"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

Over the past 14 years of coaching moms, I've learned a lot and changed my mind about a few things.

You might assume I'm talking about time-outs, sticker charts, rewards, consequences, or some other parenting strategy.

The truth is, my views on those things haven't changed all that much.

What has changed is where I begin with a client and my understanding of why it's so hard to put good parenting advice into practice in the first place.

In this week's podcast episode, I share how my coaching has evolved, what led me to explore nervous system work, and why the advice I give today sounds different than it did earlier in my career.

If you've ever struggled with reactive parenting and wondered why knowing what to do doesn't always translate into doing it, this episode is for you.

• How my approach to coaching has evolved since 2012
• The pattern I began noticing in myself and my clients
• What my own experiences taught me about change

• Register for my free workshop - Why You Keep Losing It Even When You Know Better
• 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

From the outside, you look like you're doing fine. Maybe even great.

So why does it feel like you're one "that's not fair!" away from losing it?

It's the difference between two things that look similar from the outside, but feel nothing alike on the inside.

One of them is exhausting.

The other creates a little more ease and a little less struggle.

In this episode, I'm breaking down which one you've probably been doing, why it stops working, and what it looks like to move toward something different.

If you're tired of working so hard just to keep it together, press play.

https://lessdramamoremama.com/408

Today's episode is the final one in the Mental Health Awareness Month podcast collaboration I organized with a few other parenting and mental health podcast hosts. We each chose one episode from our own show to share on the others' podcasts throughout the month.

This episode comes from Dawn Friedman's podcast, Tell Me It Will Be Okay.

Dawn has worked with kids and families for more than 30 years as a preschool teacher, clinical counselor, parent educator, and parent herself. Her work focuses mostly on supporting parents of anxious kids.

In this episode, Dawn talks about something she calls "judicious giving up," which is about stepping back from the urge to immediately fix a parenting problem and getting curious about what's actually going on underneath it.

Sometimes the bedtime struggle isn't really about bedtime.
The school refusal isn't really about school.
The behavior isn't always the whole story.

Dawn also talks about how parenting struggles can bring up our own fears, expectations, identities, and beliefs about who we think we're supposed to be as parents.

At the end of the episode, I share some of my own thoughts about nervous system patterns, emotional reactions, and why insight alone usually isn't enough to change the way we respond.

https://lessdramamoremama.com/407

"I don't want to go."
"Can I just stay home?"
"I don't even care about that anyway."

When your anxious child says these things, it can feel kinder (and easier) to let them skip the party, stay home from school, or avoid taking the bus.

But short-term relief often creates bigger anxiety in the long run.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm sharing an episode from Cynthia Coufal's podcast, The Teen Anxiety Maze. Cynthia is a school counselor and teen anxiety coach who has spent more than 25 years helping kids understand and manage anxiety while building confidence and independence.

In this episode, Cynthia breaks down the connection between avoidance and anxiety, why some kids convince themselves they don't care about things they deeply want, and the powerful shift from "I have to" to "I choose to."

At the end of the episode, I share a few of my own thoughts about what stood out to me and how it connects to the work I do with moms.

This episode is packed with practical examples and an important perspective on discomfort, resilience, and what helps anxious kids (and moms) grow.

https://lessdramamoremama.com/406

Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I put together a small podcast collaboration with a few other hosts who talk about parenting, anxiety, and emotional health.

Each week, I'm sharing one of their episodes here on the podcast, followed by a few of my own thoughts on what stood out to me and how it applies to you.

Today's episode comes from Leah Davidson's podcast, Building Resilience.

Leah is a speech-language pathologist and nervous system resilience coach who works primarily with women in midlife. In this episode, she talks about what happens when your kids don't need you the same way anymore.

As kids get older, our relationships with them change. You may go from being very involved in their day-to-day lives to feeling more on the outside, observing instead of guiding. And even though your intention hasn't changed, the way your efforts are received can start to shift.

If you've been feeling unsure about when to step in, when to stay quiet, or how to stay connected without taking things personally, this episode will give you a helpful framework.

https://lessdramamoremama.com/405

You've probably heard the phrase, "If you don't ask, you don't get."

And yet, asking for what you want can feel surprisingly hard.

You hint. You wait. You hope someone notices. And when they don't, you end up feeling frustrated, unseen, or resentful.

When you don't ask, you don't just miss out on what you want. You limit how much support you allow yourself to have.

This comes up a lot around Mother's Day, when so many moms hope to feel seen and appreciated but end up feeling let down.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why so many moms struggle to ask for what they want — and what to do about it.

https://lessdramamoremama.com/404

Divorce is often talked about as a legal process or a decision between two adults.

This week's episode shifts the focus to your child's emotional health.

My guest, Erica Komisar, is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, and parenting expert who has spent decades helping families through divorce.

She says that divorce itself isn't what harms children most. It's the instability, conflict, and disruptions to attachment that surround it.

We talk about what supports kids through separation, why certain stages are more vulnerable, and how to focus less on what feels "fair" to the parents and more on what is right for the child.

If you're going through a divorce, or considering one, this conversation will help you think more clearly about what your child needs from you.

https://lessdramamoremama.com/403