We’re a few weeks into summer, and you might be starting to feel like you’re in the doldrums. If you’ve been feeling frustrated, disappointed or sad that your summer isn’t going quite the way you hoped it would, this is the episode for you.

You’ll Learn:

• Common challenges with kids in the summer
• 4 strategies to do a summer reset and get things back on track
• Some thoughts you can borrow to create the feelings you want this summer

In this encore episode, I’m talking about how to do a summer reset and get things back on track.

You can read the full show notes here.

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Grab the free summer toolkit here and get a link to the full Calm Mama Summer playlist on Spotify, plus lots of other great resources!

In this free guide you’ll discover:

✨ A simple tool to stop yelling once you’ve started (This one thing will get you calm.)

✨ 40 things to do instead of yelling. (You only need to pick one!)

✨ Exactly why you yell. (And how to stop yourself from starting.)

✨A script to say to your kids when you yell. (So they don't follow you around!)

Download the Stop Yelling Cheat Sheet here

• Book a complimentary session with Darlynn
• Learn about the different parenting programs at www.calmmamacoaching.com
• Follow me on Instagram @darlynnchildress for daily tips
• Rate and review the podcast on Itunes

Welcome back to another Confessions episode!

NOTE: This episode is a doozy. It might even need a trigger warning (sexual abuse trauma). But I KNOW it’s going to be really helpful on your healing journey. Listen when you feel ready.

My friend, Kristin LaFontaine is back on the podcast, and I'm confessing some of my deepest fears and how I spent years and years in what I call the fix it/fuck it cycle.

→ Fix it = hyper-rigidity, super productivity, high control behaviors

→ Fuck it = who cares, no rules, give up/give in behaviors

In this episode, I’m sharing all about my experiences in the fix it /fuck it cycle and how I got out of it. Hint - it’s all about self-love and self-trust.

Click here to learn more about Internal Family Systems (IFS)

The thing about dinner is that it happens every. single. day. And it’s typically the worst time of day for kids, especially littles. Plus, you might have sports or other evening activities in the mix. Today, Madison Wetherill of Cook At Home Mom is here to help you make preparing meals for your family easier and more joyful.

You’ll Learn:

• Why preparing meals feels so hard
• The most impactful thing you can do to cut mealtime overwhelm
• Ways to involve kids in the kitchen without creating more stress for yourself
• My strategy for handling meal prep when my kids were little

Listen in as we talk about the overwhelm and resentment that can come along with cooking and practical tips and tools to overcome those obstacles and even involve your kids in the process.

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Madison Wetherill is the woman behind Cook at Home Mom, where she inspires busy families to embrace wholesome, delicious cooking. Based in sunny Arizona, Madison juggles life as a wife and homeschooling mom to three energetic boys (ages 2, 7, and 9), blending the chaos of family life with her passion for creating meals that nourish the body and soul.

Madison’s culinary journey began after her college years when cooking shifted from a necessity to a passion. Whether she's experimenting with new ingredients or hosting family dinners, her mission is simple: to make cooking at home easy, enjoyable, and always full of flavor.

Madison says that while her dream Saturday is hours of alone time in her kitchen, she realizes that this is not the case for most people. For a lot of moms, cooking is a chore and definitely does NOT top the list of ways they want to spend their free time. Listen in to hear some of her best tips for simplifying family meals.

Madison recognizes that just the basics of cooking for a family can be overwhelming. There are so many moments between the beginning of planning and the finish line of sitting down to eat a meal. It’s a much more complicated process than we often give ourselves credit for.

She adds, “Then when you add in picky eaters or dietary needs or preferences or requirements for time or equipment, there are so many complexities to it, it's no wonder that it's overwhelming.” And, of course, meals are just one of many, many things you’re managing as a mom.

The first step is to get curious about what exactly makes mealtimes feel stressful or exhausting to you. Is it the planning part (or lack of a plan)? Time? Budget? Not knowing what to make?

