Latest / Pretty In Pink Again / REWIND: "KNOCK IT OFF!!!" Millennial Moms & Gentle Parenting: Breaking Cycles Without Losing Your Mind
Transcript
- 0:00I'm Christina and I'm t and this is the Pretty and Pink Again podcast where motherhood meets rediscovery.
- 0:17Hey.
- 0:17Hi.
- 0:19Hello.
- 0:19It's been a while.
- 0:19I know.
- 0:20It's been a long while.
- 0:21It has been such a long time since we've been in these chairs, and- Mm-hmm we're back for a little.
- 0:26We are gonna re-air an episode today.
- 0:28Mm-hmm.
- 0:28But it's been so long since Tee and I have sat in the chair, so we also wanted to have a quick little recap of life and- We're catching up on life- Yeah and we're turning the mics on so you can hear what we've been up to.
- 0:40This has been- Sort of such a crazy summer, but it's gone by so- Fun insanely fast.
- 0:44It's been a fun summer.
- 0:44I cannot believe we're at the end of July.
- 0:47I know.
- 0:47It is insane.
- 0:48Are you having a good summer?
- 0:50Yeah, but I'm just not ready.
- 0:51I know we were talking before, like I'm not ready for it to be over in terms of weather- Yeah but I am ready for it to be over in terms of I need a routine back.
- 1:01Yeah.
- 1:02Like, I feel like I can't get in the swing of things right now.
- 1:05Uh-huh.
- 1:05I hear you.
- 1:05How do you feel?
- 1:07You said you couldn't wait to see a effing pumpkin.
- 1:09I was like,"I don't know if I'm there," but, you know.
- 1:12Well, I was excited'cause yesterday I went to Walgreens and I saw pumpkins and back to school supplies, and I was like,"Okay." Well, it means it's coming.
- 1:18Our time is coming.
- 1:19But I was thinking about, like, who I've been with this summer.
- 1:23I have spent every single day with the kids.
- 1:26Yeah.
- 1:26Every single day since they got out of school.
- 1:28Yeah.
- 1:28Especially the twins.
- 1:29Like, we have done everything together'cause they haven't been in any camps, and this was the first week that they were kind of doing, like, a little something,'cause Mila had, like, her, I'm using air quotes, like, summer intensive dance thing.
- 1:40Yeah.
- 1:41And so she had to like- She had something to do wake up and be somewhere, and she was miserable.
- 1:46Ah.
- 1:46'Cause she's just been, like, hanging.
- 1:47Like, wake up, let's go to the pool, let's go to Target, let's hang.
- 1:51No schedule.
- 1:52No schedule.
- 1:53So the house is really messy.
- 1:55Yeah.
- 1:55They're cleaning out their closets right now.
- 1:57I'm I'm getting the itch.
- 1:59Like, I feel like everything is a mess.
- 2:01Yeah.
- 2:02There's no routine.
- 2:03I can't get into a good groove with anything.
- 2:05We've had back-to-back trips.
- 2:07Mm-hmm.
- 2:07We're still not done.
- 2:08Yeah.
- 2:08We still have a couple more things going on this summer.
- 2:10But I feel like everything is like start, stop, start, stop.
- 2:13Like, three days home, and then we're on the road again.
- 2:17And so I just cannot get into a good groove.
- 2:19So I am just, like, itching to get back into more of a routine, but I'm also not I really don't want the weather to go away.
- 2:25I love dressing for summer.
- 2:27Like, I love just, like, throwing something on and leaving the house.
- 2:31I love...
- 2:31You can get, like, a cute dress and, like- Oh set, and that's, like, a whole outfit.
- 2:35Yeah.
- 2:35And wear sandals.
- 2:35And just, I never know what to do.
- 2:37It's just, like, too much.
- 2:38I don't wanna think about layering, and I don't wanna think about all of that.
- 2:40Yeah.
- 2:40And I just love, the days of, very little makeup and, letting my hair air dry and, like, the ease of summer.
- 2:46Mm-hmm.
- 2:47But I need a effing routine.
- 2:49I know.
- 2:49Like, I need a routine so bad.
- 2:51It's hard to, it's hard to have both.
- 2:52Yeah.
- 2:52We went the other night, I forget, Nick was, like, golfing with the boys, and I took the girls across the street for- Mm like, a very last-minute dinner.
- 2:59And they were, like, running on the field.
- 3:01They were playing, like, golf with the little putters.
- 3:04And I was, like, dr- having a drink.
- 3:05I'm like,"This is so-" So nice nice that I'm here right now." And I didn't overschedule the kids this summer.
- 3:12I know you didn't.
- 3:12Because I just didn't know, like, what the purpose was for it.
- 3:16Because it just makes me more tired driving them around.
- 3:18Mm-hmm.
- 3:18And I drive them around all year, so we had a little less of all of that, driving them around.
- 3:24And you guys are always on such a tight schedule.
- 3:25Like, you have- Well, I'm always on such a tight schedule, and then I feel like I, like, lose my day'cause then I'm still, like, driving between 3:00 and 4:00.
- 3:31So with that comes just, like, less work- Mm-hmm like, less time to work.
- 3:35Mm-hmm.
- 3:35So we're, you know, taking some time with the podcast.
- 3:37Right.
- 3:38And just more time with them.
- 3:40Right.
- 3:40So we still have another trip coming up soon where we'll be together.
- 3:44Mm-hmm.
- 3:44And then I feel like we get back, and then there's, like, a week, and then it's school.
- 3:47Yeah, I know.
- 3:48So- We're here, and I know some o- some schools even go back in, like, mid-August.
- 3:52We're like towards the end.
- 3:53Yeah.
- 3:54So we are all rounding the corner.
- 3:56It's like the last couple of weeks of summer, and- I know I guess everybody just breathe it in, soak it in.
- 4:01I know.
- 4:01But we'll be back to our routines soon.
- 4:03How are your trips?
- 4:04They've been great.
- 4:05We've had v- back-to-back quick trips, so they haven't been very long, but they've been like three or four days, and then we're like back for a week, and then we go somewhere else.
- 4:14We did Newport, we did The Cape, and then Raja and I did Watch Hill in Rhode Island for our anniversary and our, my 40th trip, but the other two were with the kids.
- 4:23Mm-hmm.
- 4:23So I feel like we have just been running all over the place.
- 4:26Like the kids haven't been in a routine.
- 4:28They're going to bed late, like waking up early.
- 4:31Like I feel like we have just had like not a lot of downtime.
- 4:33But they're having fun.
- 4:34But everyone's having a good time, so- Yeah and we've had a really great summer, and the weather's been pretty good here, so I cannot complain.
- 4:41I know.
- 4:41What was your favorite part about the time, like your trips?
- 4:45Did you have a favorite one?
- 4:46I-'Cause they were all kinda different they're all very different.
- 4:48Newport with the kids was very busy.
- 4:52The lack of routine really threw everybody off.
- 4:55Like the- Wasn't it really hot when you were there too?
- 4:57We were in a heat wave.
- 4:59Like really, really hot.
- 4:59It was a lot of sun, a lot of heat, and the lack of naps and the like late nights and the early mornings, it just, it really threw everybody off.
- 5:08Like we came back from that trip absolutely exhausted.
- 5:11But we had a really fun time, and we got to take them out, and it was like the first trip where everyone was potty trained.
- 5:18We didn't need a lot- Yeah of gear.
- 5:19It was just like easy.
- 5:21Get up and go.
- 5:21But we were exhausted, full on exhausted.
- 5:24And then we did our trip to The Cape, which is a lot more casual, and that was like slow, no schedule, being with friends.
- 5:32H- the kids had other kids to play with, so that was like very relaxing and very fun.
- 5:37So I would probably say that was my favorite- Yeah traveling with the kids, and then Raja and I did our own trip.
- 5:42Oh my God.
- 5:42And that was- That was so fun heavenly.
- 5:44Heavenly.
- 5:44So that was so nice.
- 5:45Aw.
- 5:45A couple quick days, but that was like a nice reset, and we actually came back.
- 5:50We like slept like nine hours overnight, relaxed, no agenda, just very, just so fun.
- 5:57We had such a good time just hanging out, the two of us.
- 5:59It was so nice.
- 6:00What a dream.
- 6:01A dream.
- 6:02What a dream.
- 6:02And how was your trip to Italy?
- 6:04You kinda did the same, but you were probably a lot busier than us.
- 6:08We had a fun time.
- 6:09We had a really good time.
- 6:10So we went, the weekend before Italy, we went to New Jersey with the kids, and we took them to their first concert.
- 6:15We went to see Bon Jovi play.
- 6:17So fun.
- 6:17So like just like fun fact, my husband is a drummer, and Nick's dad is very, very good friends with the drummer from Bon Jovi.
- 6:25I didn't know that.
- 6:25So Nick has been to, he said probably like 30 Bon Jovi concerts.
- 6:29Wow.
- 6:30Maybe more, maybe less, but like a lot of Bon Jovi concerts.
