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Jennifer A. Williams / Parent Coach

Jennifer A. Williams / Parent Coach

Jennifer is the Heartmanity Founder and a parent coach and behavioral consultant with two decades of experience. She is a Parent Instructor and Instructor Trainer for the International Network of Children and Families and author of several parenting courses, including How to Bully-Proof Your Child and Hacking the Teen Brain. Jennifer is happily married and a mother to 3 fantastic grown children.

Recent Posts:

Promote Greater Resilience in Children and Teens with 3 Simple Actions

Resilience is a hot topic, especially after the pandemic quarantines and subsequent unpredictability for children, teens, and adults alike. As a parent, we cannot control many things that happen in our children's lives socially or at school. However, we can empower our children by teaching them resiliency and emotional intelligence skills to help them respond effectively to life's curveballs and challenges.

Emotional fitness defends against the effects of stress like physical exercise creates healthy, toned muscles that prevent injury. Just like our muscles need stretching and exertion to [...]

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting

7 Symptoms of Emotionally Immature Parents and Practical Advice for their Grown Children

When parents are emotionally immature, having a healthy relationship with them can be difficult. No matter how the adult child attempts to be heard or understood, often the parent is unable to truly empathize or connect on a meaningful level.

Below are seven symptoms that can indicate that you are a child of an emotionally immature parent, sometimes also called eggshell parenting. With each symptom, practical advice is given on how to be true to yourself while also being respectful to your parents.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Emotional Intelligence & Fitness

Keys for Happy Children and Hassle-Free Homework

During the school year, I often hear complaints from parents about their constant struggle with their children and teens to do their homework. The most frequent parental complaints are: children and teens procrastinate their school work and wait until the last minute for long-term projects. Or they do their work quickly just to get it over with and do a poor job. And occasionally, teens outright refuse to do their work or the opposite—they lean too heavily on their parents for assistance asking incessant questions.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting

Parenting Tips for a Happy Home: How to Apply Montessori at Home

If you're a parent who has a child or multiple children attending a Montessori school, you may be searching for understanding about how to bridge the gap between school and home. By making small adjustments at home, you can create remarkable results and dramatically enhance the continuity for children from home to school or school to home.

Goodbye, power struggles!

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Heartmanity Webinars, Classes, and Events

Parenting Tips to Encourage Self-Reliance and Decrease People Pleasing in Children

Previously, we talked about three hidden parenting mistakes that increase people-pleasing behavior in children and how to avoid those mistakes. Now, let’s explore steps to encourage our children’s self-reliance and help them learn to take care of themselves without sacrificing their well-being through people-pleasing.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting

3 Hidden Parenting Mistakes that Promote People-Pleasing Behavior in Children

People-pleasing behavior is fraught with many emotional land mines: resentment, exhaustion, losing touch with our needs, seeking to be liked while giving up our desires and dreams, repressing emotions, and the impossible task of keeping everyone happy (to name just a few). Every parent I’ve worked with who identifies themselves as a people-pleaser asks, “What can I do to ensure that my child doesn’t become a people-pleaser like me?” I’ve never met any parent who aspires to raise compliant pleasers.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Parenting Favorites

Am I a Bad Mom? Transform Parenting Burnout to Fun, Positive Parenting

Having taught parenting classes for over 20 years and coached scores of children, parents, and families for just as long, I’ve heard many stories from parents riddled with guilt and worry. Parenting is hard enough without feeling doubt and judging ourselves. The one question that is asked more times than you can imagine is “Am I a bad mom?” or “Am I a bad dad?”

There are many versions of this concern, and it isn’t reserved for any particular developmental stage or parental season. At one time or another, every parent questions whether they are up for the job! And when doubt creeps in, it [...]

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Parenting Favorites

Why Reactive Parents Increase the Risk of Greater Teenage Rebellion

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.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Parenting Favorites

Are You Building a United Front for Kids in Your Blended Family?

Blended families naturally face countless combinations of complexities. The intertwining worlds of parents, stepparents, children, and stepsiblings, as well as their potentially clashing values, emotions, and schedules, can be a tough world for families to navigate. Children in these families constantly have to adjust as they move back and forth between households, navigating the different personalities and parenting styles of their biological parents and stepparents.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting

Stop! These 5 Things Will Destroy Responsibility in Children

"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.

Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Parenting Favorites

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