You've been looking forward to having your child home from sleepaway camp.

Then they walk through the door exhausted, disappear into their room, complain that there's nothing to do, or get annoyed the first time you remind them to put something away.

It's easy to wonder: Did they miss me? Are they happy to be home? Did camp change them in ways I don't like?

The transition from camp to home is bigger than it may appear. Your child is returning from a completely different world, and they may need time to figure out how the person they became at camp fits back into family life.

In this episode, I'm sharing three adjustments kids make after sleepaway camp and how you can give your child room to bring their growing confidence, competence, and independence home with them.

• Why a wonderful camp experience can still lead to irritability, withdrawal, or complaints when your child comes home
• How to handle the friction that can arise when newfound independence meets familiar family expectations
• The overlooked adjustment that can make returning to an old family role especially difficult
• What you can do if your child is already home and you're thinking, "I messed this up"

• Episode 256 - Raising Independent Kids
• Experience Camps
• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Book a call to talk about working with me HERE.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

I'm currently in Georgia for my eighth summer as a grief specialist at Experience Camps, a nonprofit that provides free, one-week camps for kids who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver.

While I'm there, I'm replaying Episode 158, "Lessons from Grief Camp," which first aired on August 17, 2021.

Even if your family isn't dealing with grief, the lessons in this episode apply to every parent. They're about what makes kids more likely to talk about their difficult emotions with you and how you can create the conditions that help them open up.

• The secret to creating more trust and connection with your kids
• Why people find it difficult to open up about their feelings and what it costs them
• Simple ways to get more in touch with your emotions and how it helps you be a better mom

• Experience Camps website
• Episode 033 – Helping Kids Manage Their Emotions
• Episode 094 – Parenting with Vulnerability
• Episode 134 – Validating Emotions
• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Book a call to talk about working with me HERE.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

Your child is in a bad mood.

You offer suggestions, make a joke, or point out what's going well.

Nothing seems to help, and before long, you're in a bad mood, too.

It's easy to feel responsible for turning their mood around.

But what if supporting them doesn't require changing how they feel?

In this episode, I talk about why some kids seem moodier than others, why their moods can affect you so quickly, and how to support them without needing to cheer them up or taking their behavior personally, so their bad mood doesn't have to become yours.

• How temperament can influence what sets kids off, how they express their feelings, and how quickly they recover
• Why your child's mood can stir up uncomfortable feelings in you
• Ways to offer support without requiring your child to feel better

• Episode 191: Understanding Temperament
• Episode 414: How to Release Anger Without Taking It Out on Your Kids
• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Book a call to talk about working with me HERE.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

Everyone gets angry. But not everyone recognizes it, lets themselves feel it, or knows what to do with it when it shows up.

Sometimes anger is obvious. Other times, it looks more like irritation, resentment, anxiety, tension, or the need to control everything around you.

You may not think of yourself as an angry person at all, but that doesn't mean the anger isn't there.

In today's podcast episode, I'm talking about what happens when you suppress or repress anger, how it can affect your parenting, and what your body needs when anger shows up.

You don't have to choose between giving yourself permission to feel angry and helping your child feel safe.

• The difference between suppressing and repressing anger
• The surprising ways anger can leak out
• Four ways to give anger a safer outlet than letting it spill into your parenting

• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Book a call to talk about working with me HERE.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

Have you ever looked at your child and thought, "Wow. You're so much like me"?

At first, that recognition can feel sweet. You understand them in a way other people might not.

But it can also create some blind spots.

You may think you know what they're feeling, what they need, or why something matters so much to them, when part of what you're seeing is your own history.

In this week's episode, I'm talking about three common traps of parenting a child who reminds you of yourself, and what helps you notice when the similarities are helping you understand them versus keeping you from seeing them clearly.

• Why the similarities between you and your child can create blind spots
• The quality that helps you see your child more clearly when they remind you of yourself
• The question that helps you separate your story from theirs

• Episode 155 – Parental Projection
• Episode 191 – Understanding Temperament
• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Book a call to talk about Damn Good Mama HERE.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

Have you ever reacted to your child and wondered afterward, "Why did that feel so big?"

The thing they did was small. Your reaction was not.

This week, I share the story of a mom in my program who had a huge reaction over a tray of sliders.

She came to coaching convinced she knew exactly why she'd reacted.

She was only partly right.

Minutes into our session, we weren't talking about sandwiches anymore.

We weren't even talking about her son.

We were talking about a pattern that began decades earlier.

In this episode, I'll show you how we got there and why it matters if you've ever had an overreaction you couldn't explain.

If your reactions have ever left you feeling confused or ashamed, I hope this episode helps you understand yourself with a little more compassion.

• Why the size of your reaction is information, not proof that something is wrong with you
• What it actually looks like to break a pattern, and why catching yourself mid-blowup counts as a win
• The first place to look when your reaction feels bigger than the situation calls for

• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Book a call to talk about Damn Good Mama HERE.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

For years on this podcast, when I've talked about my dad, it's been in the context of understanding myself, my patterns, and some of my struggles.

Most of us carry complicated feelings about our parents. We can wish some things had been different and still be grateful for what they gave us. Both can be true.

This week, in honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing the parts of my dad and our relationship that I haven't talked about enough, and that I'm especially grateful for.

You'll also discover a hidden talent of mine you've never heard on the podcast before.🤔

• Why you can wish some things had been different and still be grateful for what your parents gave you
• How the things our parents model become woven into who we are, often in ways we don't notice until much later
• What it feels like when the roles between you and a parent begin to shift
• The unexpected phone call that changed the way I saw one part of my relationship with my dad

• Download my free Nervous System Reset Guide for Moms HERE.
• Apply for Damn Good Mama HERE. Next kickoff call is July 6.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts

"Mom, I'm bored."
"There's nothing to eat."
"Can you drive me?"
"He's touching my stuff."

It's 10 a.m. and you've already refereed two arguments and answered the same question four times.

And there are still nine more hours until bedtime.

Summer sounded so relaxing back in May.

No morning rush, lunches to pack, or homework to oversee.

But those pressures just got replaced by different ones: constant togetherness, less structure, more driving, more meals, and more chances for everyone to get on each other's nerves.

By mid-summer, you may notice you're more irritable and quicker to react than you want to be. And when that happens, the instinct is to assume you need better parenting strategies.

Usually you don't.

Your tank is running low, and this episode is about refilling the tank.

I share five specific, doable things that protect your capacity, so summer feels a little easier until the buses come back.

• The first question to ask yourself when you're running low on patience
• What happens when you intentionally slow down your breathing
• How to set boundaries that protect your time and energy
• The role connection plays in protecting your capacity

• Apply for Damn Good Mama HERE. Next kickoff call is July 6.
• Buy and leave a review for the Less Drama More Mama book HERE.
• Subscribe to get email updates on Less Drama More Mama webinars, workshops, and special offers HERE.
• Follow Less Drama More Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
• Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts