Welcome to the Parenting Well Podcast with the Parent Engagement Network! I am Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host. This podcast provides perspectives on parenting, so that you can fill your well with information, strategies, and resources that help you raise healthy, happy humans. Filling your well leaves you engaged, educated and empowered to support your children in being strong, resourceful, confident and resilient in the face of life’s challenges and adventures. Let’s fill that well!
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
39 min
“Am I helping my child succeed today or am I helping them succeed tomorrow?”
Welcome to the Parenting Well Podcast. I am Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today's well source is Dr. Nicole Hipp.
Dr. Hipp is a licensed psychologist, executive function coach, and educational consultant with a passion for helping children, teens, and families thrive. As Executive Director of Collegiate Coaching Services, she specializes in the assessment and treatment of ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, executive functioning challenges, and emotional well-being. Dr. Hipp earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from La Salle University and has dedicated her career to helping parents better understand their children’s unique strengths and challenges. Through her work with families, she provides practical, evidence-based strategies that empower parents to support their children’s development, build resilience, and navigate educational and behavioral challenges with confidence. Her approach combines clinical expertise with compassionate guidance, helping families create stronger connections and lasting success.
#Neurodiversity #ChoresandLifeSkills #ScreenTime #allages #paretingtips
In this podcast, we talk about:
- The natural variations of the human brain
- The positive ways in which people with neurodiversity think differently - the gifts
- How to help neurodiverse kids make major life transitions
- Specific executive functioning skills for young people to develop in early adulthood
- Scaffolding: Teaching without stepping in too much. Not stepping back too quickly
- Strategies for teaching problem solving and critical thinking
- How to navigate obtaining a comprehensive diagnostic assessment
- Rethinking labels as a way to understand and gain access to support
- The importance of self understanding
- Unique challenges for highly intelligent students who have
- The impacts of social media and the drop in face-to-face time with same aged peers
- Young people with ADHD are the group that is most vulnerable to overuse of social media
- The impact of social media on social isolation for young people with autism
- Mistakes well-meaning parents often make
Resources
Jul 2, 2026
Jul 2, 2026
42 min
"I hear you, I see you, and I am present with you."
I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today we are joined by Dr. Lisa Templeton. Dr. Templeton is a licensed clinical psychologist, author, and founder of The Interpersonal Healing Center in Colorado. Her work brings together mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral tools, acceptance, and compassionate relational care. She helps individuals and families slow down, listen inwardly, and meet life’s challenges with more awareness and connection.
Dr. Templeton is the author of Letting It Be: Mindful Lessons Toward Acceptance, and her public work includes writing, speaking, music, poetry, and teaching practices that support self-care, deeper listening, and relational harmony.
#Relationships #Confllict #Connection #allages #practicaltips
In this podcast, we talk about:
- Slowing down and finding balance in a fast-paced world
- Asking the right questions so that you are in your children’s world
- Using gratitude on creating balance
- The difference between acceptance and resignation
- Shifting perceptions to create agency
- Acknowledging the context of the situation in your response to challenges
- Taking space to pause, reflect, and revisiting a conflict
- Focusing on repair when emotions are regulated
- Building relationships around trust, love, and respect.
- The practice of deep listening
- Self care as a practice of caring and relating to yourself - Being compassionate, loving and respectful to yourself.
- Being present in the moment, on purpose, and without judgement
- Bringing creativity into your life
Resources:
Jun 26, 2026
Jun 26, 2026
30 min
I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and you are listening to The Parenting Well Podcast. Today's guest is Dr. Jazzmon Trotty-Herring. Jazzmon is the creator of The Connected Family System, a parenting and family-development framework focused on emotional stability, structure, communication, and healthy connection within the home. Through her work, she helps parents move away from reactive parenting and toward intentional family leadership rooted in consistency, values, and emotional awareness. Her message emphasizes that strong families are built through systems, not survival mode, creating environments where both parents and children can thrive emotionally and relationally.