- 6:33And the drummer, Tico, has been like, like family parties, like a very close family friend of theirs.
- 6:38So I've been to see them several times.
- 6:40The kids have never been, so we went- at the Garden in New York City with my sister-in-law- and the kids, and they saw, like, their first rock concert.
- 6:49So fun.
- 6:49And It was such a c- cool, like, core memory, hearing my kids, like, sing all of these songs- Do they know all the songs?
- 6:55from, like, the'90s and the'80s.
- 6:56I love it.
- 6:56Yeah, they know almost all of them.
- 6:57That's so cool.
- 6:58So that was a really fun time, that.
- 6:59And then the next day we left for Italy.
- 7:02Nick was very nervous to travel to Europe'cause he had never been to Europe before.
- 7:07We had, like, a breeze getting there.
- 7:09It was, like, a great travel day.
- 7:10Like, we got there.
- 7:11We, hit the ground running.
- 7:12We went to-- We were in Rome for two days, just, like, sightseeing and seeing everything and anything there was to see.
- 7:19And then we left Rome, and we went to Positano and, like- One day was better than the next.
- 7:24Oh, yes.
- 7:24Like, Nick was like,"Today was my favorite day of the trip." And then the next day came and he's like,"No, this was my best day," or like,"This was my best meal." Like, everything was, like, a 10 out of 10.
- 7:33It was amazing.
- 7:34Mm-hmm.
- 7:34And then the last day we left to go fly home, and our flight got canceled.
- 7:39Mm-hmm.
- 7:39After we were in the airport for six hours, and after we were on a plane with no air-conditioning for, like, two and a half hours.
- 7:46I can't believe that.
- 7:46I know.
- 7:46You were like,"I feel ill." I'm like,"Obviously." I was so, so sick when we got home.
- 7:51So then we stayed at, like, a shitty airport hotel and watched the World Cup game, and then luckily made...
- 7:56got on another flight home.
- 7:57We got, like, the last two seats from, like, a different airport.
- 8:01Whatever, we were so happy to get home.
- 8:02But it was so funny,'cause, like, the tr- everything was so great.
- 8:05Always, it's always like you know you're gonna have a shit show one way or the other.
- 8:08So is it better to have a shit show at the beginning- Oh, no or at the end?
- 8:12I'm so grateful it was at the end.
- 8:14But like, you're, you're gonna have one.
- 8:14Yeah.
- 8:14Because Nick would've never, he...
- 8:15I could've never even got him there.
- 8:16Well, like, it also, like, sets the mood of the trip when it's a shit show- Yeah before it, but- We had the greatest week ever.
- 8:24I'm so glad.
- 8:24And the kids were good.
- 8:26Our, my, our parents, like, split it up, and, like, I was really nervous about our parents watching the kids, because they're older now.
- 8:32Mm-hmm.
- 8:32Like, my ki- you know, like, they're not...
- 8:34When we had Joseph, that was 13 years ago.
- 8:36So, like, a 50-year-old watching a kid versus, like, a 65-year-old watching a kid is, like, different.
- 8:41Very different.
- 8:42You know?
- 8:42Yep.
- 8:42But they, the parents did great.
- 8:45Thank you, parents.
- 8:46They did very well.
- 8:47I know.
- 8:48That was so great.
- 8:48I'm very impressed by them, and it was so funny'cause Joseph was like,"I think Grandma and Grandpa, like, Nani and Grandpa, were, like, toast by the end of it." I'm sure.
- 8:56I'm toast by the end of the day.
- 8:59So yeah, that was, the trip was amazing.
- 9:02I'm so glad- Oh my God, it was amazing that you guys got to do that.
- 9:04It was amazing.
- 9:05So- That was for your 15-year and your 40th.
- 9:06And my 40th.
- 9:07Love it.
- 9:07Yeah.
- 9:08So yeah, so w- we're all celebrated here now.
- 9:11I love it.
- 9:12So we can turn the page.
- 9:13I know.
- 9:14Yes.
- 9:15So today we are gonna re-air one of our favorite episodes from last summer.
- 9:21It was called Knock It Off, and it was basically us completely shitting on gentle parenting.
- 9:27And we had a lot of laughs in this episode, and we thought it was, like, really timely to re-air this episode.
- 9:35Mm-hmm.
- 9:35Because, like we said at the beginning, we're almost through summer.
- 9:39I f- I have seen so many reels where it's like parents at the beginning of summer, and you're like,"We're gonna go to a water park today," and like,"We're gonna do the splash pad tomorrow," and we're g- you, like, fill all the time and, like, you're so excited for a trip.
- 9:52And then at the end of summer, you're like,"Get the F out of the house." Like, that is literally how both of us feel.
- 9:58Yeah, you're excited to see a pumpkin.
- 9:58Yep, you're excited to see a pumpkin.
- 9:59Well, I kind of feel like that at the beginning of the summer too, so.
- 10:04So we thought that we wanted to reair this episode because we absolutely loved it, feel like it's timely, and it's a really great episode.
- 10:12So I hope you guys enjoy and- If- We have a couple of reaired episodes, just to give you a little heads-up while we get our heads straight over here at- Yeah Pippa headquarters.
- 10:23I've yelled knock it off at the kids, like, 500,000 times.
- 10:26I mean, literally, we named the episode Knock It Off because we were like, Isn't it just acceptable sometimes to say,'Knock it off,' like that's it?" Yeah.
- 10:33Like, end of, end of discussion.
- 10:35Stop.
- 10:36Stop.
- 10:36Stop.
- 10:37So there you go.
- 10:38Knock it off.
- 10:39Joseph said,"Mom, you make us feel useless." And I was like I can't even- Like, is she fake?
- 10:45play this game right now." Then don't be useless.
- 10:49Do something.
- 10:51Knock it off.
- 10:52Okay?
- 10:53Knock it off.
- 10:53Knock it off with the teeth gritting.
- 10:55That, like, I feel like such a mom when I say that.
- 10:57Knock it off.
- 10:58So anyways, go listen.
- 10:59It's a good laugh.
- 11:00Okay, guys.
- 11:01We'll see you soon.
- 11:02See you next Hello.
- 11:05Hey, how are you?
- 11:06So when this comes out, will it be your birthday?
- 11:08It will have been the day after my birthday, yes.
- 11:11Oh, the day after your birthday?
- 11:12Yes.
- 11:12So Oh wow.
- 11:14The big three nine.
- 11:15So crazy.
- 11:16Yeah.
- 11:17So we'll be out celebrating your birthday that day.
- 11:19I know, I know.
- 11:19We will.
- 11:20I know, which is so nice.
- 11:21It'll be great.
- 11:22We're gonna do a little girl lunch, and I'm really excited to celebrate.
- 11:26And honestly, I'm going into, so it's the last year of my thirties.
- 11:29Mm-hmm.
- 11:29I have like a couple months on you, and then you'll be in the same situation.
- 11:33But I'm really not scared.
- 11:36I'm not feeling any negative energy around it.
- 11:38I feel like almost, if I'm wearing it with a badge of honor like 39, I feel good and like solid.
- 11:47Honestly, I feel like I'm ready to go into my forties.
- 11:50Yeah.
- 11:50Like instead of being fearful of it, I really feel like I'm like, a lot happened this last decade, and I feel like I'm almost like ready for that, like complete fresh start of a new decade.
- 12:00But I'm excited.
- 12:01You have a new lease on life.
- 12:03Yeah.
- 12:03We went out for lunch for your birthday last year.
- 12:05Yes, we did.
- 12:06And you and I were not in good space.
- 12:07We were not, no.
- 12:09We were bad.
- 12:10No.
- 12:10It, this is a lot of where this podcast actually stemmed from.
- 12:13Yeah.
- 12:13Where some of those discussions that we were having.
- 12:15But it's insane to think about how far mentally I have come.
- 12:20Yeah.
- 12:20In that last year.
- 12:21I always like feel like whether it's like a new year or a birthday, I always try to reflect, I get very emotional.
- 12:28As.
- 12:28Things as time moves on, and especially like with the kids' birthdays, anytime there's like a kind of milestone something mm-hmm.
- 12:36like you're hitting a new something.
- 12:37Graduation that we're like, yeah.
- 12:39End of school year, that type of thing.
- 12:40For sure.
- 12:41I feel like it's time to reflect and that's what I've been doing the last couple of weeks is wow, I feel like such a different person.
- 12:48From that person last year going into 38, I was struggling a ton with my new identity and my new role and it, I just, I feel so far removed from that person in a good way.
- 13:03In a really positive way.
- 13:04I think that.
- 13:05Rediscovery is possible at any phase in your life.
- 13:08I think that it just goes to show our listeners that there's hope and like changing things.
- 13:15Yes.
- 13:15Like you can, yeah.
- 13:16Be uncomfortable.
- 13:17You can be like emotionally unstable.
- 13:19You can be depressed, you can be sad, you can be anxious, you can be overwhelmed, overstimulated.
- 13:25You can be all of those things leading you down this path.
- 13:28And you can say, all right, we need to make a change.
- 13:31Enough is enough.
- 13:32Enough is enough.
- 13:32And not to say that you and I don't on a daily basis call each other or go for walks and fme and storm off because you can't change every everything.
- 13:41Nope.
- 13:41And we're gonna talk about this today.
- 13:42Yep.
- 13:42We're gonna talk about it a lot.
- 13:43You can't change everything, but sometimes putting things out on the table.
- 13:47Create such growth.
- 13:49That then you feel sturdy For sure.
- 13:51And that's why you're going into this next year feeling like you're on solid ground.
- 13:55Yes.
- 13:56And I think that it gives you, it's a opportunity to pause and really look back and give yourself a lot of grace.
- 14:03So I do think sometimes when you can look back at something and really appreciate the journey it's helpful.
- 14:11And so that's what I've been doing as much as I wanna sometimes say, oh, not that much has changed.
- 14:16I'm still struggling with this, that, and the other thing.
- 14:19I No, you have changed.
- 14:20I really have.
- 14:21I've really grown in a lot of ways and.
- 14:24I'm really proud of you.
- 14:25Thank you.
- 14:25You have grown a lot.
- 14:26You're a good mommy.
- 14:27You're a good friend.
- 14:28Thank you.
- 14:28You're a good wife.
- 14:29You're daughter.
- 14:30I love you very much.
- 14:31Thank you.
- 14:31And I love doing this with you.
- 14:33I too know, love talking too to you every week.
- 14:34It's been, I'm mean, I like cry.
- 14:35It's been so fun.
- 14:36I know.
- 14:37It's it's been so impactful in my life to have you in it and to have these conversations and just like hearing people talk to us and listen to us about just what's going on in our personal lives, but not try to have all the answers.
- 14:49This podcast isn't about having all the answers.
- 14:52This podcast is about asking more questions.
- 14:54I know.
- 14:55Getting more, I feel like sometimes, which is so ironic.
- 14:57We're both like teary-eyed and it's I totally agree with that.
- 15:01I feel like sometimes we thought that we were gonna come on this podcast and try to find the answers and all we're doing is asking more questions.
- 15:08Yeah.
- 15:08But it's not in a bad way.
- 15:09It's not in a, oh, we don't have the answers.
- 15:11It's also just like recognizing, we're not reaching, we're not.
- 15:15There's a difference when you're like constantly reaching for the next thing.
- 15:18I'm not reaching for the next thing.
- 15:20No.
- 15:20I'm sitting in what I have and I'm trying to continue to grow.
- 15:24And I know you are too.
- 15:25I know.
- 15:25So this has been so fun.
- 15:27I know this has been great and I can't wait to celebrate yours.
- 15:29I don't wanna rush through the summer.
- 15:31'cause you, not the beginning of September, but tea is gonna be right behind me.
- 15:36Yes.
- 15:36Turning 39 very soon.
- 15:37And we are both 86 girls.
- 15:40We are.
- 15:40So my dad and I are 30 years apart, so are me and my mom.
- 15:43Exactly.
- 15:43It's always so easy to remember that because, so maybe you'll like this idea.
- 15:47So my dad he grew up in like the disco era.
- 15:49Mm-hmm.
- 15:49Like I'm sure so did your mom.
- 15:51And my dad talks about going to the disco.
- 15:53Yeah.
- 15:54The disco.
- 15:54Like it's a.
- 15:54Like it's a verb and out.
- 15:56It was going to the curb.
- 15:56Yeah, it was like going out to the club.
- 15:58Yeah.
- 15:59He would go out to the disco.
- 16:00So I said, dad, we should have a seventies theme, like combined birthday party and we can create like a club.
- 16:06'cause you'll be turning 40 and you'll be turning 70.
- 16:08We can create like a club.
- 16:09Like I love it.
- 16:09It'll be so fun.
- 16:10I love that idea.
- 16:11So I told my par, my mom and my sisters like, dad and I are gonna have a seventies theme party next year we're gonna have a disco.
- 16:17And they're like, yeah, okay.
- 16:18I'm That was your idea, not dad.
- 16:20I know, but I know.
- 16:21But it'll be fun.
- 16:21That will be so fun.
- 16:22And I love that.
- 16:23I love that.
- 16:24It's so cute when you are like.
- 16:26Exactly.
- 16:27Something apart from each other.
- 16:28If you're 30, if you're 20 years apart and it's like you can go, you can celebrate going into the next decade together.
- 16:34It's so fun.
- 16:35It makes some more fun and something else fun to look forward to in another.
- 16:37Yeah.
- 16:37That's cute year.
- 16:38All right, but today we're actually, you chatted about what we were going to talk about today.
- 16:43So we were on a walk just the other day.
- 16:45Yeah.
- 16:45And I said to you, I was like, sometimes I just wanna scream.
- 16:50Knock it off.
- 16:51Yep.
- 16:52Knock it off.
- 16:52I do scream.
- 16:53Knock it off.
- 16:54Yeah.
- 16:54Quite a bit.
- 16:55Rolls off the tongue very easily.
- 16:56Yeah.
- 16:56That's how I feel.
- 16:57Sometimes I wanna yell, knock it off, like with my kids.
- 17:00Like, Just, that's just what comes out.
- 17:02That was probably what was said to my me as a kid.
- 17:05And there's nothing wrong with that.
- 17:06There was nothing wrong in my opinion, with my, me having a fit walking into church.
- 17:11Because my tights were itchy.
- 17:12And my mom saying to me, knock it off.
- 17:14Instead of her being like, on her knees, sweetie, what's wrong?
- 17:18Are those tights itchy?
- 17:19I know tights can be itchy and uncomfortable, but we have to wear white tights to church.
- 17:24I wasn't in the mood to hear that.
- 17:26No, but what this new wave of parenting and gentle parenting, and I'm going to give you a chat, GPT recited version of what gentle parenting is because I don't know what it means.
- 17:37I know.
- 17:37I feel like we've Yeah.
- 17:38Been brought into motherhood with this new wave.
- 17:41I, it's not new anymore, but I feel like it's just, it's different in how I think most people our age were brought up.
- 17:47I agree.
- 17:48I agree.
- 17:48And.
- 17:49I'm curious to know what the official definition is, because I think the word gentle is probably a little bit misused, or like misunderstood, I guess would be the right word, right?
- 18:01But is gentle parenting.
- 18:03All right, so I looked it up.
- 18:05What is gentle parenting?
- 18:07This is an approach that encourages parents to guide rather than control.
- 18:12It prioritizes understanding the child's feelings and needs, modeling appropriate behavior, setting consistent compassionate boundaries, and it's about teaching with the child, not doing things to the child.
- 18:27We gotta unpack with that.
- 18:29'cause it's a mouthful and it's what does that mean?
- 18:30The first thing is that kind of sets me off is prioritizing your child's feelings and needs.
- 18:38Okay.
- 18:38I think all of us always put our kids first.
- 18:42But when I am constantly prioritizing their feelings, what is that then gonna result into them when they're an adult?
- 18:51Are they gonna be a complete asshole thinking that they come first?
- 18:54I guess that, or am I taking it too far?
- 18:56No, I think that actually brings up a very good point is this is a I'm assuming it's not a new way of parenting.
- 19:03I'm assuming this has probably always been some people's way of parenting.
- 19:07But I'm curious, since it was adopted, I would say by like the millennials.
- 19:12What.
- 19:13I'm always looking for the success story, right?
- 19:15Right.
- 19:15We even said this with the 90 summer.
- 19:17Yeah.
- 19:17It's is this an aspiration?
- 19:19Is there actual data to show that this is the best way to do it?
- 19:2425 year olds that have been gentle parented that it's had a profound impact on their lives?
- 19:29Right.
- 19:30And that they are like pillars that this really works.
- 19:33I think that we just are always looking for,'cause we always, we're always looking for the answer.
- 19:37Yes.
- 19:37And we are always looking for the hack and we're always looking and it's is this helping or hurting?
- 19:44And who is it helping or hurting?
- 19:46And are the children that are.
- 19:48Parented this way?
- 19:49Are they coming out superstars?
- 19:51Is this the optimal way to be?
- 19:54Is this the optimal way to parent?
- 19:56Because what, based on the data?
- 19:58Correct.
- 19:58Based on the end point.
- 20:00Are there adults, like you just said, are there 25 year olds that have been parented this way?
- 20:05Where now this makes sense?
- 20:06Like where now you can say, you know what, these people are a plus.
- 20:10They can control their emotions.
- 20:13They know how to do all of the things.
- 20:14The correct way.
- 20:16They're emotionally mature.
- 20:18Is this the gold star of parenting and where are the parented kids to prove this?
- 20:23That's I guess where because what you and I are seeing right now are friends, us friend A and B of Yep.
- 20:29Who are really having a hard time doing this.
