This is an episode originally published in October 2023. It is one of my most popular.

It’s so important for parents to have effective communication with their teenagers and using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) can help.

Kate and guest Jeanine Mouchawar discuss how understanding your own and your teen's personality type can improve communication and reduce conflict.

Jeanine shares a five-step process for effective communication: calming oneself before a conversation, stating observations without judgement, getting curious about the teen's feelings, validating their feelings, and asking for their ideas to make better choices.

Jeanine emphasizes the importance of removing the word "why" from conversations as it often puts the other person on the defensive.

Listen For:

10:30 Why parenting approaches differ for teens as opposed to younger children

18:24 Calming techniques (for calming down parents)

24:19 The importance of stating observations clearly

29:35 Avoiding the word “Why”

Guest: Jeanine Mouchawar, BA Stanford

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Have you ever forgotten something so obvious that all you could do was laugh and wondered whether your greatest frustrations might actually be the flip side of your greatest strengths?

Kate Mason flies solo and bravely opens the door to life inside her spontaneous, flexible, perceiving brain.

After 30 years of teaching personality, Kate shares her most memorable mistakes: leading the wrong child away at the zoo, concert tickets for the wrong day, and watching her cruise ship sail off without her, alongside the deeply moving story of navigating her mum's dementia and move into nursing home care.

Warm, funny, and unexpectedly tender, this episode is an empowering invitation to understand your own personality, embrace your blind spots, celebrate the organised people who carry you, and discover the joy of living your best life… your way.

Listen for:

2:21 What happens when a teacher accidentally leads the wrong child away at the zoo?

4:48 How can parents turn a plan gone wrong into the best surprise ever?

12:02 How did Kate navigate her mum's dementia and the move to nursing home care?

20:11 What did Kate learn when her river cruise ship sailed away without her?

23:14 Why are your greatest frustrations the flip side of your greatest strengths?

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Contact Kate:

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You don’t need to be opposites to attract. Sometimes two very like-minded people with like-personalities people find mutual attraction.

But it does seem odd that it’s often two people are not the same in many, many ways who find attraction.

For example, why does the introvert find attraction in the extravert? Do they help them learn to speak up more and join the party? And why does the extravert fall for the introvert? Do they help them learn to listen and reflect?

Kate and Tracy are coming at this from experience. Grab a cuppa and join.

Listen for:

7:15 What really attracts introverts and extroverts to each other?

8:43 What does Tracy Noon find irresistible about introverted partners?

11:03 Why does an extrovert reopen an argument two days later?

13:18 Why did Tracy's eleven-year relationship end in total silence?

15:00 How many social outings are too many for an introverted partner?

Guest Co Host – Tracy Noon

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Contact Kate:

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What if the exhaustion and lost sense of self in early motherhood aren't signs you're failing but signs you're being remade?

Kate Mason welcomes Benita Bensch, author, certified Motherhood Studies Practitioner, clarity coach, farmer, and mum of four boys, for a warm, honest conversation about matrescence, the profound identity shift of becoming a mother.

Benita shares her own journey through postnatal anxiety and burnout, the "black hole" she hit with four children under four, and the science and language that finally helped it all make sense.

Together they explore why understanding this transition matters, how to recognise when to seek help, and why reclaiming your identity makes you a wholer parent.

It's an empowering, hope-filled listen for anyone who has ever quietly wondered, "Who am I now?"

Listen for:

8:00 Why did Benita gradually start to lose her sense of self?

10:24 What do the physical symptoms of postnatal anxiety feel like?

11:57 What does hitting the "black hole" of motherhood look like?

16:52 What is matrescence and why aren't mothers told about it?

25:49 When should an overwhelmed mum reach out for help?

Guest Benita Bensch, Author, Speaker & Clarify Coach for Women

Website | LinkedIn | Email | Instagram | Facebook | Seen Again: Light on Matrescence Book

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Contact Kate:

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This is an episode originally published in August 2024. It is one of my most popular.

Have you ever wondered what builds resilience in us and our children?

In this episode, Kate chats with Tania Johnson, co-founder of the Institute of Child Psychology.

Tania shares her journey, from fostering four First Nations children to her academic accomplishments and her profound insights into attachment theory and resilience.