In today's podcast, we talk about:
- Jazzmon’s background in mental health, safety management, infant and toddler education, and child protective services
- Why families need a “system to return to” when life feels stressful or chaotic
- How to create a family system rooted in your values, needs, routines, and expectations
- Using values as the blueprint for discipline, communication, rules, and daily family life
- Moving from reactive parenting to intentional, values-aligned parenting
- The role of emotional regulation, pausing, and the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 grounding technique
- Why repair matters after reactive or difficult parenting moments
- How consistency, safety, and emotional steadiness help children feel secure
- The importance of self-awareness, presence, and intentionality when showing up for kids
- How strong family systems can positively impact schools, communities, and the world beyond the home
Resources:
- Book: The Connected Family System
- The Connected Family System toolkit includes:
- A weekly podcast that explores how values, guiding principles, consistency, emotional regulation, and communication work together to create a home that holds.
- A book that offers a new way to think about parenting including foundational principles, real life examples of the framework applied, and more.
- A live, two-hour virtual educational workshop designed to bring greater clarity, alignment, and structure into a family’s home.
- A four week-long intensive program for 1:1 coaching with families including guided framework development, application discussion, and limited email support between sessions.
Jun 17, 2026
Jun 17, 2026
25 min
“If we don’t pay attention and aspire to a life where we are all living better, happier, healthier lives that are sustainable, then I don’t know that we reach it accidentally,” Martin Ogle
I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today's Well Source is Martin Ogle. Martin is an environmental educator, naturalist, and founder of Geo sapiens, an initiative focused on helping people become “Earth-wise humans” by integrating environmental and energy literacy into everyday life, work, and community.
This podcast centers around how parents can help children build a meaningful relationship with nature, develop a sense of wonder, and see themselves as connected, capable contributors to a healthier world through whatever work and careers they are interested in.
#EnvironmentalLiteracy #Communication #mentalhealth #AllAges #PracticalTips
In this Podcast we talk about:
- Developing a relationship with nature
- Understanding how living systems work and how humans fit in
- The social & emotional, mental, and physical benefits of being outside
- The connection between the health of a living system and your own well being
- Creating an economy that is in balance with all living systems
- Developmental approaches to talking to kids about the nature, environmental factors, and sustainability practices
- Specific ways that businesses are creating sustainability and the opportunities young people have to contribute to that in their career
- Managing advancements in technology with being in balance with living systems
- Incorporating living processes in all we do, including schools curriculum and careers
- The importance of putting the concepts together
- Simple ways to integrate these concepts into your day-to-day life
Resources:
- Martin’s Website: Entrepreneurial Earth, LLC
- Project Drawdown: The World’s Leading Guide to Science-Based Solutions
- The Biggest Little Farm Documentary
- Book: Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
- Book: The Nature Principle by Richard Louv
May 18, 2026
May 18, 2026
26 min
“The complex is simple and the simple is complex”
Welcome to The Parenting Well Podcast. I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today's conversation is with Mark Talaga. Mark hosts the podcast Hopelessly Gifted, a deeply personal and thought-provoking exploration of intelligence, identity, achievement, and emotional well-being. Through candid storytelling and hard-earned insight, Mark examines what it means to grow up labeled as “gifted” and the pressures, expectations, and emotional complexities that often come with that label.
Drawing from his own experiences, Mark challenges the assumption that gifted children naturally thrive. Instead, he highlights the hidden struggles many high-achieving kids face, including perfectionism, anxiety, isolation, burnout, and the difficulty of developing resilience when achievement becomes tied to self-worth.
Mark’s work resonates with parents, educators, and anyone raising children in achievement-oriented environments. His perspective offers a compassionate reminder that emotional health, curiosity, character, and connection matter just as much as academic success.
#resilience #positiveyouthdevelopment #braindevelopment #practicaltips
In this podcast, we talk about:
- The impact of labeling kids
- Understanding where children are either ahead or behind developmentally so you can address gaps
- Ways in which gifted children are misunderstood
- The impact of giftedness on perfectionism, anxiety, identity development, and resilience
- Early signs of giftedness
- Behaviors kids exhibit when they need additional support
- A systemic approach to helping children thrive
- The difference between skill development and psychology
- Aligning with larger systems like schools to advocate for your child
- The importance of curiosity, connection, and play
Resources
May 12, 2026
May 12, 2026
24 min
“There are many ways to show up in the world, so pick the one that feels good” Dr. Darla Bishop
I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today's conversation is about raising money smart kids with Dr. Darla Bishop.
