We all find ourselves surprised by how ANGRY our kids can make us. Nothing can trigger our nervous systems quite like those moments where our kids push our buttons. Maybe your patience disappears, your heart starts racing, or you find yourself caught in a cycle of parenting stress and reactive parenting. You are not alone, friend.

In this episode of Sustainable Parenting, I’m joined by my old camp friend, and trauma-informed marriage and family therapist Rachael Votaw Ochoa, LMFT (of the Apricot Oak Podcast), to talk about practical self-regulation tools that can help when parenting triggers show up. Together, we explore how our bodies signal stress, why it can be so hard to stay calm in the moment, and simple ways to reconnect with ourselves before reacting.

Rachel shares easy, accessible strategies including breathwork, body awareness, and emotion labeling that can support calm parenting and parenting without yelling. These tools can help you move from reacting on autopilot to responding with greater intention, even during difficult parenting challenges.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to recognize the body's early signs of stress and dysregulation
• A simple breathing technique to help calm your nervous system
• Why body awareness is an important part of gentle parenting
• How labeling emotions can reduce overwhelm and create space for choice
• Small daily practices that can help you become a dependable calm presence for your family

If parenting burnout and dysregulation, parenting stress, or parenting triggers have been making it harder to show up the way you'd like, this conversation offers simple tools and encouraging reminders you can begin using today.

🎧 Tune in for a thoughtful conversation about self-regulation, calm confident parenting, and finding more ease and connection in your parenting journey.

✨Want more?

✨JOIN me in the SUMMER of support:

💪❤️💪 https://courses.sustainableparenting.com/courses/summer-of-support

✨ Get my 3 KEYS to Calm, Confident Parenting (30 min. FREE webinar) - https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63640a05c74edb4b6bdce1f3

✨ Buy a 3 session Coaching Bundle (saving you $100) - for THREE 30-min sessions 1:1 with ME, where we get right to the heart of your challenges, and give you small, powerful shifts that make a huge difference fast.

✨Schedule a FREE 20 min clarity call with Sustainable Parenting, so we can answer any questions you may have about working with Flora.

✨Purchase a $19 short course on Etsy✨

Are bedtime battles leaving you exhausted? Do you feel like your entire evening hinges on whether your child stays in bed, comes out of their room, or asks for “just one more thing”?

In this episode, I share a powerful mindset shift that has helped many families transform bedtime from a nightly power struggle into a simple, predictable routine. I’ll walk you through why so many of us accidentally measure the wrong thing at bedtime—and how focusing on our child’s cooperation can leave us feeling defeated.

Instead, I introduce a decision-tree approach that can help you stay calm, consistent, and confident no matter what your child chooses. I’ll show you how to stop negotiating, reduce bedtime stress, and help your child build responsibility and independent sleep skills over time.

By the time you’re done listening, you’ll know:

• The bedtime mindset shift that changes everything.
• Why your child’s behavior isn’t the best measure of success.
• How to respond calmly when kids get out of bed.
• The difference between controlling bedtime and leading bedtime.
• Why fewer words often create better results.
• How to parent with kindness and firmness at the same time

If you’re tired of bedtime taking over your evenings, I hope this episode gives you a practical framework you can start using tonight.

Get the FREE Bedtime Decision Flowchart: https://sustainable-parenting.myflodesk.com/wcwu5o8wo3

✨Want more?

✨JOIN me in the SUMMER of support:

💪❤️💪 https://courses.sustainableparenting.com/courses/summer-of-support

✨ Get my 3 KEYS to Calm, Confident Parenting (30 min. FREE webinar) - https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63640a05c74edb4b6bdce1f3

✨ Buy a 3 session Coaching Bundle (saving you $100) - for THREE 30-min sessions 1:1 with ME, where we get right to the heart of your challenges, and give you small, powerful shifts that make a huge difference fast.

✨Schedule a FREE 20 min clarity call with Sustainable Parenting, so we can answer any questions you may have about working with Flora.

✨Purchase a $19 short course on Etsy✨

Summer can be full of fun memories, but it can also bring more sibling squabbles, endless cries of "I'm bored," and days that feel longer than expected. If you're looking for a way to create a little more calm and connection this summer, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I'm sharing what I call the Goldilocks Method: finding the sweet spot between being too strict and too relaxed. When plans feel too big, it's hard to stay consistent. When there isn't enough structure, everyone can end up feeling frustrated. The goal is finding a balance that works for your family and feels sustainable.

You'll hear three simple tools that can make a big difference this summer:

• A boredom plan you can create with your kids before the complaints begin
• A sibling conflict "wheel of choices" that helps kids build problem-solving skills
• An easy strategy for souvenirs and snacks that can reduce begging and power struggles on family outings

I'll also point you back to Episode 63, where I share how to create clear agreements around things like toys, treats, technology, and daily routines.

If summer has you wondering how to bring a little more peace and predictability into your days, I hope this episode gives you some practical ideas you can start using right away.

And if you'd like extra support this season, join our Summer of Support program (starting June 15th): https://courses.sustainableparenting.com/courses/summer-of-support

If this episode encourages you, share it with a friend and subscribe so you don't miss future episodes.

✨Want more?

✨JOIN me in the SUMMER of support:

💪❤️💪 https://courses.sustainableparenting.com/courses/summer-of-support

✨ Get my 3 KEYS to Calm, Confident Parenting (30 min. FREE webinar) - https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63640a05c74edb4b6bdce1f3

✨ Buy a 3 session Coaching Bundle (saving you $100) - for THREE 30-min sessions 1:1 with ME, where we get right to the heart of your challenges, and give you small, powerful shifts that make a huge difference fast.

✨Schedule a FREE 20 min clarity call with Sustainable Parenting, so we can answer any questions you may have about working with Flora.

✨Purchase a $19 short course on Etsy✨