EveryDay Strong

With deaths by suicide happening as young as 5 years old, we know it's important to talk about, but that doesn't make the topic any easier. Please know you're not alone if you struggle to know what to say. Take a deep breath, and give this episode a listen.  Join Darrin Brandt, a local therapist at Revere Health, as he helps us find ways to: navigate conversations with children who ask us about suicide create a safe space to talk if a child in your life is feeling suicidal build connection by allowing space for you and your child to process feelings at an individual pace --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

To end this season, in case you missed catching this episode from Season 2, here's a rerun episode with Jenny Howe! You might have a vision for what your teenager or child needs in order to thrive. But you're not the only adult in your kids' life: there's her teacher, perhaps his other parent, or their youth leaders at church or a club. Are they resistant to what you know your child needs? Licensed clinical therapist Jenny Howe deals with this all the time. She specializes in helping parents collaborate with the school to figure out a plan that will work for everyone. Listen now to learn how to have a better conversation and what actions you can take to support your kid. --------------- To learn more about helping your child, Jenny suggests reading Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them by Ross W. Greene. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

In today's episode, we talked to Lisa Clark, a mother of five, and she shares one of the most challenging experiences her family has experienced and what she did to stay calm and persevere and help her kids thrive through these challenges. Lisa cared for her husband with a terminal illness in which she learned how to cope by doing things to calm her, she learned how and who to reach out for support,  she learned that modeling healthy emotional behavior means staying authentic to your emotions, and she learned to don't sweat the small stuff.  Listen as Lisa shares her story and how she cared for herself and her children during the hardest time in their life with laughter, love, and tears. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

What can you do when you constantly do the same "parenting fail" over and over?  You lose confidence in your parenting skills, feel hopeless, and are stuck. What can help with these feelings is changing your mindset to view confidence as something that grows through experience as you overcome challenges.  And having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish as a parent can build your confidence, which you can impart to your kids. You have to be confident to instill confidence in your kids.  In today's episode, we talked with clinical mental health counselor Scott McConnell about the challenges of building confidence and how that affects how we parent our kids.  --------------- To learn more about building confidence, Scott suggests the following books: No drama discipline by Dan Siegel The whole-brainchild by Dan Siegel & Tina Bryson Parenting with love and logic by Foster Cline & Jim Fay Brainstorm: the power and purpose of the teenage brain by Dan Siegel How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

When raising a family distances us from old friends, starting a new friendship from scratch can be intimidating! Remember this isn’t your first rodeo. Today's episode with local therapist Collette Dawson-Loveless, LCSW, will help you jump the mental hurdles and make meaningful connections even as an adult! Listen for her tips about building vulnerability, stepping out of your comfort zone, and understanding roadblocks on your path to connection and support. --------------- To learn more about building connections, Collette suggests the following books: Love Sense by Dr. Sue Johnson Attached by Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel S.F. Heller, M.A. Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin Psy.D. Parenting From the Inside Out by Daniel J. Siegel M.D. and Mary Hartzell M.Ed. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

The balance is HARD between focusing on a kid’s needs and not forgetting about your own. If you feel like you’re always living on the edge of a breakdown, it might have to do with learning to calm your body, not just your mind. When your own needs for calm and peace are met, it’s a lot easier to parent the way you want to. Today’s episode with Dr. Andrea Moore (who has a doctorate in physical therapy!) shares science-based grounding techniques for preventing getting to the edge. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to take care of yourself.  We all know the list: get enough water, get enough sleep, get some exercise.  But that's so much easier said than done. Kristin Erskine, assistant professor at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, is here to share the simple things you may not have thought of that can change your ability to take care of your needs.   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

You've told your teenager that they really, really need to focus on bringing their grades up or it's going to be difficult to get into a good college--but it's so much more fun to NOT do that, they argue. You're trying to convince them that they should go to bed at a decent hour but they push back: "none of my friends have to go to bed by then." These arguments go around and around. Sometimes it's simply a matter of being the heavy and laying down the rules. Sometimes, though, we can try a different tack. Today's episode is a reading from medical doctor Atul Gawande about how he persuades his unwilling patients to listen to his wisdom. See if you can glean insight about how you might interact with your balking teenager--and ultimately help her change her own mind.   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

When our kids go off to college for the first time, it's a HUGE and sudden shift in our relationship with them. Up until now, we've been able to protect and shelter them from the worst of what life has to offer. But now they are on their own for the first time. They might struggle to make friends. They might struggle to manage their schedule. And sometimes we feel so helpless. You don't have to be helpless, but you do have the chance to learn a new kind of relationship with your child. Tune in to our conversation with Licensed Clinical Social Worker Catherine Johnson to learn what you can do to be a support for your child but also give them the room to spread their wings. --- Thank you to our sponsor, Revere Health, for making this podcast possible. Learn more at www.reverehealth.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

One of the hardest things as parents is feeling helpless when we know our child has to come in contact with another adult who may be harsh or punitive. For example: if you are divorced and your child is court-ordered to spend weekends with their other parent. What can you possibly do to help your child feel strong, loved, and protected? Today I talked with Kelli Stout, who works as a therapist at the Children's Justice Center in downtown Provo. Every day she supports the survivors of child abuse. She gives us ideas of how we can make our home a haven, how we can validate our child's right to their safety, and what's most important to do in our relationship with our child. Listen now to learn more. ------ Kelli also recommends two books for further reading: 1) The Yes Brain by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne and 2) What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry. ----- Thank you to our sponsor, Revere Health, for making this podcast possible. Learn more at www.reverehealth.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