She says, “There are different avenues and solutions for all of each of these problems. But I think so often we're quick to dismiss it and think, ‘That's just how it is. And it's never going to get any easier.’”

The biggest pain point Madison sees in moms is planning meals, which includes a few different pieces. First is having the time to plan. Next is figuring out what to eat, which brings in factors like picky eating, dietary needs, what’s healthy, what your family will like, affordability, etc. There’s certainly no shortage of recipes out there. The challenge is deciding which ones fit your needs and your family will enjoy.

💡Tip: Create a Meal Planning Routine

We can think about meal planning the same way we use intention in parenting. For example, if you want to feel less stressed about meals during the week, create a routine around meal planning. When you take the time to plan your meals on Monday, imagine how you will feel on Thursday night when you know exactly what to cook and your ingredients are ready to go.

Madison says, “Many practical problems you might have within the realm of...

Have you ever seen your kid do something and think, “They should know better”? I think we all have at one time or another. But here’s the thing - maybe they don’t.

Today, I’m talking about what kids don’t know so that you can adjust your expectations, feel less annoyed by their behavior, and help them learn the skills they’re missing.

You’ll Learn:

• Why our kids don’t actually “know better” a lot of the time
• How to balance social norms with a strong sense of self
• 6 ways to help your child learn important social skills
• How teaching social norms fits into the 4 steps of the Calm Mama Process

Parenting is a constant process of resetting limits and teaching new skills and behaviors. Listen to learn how.

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Reminder: When you’re teaching your kids something (like how you want them to behave), once isn’t enough. You’ll have to tell them many, many times. And every time they go through a new developmental stage, their brain grows and changes, so they end up needing to learn things again.

Let’s face it: There are a LOT of things our kids don’t know yet. Some of these are practical, like how weather, time, and money work. How to do specific tasks.

Today, I’m focusing more on social and behavioral skills, as these are the ones that tend to cause us the most frustration and can be really challenging to understand.

Every society has social norms - unwritten rules that govern behavior and dictate what's considered acceptable or unacceptable. These kinds of norms might be related to a country, religion, cultural group, or even smaller subgroups like a school environment or sports team.

And they can be helpful because they create predictable and harmonious interactions within our society.

When our kids do things that go outside of these acceptable behaviors, we get annoyed or embarrassed. We think they’re being rude.

But often, kids don’t actually know what is rude (and they just have no filter). They aren’t born understanding these social norms, and a lot of them are complicated and nuanced.

So we have to teach them how to behave so that we don't have chaos and confusion. Your job as a parent is to give your child the awareness, skills, and tools to know what behavior is accepted so that they can be successful in our society and culture.

It’s a lot of work to learn how to be a person in society - to understand which behaviors are okay in which settings, and a lot of mistakes are going to be made.

Kids learn to understand and follow social norms through socialization. Interacting with people in different types of situations gives them a basic understanding of what works in the world, and teaches them tools to manage themselves.

But we don’t just want our kids to follow the crowd. We also want to parent them in a way that preserves a positive sense of self. At times, it can feel like these two goals are at odds with each other.

On the one hand, we have social norms - Be nice, be smart, be athletic, be attractive, be helpful, be likable, care about others, don't hurt others.

Then we have social and personal values that might be things like be unique, be creative, be yourself, be authentic, take care of yourself, express your needs, express your feelings.

So, what if you have a child who is expressing their authentic thought that you have stinky breath? They’re being honest and using their words, and this also has an impact on the other person that might cause a social problem.

Teaching the nuance of socializing while being yourself is no easy task. We...

We’ve all been there. You make a plan to do something that you think is going to be really fun for you and your kids. But then, it turns out to not be as much fun as you thought. Your kids aren’t into it, they’re complaining, and you end up feeling disappointed, frustrated, and annoyed.