- 20:35So that's what we're seeing.
- 20:36That's what data we have collected.
- 20:38Yes.
- 20:38And research shows like we are the research, we are the Guinea pigs.
- 20:42I am the mother that is really struggling to incorporate this into my day-to-day life.
- 20:49Yes.
- 20:49And we're both very good parents.
- 20:51You said it, it's like our kids are our priority.
- 20:54Mm-hmm.
- 20:54That is not up for debate.
- 20:55I think especially when we're looking at each other, we know that's a fact.
- 20:59So Correct.
- 21:00But fact, I totally agree with what you're saying, that a lot of this comes at the expense of the parent.
- 21:06And I think that.
- 21:08We're always trying to do things different.
- 21:10We spent our entire podcast last week talking about how we're trying to change how we speak to other women so that we've spent the past 20 podcasts, trying to adapt ways to enhance what we already feel at our core.
- 21:23We're not stuck in our ways.
- 21:25We are very open to suggestions I'm open to advice.
- 21:29I am open to therapy.
- 21:31I'm open to everything, but you can only try something so many times and then tell yourself like, this doesn't all feel good.
- 21:38So from this list, there are things that I like.
- 21:42And there are things that I don't like.
- 21:43I have to ask you because you've been a mom almost a decade ahead of me.
- 21:48Was this something that you did off the bat, like with your kids as toddlers?
- 21:53Was this something that you integrated or did you go, this was also, I think, before the social media really took off.
- 21:59This is a newer term to me personally.
- 22:02So when Joseph was born, he's 12.
- 22:04If he wasn't doing something, I'd say no.
- 22:07I would use the word no.
- 22:08Okay.
- 22:09No, don't do that.
- 22:10No.
- 22:10Get off the couch.
- 22:12No, don't do this.
- 22:13I would use, no.
- 22:14And Joseph has some of that fear-based parenting in him.
- 22:18So something hot?
- 22:19No okay.
- 22:20I think that's okay.
- 22:21And then there were also some things like, oh, you wanna play with this and you can't, all right, let me do a switcheroo and use this.
- 22:28A little bit of both.
- 22:29A little bit of both.
- 22:30But it wasn't to, I wasn't being, I wasn't trying to use gentle parenting because maybe you didn't know of it.
- 22:37I didn't know of it.
- 22:38Okay.
- 22:38So you were just going with what came natural to you, maybe the way you were parented or a little bit a little bit of a mix.
- 22:44When do you think that this kind of entered your sphere?
- 22:48So I think when I had the twins.
- 22:52My older son was going through some like tricky times and I was trying to help him.
- 22:56So this was introduced into my realm to help him through these tricky times.
- 23:02Right.
- 23:02And then now fast forward, present day, this is really when I've been hearing this constantly For sure.
- 23:07'cause one of my daughters also is like a deeply feeling kid and I'm trying to help her and this doesn't always help her.
- 23:16No.
- 23:17This sometimes thinks, makes her think like some parts do and I'll go through like some of the different parts, but some of it I think just sets her off even more.
- 23:25For sure.
- 23:26And sometimes when I say to her, you will not like riding in a car for an hour.
- 23:31Nobody likes riding in a car for an hour.
- 23:33Knock it off.
- 23:34I love the knock it off magically.
- 23:36Yes.
- 23:36Maybe I give her a little bit of the being seen, but that's it enough.
- 23:41We're done here.
- 23:42I dunno.
- 23:43I think that this is a very mixed message and I think that because, and I know we always say that we're not a parenting podcast, and so we're not trying to, I guess we're dissecting the way we parent in how it then affects us as moms or like the parent.
- 24:00Because I do think that some of this is misunderstood.
- 24:04I think I heard the term gentle parenting.
- 24:06I've been a parent for like almost three and a half years.
- 24:09I heard the term gentle parenting even before I became a parent, and I definitely misunderstood what that meant.
- 24:16I think at its core.
- 24:18It probably makes a lot of sense.
- 24:21Mm-hmm.
- 24:21But I think the way we interpret that, or the way at least I go about gentle parenting is that it's adding extra pressure onto myself.
- 24:32That I'm not doing things the correct way, that I'm gonna end up, if I parent the way it comes natural to me, that it's going to end up with like long-term effects on my kids.
- 24:44And I think in some ways it could be improved for sure.
- 24:49But I also think in some ways your knock it off statement.
- 24:53Is the way it needs to be handled.
- 24:55I also think sometimes what rolls off my tongue is no, no.
- 24:59Like this is not up for debate.
- 25:01No is a sentence, I'm the adult.
- 25:03I don't need to get down on your level and explain every single thing.
- 25:07No means no.
- 25:09And so sometimes I think taking on the brunt of that pressure is exhausting and it's adding more shit to our plates that we always talk.
- 25:19We're trying to like remove and lighten it up a little bit.
- 25:22And I think that this feels very like suppressive.
- 25:25And.
- 25:25It's exhausting, right?
- 25:26It's exhausting.
- 25:27And then I think that then the added layer of guilt of I'm not gentle parenting.
- 25:33I'm not doing what's in right now.
- 25:35Am I causing damage to my kid by not validating their feelings all the time?
- 25:40Like that guilt eats away at me, and then it's another thing that I get frustrated about, right?
- 25:44So on this list here, the key principles of gentle parenting.
- 25:48The first one is empathy.
- 25:50Trying to understand how your child is feeling and when their behavior is hard to manage.
- 25:56Okay?
- 25:56I think that we both do that.
- 25:58Yeah, all the time, for sure.
- 25:59Day in and day out.
- 26:00Respect treating your child as a whole person whose thoughts and feelings matter.
- 26:05Then number three, boundaries saying no, but with love and holding limits, without yelling or threats.
- 26:12But then number four is very interesting, and that's modeling, showing them how to regulate emotions and resolve conflict by doing it yourself well, when by the time you get to number four.
- 26:23Modeling this behavior with controlling emotions.
- 26:27First of all, that's a whole loaded statement in itself.
- 26:29It is.
- 26:29I don't know why you always have to control your emotions.
- 26:31I know.
- 26:32I don't understand why it's not acceptable to have outbursts.
- 26:34I think I have outbursts all the time.
- 26:36I know.
- 26:37I think that some of these approaches make a lot of sense to me.
- 26:41Totally.
- 26:42I connect to them.
- 26:43Yes.
- 26:43So I think that obviously, number four, which it says you, it takes a while to get to that point, but I do think that it's healthy for kids to see you go through the whole range of emotions.
- 26:54We've talked about this.
- 26:54Yes.
- 26:54We've actually talked to.
- 26:56Therapists and psychiatrists about this, on this very podcast about how that is, okay.
- 27:01So kids, it's okay for them.
- 27:03It's angry and upset and frustrated.
- 27:05It's healthy for them to see and then repair after so that you're not a robot.
- 27:08So that they don't just see the happy mom all the time, or the calm mom like, because then they are not gonna know how to do anything.
- 27:15They're not gonna know how to go through the range of emotions.
- 27:18So we've heard it firsthand from our experts that have been on this podcast that it's okay for them to see you frustrated, for you to say that out loud.
- 27:27I'm frustrated.
- 27:28I don't know what to do right now.
- 27:29And then I.
- 27:30For them to see you and they've used the word repair to repair that and work through all of those emotions.
- 27:36So I really like that aspect of gentle parenting.
- 27:40Yes.
- 27:40And I think that to me, I do try to model that.
- 27:43If they do see me have an outburst, then they are going to see the repair from that.
- 27:48So if I am weak and I have the outburst because I'm a human being, then they at least get to see the other range of emotions, me working through it, me coming back down, I apologize.
- 27:59I'll say Mom was very frustrated.
- 28:01I'm sorry my voice got loud.
- 28:02I'm sorry if that scared you.
- 28:04They do see that, they see that whole range of emotions, but where I struggle a lot is the constant need to validate every single thing all of the time.
- 28:16Like I keep using the word it's exhausting, it's emotionally draining, it's physically draining it.
- 28:21It's a huge time suck.
- 28:23It just really is and honestly, I'm really not finding success there.
- 28:28Yeah.
- 28:28And I think, granted, I have toddlers, so I feel like it always goes back to that, but I'm not seeing any sort of success with that.
- 28:36Right.
- 28:36Well, Before we hopped on this podcast, I talked to my sister Nicole and we read Anxious Generation i've always wanted to read that.
- 28:43It's a great read and I'll give like a little brief summary of it.
- 28:46It, or at least my what I've extrapolated from that book.
- 28:49But when I was talking to my sister about this topic, she is a middle school teacher and she's a special ed teacher and she deals with a lot of behavior issues.
- 28:57Yeah.
- 28:57And the part of this gentle parenting that she struggles with is that now she has middle schoolers who are at that 12, 13-year-old age who.
- 29:06Constantly need to have their feelings validated.
- 29:10And what she is now seeing is a generation of kids who think that their feelings come first.
- 29:15What's missing is that self-regulation piece for them, right?