"The boundaries you set for your kid make more sense when you do feel connected to them." A lot of us were parented in a very top-down way: "do what I say or you're grounded" kind of a mindset.  You might feel like you want to do a different kind of parenting. But the shift is not an easy one!  Today we're talking to a very average, but very stellar, parent Kristina Pexton. Kristina walks us through her journey of trying to figure out how to connect with her kids and give her best even when up against all the normal parts of being a human. You'll find some inspiration here for your own journey to being the kind of parent you really want to be. In addition to being a parent who tries her best, Kristina is also the Family Life Commissioner for the Utah PTA. --- Thank you to our sponsor, Revere Health, for making this podcast possible. Learn more at www.reverehealth.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

Your child's pediatrician is one of the most important players in supporting your child through anxiety or depression. They can prescribe medications, help you understand the chemical nature of what's happening with your child, and help you make sure all their physical needs are met (like helping them sleep or eat better).  But how can you make this relationship as optimal as possible? What does a pediatrician want you to know about how to work with them? This week, I talk with family doctor Dr. Dana Munn from Revere Health about how you can partner with your child's doctor to figure out solutions that will be best for your child.  --- Thank you to our sponsor, Revere Health, for making this podcast possible. Learn more at www.reverehealth.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

As we go out and teach EveryDay Strong in the community, there are a lot of parents who are very worried about their teenager who struggles to carry on a conversation. Basic social skills are the foundation for everything else in life, like getting a job or having meaningful relationships. But if you can't even talk to your teenager about how they can't talk to people, what are you supposed to do? Licensed Clinical Social Worker Jay Snyder talks with us this week about how the difficulty itself can be the path forward. That might sound a little strange, so tune in now for wisdom about how creating safety and patience can help you unravel this tricky situation.  ------ Thank you to our sponsor, Revere Health, for making this podcast possible. Learn more at www.reverehealth.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

You probably know this feeling: a child in your life needs professional help but you have no idea where to start. Psychiatrist? Psychologist? Therapist? LCSW? LMFT? CMHC? What do these acronyms even mean? Will my insurance cover it? What do I do if I don't have insurance? These are all questions that can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, you are not the first person to experience this and our community has resources for you. Today I'm talking with someone from one of my favorite programs, a NAMI Utah Mentor. A mentor's entire job is to help you figure out how to crack this. Mentors are people like you who have been down this path before and they can make a complex process much more manageable.  Listen now to hear Wendy's advice, and learn more about this program at www.namiut.org/resources/mentoring or by calling 801-323-9900 (M-F 9 AM - 4:15 PM). --- Much gratitude to our Season 3 sponsor, Revere Health. Learn more at reverehealth.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

This week I spoke with Rachel Mortensen, who currently serves as Miss Eagle Mountain, about what went well for her and her mental health during the pandemic. She shares some particularly insightful ideas about how having support beyond just your parents can make an incredible difference for our well-being.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

Bullying is something we don't ever want to see happen in our schools. Unfortunately, it still does from time to time. When it does, how can we meet the emotional needs of the kid being bullied? And how can we think about meeting the bully's needs for safety, connection, and confidence to help her or him make better choices?  School counselor Lynnete Nielson gives us her perspective and some tricks. --- Learn more about EveryDay Strong at www.everydaystrong.org.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

Homework procrastination. It haunts parents across the world. The fights at the kitchen table, the refusal to cooperate. Sometimes, though, this behavior can be a sign of deeper anxieties--or even minor trauma--that we don't know about. So how can focusing on emotional security and a sense of peace and safety get better results with our kids' homework? Therapist Derek Larsen is here to tell us how he approaches this tough but all-too-common dilemma. ----- Learn more about EveryDay Strong at www.everydaystrong.org --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

When a kid isn't acting the way we need them to--they won't put away their stuff or do their homework--it's so easy to slip into frustration and blame. We don't like it, but that little inside voice pops up saying, "why can't my kid just try harder?" We often want to be patient, especially if they have a diagnosis like ADHD and we know it's not all their fault.  But how can we be the caring adult we want to be?  Listen to today's interview with therapist Alex Ibarra to learn how the EveryDay Strong framework can help you have more compassion and perspective for kids just trying their best. ------------ Learn more about EveryDay Strong at www.everydaystrong.org --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

It's one thing to create safety, connection, and confidence one-on-one with a kid--but can you do it for an entire high school? It turns out you can. To find out how, listen to this week's interview with master school administrator Rhonda Bromley. She tells us about how she created safety as a high school principal, even with the most difficult of kids, and the one thing she persisted in doing that made the biggest difference to her student's mental health. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message

You might have a vision for what your teenager or child needs in order to thrive. But you're not the only adult in your kids' life: there's her teacher, perhaps his other parent, or their youth leaders at church or a club. Are they resistant to what you know your child needs? Licensed clinical therapist Jenny Howe deals with this all the time. She specializes in helping parents collaborate with the school to figure out a plan that will work for everyone. Listen now to learn how to have a better conversation and what actions you can take to support your kid. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everydaystrong/message