach their children resilience. Let’s face it. Raising kids in today’s world is tough. Tech addictions, drugs, anxiety, depression, food disorders, and suicide are prevalent—is it any wonder that parents worry?

As a parent coach, what I repeatedly see are parents who don’t know how to feel, who don’t give themselves or their children permission to feel.

Why is this a problem? Because without emotional literacy, self-awareness, and emotional [...]

When my son was only two, he and I had just picked up a vanilla sponge cake from the bakery, a special order for a friend’s surprise birthday party. I carefully tucked the square white box on the floor between the two front seats of our family minivan. Parking in our driveway, I unhooked the quick-release on my son’s car seat so he could climb down, and I got out of the van to help him out.

Opening the sliding door, I was shocked to find him sitting proudly on the cake box with a big grin on his face. With his adorable toddler sweetness, he squealed, “It’s a perfect size seat for me, Mom!” [...]