122 | Us & Kids: Three Dads Talking

 On today’s show, we are enjoying the conversation between 3 dads, each with 3 kiddos.  They are  talking about the good and tougher sides of living into their kiddos lives.  They know marriage is a high priority, but the work that goes into managing all of this is...satisfying and challenging.  And, worth the work!

What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode

• Living into being a dad takes intention, even when you're tired. 
• Marriage matters, but keeping it high on the priority..is a tough priority.  
• Knowing words and tone matters to kiddos.  Sadness when I am too intense. 

Resources in Today’s Episode: 

•  Join the Us & Kids supportive Facebook Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/usandkids/

  Read the Full Transcript for this episode Here
 Use this free Printable 

Check out previous podcasts for tips on finding grace through the...

On today’s show we are talking all about parenting, new babies, and pretzels.  One of my daughters would probably say that pretzels were the snack that held her together through the first year of her kiddo’s life.  And, there is good reason for that. 

Pretzels can represent hugs, give a way to pause and think, distract from the depression and anxiety that can swamp new parents, and help couples remember to love and hug each other - and their kiddos. 

We will chat about 10 good ways to help you and your household reset with joy and connection after a new one comes home.  

These tips are good reminders, for your first baby - or your fifth.  

These are good reminders even if your baby, partner or even yourself is (acting like) a toddler, talker or tantrum-maker or teaser.  

So, join us and enjoy some easy upgrades to snacks and home life!  

What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode

• A tiny bit about pretzel...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“Because remember, our communication is 85% nonverbal, meaning it's what your face looks like when you're asking that question.” 

“Now this takes patience in the ask, but it also takes patience in formulating your answer.”

“As we grow and mature, we learn how to accurately listen, speak clearly, and manage our own emotions.”

109 | Us & Kids: Pithy Tidbits to End 2021

Intro  

Finally - or fastly - 2021 is almost done! We are into our 3rd year of bringing you bi-weekly podcasts to help you be married forever while you enjoy parenting your kiddos together! So, today, we’re going to round out the year with just some pithy thoughts and sentences that make sense but don’t take long enough to each make a whole podcast.

You know, it’s sort of like cleaning out your fridge - not enough leftover to make a meal, but some tasty tidbits that you can just eat with your...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“These skills let us realize that things might change - and that we will be okay.” 

“Evaluating and determining the best course of action is not easy when there are so many new and unpredictable moving parts.” 

“Part of calming down was knowing how to reset my emotions and thoughts as I got new information.”

108 | Us & Kids: Christmas Chaos

Intro  

So it's December. Do you feel a little bit crazy? Like maybe the world is always spinning and you try to jump on, but tumble off, embarrassingly. Or maybe from time to time you secretly bumble and jump off. Or do you thrive under the chaos? Or does the chaos thrive inside of you - eating your brain, your sanity, yourself, and your relationships? 

Well, it's often called National Chaos Day. Not particularly this specific day, but a day in November is National Chaos Day. And I think we could do better by calling it just...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“When we loosen up, lots of good things can happen and our worlds will not fall apart.” 

“We know that your brain changes when you force a little smile upon your face. So begin with a smile.” 

“Faith in themselves that they could do this, that things would be okay in the end.”

107 | Us & Kids: Loosen Up Day 

Intro  

Let me ask you, are you ready? For what you might ask. For learning about how to loosen up and lighten up, even in the midst of November and December. What do you think when you hear those words loosen up, lighten up? Do you just get angry, like, well, who has time for that? 

This day was made to help us find our lighter side while locking up our serious side for a few hours. When we loosen up, lots of good things can happen and our worlds will not fall apart. They might in fact, even improve a bit.

What You’ll Learn in Today’s...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“As we nap, it reduces the fatigue, not just the physical fatigue but also that mental fatigue.” 

“It's not a bad idea to consider a nap when you're overwhelmed, because it gets you out of the way and lets your body naturally do the reset that it needs.” 

“You demonstrate to your kiddos as well, that taking good care of themselves is an important thing to do.”

106 | Us & Kids: Naps

Intro  

On today’s show, we're going to talk about napping. Now you can have all sorts of different emotional reactions around this, like, “Oh, I'd love to nap!”, or “They always nap way too long”, or “That kid who of mine does not know how to take a nap!” 

You can go all over the place with napping conversations. So today we're just going to talk a little bit, mostly from a general place, because napping is good for kiddos. It's often also good for...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“Though all of those pieces together made a lot more sense to me that it was sensory and not just he's a naughty kid.” 

“We had to do a little bit of advocacy work on his behalf and on our financial behalf as well.” 

“And so he was open and willing to continue to do some of these things together because he felt the benefits of it and they were fun.”

104 | Us & Kids: ProActive Parenting

Intro  

On today’s show, we are going to be chatting with our special guest, Christi Gilbert. She is an awesome mom of 3, an education expert, and my oldest daughter. She and I are talking through her experience of parenting her son as she began to realize that some other expert input would be really wise. 

Hear her story and thought process as she worked to find the appropriate expert, listen to her gut, and use the guidance in ways that brought growth and health. 

...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“The kids also see that when their parents value their effort, it encourages them.” 

“Kiddos grow up respecting your authority because you've demonstrated it kindly.”

“We help our kids learn to understand that other kids have feelings that we have to pay attention to.”

102 | Us & Kids: Raising Gritty Kids

Intro  

On today’s show, we're talking about how to help your kids be successful. We sort of think of it in terms of how to help your kids be gritty. How do you help them get along in life? So we're going to split this into two different thoughts. 

This is more about parenting, that it isn't necessarily about what's happening for kiddos. It's more about how to help you parent well. The first part of this podcast is about what's happening for you. And for that adult relationship between you and your spouse or your partner.

What You’ll Learn in...

Inspiration from this Episode

“That anxiety is this reaction in the brain and where, since it's something scary and it needs to protect the body.”

“Another way that kiddos tell us that they're nervous is they just have this heightened level of emotion.”

“They want to focus. They want to be able to accomplish tasks.”

101 | Us & Kids: Naughty or Nervous

Intro 

On today’s show, we are gearing up to send our kiddos back to school or preschool, or perhaps just a more structured schedule for the day in the week. And we could easily be noticing some changes in our kiddos as well - maybe even in ourselves.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell why our little ones are being a bit naughty and hard to distinguish if it is really misplaced nerves. Listen in today to see how you can help, because as you know, stress and anxiety for our kiddos can build off of our own stress and worry.

What You’ll Learn in Today’s...

Inspiration from this Episode 

“Take care of yourself so you can pay attention to others and adjust so that you can be more present.” 

“Unfold your arms, lean in a little bit, soften it up and you'll see that people share more of themselves and your connection and respect for each will go up.” 

“What is their perspective? What is their understanding? What is their experience?”

095 | Us & Kids: 10 Tips for Listening Well

Intro  

On today’s show, we are talking about how do we listen well? What are some tips for helping me just listen a little better? Sometimes it's a little harder during the summer time because it's hot outside and we're tired. We often need a little bit more hydration and sometimes we just end up being up later and drinking more alcohol because there's more hanging out time.  

Take a few minutes here to listen to 10 tips about how to develop a really good listening...