- 29:18Because of all of the validation that they've been given.
- 29:21The anxious generation outlined the two major changes that sort of occurred in like the mid two thousands that there's like overprotection from the real world.
- 29:33And how I think it connects to this podcast is that we are completely dysregulated ourselves and we're raising kids in this like pressure cooker, and you even said it earlier that your head is spinning sometimes because you feel so guilty that you're doing it the wrong way.
- 29:50We have access to all these different methods and all these different ways and this way may have some success, but we're really struggling applying it.
- 30:00Day to day, I really am.
- 30:02I really am.
- 30:03And like we've talked about other hacks and ways that we're trying to do this.
- 30:07I've shared like the good inside app that I've used, when I'm dealing with a kid that's having a meltdown situation, how I'm supposed to act and it.
- 30:17The issue that I'm having is that, yes, we spend most of our time here talking about ways we wanna better ourselves, and we want to grow and we wanna improve and we want the best for our kids.
- 30:30But sometimes I feel extremely fraudulent in the way that I have to handle things because I'm always worried about how this is going to impact my kids.
- 30:42And my question is for other generations, so I know we have a range of listener ages on here, but did other generations have go through life like so worried all the time?
- 30:53Like I'm really curious.
- 30:55I know that at the, at their core, I'm assuming our parents probably wanted the best for us and worried about our feelings and deeply cared about our feelings.
- 31:04But I wonder if they dealt with the same level of like pressure and.
- 31:08Guilt associated with it because it literally truly eats me alive.
- 31:12Every single day I am like, did I do this right?
- 31:14Is this messing them up?
- 31:16And I think that then you're inundated back with, like you're saying, because you're just in this sphere of like reels and tiktoks and parenting advice and all this.
- 31:26It's, it is just so much.
- 31:28And I then see a reel, right?
- 31:31It's like it knows, right?
- 31:33Like it knows I've had a bad day, and then I'll see a reel about.
- 31:37Dealing with toddlers and gentle parenting.
- 31:39And then I'll see all of the things I did wrong in that situation according to gentle parenting it.
- 31:45And it will say oh, you're supposed to hold your cool, you're supposed to get down on their level and validate their feelings and do and it go, you go through the range.
- 31:55And I know all of the ways that I just effed up completely.
- 31:59And so then I sit with that and it sits on my chest and it's very heavy.
- 32:03It's a heavy feeling.
- 32:03Yeah.
- 32:03And then you feel like, crap.
- 32:04How are you supposed to enter the room?
- 32:06Light is a feather.
- 32:07And float around your children and model, patience.
- 32:10When you feel so guilty and so heavy from thinking that you're failing, it's hard to put, it's put one foot in front of the other, it's to the next day it's, and start fresh.
- 32:19So I wanna go over, what gentle parenting is not.
- 32:23Yes.
- 32:24Because again, I think that, and it might even be, if you think about it, like all the information that.
- 32:30Is out there.
- 32:31Like here we are, we're a podcast.
- 32:33We're not experts.
- 32:34We bring on experts sometimes.
- 32:35But if you think about the type of content that circulates out there, the content that you're consuming might not even be coming from like a scientific place.
- 32:44There's anybody could get on a reel and just rattle off information that, they're taking a specific way.
- 32:51So sometimes I even get a little bit wary of like where this information is coming from, but like in the moment, you're not strong enough to think through that.
- 32:59So you just sit with all the things that you did wrong.
- 33:02Well, In this moment, after we've had time to sit in it, we don't need scientific data or an Instagram reel to know certain things work for our children.
- 33:12Certain things don't, and certain things feel good inside and certain things don't.
- 33:16It's true.
- 33:16And.
- 33:17Like sometimes you have to also account for how things feel and to how, and like you said, how things work for your family, you and how things work for my family.
- 33:25I guess you it goes back to just owning that and being comfortable with it.
- 33:29As a new parent though, I could confidently raise my hand and say that I feel like we're dipping our toes into this world.
- 33:37You always say like the first few years you're a custodian to your kids.
- 33:40Like you.
- 33:40Oh, I love that.
- 33:41Because it's such a good, like it's a way to think good mutual where it's just.
- 33:45It's just because that's what you're dealing with.
- 33:47And then when the kids start getting a little bit older, you really start taking on a more active parenting role.
- 33:53Mm-hmm.
- 33:53How you would, identify how to parent somebody.
- 33:56When they're little, you're just worried.
- 33:57So much more emotional.
- 33:58Yeah.
- 33:58You're worried about like feeding and cleaning and you're doing all the things to keep everybody going, to keep everything clean and then they get a little bit older.
- 34:07But I wanna go back to what Gentle parenting is.
- 34:10Not, is not because we dug this out.
- 34:13It's what we think.
- 34:14Yes.
- 34:14Because I think that some of the information that we're consuming is incorrect.
- 34:19And I also think that adds.
- 34:20To the weight that we've been talking about.
- 34:22So what gentle parenting's to point out is not, it is not permissive parenting.
- 34:27It is not letting your kid do whatever they want.
- 34:30And that was a big thing that you said on our walk the other day.
- 34:33Yes.
- 34:33That you will not allow for that.
- 34:35You will not allow your child to walk into somebody else's home and just run in No wild.
- 34:39And if they want something that's, I, what I struggle with right now is the curiosity.
- 34:45So it's the, oh, I wanna play with this little appliance, right?
- 34:50What is this little mixer that looks fun?
- 34:52And it tur everything turns into a power struggle right now with a three and a half year old.
- 34:57It's it's constant.
- 34:59No, you cannot play with that.
- 35:01That is not a toy.
- 35:02And I try to hold that boundary, but it becomes a power struggle.
- 35:05And it goes back and forth where sometimes I just wanna give him whatever he wants to stop the tantrum.
- 35:11Because the curiosity, unless it's a completely unsafe thing to play with.
- 35:14But it's yes, I know that it's stemming from curiosity, wondering how things work.
- 35:19I'm sure a lot of little boys, and maybe even some little girls, but my son is very like into how things work.
- 35:24Yes.
- 35:24So he likes like a fan.
- 35:26Like it's oh, it's spinning.
- 35:27How does it work?
- 35:28I'm interested in something.
- 35:30He likes seeing how the coffee machine works.
- 35:32That's how his mind works.
- 35:33He wants to see everything.
- 35:34He's curious and that's great.
- 35:37Except no, sometimes you are, you're not allowed to touch something and I struggle with the having to validate that all the time because me saying to a three and a half year old all the time, that is not a toy.
- 35:49It is not safe to play with, doesn't register.
- 35:52So sometimes I end up finding, which I said at the beginning of this podcast, no means no, I don't have to explain myself any further.
- 35:59We're done with this conversation and that's where I wanna end it, except a tantrum ensues.
- 36:04From that, right?
- 36:05And so what it is not is permissive parenting.
- 36:08So I think that I'm doing that correctly if I'm looking at this list, right?
- 36:12Which we had to dig for.
- 36:13What is it not?
- 36:14Yeah.
- 36:15Or like the ways that you might misunderstood what gentle parenting is.
- 36:19It is not about being your child's best friend.
- 36:21I like that too.
- 36:22Like I like keeping that boundary clear of I am the adult and you are the kid.
- 36:27And so I think that sometimes goes back to the right.
- 36:29So you can still, I know better than you do.
- 36:31So this is the end of the conversation, right?
- 36:33So you can still offer empathy support, try to understand their feelings, but still you have the final say, yes, this is what I think is safest, best decision for you at this time.
- 36:44Yes, that is my job, right?
- 36:45My job is I'm the parent and I am here to keep you safe and to help us go through life, right?
- 36:52In a safe and happy way.
- 36:54I am not here to be your best friend.
- 36:56And I totally agree with that, right?
- 36:58And then it is.
- 37:00It also doesn't mean never getting angry.
- 37:03It's about learning how to respond to anger constructively.
- 37:07So when I look at this, I don't think I'm doing a shitty job.
- 37:10That I'm actually, I actually agree with all three of those.
- 37:12Yes, 100%.
- 37:13So I think that putting that out there, because I don't know, I can only speak for what I see in terms of content, but that is not the type of content that I'm inundated with.
- 37:23No, you're inundated with, I'm in the first four that we said it is.
- 37:25I am inundated with this.
- 37:28I would call it extreme gentle parenting where it is gentle, it is not boundaries.
- 37:35It's, and so maybe I'm consuming the wrong content, but it's also that's what I'm seeing.
- 37:40And so that's what we had.
- 37:41Flooding had a for the what?
- 37:42It's not, yes.
- 37:43We had to didn't just pop up.
- 37:44No.
- 37:44So that's a good reminder.
- 37:46If you guys are just as confused about gentle parenting as us, or if you ever find yourself like beating yourself up over how you acted, I think that like literally, we'll put this in the show notes again so that you can read through this.
- 38:00If you're having a bad day and you handled things the way that you felt was a correct way to handle it.
- 38:06I love this.
- 38:06Read these last straight I wanna read this to myself.
- 38:08It is not permissive parenting.
- 38:10It is not about being your child's best friend.
- 38:12And it is not about never getting angry.
- 38:14And I think that to me, just like reciting those lines or hearing them makes me feel it.
- 38:20Like light immediately lightened me.
- 38:22Immediately.
- 38:23I love that.
- 38:23That should be your new mantra.
- 38:25I know.
- 38:26So why doesn't this feel so natural?
- 38:31And why is it hard to override our default settings?
- 38:34Because it's how duh Yes.
- 38:36It how we were brought up.
- 38:37It's how we're living our life.
- 38:38Yep.
- 38:39And I will say that I feel when I grew, you know, I do feel like I got a mix.
- 38:45Like my mom has always been like a very like emotional, sturdy leader.
- 38:50That's how you always, I love that.
- 38:51Say it.
- 38:52And that's how I think of my mom.
- 38:53She's always been someone I can go to.
- 38:55She listens to me vent.
- 38:57She, would always validate me in certain ways and was never like my best friend growing up until I became an adult.
- 39:08Like she was still Yeah.
- 39:09You earned that.
- 39:10She was still to be her equal.
- 39:12I like that.
- 39:12You earned that.
- 39:13Yeah.
- 39:13As you grow you can become best friends later in life.
- 39:17But she was my mom, like I, I wouldn't have called her my best an authority.
- 39:20She was friend, grown up.
- 39:21She was an authority and no meant no.
- 39:23And I knew that, and especially even with my dad, I feel like he never had to explain himself.
- 39:29No was no.
- 39:30And it was just like, now that I'm an adult.
- 39:34I understand the reasons why.
- 39:35No meant no.
- 39:36Like I remember a couple of times him just saying no and I'm not explaining myself.
- 39:41And yeah, it took me a handful of years to get to the point where I can understand why he would be uncomfortable with certain situations.
- 39:49But that's it.
- 39:50So I guess I'm, again, going back to the we don't have enough, like I don't know enough people that can come from the other side of things and say, oh, I was from the generation where, my feelings were always validated and everything got explained to me.
- 40:06And how are they viewing things now?
- 40:09You're saying that we're hearing some people are coming forward and saying that they don't know how to handle certain things?
- 40:15So I think sometimes it's not up to a child to understand every single thing and why decisions are made and why the answer is no and why things are the way they are.
- 40:25It's not their job now.
- 40:27It's not their job.
- 40:27And.
- 40:28So I have a couple examples of why I don't think this is coming natural to me and why it's not particularly working.
- 40:37Tell me in my life.
- 40:38One of my kids, is having a very hard time controlling her emotions and I don't expect her to be calm at all times.
- 40:46Just like I can't be calm at all times.
- 40:47No.
- 40:47But she's having a very hard time controlling herself and what it's then doing is like upsetting the whole family.
- 40:54And then it's very just hard in general for her because her siblings get mad at her and then we get mad at her and it's just it's just like a vicious cycle.
- 41:01So I had her see this therapist and the therapist said to her, you can be the president of your emotions.
- 41:09That is a lot to put on a 6-year-old.
- 41:11Like you are the president of your emotions.
- 41:13Doesn't even know what that means.
- 41:14So the next day, Nick and I are out for the day and she's with my mom and she's.
- 41:19She's calling us constantly and calling us constantly, and she's telling my mom, Nani, I am the president of my emotions.
- 41:26And she's taking it as no, I'm the boss.
- 41:29I'm the boss.
- 41:29Oh.
- 41:30So my mom must have said to her something along the lines of no, you are not the boss.
- 41:34Nani's the boss.
- 41:35I'm the authority.
- 41:36I'm in charge.
- 41:37Like the whole thing.
- 41:39It's a power struggle now.
- 41:40Became a power struggle.
- 41:41The whole conversation got misconstrued.
- 41:44What the therapist was trying to teach her was, you are in control of yourself.
- 41:48Don't tell yourself you can't calm down.
- 41:51You do have that opportunity to turn it around, but by saying you are the president of your feelings.
- 41:57Took it to another level for a 6-year-old for sure, because she didn't understand it.
- 42:01So she's calling Nick and Nick says to her, remember, you are the president of your feelings.
- 42:07And you know what she said to us?
- 42:08I don't wanna be.
- 42:12Like, she was basically saying to us, I wanna have it.
- 42:16I don't wanna have control.
- 42:17I want you to fix it for me.
- 42:19I'm only six.
- 42:20I know I can't control this.
- 42:22I want you to do this for me.
- 42:24It's almost so yes, I, okay, so she said it herself, whether, and she didn't even mean to say it because look what she said, I don't wanna be the queen anymore.
- 42:32Its too much her, she wants us, us to say, you need to go into this calm room with your squishy and have your snack.
- 42:39You need to chill out.
- 42:40That's what she is looking for.
- 42:42She's looking for the firmness.
- 42:45And sometimes I think to this point, it's, it is a little gray.
- 42:49It's not really there's, it's a little grays.
- 42:51I know that it's supposed to be boundaries and it's supposed to be all these things.
- 42:55But again, I think that we're being misguided with, because I don't think that some of these practices are, they're not like.
- 43:04Defined enough, right?
- 43:06There maybe it's it is it's opening up a lot of room for interpretation.
- 43:11It's, and it's confusing everybody.
- 43:13It's very confusing.
- 43:14So then fast forward to the next day, we're hearing how the day,'cause Nick and I left them the girls for the night with my parents.
- 43:22And my mom really has a hard time with this because this is now so far removed.
- 43:27It would make sense, and I'll start here first.
- 43:30So my mom, I think like your mom was a very emotionally sturdy leader in my life.
- 43:35And I think since I've had kids, I've seen her become anxious and I think it's hard for her to watch her daughter, who she thinks is a sturdy leader, become an absolute effing disaster.
- 43:48She sees me like, lose it.
- 43:49She sees me melt down.
- 43:50She sees how hard it is to parent in this day and age, and I think it's really hard on her to see her kid.
- 43:57Constantly messing up or feel like she's messing up, feeling like she's messing up.
- 44:00She feels, she's constantly I don't know how you're doing it.
- 44:03I don't know how you're managing their schedules.
- 44:04I like, I feel so bad, blah, blah, blah.
- 44:06Did I fail you?
- 44:07Did I not do things right?
- 44:08She's a confident woman and now even she's second guessing herself.
- 44:11She probably felt like she raised a very confident daughter who is very sure of herself.
- 44:15'cause you've said that, you've said that you really didn't experience a lot of anxiety until you became a parent.
- 44:21And so I do think that it's hard for generations to then watch their children have to parent.
- 44:28Like you said, in this day and age, and maybe try to like decipher a different way to do things and like we're just wrestling with a lot.
- 44:35We are.
- 44:35Good point.
- 44:35And then I do think that it must be hard for our parents to see us struggling, in this role.
- 44:41Yeah.
- 44:41And I do think that then you would take that upon yourself to be like, did I do something wrong?
- 44:47That's exactly, she's doing what we're saying we're doing now.
- 44:49Where like you're taking on, you're empathetic, you're taking on the feelings of your kids.
- 44:53You're feeling like you messed it all up.
- 44:55Like she's still doing that.
- 44:56Because she's still a parent.
- 44:57She's still your mom.
- 44:58You're always gonna be Yeah.
- 45:00A parent.
- 45:00Doesn't matter how old your kid is.
- 45:01So my daughter was in a mood, and so she's having now another meltdown.
- 45:06She never regulated.
- 45:08She keeps asking me and asking me, and screaming.
- 45:10And I said, hang on a second.
- 45:11So we went into the Good Inside app that you had suggested to me a few weeks ago, and there's like an AI bot, chat bot component of that.
- 45:19And I typed right into it I'm in the car with my daughter.
- 45:22I wrote the whole scenario.
- 45:24Yeah.
- 45:24And so then I said, all and I started reciting what it told me to say, and she started screaming at me and said, you can't even talk to me.
- 45:33You need the phone to talk to me.
- 45:35You need the phone to tell me what to say.
- 45:37That pissed her off even more.
- 45:39So I Now you're looking like you don't have the answers.
- 45:41And I'm also that's not confidence to her.
- 45:42I'm not sturdy.
- 45:43Yes.
- 45:43Mother.
- 45:43Whereas I think if I had probably just said to her, I don't know what to say right now, and we're in the car.
- 45:49And when we're in the car, we need you to stay quiet.
- 45:51And once I can process this, then we'll discuss it later at home we'll have a conversation.
- 45:55And that's what would've come natural to me.
- 45:57What didn't feel natural to me was pausing and validating her feelings and saying, okay, I know that this is frustrating you.
- 46:08I know that you're hot and I know that you're tired and I know this and I know you don't like being in the car rides for 30 minutes, but in order, like none of that was coming natural.
- 46:18No.
- 46:18And neither did the response at that moment.
