Don't Mom Alone Podcast

Admit it, you’ve seen a girl somewhere and thought, “I can’t believe her mother let her out of the house wearing that.” But if you’ve parented a teenage girl, you know it’s just not that simple.  How can we connect with our daughters and let them know we’re on their side even if we are not on board with certain trends or styles? My guest this week is author, speaker, and mother of four girls, Kari Kampakis. She has walked the road of countless clothing conversations with her girls. She gives practical encouragement for moms to build relationships and learn the art of compromise that doesn’t throw out standards but still lets girls have choices.  Connect with Kari Kampakis:  Website:  https://www.karikampakis.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karikampakiswriter/  Instagram:  @karikampakis  Podcast: Girl Mom  Links Mentioned:    Lee Cordon Homecoming Dresses Post   Related Episodes: Connecting With Your Daughter Through Humility and Compassion :: Kari Kampakis Part 1 [Ep 390] Steady Identity in Shifting Roles :: Kari Kampakis Part 2 [Ep 391] Important Topics to Cover with Tweens and Teens about Manners, Technology, and Friendship:: Lee Cordon [Ep 408] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

What would you do if your kid told you they saw porn? What would you do if you discovered porn on your child’s device?  My guest this week is mom and founder of NextTalk, Mandy Majors. Her daughter was exposed to pornography at age 9 at school and she didn’t see it on a cell phone. That was a wake-up call moment for Mandy and she made it her goal to teach other parents how to talk through the quickly changing digital world.  Fast forward 10 years and NextTalk is spreading the message of fostering real relationships between parents and kids - the kind where both parties can talk about those awkward or taboo subjects freely. Mandy encourages us that if we do our best to create a safe place of open communication between us and our kids there isn’t a tech situation we can’t face together.   Connect with Mandy Majors:  Website:  https://nexttalk.org/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nextTalk  Instagram:  @nexttalkorg  Podcast: https://nexttalk.org/podcast/  Links Mentioned:   Chris McKenna and Protect Young Eyes  Kristen Jenson and Defend Young Minds Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids by Kristen A. Jenson Fight the New Drug  Related Episodes: Creating Digital Safe Spaces :: Chris McKenna [Ep 360]  Braving the Tech Landscape Through Connection :: Chris McKenna [Ep 424] Porn-Proofing Our Kids :: Kristen Jenson [Ep 256] Pornography :: Jimmy and Josh Myers of Pairadocs Podcast [Ep 162] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Who do you call when it feels like your world is falling apart? Do you share your struggles with trusted friends or is it hard to open up about what is going on in your life?  Toward the end of her first marriage Kristen Glass broke a habit she’d had for years - struggling silently. For years she suffered alone, carrying shame for her actions and circumstances that left her feeling condemned and isolated. All that changed one weekend in Utah when she found the courage to tell a friend her story. That simple act of speaking up freed her to see the truth of who God made her to be and His great love for her. Join me for her story that has dark times and places but is also filled with the hope of redemption and restoration that only God can bring.  Connect with Kristen Glass:  Email:  gypsysoulinteriors@gmail.com  Related Episodes: Walking Through Divorce :: Lara Williams [Ep 324] Forgiving What You Can’t Forget :: Lysa TerKeurst [Ep 304] Good Boundaries and Goodbyes :: Lysa TerKeurst [Ep 387] Coping Mechanisms, Recovery, and Codependency :: Taylor Bashta [Ep 275] Sinners Married to Sinners - How God Refines Us :: Cheryl Scruggs and Jae Carpenter [Ep 195] Rebuilding From an Abusive Marriage :: Jeni B [Ep 246] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Is Back-to-School time a mini fresh-start for you? With all the fresh supplies we get a chance to think again about who we want to be and what our daily life can look like.  Get sidetracked with Cynthia and me this week as we discuss rhythms we are creating for the fall. Cynthia discovers AI and we talk habits, opening our homes for connection, scrapbooking for our younger selves, and new business ventures!  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Links Mentioned:   Book a Mahjong training party with Heather and Amber  @Mad4Mahj  Leanne Morgan  Nate Bargatze  Kevin James  Related Episodes: Previous episodes with Heather and Cynthia Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Maybe you’ve wondered if you are addicted to your phone? Or if your kids are addicted to their devices? Is addicted the right word to use?  Between work and school and life it is nearly impossible to live without some screen interaction, but what if we could change our relationship with our screens? What if they are not something we are powerless against, but something we can put in their proper places?  My guest this week is dad and entrepreneur, Joey Odom. His own missed moments as a dad served as the impetus for changing his relationship with his phone and creating a system to help us do the same. His encouragement and creativity help us give ourselves (and our spouses and kids) grace and tools to shape our time spent with and away from screens.  Connect with Joey Odom:  Website:  https://www.goaro.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goaronow/  Instagram:  @goaronow  Links Mentioned:   Troomi Phone    Related Episodes: The Screen Struggle is Real :: Arlene Pellicane [Ep 331] Time and Space for Flourishing in a Tech World :: Andy Crouch [Ep 208]  Creating Digital Safe Spaces :: Chris McKenna [Ep 360]  Braving the Tech Landscape Through Connection :: Chris McKenna [Ep 424]  Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