Dr. Bishop- known as the “FinanSis”- is a mother, a former high school educator/bilingual elementary school reading coach, children’s book author, and passionate entrepreneur who founded Finansis LLC. Inspired by her challenging childhood in Detroit, she is passionate about helping families build strong financial foundations and empowering children to develop a positive money mindset early in life. Dr. Darla is all too aware of the correlation between low credit scores and short lifespan, her mission is to change that narrative.
Blending humor, insight, and tough love, Dr. Darla works to transform how communities think about wealth, believing financial literacy is key to creating resilient futures. With over 15 years in public health leadership, she also serves as a consultant, professor, mentor, and real estate investor.
Among her proudest achievements are co-authoring Madeline’s Money Adventure with her daughter and helping young bilingual students succeed in reading.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Making money fun
- Strategies for building money conversations into daily life
- Teaching how to make responsible choices with money
- School curriculums for financial literacy
- How to think about and build credit
- Staying curious when it comes to perceptions of money
Additional Resources:
Feb 27, 2026
Feb 27, 2026
30 min
The teenage years can feel like losing your child in slow motion. The pushback, withdrawal, and irritability make it’s easy to assume they need less from us.
But what if adolescence is actually the time they need us most?
I’m Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and in this episode of the Parenting Well Podcast, I sit down with Kimberly Bryant to explore how the way we “meet” our teenagers during this massive brain restructuring phase shapes not only our current relationship, but the relationships we may one day have with our grandchildren.
We talk about the powerful shift from manager to mentor, how curiosity calms the nervous system, and why asking “What happened?” instead of “What’s wrong with you?” can change everything. Kimberly reminds us that teens don’t need perfection. They need emotional safety.
Because how we meet them… is what shapes them.
Main Discussion Points
- Why adolescence is neurologically similar to toddlerhood — and what that means for parenting
- The critical shift from “manager” to “coach” during the teen years
- How irritability, defiance, and withdrawal are often stress signals — not character flaws
- Why curiosity lowers defenses and judgment raises them
- What it actually means to “meet your teen safely”The importance of regulating yourself before engaging with your teen
- Balancing boundaries with autonomy — containment without control
- Why teens still need structure around sleep, technology, and safety
- The role of trusted adults beyond parents
- How today’s interactions ripple into adult relationships — and even future generations
Key Takeaways
- Adolescence is not a time to step back. It’s a time to lean in differently. Teens need mentorship, not management.
- Defiance is often stress in disguise.
When we respond to behavior with curiosity instead of correction, we lower threat and increase connection. - “What happened?” builds trust. “What’s wrong with you?” builds walls.
- You are their external brain right now. Your calm presence helps them learn to regulate their own emotions.
- Connection over correction creates long-term influence.
- Boundaries still matter — but partnership matters more.
- How you meet your teen today shapes your relationship decades from now.
Resources:
The teenage years can feel like losing your child in slow motion. The pushback, withdrawal, and irritability make it’s easy to assume they need less from us.
But what if adolescence is actually the time they need us most?
I’m Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and in this episode of the Parenting Well Podcast, I sit down with Kimberly Bryant to explore how the way we “meet” our teenagers during this massive brain restructuring phase shapes not only our current relationship, but the relationships we may one day have with our grandchildren.
We talk about the powerful shift from manager to mentor, how curiosity calms the nervous system, and why asking “What happened?” instead of “What’s wrong with you?” can change everything. Kimberly reminds us that teens don’t need perfection. They need emotional safety.
Because how we meet them… is what shapes them.