- 46:21And I think what's so frustrating and she didn't like it either.
- 46:24Yes.
- 46:24Is that's what I was gonna say, that it doesn't always work.
- 46:28And so it's very, it, I think that it would be very different if we came into this whole thing where we're trying to better ourselves and do things a different way for a variety of reasons.
- 46:41And if we saw.
- 46:42The success of that happening and we saw this was actually helping our children and it was actually doing a lot of good for them.
- 46:52I think that it's just like anything else, when you see success with something, it's easier to continue on.
- 46:58Yeah.
- 46:58It's motivating.
- 46:59You can buy into it.
- 47:00I think what's happening, and I'm very curious, I want this to be a discussion because this is something that we talk about all the time.
- 47:08I want our listeners, we wanna hear from you.
- 47:10Do you feel the same way as us?
- 47:12If you're finding success in this, is it easier to keep going with it?
- 47:16Because I keep saying, I know I'm in the toddler phase, but I'm not having success with this.
- 47:21So to me it's just like with anything else, when do you pivot and start doing something else, right?
- 47:27Like, how long does this go where we're just gonna gentle parent, I'm gonna continue to do what comes.
- 47:33Unnatural to me.
- 47:34I'm gonna have to completely go against what I want to do at the core of me.
- 47:39And if I'm not seeing success with this, how far does this go?
- 47:44We just keep doing this to ourselves.
- 47:46It's just a cycle of, I'm feeling invalidated.
- 47:49I'm trying to validate you.
- 47:51How far does this go?
- 47:52You have to think of life as like a buffet, which, I don't really even like buffets, but I like when I just get like my plated meal and I like a little of everything and you like a little of everything, but.
- 48:02Life is like that buffet.
- 48:04You have to take the little bits that you like.
- 48:07Yeah.
- 48:07And then put back the things that you don't like and you have to accept some of the natural shifts.
- 48:12And that's maybe what this can be.
- 48:15Yes.
- 48:15Maybe we can leave some of it in on the curb, and then take those three key parts of what it's not and almost like can like tailor it to that tailor.
- 48:24Tailor it to that.
- 48:25Yeah.
- 48:25Like when my husband grew up, they had one TV in the family room and whatever the dad wanted to watch on TV is what the family watched and nobody said anything.
- 48:34Okay.
- 48:34Things have evolved a little bit and now people don't even watch TV as a family.
- 48:38Or the kids have a say in what to watch.
- 48:41I'm just saying like some things can evolve and change, I guess my long-winded.
- 48:47Point of that is that I still like the idea that the father or the parents controlled what was on tv.
- 48:54I know the little kid should not be controlling what's on tv.
- 48:59And I think that what sucks for our generation is that if that was how you grew up, right?
- 49:04Yes.
- 49:05And then now it's the opposite where it's like you grew up with parents that controlled everything in the household and now you grow up with kids who I know they're not supposed to, but kids who control everything in the household you're just stuck in this place where you feel, and that's why to me, this feels so fraudulent.
- 49:24It's when is it about me?
- 49:26Yeah.
- 49:26When is it about us, the parents?
- 49:28When are we in charge?
- 49:30Like when do we feel like this will come a little bit more natural?
- 49:33And I think part of it is.
- 49:36Letting your kids be in charge of little things to make them feel powerful, but ultimately knowing that you are Oz, you are the one Right.
- 49:46Controlling everything.
- 49:47I know.
- 49:47And so that's why I think sometimes when I think of the examples of okay, you're supposed to let them pick the blue cup or the green cup, or how do you want the banana peeled?
- 49:57Do you wanna peeled all the way down?
- 49:58That's what I was thinking.
- 49:59Yeah.
- 50:00Was some of those examples of like how you can involve the kid to feel like they're right.
- 50:05You buy the clothes, but they get to put them on their body and put them out.
- 50:08But again, I'm not finding success in this.
- 50:10This could very well be because my kids are too young for this.
- 50:14But I'm very curious to hear what other parents like truthfully no bs.
- 50:19Is this working for you?
- 50:20And then me, and we're not sitting here like completely shitting on it.
- 50:24If it's working I would love to know.
- 50:26But I do think that you raised such a good point of like, some things work for families and some things don't.
- 50:31Like I think that sometimes and everybody's kids are different.
- 50:36I think at different phases things can work different.
- 50:38Like you have to be on your toes and adapt to things.
- 50:41But like right now, I'm not finding a lot of success in this.
- 50:44And also even if your kids were thriving and they were doing great, if you are not feeling great about it, then that's not success then that's not successful's not successful.
- 50:53You're right.
- 50:54So I think that there's two parts to it.
- 50:56Yes.
- 50:56It's collectively as a family, you have to feel good about what's going on.
- 51:01So that's very interesting usually we have some takeaways, right?
- 51:04Like we always do listen, what are the takeaways from the text?
- 51:07I think my takeaway is that you and I really have a hard time just in general remaining calm.
- 51:12Yeah.
- 51:13And those are two things that we are working on.
- 51:15But we're not perfect.
- 51:16We're trying hard to remain calm and it's hard to model calm one.
- 51:20It just doesn't come natural, to be calm.
- 51:23And we're trying to not make our daughters like be calm and meek and quiet.
- 51:28We're trying to teach them that there are boundaries.
- 51:31No means no.
- 51:33And again, your daughter's little, she's a toddler.
- 51:36So the outbursts are different than like my daughter who's a little bit older.
- 51:39But it's really hard to model these, don't have outbursts when I keep having outbursts.
- 51:44It is, and this just goes back to what we keep talking about when we said at the beginning of the episode, sometimes our.
- 51:51Podcasts are less about finding the answers to things and they're just continuing to open up more questions.
- 51:57Yeah.
- 51:57And so I feel like I hate to leave it on this, but I don't think that we have a ton of takeaways because we're both just not really finding a whole lot of success in this gentle parenting approach and we're tending to want to lean towards what comes more natural for us.
- 52:14And I think that we just have to do that.
- 52:16Yeah.
- 52:16I think that's just, we try, we do our best.
- 52:19We remain calm when we can.
- 52:20We recite the mantras that feel best to us.
- 52:23Mine right now that I've adopted is, this is temporary and.
- 52:29It will go back to what it's supposed to be or it will go back to a calmer place.
- 52:33Usually I can't even get to that point in my, when I'm reciting it to myself, I just say, this is temporary.
- 52:39It will pass.
- 52:39This is temporary.
- 52:40It will pass.
- 52:41When I'm in the middle of something where both kids are screaming and I just can't figure it out, like that's what I say to myself.
- 52:48So I don't really think that we have a ton of takeaways all the, it's just listen to yourself and I guess you do have to trust yourself at the end of the day.
- 52:58Yeah.
- 52:58You have to trust your gut.
- 52:59If it doesn't feel good, it doesn't feel good way.
- 53:01No and don't yourself in the fraudulent position.
- 53:04And if you end up reverting back to tactics that were used on you, then it is what it is.
- 53:10Like we're all here and we're all doing our best and our parents all did their best.
- 53:16One of the things and no one's perfect.
- 53:17One of the things, one of the things in that book, anxious Generation, a takeaway that I loved from that book was that we.
- 53:23Try to give our kids everything that we didn't have when we were kids.
- 53:28But what we forget to do is give them what we did have.
- 53:31What worked, and just things that we had in life.
- 53:34If you grew up middle, lower class, and now you grow up like, upper class.
- 53:39I'm just using that as like a random example.
- 53:42You are not giving your kids that strong work ethic to propel the to get a job when you're Right.
- 53:48Like a paper route when you're 12 or things like that, you're forgetting to give them what you did have.
- 53:53So there were things that didn't work for me growing up.
- 53:56Yep.
- 53:56But there were things that did.
- 53:58Yes.
- 53:58So instead of just trying to give my kids what I didn't have, yes.
- 54:01I need to give them what I did have.
- 54:03Yes.
- 54:03Okay.
- 54:03And what I did have was a mother and a father who said to me, knock it off.
- 54:09There you go.
- 54:10And it worked.
- 54:10'cause it, and it works sometimes you all, you need.
- 54:13As an adult.
- 54:14Even like when I'm spiraling sometimes all I need is someone to just be like, stop enough.
- 54:19Like it's because not everything has to be a thing.
- 54:22I love when you say that this, we always say, I love when you say.
- 54:25So I do think that sometimes that's a perfect way to end this topic is first of all we're gonna say, knock it off.
- 54:31I'm gonna adopt that.
- 54:32'cause mine is just stop it.
- 54:34Stop it.
- 54:34Actually my daughter Layla goes, now she'll go stop it.
- 54:38And I'm like, yeah, you're adopting that.
- 54:39And like also not a bad thing for you to know, to say, God, stop it.
- 54:43Knock it off.
- 54:43Like it's okay.
- 54:44Means no, no means no.
- 54:46These are okay phrases.
- 54:47And if we've gotten.
- 54:49Gentle parenting all wrong.
