How to Talk to Your Child About Difficult Topics (Part 2)
Episode 192
Monday, August 26, 2024 • Duration 35:51
Expanding on last week’s episode, Josh and Rachel Keller use role-plays to show how you can engage in a difficult conversation with your child. They offer insights for choosing a time and place that will help foster meaningful dialogue and highlight the importance of listening and empathy as you enter the conversation. If you’re feeling unsure about the weighty or awkward conversations you need to have, this episode will give you a boost in confidence and some practical ideas for a great, connected conversation with your child.
Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting!
Every donation, whether big or small, empowers another family to parent with confidence and lead with grace. Make a donation to Connected Families today!
Take a second to rate the show or share this episode with a friend. We’re so grateful if you do!
Guest Bio:
Josh and Rachel are a married duo from Central Minnesota. They have been married for 15 years, with three kids, one dog, a bunny, and a bird. After becoming CF Certified Parent Coaches, they launched The Freedom Center MN, a mental health practice in Willmar, MN.
Less arguing. More wisdom.
That’s what you get with the Power of Questions online course.
How to Talk to Your Child About Difficult Topics [Part 1]
Episode 191
Monday, August 19, 2024 • Duration 34:07
Whether it’s swearing, sex, racism, or a loved one’s choice, talking about difficult topics is a requirement of parenting. Listen in as Josh and Rachel Keller, MA, LPCC (Connected Families Certified Parent Coaches), join us to share practical ideas for approaching difficult conversations with kids of all ages. In their light-hearted and humorous way, they encourage us to reflect, embrace the awkward, and lead with curious questions. You’ll feel encouraged and equipped for your next tough conversation. And don’t miss next week’s episode, where Josh and Rachel roleplay awkward and challenging conversations.
Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting!
Every donation, whether big or small, empowers another family to parent with confidenceand lead withgrace. Make a donation to Connected Families today!
Take a second to rate the show or share this episode with a friend. We’re so grateful if you do!
Guest Bio:
Josh and Rachel are a married duo from Central Minnesota. They have been married for 15 years and have three kids, one dog, a bunny, and a bird. After becoming CF Certified Parent Coaches, they launched , a mental health practice in Willmar, MN.
Less arguing. More wisdom.
$35
The God of Play: Joyfully Embrace the Playful Side of God With Your Kids
Episode 184
Monday, June 10, 2024 • Duration 38:16
Today, we talk with Joy Wendling, Connected Families Certified Parent Coach and founder of Created to Play, about helping kids come to love God wholeheartedly. Faith can sometimes feel serious or heady, but God is also the God of play, and He created children to learn best through play. Stacy and Joy discuss the significance of modeling a joyful faith. Together, they share ideas for making God relatable through play with your kids. They emphasize how to bring God into everyday moments and ways to use scripture to gently guide and encourage your kids.
Enthusiastic. Passionate. Profound. Joy Wendling is a family pastor, writer, speaker, podcaster, certified parent coach, and founder of Created to Play. She has over 20 years of experience in children, youth, and family ministry and a Master’s degree in Youth, Family, and Culture from Fuller Theological Seminary. Her idea of relaxing is gazing at the mountains from her island home with an ice-cold Diet Coke and a good book. Joy lives in the Pacific Northwest and enjoys laughing and playing with her five daughters and husband. Get to know her better at and on her .
Can I Parent Well When I'm Anxious?
Episode 98
Monday, April 25, 2022 • Duration 38:48
You can feel the rising tension in your shoulders and the knots in your stomach again. So much going on around you, and inside you. There is no shortage of things to feel anxious about in our world right now! Current data reveals a huge spike in anxiety in recent years, for both parents and kids. We all face anxiety at some point and it can cause a range of emotions, from mild frustration to feeling really helpless. But can you parent well when you’re anxious?
Anxiety can show up in big ways in our lives and in our family, but it can also show up in subtle ways that are masked by other emotions and behaviors. This is why it is SO important to routinely pay attention to the most foundational question, “What is going on in ME?”
