Podcast

Click here to listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Hearing stories about how other parents have handled similar situations can make us feel less alone and helps give us context of how other “real” parents apply the principles I talk about within their own families. So with that in mind, I wanted to invite two of my former The Authentic Parent students to come on and talk about their experiences becoming moms for the first and second time, and how they’ve handled the transitions, challenges, triumphs and joys and built their own community of support.

And if you’re interested in The Authentic Parent: Finding your confidence in your child’s first year, go to drsarahbren.com/TAP to learn more and sign up for this 6-week guided course.

In the course I’II break down the foundational basics of psychology, child development and attachment science into simple to understand and actionable insights, so you can parent from an informed and confident headspace. Doors are only open now through February 11th, so act now if you’re interested in learning to calmly and confidently respond to any problem that arises, connect authentically with your child and truly enjoy parenting!

 

Dr. Sarah (00:00):

How do you understand how to interpret what your child’s communicating and why they’re doing what they’re doing so that you can connect with a lot of patients and empathy and skills to like respond in a way that actually helps calm the whole vibe down, but you do it in a way that’s like your own voice.

Dr. Sarah (00:22):

Hi, I’m Dr. Sarah Bren, a clinical psychologist and mom of two. In this podcast I’ve taken all of my clinical experience, current research on brain science and child psychology and the insights I’ve gained on my own parenting journey and distilled everything down into easy to understand and actionable parenting insights. So you can tune out the noise and tune into your own authentic parenting voice with confidence and calm. This is Securely Attached.

Dr. Sarah (00:57):

I have a very special couple guests on today’s episode, and I’m like very excited to have you guys here, but this is a different kind of episode than we’ve done before. This is a little bit of, I wanted to pull back the curtain a little bit and talk to some of the women who have taken my parenting course, The Authentic Parent to share with you guys their experience just in motherhood in general, these are two incredible mothers. And, and also their experience kind of before and after the course since taking it. So I’m very excited. Margo and Lauren are here today. Thank you guys so much for being here. I’m so happy to see you again. I missed you.

Margot (01:43):

Oh, we’re happy to be here.

Lauren (01:44):

Thank you for having us. I have missed getting together virtually. I missed you as well.

Dr. Sarah (01:51):

It’s nice to reunite. Yeah. We like spent six Fridays together. You know, it seems like we, yeah, it’s weird not to be meeting every week anymore.

Margot (02:00):

I miss it.

Dr. Sarah (02:03):

Well, we’re having a little reunion now, cuz I wanted you guys to have a chance to kind of talk a little bit about, you know, your parenting journeys and cuz you guys both, you know, you’re in relatively slightly different places in your, in your motherhood journey, right? Margot, you have a son who’s now two and a half, but he was about two in the course started. But you were pregnant and had your baby during the course. So you were like a more seasoned mom coming into this.

Margot (02:32):

Yes. It was really, really fun to be the first pregnant or I guess first pregnant mom to give birth during the course. So I’ll put that feather in my hat.

Dr. Sarah (02:43):

Yes. We had our very first TAP baby. And then Lauren, your daughter had just turned one when you started the course.

Lauren (02:53):

Yes. She had just a few weeks before.

Dr. Sarah (02:55):

And it was interesting. I mean there was, there was, you know, a range like some women in the class were pregnant, first time pregnant. Some women had just had their first baby. And then like you guys were kind of in the other two further ends of that spectrum of like slightly later on in that first year kind of range.

Lauren (03:18):

Still very much for me feeling like a first time mom new, you know, novice new to everything feeling like every day is something you haven’t experienced before.

Dr. Sarah (03:30):

Yeah. And, and like, so how I’m curious, like maybe Lauren, you could share a little bit, like where were you at when you, before you started the course and what were you kind of hoping to get out of the course in joining it?

