The Whole Parent Podcast
Welcome to 'The Whole Parent Podcast,' where we dive deep into evidence-based parenting strategies, blending cutting-edge psychology with real-world experience. Each episode offers insightful discussions, expert interviews, and practical tips to empower you and your family through the joys and challenges of raising children. Join us as we explore not just the highs of parenting, but navigate the complexities and embrace the journey together.
Episodes
66 episodes
The Labels That Teach Us Who We Are #64
This episode is a departure from Jon’s usual Q&A format—a reflective, narrative-style episode that zooms out to explore how words quietly shape who our kids believe they are. Beginning with the now-famous classroom experiment by Jane Elliot...
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13:09
How to Ditch Power Struggles #63
In this episode, Jon unpacks the moment every parent dreads—when a child looks at you and says, “You can’t make me.” Rather than framing it as defiance or disrespect, he explores what’s actually happening in a child’s nervous system when...
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43:45
Seeker, Parenting Type Series #62
Find out YOUR Parenting Type CLICK HEREIn this episode, Jon introduces the Seeker parent: the caregiver driven by curiosity, depth, and a longing for wh...
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48:47
Driver, Parenting Type Series #61
Find out YOUR Parenting Type CLICK HERE'In this episode, Jon introduces the Driver parent: the caregiver who leads with momentum, decisiveness, and an i...
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45:51
Nurturers, Parenting Type Series #60
Find out YOUR Parenting Type CLICK HEREIn this episode, Jon introduces the Nurturer parent—the caregiver who leads with empathy, emotional attunement, a...
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48:51
Guardians, Parenting Types Series #59
Find our YOUR Parenting Type CLICK HEREIn this episode, Jon introduces the Guardian parent, the first of four parenting types, describing caregivers who...
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42:25
New Year, New You? #34
In this episode we explore why parenting resolutions usually fail and show how timing, identity, and community make change stick. We share concrete scripts, fresh start tactics, and small habits that turn calm, respectful parenting into a daily...
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31:41
What Toddlers Truly Remember About A Hard Holiday #58
In this episode, Jon slows the conversation down to sit with one parent’s deeply human question: what do our kids actually remember when we’re struggling? Responding to a mom navigating her first Christmas after separation, he unpacks ...
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43:35
When YOUR Parents Violate the Boundaries... #57
In this episode, Jon reflects on the ROUGH moments at family gatherings where love, history, and boundaries collide.... especially when you’re parenting in front of the people who raised you. Anchored in the reminder that “love does not requ...
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51:07
The Great Santa Controversy #32
In this throwback episode, Jon takes on the Santa question: the moment every parent eventually faces when wonder collides with honesty. Framed around the tension between magic and trust, he explores how Santa works in a child’s developing brain...
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41:07
What to do about a SORE LOSER..... #56
In this episode, Jon explores why losing hits kids so hard—and why meltdowns over games are rarely about the game itself. Centered on the idea that “losing feels like a threat when a nervous system can’t predict what’s coming next,” he r...
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49:47
Parenting on Autopilot... #55
In this episode, Jon explores why parents often find themselves reacting on autopilot—saying things they swore they’d never say, in a tone that feels uncomfortably familiar. Centered on the idea of “factory default settings,” he explains...
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42:30
When kids get MAD that you hold boundaries.... #54
Episode SummaryIn this episode, Jon explores what it means to hold boundaries when your child is angry with you—and why that discomfort doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Grounded in the truth that “kids aren’t supposed...
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46:44
Why Toddlers Say "No"... #53
In this episode, Jon unpacks why toddlers seem to say “no” to everything—even the things they want—and why this phase isn’t defiance or manipulation, but their earliest tool for agency. Framed as a selfhood struggle, not a p...
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46:03
What to do with a REALLY clingy kid.... #52
In this episode, Jon answers three real parent questions about clinginess — those “Velcro moments” when a child won’t let you leave the room and panic replaces logic. Through stories, brain science, and attachment research, he explores why clin...
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43:39
Managing the Dreaded Transitions... #51
In this episode, Jon digs into the real reason transitions feel so “impossible” for kids — not because they’re being dramatic, but because shifting out of a moment they love can feel like a genuine shock to their system. Through stories, neuros...
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38:43
Why Kids Interrupt... Impulse Control, Time Blindness, and what you can do about it #50
In this episode, Jon unpacks why kids interrupt, especially in those moments when it “starts to feel disrespectful and chaotic” and you’re thinking, they’re old enough, they should know better. He breaks down what’s really happening in...
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45:48
What to do when your kid gives up before they even TRY? #49
In this episode, Jon answers three real parent questions about kids who shut down, melt down, or avoid trying altogether — the moments when, as one child put it, “I’d rather not try than be bad at it.” Through stories, neuroscience, and relatab...
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46:23
Gift Overload, Meltdowns, And Real Gratitude #48
Episode Summary Jon unpacks why kids often look “ungrateful” or overwhelmed during gift-heavy holidays—and why it has nothing to do with entitlement and everything to do with biology, routine disruption, and emotional overload. Throu...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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47:40
Parenting Brilliant, Awesome, Neurodivergent, Kids #47
To support the podcast, head over to Substack and become a monthly or annual paid subscriber. It's the only way Jon gets paid for this. In this episode, Jon answers a parent’s questi...
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52:38
How To Stay Regulated While Your Kids Battle Over A Lego #46
Subscribe on Substack to support the show!Buy Punishment-Free Parenting (Jon's book) nowIn today’s episode, Jon returns to the show’s original...
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51:36
How to Make the Morning Madness Suck Less #45
If your mornings feel like a daily emotional avalanche, lost shoes, floppy limbs, scratchy socks, MELTDOWNS, you’re not alone. In this episode, Jon goes back to the original Whole Parent format and answers real listener questions about morning ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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41:44
When Approval Becomes Addition: The Cost Of Praise #44
It all started with a gold star. A single shining sticker on a kindergarten chart that—without me realizing it—began rewiring my understanding of love, worth, and motivation. In this episode of The Whole Parent Podcast, we dive into th...
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15:55
Breaking The Cycle Of Love And Control (Premium Episode) #43
A grainy home video from 1993 opens a door many parents avoid: the thin line where love and control blur. From that single forced smile, we follow the thread into cognitive dissonance, exploring why we promise ourselves we won’t yell and still ...
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25:35
What to do about hitting? (Mini Episode) #42
This is one of my shorter mini-episodes where I read this weeks Substack article. We answer here the simple and yet extremely common question "What are we supposed to do when our kid hits us or someone else?" If you woul...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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10:17