Real World Peaceful Parenting

If you’re starting the new year carrying guilt about how you showed up during the holidays, this episode is for you. In this powerful and practical conversation, parent coach Lisa Smith breaks down why repair, not perfection, is the key to peaceful parenting.You’ll learn why common apologies often miss the mark, how effective repair actually strengthens your relationship with your child, and a simple four-step framework you can use anytime you lose your cool. Through personal stories, neuroscience, and real-life examples, Lisa shows you how to repair without shame, overexplaining, or making things worse, and how these moments can become some of the most meaningful in your child’s life.What You'll Learn:Why repairing after you yell is more important than never yelling at all.The three most common repair mistakes parents make and why they don’t work.How to repair in under 60 seconds without guilt, excuses, or overexplaining.The four essential steps to effective repair that actually restore connection.How repair helps regulate your child’s nervous system and build secure attachment.Why consistent repair breaks the shame cycle and helps you become a calmer parent over time.

This episode is part of our December Calm & Connection Toolkit - four of our most downloaded episodes designed to help you find peace through the holiday chaos. Whether you’re brand new to this podcast or revisiting these essential tools, this series will help you understand your nervous system, your triggers, and your child’s developing brain during one of the most stressful times of the year.In this eye-opening episode, Lisa Smith shares a powerful story from her own parenting journey that transformed how she understood children’s behavior. Discover why your child’s dysregulation isn’t defiance but a result of their brain being overwhelmed. Lisa breaks down the science of dysregulation across different ages, explains the key signs to watch for, and provides actionable steps to move from chaos to connection. Whether your toddler is melting down or your teenager is slamming doors, this episode will give you the tools to handle these moments with compassion and confidence.What You'll Learn:Why dysregulation isn’t about defiance but your child’s brain being overwhelmed.How to recognize the early signs of dysregulation in toddlers, school-aged kids, and teenagers.The critical difference between correcting behavior and connecting with your child.Why traditional discipline methods often fail in moments of dysregulation.Two key steps to transform your reactions: noticing patterns and tracking your responses.How to begin helping your child regulate their emotions for better cooperation and trust.

This episode is part of our December Calm & Connection Toolkit - four of our most downloaded episodes designed to help you find peace through the holiday chaos. Whether you’re brand new to this podcast or revisiting these essential tools, this series will help you understand your nervous system, your triggers, and your child’s developing brain during one of the most stressful times of the year.In this episode of Real World Peaceful Parenting, Lisa Smith dives into the real-life stories of parents navigating the tricky psychological triggers that hijack our best intentions. Identity, social standing, and loss—these three triggers can turn any ordinary parenting moment into a heated, reactive spiral. Lisa and her Hive community guests share candid experiences of snapping, struggling with morning chaos, sibling fights, and managing judgment from others. More importantly, they reveal how awareness and simple tools can help you pause, name your trigger, and respond from your higher brain—creating connection instead of conflict.This episode is packed with honesty, practical strategies, and relatable moments that remind you: you’re not broken, your child isn’t “difficult,” and it’s possible to parent from calm, confidence, and connection.What You'll Learn:How identity triggers make you question yourself as a parent, and how to respond instead of reacting.Why social standing triggers hijack us with shame, judgment, and comparison, and how to keep your focus on your child instead of the audience.How loss triggers activate grief and fear over your child, your relationship, or your family vision—and what to do about it.Real-life examples from parents of toddlers, tweens, and teens showing how triggers show up in daily life.How naming your triggers (identity, social standing, loss) can calm your nervous system and bring your thinking brain back online.Practical strategies to respond from your values, repair relationships after a snap, and foster connection even in difficult moments.

This episode is part of our December Calm & Connection Toolkit - four of our most downloaded episodes designed to help you find peace through the holiday chaos. Whether you’re brand new to this podcast or revisiting these essential tools, this series will help you understand your nervous system, your triggers, and your child’s developing brain during one of the most stressful times of the year.Ever lost it with your kid and wondered, what just happened? You’re not alone—and you’re not broken. In this episode, Lisa Smith dives deep into the three psychological triggers that hijack every parent: identity, social standing, and fear of loss. She breaks down why our reactions are often more about our own wounds than our child’s behavior—and how awareness can help us respond with calm, connection, and confidence. Whether you have a toddler, a strong-willed 8-year-old, or a moody teenager, this episode will give you actionable tools to pause, recognize your triggers, and parent from your higher brain instead of your fight-or-flight instincts.What You'll Learn:Why “bad behavior” isn’t the real problem—it’s what it triggers in your nervous system.How the identity trigger makes us feel like failures when our child’s actions contradict the parent we want to be.How the social standing trigger hijacks us with shame, comparison, and fear of judgment from others.How the loss trigger creates grief and fear about your child, your relationship, and your family vision.How to pause and recognize which trigger is activated in the moment, instead of reacting automatically.Practical next steps to start responding from your higher brain, not your reactive one, so your child hears your guidance instead of your frustration.

This episode is part of our December Calm & Connection Toolkit - four of our most downloaded episodes designed to help you find peace through the holiday chaos. Whether you’re brand new to this podcast or revisiting these essential tools, this series will help you understand your nervous system, your triggers, and your child’s developing brain during one of the most stressful times of the year.What happens when your child is melting down… and your nervous system decides to join them? In this powerful episode, Lisa shares real-life stories, neuroscience-backed insights, and go-to tools for calming yourself when your child’s behavior sets off alarm bells inside you. You’ll walk away with practical techniques to regulate in the moment, repair after a blow-up, and parent from a place of connection—even on the hardest days.What You'll Learn:Why your nervous system gets activated when your child melts down—and how to notice it soonerThe real reason your triggers aren’t flaws (and what to do with them instead)Four go-to regulation tools you can use in under 30 secondsHow to co-regulate without abandoning yourselfWhat to say to repair with your child after a dysregulation spiralHow to build a daily practice of self-awareness that leads to more peace at homeWhat if your child actually listened the first time… without yelling, punishments, or power struggles?Join parenting coach Lisa Smith for a FREE 90-minute live class to learn how to discipline your strong-willed child without damaging your relationship—or their self-esteem.Register today: https://thepeacefulparent.com/class