Lauren (03:43):

Sure. I was feeling, I was recognizing that I wasn’t trusting my gut and trusting myself and not what I think I was in the process of figuring out why pinpointing, why. I was follow a lot and feeling this need to like gather all of this information and knowledge online. I feel fortunate to parent now in this age where there is a lot of knowledge, there are experts and resources you can turn to help solve problems. But on the flip side of it, it can be entirely of overwhelming. And I think I realized like embarrassingly, I was like, I am screenshotting and saving Instagram posts about things that my daughter and I haven’t even experienced or come to yet. But in the event that I may come to this situation with a tantrum in two years, and this is how to respond to it. And I was able to recognize like, okay, wait a second. Like this is too much like this is overwhelming. Maybe you don’t need to be screenshotting that post. That’s essentially a script for how to deal with something that didn’t even come up. And I wanted to get away from that. I wanted to get out of that and alternative not taking in any info or reading anything also didn’t feel right because I wanted to be informed. And I came to your, one of your webinars earlier in my pregnancy and I realized that having more context about what was going on with my daughter, for what what’s going on with a child would help me feel more confident in the decisions I was making, having no context, isn’t it didn’t work. And having tons of information just pushed at you all the time. Also wasn’t working. So that’s kind of your course, I’m like, okay, maybe this will help.

Dr. Sarah (05:41):

Yeah. Oh, I’m so glad. Cause I mean, I, that was like, seriously. One of the reasons I, I kind of made the course for like my past me, like, because when I had my son, my first, I was like overwhelmed by like the scroll. Like I was like there so much information and I, and I’m like have a background in this and I still felt really overwhelmed and like anxious by all the stuff I was reading. And also because of my background, a lot of, I was like, a lot of this stuff is actually pretty garbage, like, and not in my opinion, like helpful for parents either. Cuz it makes them feel ashamed or scared or it’s just straight up like not accurate information about child development and what we know about supporting healthy attachments. And so I was like trying to, like you said, I was trying to kind of bridge that gap of like giving people, not just the information, but like the skills to know how to be a more informed consumer of the information. Like what is the fundamental stuff you have to know? What can you let go of and not listen to anymore because you know how to tell if something’s helpful or not. And then to sort of with that baseline, start to trust your, not just your intuition, but your look for the cues that are showing up in your relationship with your child, cuz it is so much information there.

Margot (06:59):

And, and I think there’s a lot of talk tracks out there on Instagram. Like this happens, this is exactly what you say. You say this, this, this and this. And I was finding very similar to what Lauren was saying. I was saving talk tracks and sounding robotic and losing a sense of who I am and losing that authenticity with my son. It was like, I am a robot, you are tantruming. Here’s how you’re feeling. Here’s how you know, and it felt like it didn’t feel authentic. And I used the word authentic with, with my husband before I joined. This is like, I, I see what these Instagrams are saying and identifying feelings and okaying the feeling and setting a boundary. But it felt like I was just shoved a talk track that didn’t really make him calm down at all. And it didn’t, I don’t think he felt connected with me in the moment when he was tantruming and it felt, like if I wasn’t feeling authentic, then he surely could not feel that authenticity back. And I wasn’t getting on his level. And what he really truly needed from me. So I think that was the big thing I took away from the authentic parent course was truly understanding why children tantrum or become dysregulated, unregulated the why behind it really helped me form my approach and how I handle these tantrums and other situation. I think exactly like Lauren said, it was like you gave us the tools to approach it in a way that makes us feel comfortable and authentic.

Dr. Sarah (08:50):

That’s so amazing. That’s so great. And I think it’s really interesting cuz like the course is for parents who are like navigating that first year-ish of childhood with their kids and there’s tons of dysregulation, especially towards the end of that year. And even in the beginning when your baby is just, you know, learning to communicate that the cries are the only way that they can communicate. But even it sounds like the stuff that we cover and the course feels like it extends and is relevant past one year.

Margot (09:17):

Very much.

Dr. Sarah (09:17):

Cause it’s foundational, right? It’s like, how do you understand how to interpret what your child’s communicating and why they’re doing what they’re doing so that you can connect with a lot of patients and empathy and skills to like respond in a way that actually helps calm the, like the whole vibe down. But you do it in a way that’s like your own voice.

