Empowered to Connect Podcast

Summer is here, and Jesse and Tona are keeping it real: they love summer, and it also asks a lot of them. In this episode, they sit down (virtually, because summer pivots happen to hosts too) to talk honestly about what it actually feels like to parent through the loss of structure — and what it can look like to find your footing in the middle of the season.

They cover everything from the emotional load working parents carry when school lets out, to practical ideas for younger kids and teenagers alike. Whether your summer is high-energy or gloriously low-key, this conversation is a permission slip to stop trying to curate someone else's summer and start trusting your own.

In this episode:

Why summer can feel like something you have to survive even when you love it

The difference between structure and rigidity — and why predictable rhythms matter for kids

Practical, low-cost ideas for younger kids

The "summer of ___" concept for kids & teenagers

Boredom tolerance as a regulation skill — and what to do when your child genuinely can't self-entertain

Resources & Mentions:

ETC Summer Survival Kit

Use Scaffolding - Free downloadable, Podcast Episode 90 & Episode 147, and we just wrote about this in our newest ETC Newsletter!

The Lazy Genius Collective / Kendra Adachi

Inside Out 2 (the character Ennui)

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How to Survive the Summer
(00:02:40) - How Do You Feel About Summer?
(00:06:55) - How to Plan for the Summer
(00:12:15) - Summertime Work and Life Balance
(00:14:35) - How To Survive Summer
(00:17:07) - How to Plan Your Summer Survival Guide
(00:20:55) - What's Your Summer Plan?
(00:25:12) - What Makes Summer Feel Like Summer?
(00:30:26) - Summer Plans for Your Kids
(00:38:04) - When You Can't Help But Remember Your Hooligans
(00:39:13) - Summer Is For Me
(00:45:59) - How to Survive A Summer With Kids
(00:49:36) - I Wish Bored Kids Could Be Tolerated
(00:54:58) - Bored Kids: How Do They Regulate Their Mind?
(00:58:55) - How to Deal With Bored Kids This Summer
(01:03:12) - A message for the summer
(01:04:33) - summer Survival Kit

Why do kids lie, even when the truth would have been easier? This week, we’re replaying an oldie but a goodie: Let's Talk About Lying with Robyn Gobbel. Lying is usually about fear and felt safety, not character. This one will change how you respond.

Chapters

(00:00:04) - Summer Survival Kit
(00:01:29) - Robin Goble on Lying
(00:04:08) - We Only Lie Because It's Okay to Tell the Truth
(00:10:29) - How to regulate the stress brain
(00:14:49) - Don't Ask Your Child If He Did or Didn't Take Out
(00:20:57) - Talking About Lies With Kids
(00:26:30) - When Your Child Lies, It's Not Your Fault
(00:32:18) - How to Talk to Your Child About Sexual Abuse
(00:35:17) - How to Train a Child to Tell the Truth
(00:39:24) - Real Talk About Lies
(00:43:02) - A Parent's Advice On Love and Connection
(00:46:40) - How to Parenting After Trauma (

Catch the replay! Mona is a Pediatric Psychologist and the author of Beyond Behaviors, among several other books. If you've ever read Beyond Behaviors, you know how brilliant she is! In this episode, we talk about the Brain - Body - Behavior connection and why it is absolutely essential for parents and caregivers to understand. Struggling with perplexing behavior in your home? This may be the episode you've been waiting for. We also talk about Mona's book that was published in 2022.

Wanna learn more from Mona? Buy her book Beyond Behaviors here, sign up for the Beyond Behaviors course Mona teaches here or head on over to her website to learn more about her there!

Episode 237 is live! ️

If someone you love is in the middle of a new placement (whether that's a newborn, a toddler, or a teenager), this one is for the people standing beside them.

Tona, Becca, and Jesse get practical about what it actually looks like to show up well for foster and adoptive families. Not just in the first week, but in the long haul.

What's the most meaningful thing someone did for you (or that you did for someone else) during a new placement?

Community can feel different when your parenting journey looks different. Sometimes your circle shifts. Sometimes it shrinks. And sometimes it stretches you in ways you didn’t expect.

But here’s what’s true: you are not the only one figuring it out as you go. Ask for help. Say the honest thing. Find people who truly get it, and hold onto the ones who love you even when they don’t fully understand.

Your community might not look how you imagined, but it can still show up for you, support you, and grow with you.

To learn more about Empowered to Connect, check out our website, follow us on social media and YouTube!