Main Discussion Points
- Why adolescence is neurologically similar to toddlerhood — and what that means for parenting
- The critical shift from “manager” to “coach” during the teen years
- How irritability, defiance, and withdrawal are often stress signals — not character flaws
- Why curiosity lowers defenses and judgment raises them
- What it actually means to “meet your teen safely”The importance of regulating yourself before engaging with your teen
- Balancing boundaries with autonomy — containment without control
- Why teens still need structure around sleep, technology, and safety
- The role of trusted adults beyond parents
- How today’s interactions ripple into adult relationships — and even future generations
Key Takeaways
- Adolescence is not a time to step back. It’s a time to lean in differently. Teens need mentorship, not management.
- Defiance is often stress in disguise.
When we respond to behavior with curiosity instead of correction, we lower threat and increase connection. - “What happened?” builds trust. “What’s wrong with you?” builds walls.
- You are their external brain right now. Your calm presence helps them learn to regulate their own emotions.
- Connection over correction creates long-term influence.
- Boundaries still matter — but partnership matters more.
- How you meet your teen today shapes your relationship decades from now.
Resources
Feb 26, 2026
Feb 26, 2026
37 min
Anxiety is everywhere right now. It's in our culture, in our homes, and often in our own nervous systems. So how do we raise brave, resilient children without unintentionally reinforcing the fears we’re trying to protect them from?
I’m Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and in this episode of the Parenting Well Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Samantha Grigsby, clinical psychologist and founder of Foothills CBT, to break down what every parent needs to understand about how anxiety works and how to interrupt the cycle that keeps it growing.
We explore how to distinguish normal developmental anxiety from anxiety that needs support, and why avoidance, though well-intended, often strengthens fear over time. Dr. Grigsby explains the anxiety cycle in practical terms and shares why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) are gold-standard treatments for anxiety and OCD.
We also discuss how rescuing, over-accommodating, minimizing stress, or offering constant reassurance can unintentionally perpetuate anxiety, as well as what supportive parenting actually looks like when a child is struggling. Finally, we examine the cultural pressures amplifying stress today and how to keep our own anxiety from shaping the emotional climate of our homes.
Because bravery isn’t the absence of anxiety.
It’s feeling it — and moving forward anyway.
Register to hear her talk at the Stress & Anxiety Conference
In this podcast, we talk about:
-
How to tell when anxiety is normal and when it’s limiting your child
-
The hidden ways loving parents accidentally reinforce anxiety
-
Why avoidance and reassurance make anxiety stronger
-
What actually works (CBT & ERP explained simply)
-
How to stop passing your stress onto your child
Key Takeaway:
- Avoidance might be contributing to your child's anxiety.
The very things we do to reduce our child’s distress can quietly make it stronger. - Support and accommodation are not the same thing.
One builds resilience. The other builds dependence. Do you see this in your family? - Reassurance feels loving but it can train the brain to doubt itself.
What happens when children learn to tolerate uncertainty instead - Bravery doesn’t mean calm.
It means moving forward while your nervous system is loud. - Your anxiety shapes the emotional climate of your home.
Not because you’re failing but because nervous systems are contagious. - We live in an expectation-amplified world.
Unrealistic standards, social comparison, and constant input may be fueling more stress than we realize. - Self-criticism keeps the cycle alive.
Self-compassion may be one of the most powerful anxiety interventions for both parent and child. - You don’t have to eliminate anxiety all together to raise a confident child.
You may need to look at whether you are protecting them from having uncomfortable feelings.
Resources:
- Website
- Self-Compassion.org: Kristin Neff’s website has many exercises, guided meditations, and other resources on mindful self-compassion
- Book: Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous & Independent Children. By Reid Wilson and Laura Lyons
Feb 25, 2026
Feb 25, 2026
29 min
I’m Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and in this episode of the Parenting Well Podcast, I sit down with Stacey J. Acquavella, founder of Neurodivergent Uprising and speaker at our Stress & Anxiety Conference, to explore her powerful message: Regulation Is the Self-Care.
Many parents, especially those raising neurodivergent children, are told to add more strategies, more routines, more coping tools. But when you’re already functioning at a deficit, “doing more” only deepens the exhaustion.