Margot (09:44):

Absolutely. Because it’s different. Having, being a mother of two now with a newborn and a toddler, one of the things that you mentioned was the rye like slowing down and taking your time. And it was something now as this parent of two, I slow down when I’m changing her diaper or changing her clothes. And I have found it’s insanely effective. Like she gets into a reflex where as soon as I put her down to, she throws her arms out to the side, the Morro startle reflux. And I’ll like, pull her hands in and say like, here’s what we’re doing, you know? We’re and it sounds so funny to like talk through like I’m pulling your hands in, I’m unbuttoning your clothes now and taking off your diaper, but I’ve found it, it she’s, I can feel her body relaxed when I’m just going really slowly. And same with my son, you know, when he’s, I can feel him starting to get worked up. If I slow my body down and regulate him that way he in turn slows down and calms down and it’s something, it seems so simple, but I never really grasped that before. I was identifying it and talking out loud and even just like calming myself down has made such a difference. And that really hit home for me. Like I didn’t do that great of a job with my son with that.

Dr. Sarah (11:11):

That’s amazing. And you know, it’s funny cause you brought up like parenting scripts and like, or talk tracks and it’s like, you know, Instagram can’t really give you like a catchphrase for that experiential thing you’re describing. Like it’s not something that you say to your kid that magically gets them to calm down. It’s more like a physiological way of being with them in the moment that gets them to calm down. And it’s really hard to distill that into like a square piece of text. So it’s like sometimes you have to kind of get off these platforms and kind of do this more experiential educational learning and doing it with other parents. And so you get to see like, cuz one of the things I actually really love about this group is the spread like having parents who are expecting, who have babies, like infants who have, you know, budding toddlers who maybe have multiple kids, like all of us are working together with our shared experience. And so you’re learning if you’re really early on in the stage, you’re learning from people who’ve seen more stuff. Right. And then kinda like Lauren like, you know, you feel a little bit more confident when you are able to kind of also share with newer parents, some of the things you have learned and have gotten over time.

Lauren (12:35):

Yeah. It, it was nice to talk about. I remember, we were talking about, you know, some of the anxiety around it when you’re expecting and you know, it’s gonna be really hard and people tell you the first few months are going to be really hard and it’s also really hard to communicate to somebody else what that means. And I remember this, when I was pregnant sort of this sort of underneath the surface bubbling, it turned into, I think, fear. A little more than anxiety of, okay, no, this is gonna be hard. The hardest thing I do in my life, but I don’t really exactly know in what ways, like how what’s gonna happen. I found in the course, it was really helpful to have those conversations, both from people that had done it and figured out what helped them. And then me having my own idea sort of about all right, what would help next time? And those that were going into it, like, you know, I remember sharing when there was not much else we could do those little walks around the neighborhood with my daughter. And no matter how hard some days it was you to get in the stroller, you know, if there was dysregulation before and slowing down and taking, it would take us an hour sometimes to get out the door and have that like five minute pop in at the bookstore when maybe that’s the only other person you get to talk to. I stay at home. How important that was and, and being able to share some of that and say, you know, if, if you love chatting with other people and as a new mom, you’re gonna be kind of isolated, find those moments, you know, maybe you can’t get away for two hours or a night out to dinner or always see your friends, but there are little things you can do. And it was, it was just, I thought a very, you know, affirming experience to get, to kind of talk through here’s here, what it might feel like. And, and here’s how different people dealt with it. And here’s how I might deal with it different, you know, next time.

Dr. Sarah (14:24):

Yeah. Did you guys feel like how isolated did you feel in parenthood? I mean, it’s an unusual time with it being a pandemic and like, but being a new parent or an expecting parent is a really isolating time pandemic aside. Like how, did you guys feel like this course provided a sense of like community that you didn’t have before?

