Date Night | CP194

Parenting can be a beautiful journey, but it often brings challenges that strain relationships. From the demands of daily life to the push-and-pull dynamics of kids testing boundaries, the connection between parents can sometimes feel like it’s taking a back seat.In this week's episode I explore how vital it is to protect and prioritize this bond, emphasizing that a strong relationship between parents doesn’t just benefit you—it’s a gift to your children. Kids thrive when they see their parents working as a team, and how division or tension can create stress and confusion in the family dynamic.Listen in to learn practical strategies to reconnect, communicate effectively, and maintain a sense of partnership even during the busiest times. Whether it’s setting aside time to nurture your relationship, finding ways to support each other even in small ways, or understanding the role of teamwork in parenting, this episode is packed with insights to help you strengthen your parenting partnership and create a harmonious family environment for everyone involved.Jennifer's Takeaways:* Importance of a United Parental Front (00:00)* Challenges in Two-Parent Families (01:21)* The Impact of Parental Relationship on Children (02:30)* Recognizing and Responding to Bids for Attention (03:56)* Changing the Lens and Spending Adult Time Alone (05:39)* The Importance of Date Night (07:41)* Using the Calm Technique and Avoiding Policing (09:09)Meet Jennifer KolariJennifer Kolari is the host of the “Connected Parenting” weekly podcast and the co-host of “The Mental Health Comedy” podcast. Kolari is a frequent guest on Nationwide morning shows and podcasts in th US and Canada. Her advice can also be found in many Canadian and US magazines such as; Today’s Parent, Parents Magazine and Canadian Family.Kolari’s powerful parenting model is based on the neurobiology of love, teaching parents how to use compassion and empathy as powerful medicine to transform challenging behavior and build children’s emotional resilience and emotional shock absorbers.Jennifer’s wisdom, quick wit and down to earth style help parents navigate modern-day parenting problems, offering real-life examples as well as practical and effective tools and strategies.Her highly entertaining, inspiring workshops are shared with warmth and humour, making her a crowd-pleasing speaker with schools, medical professionals, corporations and agencies throughout North America, Europe and Asia.One of the nation’s leading parenting experts, Jennifer Kolari, is a highly sought- after international speaker and the founder of Connected Parenting. A child and family therapist with a busy practice based in San Diego and Toronto, Kolari is also the author of Connected Parenting: How to Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really): Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011).

Om Podcasten

Connected Parenting shares techniques that therapists use to help parents soothe their child as well as enhance the parent-child bond and is based on the understanding that correcting and guiding behavior works best when it is preceded by and linked to empathy. At the heart of this parenting model is the CALM Technique which helps parents accurately attune to children’s affect and experience. These empathic interactions release reward chemicals in the brain that stimulate positive emotions and increase order and balance in the nervous system. Reward chemicals, including natural opiates, endorphins, and a powerful hormone called oxytocin, reduce and inhibit stress hormones and bathe the brain in positive emotions that ripple through every cell in the body. The benefits of empathy and compassion have a strong base in science that cannot be underestimated. Simply put, it is brain food, the emotional nutrition all of us need, perhaps our children most of all. Although many parenting techniques stress the importance of empathy, Connected Parenting will show you how to use it skillfully to repair frayed bonds, deescalate tantrums, contain and correct difficult behaviors and help your child to become more confident and emotionally resilient. We use a collaborative and supportive coaching model and provide inspirational, easy-to-understand techniques grounded in neuroscience and attachment. In the end, your child will be more compliant, more relaxed, and – most importantly – happier. Connected Parenting will bring out the best in you and your child.