Today’s podcast episode is absolutely packed with thoughtful and real-life guidance for how we can understand and navigate parental anxiety. Stacy Bellward (podcast host) invites three Connected Families Parent Coaches to an honest and insightful conversation about how they have encountered and managed anxiety in many different forms and situations in their own lives and in their kids’ lives as well:
Marni Love, is a homeschool mom of three boys and a regular guest in our Clubhouse Community. Marni has experience with adoption, ADHD, sensory processing, primitive reflex integration, and highly sensitive children
Taylor Irby, is a speaker, marriage and parenting coach, and mom of five children. Taylor is familiar with the challenges of ADHD, autism, anxiety, developmental delays, and adoption trauma
Katie Wetsell, is a mom of four kids and a pediatric nurse who has personally navigated issues related to adoption, mental illness, and learning disabilities. Katie is also certified in SPACE Treatment, a parent-based approach for helping children with anxiety, anxiety disorders, and OCD
What you’ll discover in today’s podcast:
Mentioned in this podcast:
Guest Bios:
Learn more about the Framework
Related Posts
Teaching Your Child to Navigate "Mean" Kids
Episode 97
Monday, April 18, 2022 • Duration 33:57
“He called me stupid!” “She said she doesn’t want to play with me!” It’s so hard when your child comes to you feeling hurt by someone else’s words. Words matter. And they hurt! You want to comfort your kids and protect them from bullying and being hurt again, but unfortunately, that isn’t realistic. How can you teach your child to navigate life when kids say things that are mean? Or when there may be bullying involved?
The truth is, we (both our kids and we as parents) are bombarded with all kinds of negative messages that can be hurtful, and bruise our identity and sense of self-worth. Whether it’s from other people, the culture around us, or even our own inner critic, we hear things that hurt. Sometimes it’s hard to work through it all. We can feel tempted to ruminate and rehearse in our mind the unkind or critical words we hear.
So what can we do to help ourselves and our kids?
In today’s podcast, Stacy Bellward is joined by Lynne Jackson (Co-Founder of Connected Families) to share with us a super helpful tool Lynne developed to combat the damage of hurtful words and messages. It’s called Trash, Truth, Treasure, and like all of our Connected Families resources, this tool is grounded in biblical truth and based on brain science.
The principles of Trash, Truth, Treasure can help us in tough moments to discern what we believe about ourselves, about God, and about our kids. It will allow God’s encouragement to flood us with truth and love. Using this tool as a helpful guide, you can learn to untangle negative, critical messages in your own heart, and help your children to do the same.
Download this helpful PDF “Trash, Truth, Treasure”
In today’s podcast, you’ll learn:
Resources mentioned in this podcast:
Related Posts
Doctrine of Grace in Parenting | Ep. 96
Monday, April 11, 2022 • Duration 32:48
What does the Bible really say about parenting? Is there such a thing as a Doctrine of Grace in Parenting? As Christian parents, we depend on the Bible as a necessary guide to help us understand God’s direction in both discipling and disciplining our kids. And yet, there’s not a significant number of verses in the Bible that give specific parenting instructions.
What we do know is that the Bible tells us that God calls us to love our children the way He loves us, to live out the Fruit of the Spirit, and to pour out the same grace to our kids that we receive from Him. God can empower us through His Spirit to parent with the same gentleness and peace He offers to us.
In today’s episode, Jim Jackson (Co-Founder of Connected Families) is joined by Dr. David Erickson to discuss the Doctrine of Grace in Parenting. Or, more specifically, a biblical foundation for gentle, grace-filled parenting. Dr. Erickson is a theology professor, and has also served as a preacher and pastor for over 25 years. He and his wife Amanda are the founders of Flourishing Homes and Families, a ministry dedicated to cultivating peace-filled and healthy homes.
You’ll want to listen in as Dr. Erickson discusses how the work of God in us can produce gentleness and a renewed mind, so that we can love others–especially our children–as God loves us. We can live out Jesus’ grace-filled spirit in all areas of our life, including our parenting.
In this podcast, you’ll learn:
how important biblical principles and teachings can apply to your parenting
the big picture goal of obedience, based on trust and connection
a clear and powerful pathway of how we can live out the embodied work of Jesus with our children
Want to learn more about grace-filled parenting? Please go to our , and check out great and helpful with hope-filled wisdom for your parenting journey. Have questions or want to connect? You can , we look forward to hearing from you!
Mentioned in this podcast:
Guest Bio:
What Do Kids Really Need From Us?
Episode 95
Sunday, March 20, 2022 • Duration 37:50
Sometimes parenting can seem hopeless. What do kids really need from us? Maybe your kids are struggling and you’re not sure how to get through to them. (This can feel especially hard with teens!) You feel frustrated and your relationship can begin to feel tense. You want to understand them, but you don’t know where to begin.