Margot (14:47):

You know, the part that I think this provides, especially given the climate of like the pandemic is this virtual mom’s group, just like Lauren mentioned, is like feeling seen and feeling met and feeling understood. As you’re going through this, this journey of being a parent even though we don’t know each other in real life having this like anchor in my week to know, okay, I’m gonna talk about that on Friday with them. I struggled with X, Y, and Z during the week, and I’d love to bring it up and see if anybody else feels that way or has felt that way. It was just nice to have this like something I could look forward to on Fridays. And no, it was so cathartic for me to have it at the end of my week. And I think that it’s like, even though it’s so obvious that we need a community, I think a lot of people forget about it and don’t think about that part.

Lauren (15:47):

I found myself looking forward to the Fridays and, and the discussions and the calls and what I liked was that it was sort of low commitment. It wasn’t like a, I don’t, I haven’t joined any virtual groups online or I don’t really get into the Facebook page as much because then you’re just needing to keep up with the scroll. And this was sort of as Margot put it, you have your one hour that you can look forward to that, you know, if you sort had a burning question from something that happened in the week, or you’re just really some of the content really resonated and what you learned and were excited to talk about it, talk through some of those examples. Like here’s what this might look like. Sarah, when you ran through what something looked like in real life with you and your kids. And then here’s, I could think about how I might apply it. You know, that knowing you were gonna do that just for an hour and kind of get your time where it’s, it’s just you. That was a really nice feature of the course.

Dr. Sarah (16:47):

Oh, I’m so glad.

Margot (16:48):

And I think too, like, this is a form of self care as a mom is talking through your experience and hearing from others is just as cathartic. Like Lauren mentions that her daughter goes really slowly getting out the door. And I, here I am thinking, you know, in isolation that my son is the slowest human ever getting out the door and there’s something wrong with him. And even just hearing you say it now, I’m like, okay, we’re not alone. Not at all. And so I, I think that that’s so huge. And I think especially for second time parents, I blacked out everything that happened the first time around I, for better or for worse. I I’m like feeling like I’m a new parent again, in a lot of circumstances. Like I forget when the milestones happened with my son and it’s different with my daughter, you know, they’re different children. And so I, I think it’s, it’s a nice refresher of things to come and, and Sarah, your course was great. The thing that I liked about it is that you watch a video that Sarah puts together and then you have time to, to ask questions about it. And I think the beauty of it is that those prerecorded sessions, my husband could watch with me too. And it was a nice refresher for him too, to say like, oh, okay, that’s right. We’re not supposed to help her roll over and push her over. She’s supposed to figure it out on her own. When here we are. We’re like, well, we know you’re gonna roll over soon. Let’s just help you out here cuz our son did it. So you know, just those refresher things that you know, as a second time parent, I forgot about.

Dr. Sarah (18:30):

Yeah. Yeah. And I think, I mean, it’s interesting cuz, and I’m curious your experience being a second time parent coming into this course. Cause I think a lot of parents, I mean, can, can hear a course for like a zero to one and be like, well I’ve already done it. So I don’t, I don’t, I already know this and I don’t need to do this again, but I almost feel like almost in my experience, like having had two, like the second time I’m a little more like aware of how much more help I needed the second time around.

Margot (19:01):