Together, they explore the power of purposeful parenting, the importance of allowing children to fail and learn, and practical strategies to foster resilience in our young ones.

Listen For:

4:44 Experiences as a Foster Mom

11:15 When Did We Start Protecting Children from Failure?

26:17 The Impact of Overpraising

35:51 Teaching Resilience

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Have you ever walked away from a disagreement with your partner absolutely certain of what was said…only to have them remember it completely differently? What if that isn't manipulation at all, but simply the way human memory actually works?

Kate Mason welcomes back Associate Professor Celine Vangolde from the University of Sydney, whose research explores memory, trauma, child testimony, and psychological abuse.

Celine's work sits at the intersection of science and real-life relationships, examining how memories are formed, stored, retrieved, and yes, sometimes misremembered entirely…and what that means for the families and couples navigating those moments every day.

This conversation takes a deep, accessible dive into the term "gaslighting", where it came from, how it has evolved, and critically, when a normal memory disagreement ends and genuine psychological abuse begins.

Understanding personality types, memory distrust, and the role of intention gives parents and partners the insight they need to protect themselves and their families.

Listen for:

03:03 How does memory actually work and why don't two people ever remember the same event?

06:52 Where did the term gaslighting originate and how did it evolve over time?

13:43 What does Celine's research reveal about how couples misidentify memory conflicts as gaslighting?

17:11 How should someone decide if they are truly being gaslit or simply in a normal disagreement?

20:21 When does a caring, protective relationship cross the line into coercive control and abuse?

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Guest Celine Vangolde, Associate Professor University of Sydney School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, specializing in forensic psychology and memory research

Online Bio | LinkedIn

Contact Kate:

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What if the secret to raising happier children wasn't about perfect parenting techniques…but about the quality of the relationship between you and your parenting partner?

Kate Mason is joined by author, family therapist, and family systems expert Dr. Jenny Brown for a return visit that builds beautifully on their first conversation.

Jenny brings decades of clinical experience alongside her deeply personal journey of applying this work within her own marriage and family.

Drawing on the groundbreaking family systems theory developed by psychiatrist Dr. Murray Bowen, she and Kate explore what really happens to relationships when children arrive and why understanding your own role in relationship patterns is the most empowering shift any parent can make.

Whether you're feeling disconnected from your partner, frustrated by different parenting styles, or simply craving more connection in your family, this episode offers both the insight and the hope you've been looking for.

Listen For

2:45 How did Jenny's own family experience shape her decades of work with families?

9:14 Why do couples stop truly connecting and become roommates managing kids' logistics?

12:21 How should parenting partners listen to each other without fixing, advising, or comparing?

21:22 What was the moment Jenny realised she was getting in the way of her husband's parenting?

28:23 Where should disconnected parents start when they feel overwhelmed and don't know what to do?

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Contact Dr Jenny Brown:

Email | Website | Dr Jenny's Book "The Parenting Paradox" | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn

Contact Kate:

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Modern life is fraying us. But we can learn how to come back to ourselves.

In this thoughtful and deeply relatable episode Kate welcomes back educator, social worker, author, and speaker Stephanie Malia Krauss to explore why so many parents, teachers, carers, and children feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and disconnected.

Drawing from her book How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World, Stephanie explains how chronic busyness, overstimulation, technology, anxiety, and modern pressures pull families away from regulation, connection, and truly human living.

Together, Kate and Stephanie unpack how self-regulation develops, why children and young adults are still learning these skills well into their twenties, how dysregulation can be mistaken for “bad behaviour,” and why parents need practical tools like going “below calm,” using gentle cues, listening instead of fixing, and recognizing their own stress signals.

Listen For

6:26 Why Does Modern Family Life Feel So Overwhelming?

11:15 What Is Self-Regulation and Why Is It Still Developing Until the Mid-20s?

19:20 How Can Parents Calm Themselves When a Child Is Dysregulated?

28:11 Is Your Child’s Behaviour Actually a Discipline Issue or a Dysregulation Issue?

41:17 Could the Personality Trait You Dislike Actually Be Chronic Dysregulation?

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Connect with guest: Stephanie Malia Krauss

LinkedIn | Website | YouTube | Instagram | Book: How We Thrive

Contact Kate:

Email | Website | Kate’s Book on Amazon | LinkedIn | Facebook | X