- 54:51And like we've just tended to, sorry.
- 54:53You know, Like we did it.
- 54:54We're go, we're doing our best and have been inundated with so much information.
- 54:58It's confusing, right?
- 54:59Because I know, I'm sure experts are gonna come on and say, what are you talking about?
- 55:02This could be like social media's form of gentle parenting.
- 55:06Maybe.
- 55:06We'll, maybe we'll call it that.
- 55:07Yes.
- 55:08We'll call it social media's form of gentle parenting.
- 55:10That's the perfect way.
- 55:11But I do, I think that's, I think that you just wrapped it up perfectly.
- 55:14So say it again, just so that give your kids and yourself not only what you didn't have in your childhood, but things that you did have too.
- 55:23The things that worked for you.
- 55:25The things that worked for you.
- 55:26Okay, so closing out.
- 55:29We're gonna chat.
- 55:30Quickly about our pink spotlights of the week, which is a little something that's making each of our lives a little bit better this week.
- 55:38So t what is yours?
- 55:39So yesterday, unfortunately you couldn't make it.
- 55:41I know.
- 55:42I'm so bumed.
- 55:42I had to listen.
- 55:43I was so busy with work.
- 55:44I know.
- 55:45Which I'm happy you're busy.
- 55:46I know.
- 55:46So yesterday we went to the Hamptons for the day.
- 55:49And we did, it was actually a great, it was a great trip.
- 55:51I was a little leery.
- 55:52'cause it's not easy to get to the Hamptons.
- 55:55No, it's it requires like a hot skip and a jump.
- 55:57Literally.
- 55:58Like literally.
- 55:58But we took the ferry and it was a great day.
- 56:01It's it could still be a day trip.
- 56:03It's just that there's a lot of steps.
- 56:04It was a day trip.
- 56:04There were a lot of steps, but actually once the steps are broken down it's not bad.
- 56:08It was totally manageable.
- 56:09The ferry is a great way to break it up because you can get something to eat.
- 56:12You can you're not driving so you're can like, yeah.
- 56:14It feels like you're on vacation.
- 56:15Tune out.
- 56:15Yeah, it's pretty, whatever.
- 56:17So there was five of us that went.
- 56:20So one person like booked the ferry, one person put gas in the car, one person paid for lunch, one person got coffees, one person did this.
- 56:27And sometimes you're like, oh, whatever.
- 56:29I'll absorb this, I'll absorb that.
- 56:31And then one of my girlfriends said, my husband used the splits app all the time.
- 56:36Why don't we download the splits app?
- 56:39I think it's called Splitwise.
- 56:40Okay.
- 56:41And I'll create a trip and I'll put all of our names in.
- 56:45So basically whatever I paid for.
- 56:47I just put the amount that I paid in there.
- 56:51So you paid for coffees, right?
- 56:52Yeah.
- 56:52Someone paid for gas.
- 56:53Gas, whatever.
- 56:54Yeah.
- 56:54And then who, somebody paid for lunch, somebody paid for dinner, somebody paid for the ferry, somebody paid da, whatever it was.
- 57:00And then at the end, once everything has been inputted, you put settle up.
- 57:04And what it does is let's say I owed you$20, right?
- 57:08And then you owed somebody else$40 and that person owed me$60.
- 57:12You might only have to end up paying just.
- 57:15Me like a dollar or something.
- 57:17Oh, so that everybody gets back.
- 57:18What?
- 57:19So it's fair?
- 57:19Yes.
- 57:19It makes it easy.
- 57:20Oh, okay.
- 57:21And it makes it easy.
- 57:21Oh, I love that.
- 57:22So you can also put your credit card right into the splits app.
- 57:26Yeah.
- 57:26Or you can just settle up and then Venmo.
- 57:29So you can hit settle up and that'll send out payment.
- 57:32Or you can hit settle up and then send out payment however you want.
- 57:35Oh, that makes so much cash or whatever.
- 57:37Oh, I love that.
- 57:38It was great tip.
- 57:39It was awesome.
- 57:41Especially for a big group, because everybody usually ends up paying for certain things.
- 57:45Yeah.
- 57:45But it's not always.
- 57:46But this, and sometimes you like feel, sometimes it's okay, yeah, there's a Venmo request for$20, right?
- 57:52Not that I feel stupid doing that.
- 57:53Oh, I love that.
- 57:54But this I don't feel bad doing because everybody is inputting what they did and then it's easy.
- 58:00And then I love that.
- 58:00That's so great.
- 58:01So mine is gonna be a little bit of a repeat from when we had Lauren on from a low profile a couple weeks ago, because she actually recommended this and I grabbed it right away.
- 58:10It was powdered sunscreen for the kids.
- 58:14And so we obviously used it on our trip and it has been great.
- 58:19So it was a very good recommendation.
- 58:20It's from the brand.
- 58:22Row, I believe is the brand.
- 58:25And it's literally a, has a little brush.
- 58:28It almost looks like a makeup brush and then the powder sunscreen is underneath it.
- 58:32So you just click it and it disperses into the brush and then you can brush it on.
- 58:37And so it is so great for the face for the kids.
- 58:40My kids like squirm and they don't like sunscreen.
- 58:43Nobody does being applied especially to their face.
- 58:45And I feel like some of the white mineral sunscreen, it's so hard to spread and.
- 58:50And like work in, so it's just, it ends up being like a workout for me to put it on both of the kids.
- 58:54So they actually really like this.
- 58:56Because I can get it in their ears on their hairline where it's it's not making a huge mess.
- 59:01It's also great for touch-ups.
- 59:03So I've been loving it.
- 59:04And we didn't use it on the kids yesterday, and Layla ended up like we put regular sunscreen on her face and she ended up like crying a little bit and it got into her eyes.
- 59:14And so I was like, we wouldn't have had this issue if we remembered the powder sunscreen.
- 59:17It was just in one of the other bags.
- 59:19So I was like, fluffy brush is fun too.
- 59:20It's fun.
- 59:21Yeah, they laugh.
- 59:21Like when we put it on them.
- 59:23And so it's great.
- 59:24It I wouldn't necessarily use it over their entire body because it's not like a huge amount of it, but it's so great for like tricky places or the face especially.
- 59:33But and for Touchups, I think it's just absolutely great.
- 59:35We will make sure to put that in the show notes if you have like young kids or even I guess for yourself.
- 59:40I feel like it's just nice.
- 59:41I've actually used one too, for myself.
- 59:43It's like a setting powder, and it's been great.
- 59:45That's why I was like, oh, I know that actually works well.
- 59:48Yeah.
- 59:48I have one from Den and it's actually it's powdered sunscreen, but it has like a what is it?
- 59:53Like a setting powder, I don't know if it's a setting powder.
- 59:56Oh, okay.
- 59:56Or if it's just that it's maybe does it absorb, has a color.
- 59:59Oh color.
- 59:59It has a color to it.
- 1:00:00Color, almost like a bronzer.
- 1:00:01Oh, okay.
- 1:00:01Cool.
- 1:00:02Yes, exactly.
- 1:00:02Thank you.
- 1:00:03Cool.
- 1:00:03I like that.
- 1:00:03It's like a bronzer cool.
- 1:00:04That you can just, oh, I love that on your face and love it.
- 1:00:08Whatever.
- 1:00:08So that has been, that was a great recommendation.
- 1:00:10So I'm piggybacking on somebody else's pink spotlight, but I love it.
- 1:00:14It was literally wonderful.
- 1:00:15She shared influenced, she influenced, yep.
- 1:00:18That's her job.
- 1:00:19And it worked and it was it's really great.
- 1:00:21So I'll put it in the show notes for you if you guys wanna grab it.
- 1:00:23Yeah, it's wonderful.
- 1:00:24Alright, thank you guys.
- 1:00:25We will be back soon and we have some really great guests coming on.
- 1:00:30Yes.
- 1:00:30For some parts of the summer.
- 1:00:32It's tricky in the summer.
- 1:00:33Yeah.
- 1:00:33Nailing down schedules and everybody's with their kids and so yeah, that's okay.
- 1:00:36We have enough to talk about.
- 1:00:37Yeah, we clearly do.
- 1:00:38We clearly have enough, we clearly do to talk about, but let us know, you guys can text us at the bottom of our show notes.
- 1:00:45You can hit the text button.
- 1:00:47And so if you have any recommendations for episodes that you wanna hear about last week's episode was a listener request.
- 1:00:54So we love diving into topics that you guys wanna hear about too.
- 1:00:58And then definitely let us know, you can even text us some of your responses to this episode.
- 1:01:03Yes.
- 1:01:03If you guys gentle parent, if you're frustrated with it, if you have any advice on how to tackle things, you know what Instagram parent Yes.
- 1:01:09If you Instagram parent.
- 1:01:11Yes, for sure.
- 1:01:13So thank you so much.
- 1:01:14We'll see you guys soon.
- 1:01:16Bye.
- 1:01:16Bye.