You’ll Learn:

• Real-life examples of shifting plans and expectations
• One of the guiding principles I follow to help with parenting pivots
• How planning and flexibility work together to create more peace and connection
• 5 steps to pivot when things are going the way you hoped

I’m talking about parenting pivots and flexibility when you’re dealing with grumpy moods, “I don’t wanna”s, and plans that get off track.

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Let’s start with a little story…

Years ago, my family was in Yosemite for a vacation, and we were all going bike riding. It was getting really, really hot, and we stopped along the trail so that we could go into the river and cool off. And one of my sons did NOT want to go in the river.

I was really stuck on this idea that we were all going to cool down in the river. We were cajoling him, trying to convince him to get into the water.

Finally, I realized that I could pivot from my expectation or my need for him to go in. I just let it go. I decided to enjoy myself in the water and let him enjoy whatever he was doing.

With that pivot, the whole energy shifted between the four of us because I settled down as the emotional leader in my family. My other family members settled down, and we were all at peace. We started to include my son in a different way that allowed him to participate. He would go to the backpack to get us some water or chips or take a towel back to the bikes.

He loved it, and it ended up being a really fun experience for us all. Because I was able to detach and pivot and shift into acceptance. To allow for people to be people. To allow for my own feelings and desires to be met. I trusted that it was going to be okay.

When you can detach from the desire for your child to participate in a certain way, you’ll be fine with whatever happens. Maybe they join you in the activity, maybe they don’t. Funny thing is, when you detach, kids often come back around and want to be involved. But if they don’t, you’re still okay.

This was a core principle of a church that I went to for a long time. The idea is that we have some basis of structure - a routine, plan, event, etc. But then something happens that you have to submit to. Maybe it’s a big feeling cycle, an illness, bad weather, or a new opportunity. And you have to adjust your expectations.

Being flexible and pivoting our plans was a huge struggle for me for a long time. Maybe you can relate.

Childhood trauma had me using hypervigilance and overplanning as a way to cope. And as a mom, I was really scared that if I didn’t overplan, my kids would act out, I would not stay calm, I would lose my crap on them, and I’d be a bad mom. I thought that by being really organized, I would keep myself and my kids safe.

But this isn’t an all-or-nothing. Having a plan is a really good idea. And we can be flexible in the way we respond when things don’t go the way we expect.

Every family needs an adult with some idea of how things are going to go. You need some kind of structure for when people are going to eat, what activities are coming up, how dinner, bedtime, and cleanup will go. Most families work well when there is some kind of rhythm and flow to your days and weeks.

But we also need to be able to submit to the spirit. In parenting, I think of this as

Let’s face it. Summer is great. And it’s a lot.

A lot of time with kids. Traveling. Extra meal prep. Day trips with snack bags. Feeling like there’s not enough time to get work done. Long days. Late nights. Sibling fights. Loneliness.

You’re going to need a plan to enjoy the season - and avoid burnout.

You’ll Learn:

• Why burnout happens
• Signs that you are approaching burnout
• The benefits of taking a break
• How to plan your Calm Mama Break

When you decide that taking care of yourself this summer and avoiding burnout is a PRIORITY - you will be creative and find a way to make it happen! And I’m here to help you do it.

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Grab the free summer toolkit here and get a link to the full Calm Mama Summer playlist on Spotify, plus lots of other great resources!

In this free guide you’ll discover:

✨ A simple tool to stop yelling once you’ve started (This one thing will get you calm.)

✨ 40 things to do instead of yelling. (You only need to pick one!)

✨ Exactly why you yell. (And how to stop yourself from starting.)

✨A script to say to your kids when you yell. (So they don't follow you around!)

Download the Stop Yelling Cheat Sheet here

• Book a complimentary session with Darlynn
• Learn about the different parenting programs at www.calmmamacoaching.com
• Follow me on Instagram @darlynnchildress for daily tips
• Rate and review the podcast on Itunes

On today’s episode of Become A Calm Mama, I have 2 guests - Angie and Megan - co-founders of Front Row Moms. We’re talking about what it means to be a working mom, as well as the benefits and obstacles to being a working parent.

