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Don't Mom Alone Podcast - Sidetracked by the Olympics, Mammograms, and Family Gambling :: Cynthia and Heather [Ep 481]
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Sidetracked by the Olympics, Mammograms, and Family Gambling :: Cynthia and Heather [Ep 481]

Don't Mom Alone Podcast

08/02/24

55m

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Featured In

Out of the gate today we are into all the TMI topics like how to wear your gown at the Doctor’s office, mammograms, and what stage of menopause we are in. (Did you know there are five?) Cynthia’s family keeps it real as usual by washing their healthy vitamins full of fruits and veggies down with Diet Dr. Pepper.
Next up we discuss the Olympics, from what our favorite sports are to handball and break dancing, which we are pretty sure are made-up sports. I rehash my prolific synchronized swimming career and share how I impressed (read tortured) my boys on vacation by showing off my skills. Both of us are fresh off of summer family trips where I bribed my boys to play family games, and Cynthia got recognized in a hotel lobby while sternly talking to her family about taking a good picture.
Cynthia is reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont and gives some ideas on how to slow down and take note of the little things in life so we can remember them later. I share how the pressure to list all the needed family improvements can get overwhelming so I am choosing to list what is going well this season. Come laugh with us and be reminded that no matter how messy summer is making memories and taking time with family is invaluable.
Connect with Cynthia Yanof:
Links Mentioned:
Related Episodes:Featured Sponsors:
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  • Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

Previous Episode

Do you feel like all the parenting books and formulas do not apply to your child? Is there embarrassment over public behavior that causes conflict? Are you longing for a deep connection with your kids that lasts into adulthood?
Today we revisit my conversation with Amy and Jeffrey Olrick. Jeffrey is a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children and families and uses his knowledge in the science of healthy human development mixed with faith to help us in our family relationships.
They go through the six needs of every child and share a compass to help you find your way when it gets challenging. Jeffrey compares our walk through life to a long and challenging trek with our kids where we can get off course but can use these tools to get back on track and build deeper relationships with our kids. He came to the Lord through Matthew 11:28-30 which says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.
We can take this to heart in parenting and in life that God wants us to be in right relationship with our kids and He has strengthened us with the Holy Spirit to do that job well.
Connect with Amy and Jeffrey Olrick:
Summer of Mentorship Discussion Questions:
  • What stood out to you in this week’s episode?
  • Which of the 6 needs is the most hard for you to do with your kids? Why do you think that is the case?
  • Jeffrey talks about sanctification through parenting. Can you reflect on one way you have been sanctified (free from sin or purified) through parenting? Share that win with the group and celebrate how the Lord has changed your life.
  • What are some things in parenting you’ve been looking for a one-size-fits-all solution for?
  • Can you shift your question from “What should I do?” to “How can I be with this child?” That process may start by sitting with the Lord so you have the grace and patience to be with your child in hard spaces. Ask the Holy Spirit for the ability to know what each kid needs at each moment.
Links Mentioned:
Related Episodes:

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

Next 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...

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