Totally. And, and I think, I guess that’s kind of to talk about why I chose to do this course. The first time around, I went in completely blind to parenthood. I just thought, you know, I’m gonna figure it out. It’s a natural thing. Everybody figures out how to be a parent. And I wished that I had known what was to come a little bit and I don’t, I, I, you know, have a sister who had gone through it and I watched her parent. And I heard about how exhausting it was. But I really, quite honestly wasn’t prepared. I really, my personality looking back, would’ve done a lot better preparing for parenthood a little bit more asking for help and asking for support. And I think a lot of times moms, we feel like we can do it all and we feel some, it’s like a weakness to ask for help. And it’s a weakness to admit that we’re struggling mentally, physically, whatever part of it. I, I think looking back, I should have asked for a lot more help and I didn’t because I thought, you know, I’m like one of the last ones of my friends to have a kid and I’m the last one in my family to have a kid and everyone’s done it so I can do this and be strong. And it’s in fact, I think it’s the opposite. And I, I found that with your course opening up about my struggles. It was so cathartic for me to say, I struggled with this and see people’s heads nodding and feeling so seen by other women. But I think I, back to the beginning, I joined the course to with the second child to approach it in the way that I, that feels right and feels authentic to me. And, and know that it’s not gonna be easy all the time and know that that’s okay. And parenting just because it’s hard doesn’t mean I’m doing it wrong. Yes. And just because, you know, there are really, really difficult times doesn’t mean that my kids are unhappy or that I’m messing things up. It’s just par for the course as a parent. So yeah, I think your course really helped me identify with that and feel seen by that.

Dr. Sarah (21:28):

That’s so wonderful to hear I’m so I’m so glad cuz I think, you know, I, I do think a lot of times we don’t know as first time parents that we, like, I almost thought about this cause I was like, we spend so much time as pregnant women for the first time really thinking about our birth and our labor and the, you know, getting baby home from the hospital, but then like all the planning and all the resources and all the support and education kind of like falls off a cliff. And there’s just not the same kind of preparation for parenthood for learning about child development, for learning about the psychology of parenthood and maternal mental health and all that stuff. And so I was like, this is where there’s a gap. And I that’s why, that’s really the gap I was trying to fill in this course, but I’ve come to realize like it’s the second time moms or the moms of slightly older babies that actually realize, oh man, this is hard. I need help. And I need a course to help me. It’s like the new and expecting parents don’t yet haven’t crossed that threshold where they’re like, oh wait, hold on. I could use some, some help here. Cause and so like, yeah, I think it’s, it’s interesting how that, how like it’s the awareness I think of going through parenthood that’s helps us to become more permission granting of ourselves to say like, hold on, I wanna be intentional about this. How can I like support myself in that?

Margot (22:49):

Absolutely.

Lauren (22:50):

I thought I’ve thought many times since taking your course that I would’ve swapped out the time I spent watching the hospitals video about all the different labor scenarios with your course, like a hundred times over. I mean we spent much time thinking about all of these, what ifs that could happen with the delivery experience and, and you don’t have control over what happens there. And, and so yeah, having a little bit of understanding is helpful, but had I gone into this understanding a little, having more context just about the child psychology and attachment and really understanding what attachment is and means cuz that was what I wanted to be intentional about. That’s what I wanted to make sure I was, you know, getting right. You can prepare a little bit, you don’t have to feel like you have to become an expert in all these things. But if you understand the fundamentals that your course provides, I think you save yourself some of the second guessing and the Googling and the scrolling and the what ifs. I really, I felt, I feel more empowered now to say, I don’t need to read everything about this or I don’t need to have all of these accounts in my feed and all of these apps. I, I understand enough about what’s going on with Tatum at her age developmentally and what’s probably, you know, physically and mentally to read the cues she’s giving me. And then if, and I’ll know when maybe there’s a really big problem, you know, there’s indications of it. She’ll let she’ll let me know. And, and that’s because you have some of the fundamentals that your course provides, like can really help you feel confident with that.

Dr. Sarah (24:48):

That’s amazing. Margo you’re nodding your head.

Margot (24:53):

Yeah. Hearing Lauren say the Googling thing, it’s so real. And you can convince yourself of anything based on Googling. And I think what Lauren was saying is just, you know, having the background and honestly, Sarah it’s like the confidence in our knowledge and our intuition that you gave us with this course, right. As a parent I feel like you, the course just helps build that inner confidence so that you don’t have to Google, like Lauren said in the beginning. I also, haven’t been Googling and it’s just like almost just like dialing everything back and just going back to your intuition and knowing that usually it’s not gonna steer you in the wrong direction ever. I mean, it hasn’t for me yet. It’s just, there’s so much in out there. And there’s a lot of Instagram sites that I follow that are really condescending, I feel like.