You’ll Learn:

• What “having it all” actually means
• Mindset shifts to relieve mom guilt
• 4 strategies for managing overwhelm as a working mom
• Why empowerment is better than perfection

Whether you are a working mom out of choice or necessity, I know you’ll get some helpful tips and lots of encouragement from our conversation.

(And if you’re not a working mom, stick around anyway, because there are some great life management and mindset tips in here for you, too.)

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Angie Macdougall and Megan Corey are the powerhouse duo behind Front Row Moms, a dynamic community redefining what it means for women to “have it all” — with heart, health, and high impact.

Angie, a mom of two teens, ages 16 and 19,, thrives on being active year-round in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. With over 28 years of leadership at Vector Marketing/Cutco Cutlery, she has recruited and trained thousands, becoming the first woman in the company’s history to balance an executive role with motherhood.

Megan Corey is a mom of two boys, ages 10 and 11, and the CEO of 4CORE. As she moved up the chain and was being groomed for a senior leadership role in her previous job, she realized that it didn’t feel right. She didn’t want the burnt out, stressed out, work-first-and-forget-about-family kind of life. So she started her own consulting company where she’s known for simplifying complexity, fostering strategic alliances, and building impactful communities.

Angie shares that her biggest fear used to be that she’d have to quit a job she loved in order to be a mom. At that time, she didn’t have an example in her company to look up to. Her journey of navigating career and family inspired her to seek and create a community of women who support one another in embracing life’s challenges and opportunities.

Together, Megan and Angie created Front Row Moms to be the kind of community they craved — one where women could grow without guilt, connect deeply, and support one another in every season of life.

Lots of working moms feel the pressure to “balance it all”. Balance isn’t an end point you reach, it’s a constant process of shifting priorities and time.

Megan says, “We don’t have to be doing all the things all the time 100%.” She and Angie are redefining what “having it all” actually looks like.

Angie believes that one solution is looking at results over how long it takes to get something done. You may not be able to fit into the traditional 9-5 schedule, but you can still be counted on to complete tasks and projects.

Working from home adds in some unique challenges, as well. When Mom is at home but not available, it can be confusing to kids. In this case, setting clear expectations and boundaries ahead of time is so important. And sometimes, going into the office actually allows you to be more present with whatever it is you're focused on at the time.

Each woman has to define “balance” for herself. What does “having it all” look like for YOU, in this stage of life? It’s not always going to be the same. And it probably won’t look like your favorite Instagram feed or your friend’s idea of balance.

There can be so much guilt that comes with being a...

Summer Break can somehow be both easier and more stressful for parents. Create a rhythm and make sure your kid’s (and your) needs are met with these 7 family essentials this summer.

You’ll Learn:

• The 7 essential ingredients every family needs to thrive
• Why boredom is super important and how to deal with it
• How to troubleshoot when your kid is complaining, grumpy and over-tired
• What to do to calm all the nervous systems in your home this summer

If you start to see your kids fighting or complaining a lot, seeming lethargic or unmotivated, this episode will help you to know what to work on to get them back on track and enjoying summer again.

You can read the full show notes here.

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Grab the free summer toolkit here and get a link to the full Calm Mama Summer playlist on Spotify, plus lots of other great resources!

In this free guide you’ll discover:

✨ A simple tool to stop yelling once you’ve started (This one thing will get you calm.)

✨ 40 things to do instead of yelling. (You only need to pick one!)

✨ Exactly why you yell. (And how to stop yourself from starting.)

✨A script to say to your kids when you yell. (So they don't follow you around!)

Download the Stop Yelling Cheat Sheet here

• Book a complimentary session with Darlynn
• Learn about the different parenting programs at www.calmmamacoaching.com
• Follow me on Instagram @darlynnchildress for daily tips
• Rate and review the podcast on Itunes