Sometimes we get anxious about our kids’ challenges and focus more on their behavior, which can cause further strain on the relationship. Consider this: What we see on the surface in our kids and teens doesn’t always reflect what’s really going on in their hearts.
Today’s episode is a special and unique conversation. Join Jim Jackson (Co-Founder of Connected Families) as he interviews Michelle Livingston Thorstad (speaker, mentor, and biblical counselor). Learn about Michelle’s work with at-risk youth, the trials in her own parenting, and the hope that gave her a renewed sense of God’s love and grace for her and her kids. This conversation is about the relational transformation that takes place in a connected relationship. Sharing hope with your kids is relational. It’s hearing and understanding what your kids need, whether they express it with or without words.
Keeping the hope alive in your relationship with your child means doing your own inner work, seeing beyond their stubborn exterior, and understanding the pain they may feel and the love they need.
In this episode…
…you’ll learn about what our kids really need from us. Things like:
relationship over behavior management. You’re more likely to have influence and to be able speak into your kids’ lives when they feel a safe and connected relationship with you.
a safe place to land when they share things with you (body language is important too!). The way you respond can either invite more conversation and influence, or cause hesitancy in your kids about future conversations.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Guest bio:
Related Posts
Why Do I Feel So Angry?
Episode 94
Sunday, March 13, 2022 • Duration 35:07
“WHY do I feel so angry?” “I’m just an angry parent with an angry kid!” Do you ever find yourself saying or thinking these statements? Anger can be a difficult emotion to navigate. We can feel so defeated when we lose control. We don’t want to react this way, and neither do our kids. It doesn’t help that our society seems more angry than ever. And our kids feel that!
If you or your child are struggling with anger, you are not alone! A recent Connected Families survey revealed a significant number of parents reported angry feelings affecting their day-to-day life. Like many other parents, you want to be responsible in your reactions and teach your kids to be responsible too.
On today’s podcast, Stacy Bellward (podcast host) is joined by Jim and Lynne Jackson (Connected Families Co-Founders) to address how parents handle their own anger, and how we can model this in a healthy way to our kids. We discuss brain science relating to anger, a biblical perspective and, as always, practical tools to help you and your kids. You can learn an approach to anger that leaves shame behind, brings connection with your child, and becomes an opportunity for grace and growth. You can break generational cycles of unhealthy anger and bring life and healing to your relationship with your child.
In this podcast, you’ll discover:
the brain science of anger as a default reaction and a reactive coping mechanism, and how you can respond in faith instead of fear
triggers and thought patterns that affect behavior, and how anger can sometimes diminish what may be underlying anxiety or even trauma
the importance of knowing your identity as a child of God, and looking beneath the surface of anger by asking, “What’s going on in me?”
the top three things that push parents’ buttons, and some practical ways of responding in these situations
Do you feel overwhelmed as a homeschool parent? Many parents in the Connected Families community homeschool. That number has grown even more since 2020. Homeschooling can bring some unique parenting challenges! From sibling conflict to curriculum choices to intense learning needs, how do you stay connected to your kids, accomplish schoolwork, and maintain sanity?
(Even if you are not currently homeschooling, you’ll find helpful parenting guidance in this episode!)
Whether or not you are a homeschool parent, you want to:
provide a safe and encouraging learning environment
understand each child’s learning needs
help your kids grow in their learning interests
teach your kids to get along with each other
That can all feel really heavy! Maybe you also have sensitive and intense kids, or you just feel inadequate as a homeschool parent. If so, you’ll want to listen in, because the moms in this conversation can relate!
On today’s podcast, Stacy Bellward (podcast host) is joined by three homeschooling moms with a wide range of perspectives and experiences. They each share a different story and various challenges they have encountered in their homeschooling journey. They also share the common thread of approaching life through the powerful lens of the Connected Families Framework.
You can face the overwhelm of homeschool challenges (and even help your kids resolve conflict!) when you do the foundational work as a parent of exploring, “What’s going on in me?” You can show up for your kids and your school day as the best parent you can be, with loads of God’s grace for yourself and your kids!
In this podcast, you’ll learn about:
what homeschool overwhelm can look like in different situations, and helpful ways you can approach it
how to help kids learn to resolve sibling conflict, especially when they are with each other all day
Mentioned in this podcast:
Want to learn more?