Dr. Sarah (25:58):

I feel that too, like, I mean, as a mom, I’m always like, Ooh, I need to do some auditing.

Margot (26:04):

And I, and you know what, I actually, that just reminded me of Sarah, I feel like the one thing you’ve said, and I’ve seen it on your Instagram. And I know you mentioned it in the course a few times is it’s about the aggregate parenting and not, you know, cause I used to beat myself up when I did something wrong and I knew I did something wrong. I caved into a tantrum or I don’t know, I approached something in a way that didn’t feel good internally with my son. I would go to bed that night feeling really bad and feeling like you know, that just didn’t feel authentic. It didn’t feel like myself or I didn’t handle it the way I wanted. And hearing you say that parenting is more about the aggregate and looking at the big picture and not each of the individual moments, it just takes so much pressure off of yourself as a mom. That I replay that in my head, Sarah, like hourly sometimes on difficult days. But you know it’s really true. I mean, I couldn’t tell you the individual things that happened in my childhood, but I can tell you how my parents made me feel. And I think that’s the ultimate goal.

Lauren (27:17):

It’s so true. The other, the 80 20, I go back to all the time. It may sound obvious, but I think when you’re in the thick of the first year, it doesn’t feel that way. It doesn’t feel obvious.

Dr. Sarah (27:33):

No, we get in our heads. We definitely do. And I think we think that we have to get it right. A hundred percent of the time. It’s interesting. Even since I’ve, I mean, I always say 80 to 20, like try to get it, you know, it’s okay if you get it right. 80% of the time, there’s actually studies that say, you can have a secure attachment with your child if you meet their needs as little as 30% of the time. And now I’m, you know, there’s a range. I’ve seen some studies that say it’s 50 to 95% of the time. I’ve seen a study recently that said you can get it right. 30% of the time. And there’s still evidence of like secure attachment relationships forming. So it’s like, we have got to stop holding ourselves to these like ridiculously impossible standards of being this like perfect parent. And I think when we let that go, we actually end up being a much more good, like a much better parent. Like we meet our kids need, I think it’s the need to meet. Our kids needs, creates this almost like paradox of like we don’t, because we’re so caught up in our heads. But when we let go of the pressure, we actually are more flexible. We’re more nimble. We can pivot and shift and change the plan really quick. And we are end up, I think we end up attuning to them more effectively. And it’s like, it’s like, if you let go, you actually get it more right.

Lauren (28:54):

That’s one thing I really took away from the course was truly accepting what it means to put perfectionism aside and sh and just slow down and, and go at your child’s pace.

Dr. Sarah (29:08):

Yeah. Not just confidence, but it sounds like we’re also talking about like some self-compassion and reasonable expectations too. Yes. And I think it’s so nice to hear that you guys, like, do you feel like, how do you feel like you are different in your parenthood now? Like what do you think has changed for since doing the course?

Lauren (29:28):

I asked myself this question before, starting like, what’s different now that I’ve taken it and I don’t Google as much. I mean, I just don’t. I do trust myself more like that’s the outcome. And I know I didn’t, I kind of thought back and I was like, oh yeah, I don’t actually look up anything baby related in a long time, I’ve typed it into my browser on my phone. There’s so much information and there, and that’s great. We get to parent in an age where there’s so much information, but then it can feel overwhelming. And then, and you, I just, for me, it was like, don’t, don’t read you’ll, you’ll overwhelm yourself. And then I’m going through, I’m like, I’m kind of parenting, I feel uninformed. And I don’t like parenting uninformed. That’s not me. That’s not my personality. So you, I really think this course strikes that balance of helping you be informed so that you can figure out what to do without needing to always feel like I need this, I need that. I need to be follow this person. What if I miss something so that I, I think that’s probably the arc for me was like, I was recognizing I wasn’t trusting myself. And I was recognizing that I didn’t feel informed enough and that, and, and that’s where like this context that you provide is just so awesome.