Stacey reframes overwhelm as a structural issue, not a personal one. You can’t self-care your way out of structural overload. Instead, regulation must be embedded into how the day is designed. Things like how transitions happen, how expectations are set, how decisions are reduced, and how environments are shaped help immensely.
We talk about survival mode and chronic bracing. The shame undiagnosed parents often carry. The stress of navigating school systems built for neurotypical learners. The difference between behavior management and regulation-based parenting. And why you don’t need a diagnosis to begin reducing overload.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly on edge or you're bracing for emails, appointments, or judgment, this conversation will help you understand why.
And more importantly, it will show you where relief actually begins.
In this podcast, we talk about:
- Self-regulation as the true mechanism of self-care
- Why adding habits doesn’t work when you’re already overloaded
- Removing demands and creating infrastructure instead of adding strategies
- Why burnout is often a structural problem, not a personal one
- “You can’t self-care your way out of structural overload”
- Embedding regulation into how the day is designed
- Getting out of prolonged survival mode and chronic bracing
- How undiagnosed neurodivergent parents internalize shame
- Why overwhelm is a math problem; not a character flaw
- Mindset shifts versus accumulating more parenting strategies
- Neurodivergent people operating in misaligned systems
- Behavior management vs. regulation-based parenting
- Navigating schools and the stress of constant advocacy
- Standardized testing built for neurotypical brains
- Changing the environment when it feels locked in place
- Recognizing nervous system overwhelm without immediately labeling
- Understanding neurodivergence beyond stereotypes
- “We don’t need a diagnosis to reduce overload.”
Key Takeaways:
- Self-care isn’t something you add — it’s something you design.
Regulation must be built into your daily structure, not layered on top of burnout. - Overwhelm is often structural, not personal.
When demand exceeds capacity, no amount of mindset work fixes the math. - Behavior is often nervous system distress.
Regulation-based parenting shifts the question from “How do I manage this?” to “What is overwhelming this nervous system?” - You don’t need a diagnosis to reduce overload.
Support can begin with noticing when a child’s (or parent’s) nervous system is stretched beyond capacity. - Slow signals safety.
Fewer words. Lower body posture. Slower speech. These cues communicate “not under attack” to the brain. - Systems matter.
Instead of teaching children to cope with misaligned environments, we can redesign structures wherever possible. - Advocacy without regulation increases stress.
Parents navigating school systems need structural support too.
Resources:
- Website: Neurodivergent Uprising
- Website: Mindfish - Neurodivergent Student Services
Feb 25, 2026
Feb 25, 2026
23 min
Communication is often treated as a skill to master, but in this conversation with Susan Caso, we explore why it is far more complex than scripts and strategies.
When stress and anxiety are high, conversations can quickly become reactive, escalating, or disconnected. But when parents create emotional safety and presence, communication shifts from mechanics to connection.
We talk about what it really means to listen deeply, how to stay present when you feel triggered, and how giving space can de escalate conflict instead of intensifying it. Susan introduces the Cycle of Response and reminds us that connection is the foundation of every healthy relationship. Communication tools simply support that foundation.
Our children do not just need instruction. They need us. The steady presence who can pause, reflect, repair, and experience joy with them.
If you have ever walked away from a conversation wishing you had handled it differently, this episode will offer both hope and practical tools.
Register to participate in her workshop at the Stress & Anxiety Conference
In This Episode, We Explore:
- Why communication is more complex than most parenting advice suggests
- How stress and anxiety shape family conversations
- Becoming a place of respite for your child
- Deep listening and staying present when triggered
- Managing escalation by giving space
- Repairing breakdowns in communication
- The difference between the instructional parent role and the connected caregiver self
- Simple ways to shift your mood through movement, music, and connection
Key Takeaways:
- Communication is about nervous systems, not just words
- Emotional safety changes everything
- Listening to understand builds trust
- Space can prevent escalation
- Repair strengthens relationships
- Connection is the foundation. Skills are secondary
- You are both a parent and a caregiver and children need both.
Resources:
- Book: The Parent Teen Connection: How to Build Lifelong Family Relationships
- Website
- Psychology Today