Guest Bios:
Related Posts
Connecting in Your Marriage
Episode 92
Sunday, February 20, 2022 • Duration 37:02
Building a connected marriage is hard work and it doesn’t always come easily. You want to bring better alignment between you and your spouse and create an environment of love, grace, and emotional safety. But you also might feel stuck in a cycle of negative thinking about your spouse or your marriage. Or maybe you are struggling to find a way to navigate disagreements. Connecting in your marriage can be challenging!
The Connected Families Framework equips parents to become more safe and connected, but this Framework is not just for parenting! There are many similarities in the parenting framework that are a natural crossover in marriage. It’s a framework you can successfully apply to all of your relationships, including marriage.
In today’s podcast, Stacy Bellward (podcast host) is joined by special guests and marriage experts Jeff and Stacy Kemp. Jeff and his wife Stacy are speakers with the Family Life Today Weekend to Remember marriage conference. Jeff is also a former NFL player and author of Facing the Blitz. Join them in this honest and encouraging conversation about the value of celebrating each other’s strengths. You’ll enjoy learning from real life examples what emotional safety in marriage can look like, and the daily living out of the Foundational question, “What’s going on in me?”
When you bring unconditional love and safety to your marriage, you can find the best in each other, receive and offer grace, and find lasting and meaningful connection.*
In this episode, you’ll discover:
practical and powerful ways to apply the Connected Families Framework in your marriage relationship
an approach that helps you focus on the positives and strengths in your spouse, and how it can bring change in your own heart and connection in your marriage
Whether you’re just learning the Four Messages of the Framework or have been at it for years, the Parenting Reminders Bundle can help you parent the way you want to parent!
Join these fellow moms and learn how anxiety can actually be an opportunity to grow in our faith, to better understand ourselves and our kids, and to love each other well as a family. We can be proactive in taking care of ourselves and staying grounded in God’s grace and truth so that we can flourish as God’s dearly beloved children.
how anxiety might show up in your home masked as different emotions, behavior, and actions
a clinical definition of anxiety, and how it functions to alert us in both healthy and unhealthy ways
the difference between anxiety and fear, and how we can discern and respond
practical strategies and important truths to help you work through anxious feelings
Do you or your kids struggle with anxiety? Is there something in today’s podcast you found helpful? We would really love to hear from you and help you navigate these challenges. We invite you to check out the valuable resources on our website, and share them with a friend who needs them too!
Katie Wetsell has always had a calling on her heart to care for children. She has worked as a pediatric oncology nurse and pediatric nurse practitioner. After experiencing the benefits of parent coaching through Connected Families herself, Katie later resigned from nursing and became a Certified Parent Coach as well. She and her husband have four children (three boys and a girl) through birth and adoption. Katie is also trained in SPACE treatment to help parents learn how to support their children struggling with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. You can learn more about Katie at parentwithhope.org, and on Facebook @parentwithhopecoach and Instagram @parentwithhopecoach
Marni Love is a wife, homeschool mom to three growing boys, tutor, and parenting coach. After teaching in public school for many years she felt called to home educate. She started in preschool and has continued through the high school years. She has a heart for helping families enjoy their journey and parent with grace while also preparing their children for the future God has for them. She has experience with adoption, ADHD, sensory processing, primitive reflex integration, and highly sensitive children. It would be her great pleasure to support you in bringing peace and connection to your home. You can connect with Marni at www.marnilove.com and on Instagram @journeywithlovehomeschool
Taylor Irby is a mother to 5 kids, and she understands the struggles parents face. Every day she faces ADHD, autism, anxiety, developmental delays, and adoption trauma. She too has sat in the trenches and searched the world for answers. Taylor read book after book and got excited over methods that were short-lived. That is when she hit the wall of desperation and sought parent coaching through Connected Families. Taylor ultimately became a coach through their training program to help others like her. She has seen transformation in her home through working with a framework that not only has changed her children’s behavior but their hearts as well. You are not alone on this parenting journey. There is hope and you can enjoy your children, building that relationship you have wanted, and see behavior change. And I’m here to help. You can learn more about Taylor at taylorirbycoaching.com, and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/taylor.irby.5 and Instagram @taylorirbycoaching
practical ways to identify: What messages are coming into my mind, and how are they affecting me and informing my identity?
how you can renew your mind, and do the inner Foundational work by asking, “What’s going on in me?”
the science of how your brain processes negative messages, and what you can do to work through these messages with objectivity and grace
practical examples of how to help both young kids and older ones work through the tool of Trash, Truth, Treasure
How have you applied this tool in your family? Has it been helpful to you? We’d love to hear more about your experience, and how we can come alongside you to help you parent with truth and grace. Please check out and share our resources with a friend, and if you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you!