Margot (30:39):

I think ultimately I’m just more trusting of myself and I, I don’t question my every move. I just am in the moment. And I feel like my expectations of my son and my newborn daughter are just a little bit more realistic. And I think specifically though, you know, the course has helped both of my kids. You know, it’s not just for newborn babies. I think it applies to children, no matter the age. I think a lot of it, isn’t just a, a a phased thing, you know, when they’re a baby, I really think a lot of it applies to toddlers. And I just think overall I’m more relaxed and less anxious. I think this time around, I took the course when I was pregnant with my daughter, with her, it’s kind of just like, everything’s gonna happen. And her milestones are gonna happen. She’s gonna sleep through the night. Eventually she’s going to roll over. She’s going to crawl. And I feel like I’m just a lot more present and mindful with this child than I was with my son. So I just think overall I’m much more present, much more mindful and a lot less stressed.

Dr. Sarah (32:06):

I’m so glad to hear that.

Margot (32:07):

Yes.

Dr. Sarah (32:09):

How many parents of two can say they’re less stressed?

Margot (32:11):

Yeah. I feel like a lot of first time parents, myself included, I was putting the power in my child. I was like, I gotta do everything to make them happy. I’ve got to read about how to get them to be X, Y, and Z and them to do this. And I think your course also does a good job of saying, let’s look at ourselves because if we can get to a good place of understanding our childhood, our attachments to our parents, and the way that we parent versus the way that our partner might parent looking at ourselves more than our children, I think that was something I did not do at all with my first child. And I think it’s really healthy to understand yourself and get to a healthy spot as a parent, before you can start to look at your child. I, I think the course was really helpful at just understanding our ourselves and getting to know ourselves better than, than we did before.

Lauren (33:18):

Yes. I think for first time parents, it’s the first time you’re getting into really boundary setting, you know I’m in charge of setting these boundaries and these limits and holding them. And my husband and I talk about it all the time and what feels authentic to us and doesn’t and how to do it. And in a way works for our family and our values. Like we value having fun, and we don’t want her to feel reprimanded or shamed if she does something wrong. You know, there’s a way to, what you talked about consequence was really, the way you broke down consequence was really helpful you know, showing a consequence as opposed to a punishment can be really way more effective and less stressful for you as a parent.

Dr. Sarah (34:05):

Oh, that’s, I’m so happy to hear that. I’m so glad you guys walked away with that kind of that kind of transformation and that kind of confidence, because that’s really the, that was my, that was my ultimate goal. And we’re gonna be doing it again in February. And I just whole hope that this is helpful for people who are considering like, Hmm, could this fit my life? Could this help me be the parent I would like to be? And so thank you for sharing your stories. It’s really amazing to hear.

Lauren (34:33):

Thank you for having us on and thank you for creating this fantastic resource for parents.

Margot (34:39):

Yes. Super, super grateful. And if you’re thinking about doing it. Definitely don’t sleep on this. Go do it.

Lauren (34:45):

Yeah, I agree.

Dr. Sarah (34:48):

All right. Well, it was great talking to you guys. We’ll talk soon.

Dr. Sarah (34:54):It was so much fun catching up with Lauren and Margot. Now that you’ve heard a bit about their experiences with The Authentic Parent, if you’re interested in learning more or taking part in the course, this February, head to drsarahbren.com/tap. That’s drsarahbren.com/tap. Enrollment is open now, but only through Friday, February 11th. So don’t wait, if you have any questions about the course, please feel free to email me or DM me on Instagram @drsarahbren. I’d love to help guide you on your journey of finding your own parenting confidence. And until next week don’t be a stranger.


Want to get more from Dr. Sarah Bren? 

Follow Dr. Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsarahbren/

Subscribe to the weekly newsletter: https://drsarahbren.com/join-newsletter

And check out her website for more free parenting resources: https://drsarahbren.com/resources

37. Finding your confidence in your child’s first year: Two moms share their experience

Menu

ABout