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Don't Mom Alone Podcast - “How Can I Help My Kid Make Friends?” :: David Thomas and Sissy Goff [Ep 483] Summer of Mentorship week 6
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“How Can I Help My Kid Make Friends?” :: David Thomas and Sissy Goff [Ep 483] Summer of Mentorship week 6

Don't Mom Alone Podcast

08/12/24

56m

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Do you try to coach or control your kids in friendships? Whether sending them off to Kindergarten or College there are so many opportunities along the way to help them be good friends and pick good friends.
Today we are revisiting an amazing conversation with Sissy Goff and David Thomas discussing how to help our kids foster friendships. As licensed counselors, working at DayStar Counseling Center in Nashville, they provide support, encouragement, and compassion to children, adolescents, and families in need through counseling.
This episode has advice at every turn for every age and stage. David talks about dropping his son off at college and how to be a coach - not a fixer. We discuss shifting from focusing on how to get friends to how to be a good friend. Sissy breaks down the girl issues that arise with anxiety, feelings of isolation or being left out, and moms who sometimes care more than their daughters about certain social situations. This is a perfect episode heading into back-to-school season as we prepare to navigate relationships alongside our kids.
Connect with David Thomas and Sissy Goff:

Summer of Mentorship Discussion Questions:
  • What stood out to you in the week’s episode?
  • What is one step you can take to become a coach instead of a fixer?
  • Could you sit down this week and have your child make a list of what characteristics a good friend has? Ask them how they are doing on that scale and if they are looking for people with those same qualities.
  • Can you name one issue one of your kids is having in this area and what ideas this episode brought up for you to try?
  • Are you praying for your kids' friendships and connections? If not, stop and pray now for one another that the Lord would provide lifelong Godly friends this year for each of your children.
Links Mentioned:

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Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

Previous Episode

As parents, we are keenly aware of the peaks and valleys of our kids’ emotions. Anger, sadness, excitement, and all the other feelings can make us feel like our child is on a roller coaster we’re just trying to slow down.
It’s true that we all feel highs and lows throughout our day, but we rarely talk about what it feel like when we’re “in the zone” and feeling calm and ready to go. My guest today is sharing about the window of tolerance and how to regulate ourselves and our kids to help stay in that window.
“If I am dysregulated, I cannot regulate my child. So if I'm in fight or flight and I'm yelling. There's no amount of yelling that brings my child back into the window. And sometimes parents think the yelling is working, but what you're doing isn’t getting your child in the window. They're going into collapse and into a place of fear.”
Charissa Lopez is a Licensed Professional Counselor and believer. Her passion is to come alongside those who are hurting and struggling to help them find truth, hope, healing, connection, and growth. She shares some eye-opening information and statistics to get us on the path to helping our kids build resilience and stay in that window of tolerance.
Charissa shares from a faith-perspective that we as believers are not alone. She reminds us that we can lean on God to regulate our emotions as we love on our kids and go through the hardships of life.
“God himself through Jesus is the ultimate attachment figure. He is always reaching for us. He never fails to respond to our needs. He always loves us. He's never judging us and never shaming us. So to know that when we need to be co-regulated, that when I am feeling like I'm going to leave the window, I can remember the truth of who God is and I can reach out to him in prayer.”
What we chat about:
  • The window of tolerance when our brains functioning well and effectively process input to make rational decisions calmly without feeling either overwhelmed or withdrawn
  • When we’re out of the window of tolerance, our thinking brain is not in control and we don’t register consequences
  • Many of us don’t live in the window of tolerance, but we’re too busy and stressed to stop and assess how we’re feeling at any given moment
  • Hyper-arousal, otherwise known as the fight/flight response, is often characterized by hypervigilance, feelings of anxiety and/or panic, and racing thoughts.
  • Hypo-arousal, or a freeze response, may cause feelings of emotional numbness, emptiness, or paralysis.
  • Learning how to stay in your window of tolerance builds resilience, both for us and our kids
  • When our kids live outside the window, they become “masters of survival” and often turn to negative coping strategies
  • What co-regulating our kids’ emotions looks like
  • Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
  • We can lean on God to bring us to that window of tolerance and into the fruits of the spirit

Connect with Charissa:
Links Mentioned:
Related Episodes:
Summer of Mentorship Discussion Questions:
  • Have you heard of the window of tolerance before? If you look back at today, can you identify times when you were in the window and when you were in hyper-arousal/hypo-arousal?
  • What about when your kids were in hyper-arousal/hypo-arousal? Are there some simple indicators that tip you off to your child’s de-regulation?
  • How could knowing that your child’s thinking brain and understanding of consequences are not functioning in de-regulation change how you parent them when they have big emotional responses?
  • Do you need to take more time to regulate yourself when you are upset before disciplining your kids? Make a list of strategies you can use to get...

Next Episode

Are you tired physically, spiritually, or emotionally as a mom trying to do it all? Does the thought of resting make you stressed because you can’t see how? Do you know what kind of rest fills your soul?
Today Jess Connolly joins us to talk about her new book and all the research behind the how, where, and why of rest. Jess’s life is full with being an author, Bible teacher, podcaster, and coach so she knows the challenges of finding pockets of rest in a full schedule. I love how we discuss that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for resting and we are all made differently by our creator with unique ways to recharge. (Don’t forget to take the quiz below to identify what kind of rest you need in this season) Jess reminds us that Jesus had true rest for us even in busy seasons that will lead us to be more awake, alive, and present in our families, ministries, and careers. We end the podcast by getting sidetracked and talk about everything from theology books to ice machines- join us for tons of truth and fun.
Connect with Jess Connolly:
Links Mentioned:
Related Episodes:

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  • Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

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