Dr. David Erickson is currently a Professor of Theological-Historical Studies, and is passionate about helping people fall radically and deeply in love with God and His word. He also pursued that calling for more than 25 years as a preacher and pastor. David is committed to helping parents understand what God says about parenting and how parenting practices reflect a person’s underlying beliefs about God.
David and Amanda teach parents all over the world through their ministry, Flourishing Homes and Families. With practical parenting advice and regular theology applied to parenting, they are working to equip and empower parents to live out in parenting the very real grace they’ve been given by Jesus. David and Amanda have been married 17 years, have two boys, and currently reside in East Texas.
your humility. Your mistakes can be a beautiful opportunity for them to learn that you struggle too. Kids don’t feel so alone when they know they are not the only ones who make mistakes.
your physical presence. Being in physical proximity provides a space where organic, meaningful conversations can happen.
These are just a few of the valuable insights you’ll hear in today’s podcast! Listen in and let us know what has been helpful to you. And check out these Connected Families resources to help you take steps forward in your journey of peaceful parenting. Need further help? Contact us, we’d love to hear from you!
A native of Minnesota, Michelle Livingston Thorstad grew up in a loving family, but often struggled feeling fully accepted by her peers. As the product of an inter-racial marriage, Michelle frequently felt misunderstood and discouraged to embrace her identity as a bi-racial individual. Ten years after graduating from the U of MN Carlson School of Management with a business degree, Michelle found TreeHouse, who’s mission and vision aligned perfectly with her calling to help struggling youth and their families. Today Michelle has mentored hundreds of teens, spoken both locally & internationally to youth, parents, youth workers, school administrators, churches, community organizations & business professionals. She is currently working at the Center for Transformation and Training as a Biblical Counselor and Spiritual Director. In her downtime you will find Michelle raising teenagers of her own, singing off-beat with her husband, and continuing to grow & enjoy each new season of life.
Take 15 minutes to learn how to give consequences that teach, rather than simply punish, by downloading our free ebook Consequences That Actually Work.
Do you or your kids struggle with anger? We hope you found some encouraging and useful tools on our podcast today. We’d love to hear what helped! And if you or your child are struggling with anger and you feel like you need further help, Connected Families offers certified Parent Coaching. Please reach out and let us know how we can help!
Lydia Rex is a registered nurse, wife, and mother of two and has worked with families in many capacities throughout her career and personal life. She’s been a student of Connected Families since 2014 and continues to find it incredibly life-giving for her own family. Areas of her experience/special interest include foster care and adoption, attachment difficulties, developmental and learning disabilities including FASD. She brings a trauma-informed perspective to the Connected Families framework, and the desire to see families find peace and healing – not just on the other side, but in the midst of challenges! Use our “Contact Us” form to connect with Lydia.
Marni Love is a wife, homeschool mom to three growing boys, tutor, and parenting coach. After teaching in public school for many years she felt called to home educate. She started in preschool and has continued through the high school years. She has a heart for helping families enjoy their journey and parent with grace while also preparing their children for the future God has for them. She has experience with adoption, ADHD, sensory processing, primitive reflex integration, and highly sensitive children. It would be her great pleasure to support you in bringing peace and connection to your home. https://www.marnilove.com/
Nichole Summers is a mom to six children, 4 girls, and 2 boys, adopted and biological. She has contributed to one article (“I Aimed for Perfection as a Mom and It Just Slayed Me.”) and one podcast (Communicating Love in the Midst of Misbehavior) for us here at Connected Families. She is a mom who is learning to take God at His word concerning her children and can often be found resting in Romans 8:28.
Have you used the Connected Families Framework in your homeschooling journey? We would love to hear about it! Looking for more parenting help? Check out these great resources on our website. And as always, feel free to contact us, we love hearing from you!
Download our FREE in-depth ebook Helping Kids With Anger. It will provide thoughtful insights and creative ideas to help your struggling child.
the power of being able to repair relationships after emotionally hurtful conversations
how to create an environment where it is safe to be transparent, so you can share your thoughts, feelings, and hurts with your spouse
*Connected Families believes that commitment to your marriage is an important aspect of emotional safety and connection, but when physical or emotional abuse is present, then help is needed and different options may need to be considered.
Discover shows related to Connected Families Podcast, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