What are your digital fears? What are the things you are afraid will happen if your child interacts with technology regularly?  We all have digital fears to varying degrees, but anxiety isn’t our friend when it comes to strategies to keep our kids safe in the digital landscape. My guest this week is CPA turned tech expert Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, an organization devoted to keeping kids safe in digital spaces. Chris has a great set of tools to help us protect our kids in their digital spaces and it all starts with connection with them. He encourages us to be transparent and honest with our children regarding tech as well as giving us concrete steps and tools that help us stay informed and create protective layers for our kids.  Connect with Chris McKenna:  Website:  https://protectyoungeyes.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/protectyoungeyes/  Instagram:  @protectyoungeyes  Links Mentioned:   Bone Marrow Registration Drive---Aug 27th 9:30 to 3pm Park Cities Baptist Church (activities building) 3933 Northwest Pkwy.  Gryphon Router  Bark Digital Parental Controls and Phone Covenant Eyes Screen Accountability  Gabb Phones use code DMALONE Protect Young Eyes Ultimate Guide to YouTube for Caregivers   Related Episodes: Creating Digital Safe Spaces :: Chris McKenna [Ep 360] Time and Space for Flourishing in a Tech World :: Andy Crouch [Ep 208] A Lil Help with Boys and  Screen Time :: David Thomas [bonus] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

We’re baaaaaack! How was your summer? Maybe you're like us...a little laughing, crying and even vacation freak-outs. Around here you're never alone. Listen in for a fun conversation with our friend Cynthia Yanof as we chat about summer adventures and the transition to Fall.  We’re talking about expectations as moms. How sometimes things turn out better than expected and other times we grieve the loss of what we thought would be. We discuss surrendering long-held family traditions to embrace what God has next for your family. And, listen closely for a special announcement for Fridays in the fall!  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized  Links Mentioned:   Essential Bob Ross Videos (to calm your kids down!) Lahaina GoFund Me  Heather’s ideas for free experiences in Maui Cynthia’s husband flipping of his bike after going up a ramp Related Episodes: Summer of Mentorship series with Cynthia Yanof 

What helped you feel ready for a new school year as a kid? All the supplies purchased and organized? The perfect first-day outfit?  What helps you feel ready for school now, as a mom? How can you advocate for your kids and support their teachers? My guest this week is Dallas-based therapist and speaker Dr. Kelly Jameson. She shares a great set of tools to help us advocate for our children and interact well with teachers and school staff. She also shares her wisdom and experience on how to parent well through our ever-changing technology landscape.  Connect with Dr. Kelly Jameson:  Website: https://drkellyjameson.com/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyjamesonPhD/  Instagram:  @DrKellyJameson  Links Mentioned:    Accommodations Sheet Template  Donation for aid to Lahaina Families Related Episodes: How to Stay Calm With School Stress :: Kirk Martin [Ep 88]  Supporting Students with Dyslexia :: Kerri Irvin [Ep 317] Creating Digital Safe Spaces :: Chris McKenna [Ep 360] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

What percentage of the anxiety you feel comes from parenting?  We are often most anxious about the things we care most about. That is normal! We love our kids and want to nurture and protect them, but we know anxiety isn’t helping us. My guest this week is counselor and parenting expert Sissy Goff. Her new book,  The Worry-Free Parent, is designed to help us recognize how anxiety makes its way into our everyday lives,  process it in healthy ways rather than passing it along to our kids, and connect more deeply and more freely with our kids.   Connect with Sissy Goff:  Website:  https://www.raisingboysandgirls.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingboysandgirls/?ref=hl  Instagram:  @raisingboysandgirls  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@raisingboysandgirls  Podcast: Raising Girls and Boys Podcast  Links Mentioned:    The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too by Sissy Goff  Related Episodes: Getting Brave About Anxiety :: Sissy Goff [Ep 311] Raising Emotionally Strong Boys :: David Thomas [Ep 368] The Window of Tolerance :: Charissa Fry [Ep 260] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Have you felt that you’ve lost a part of yourself since having children? Maybe even “lots of”  or “all” the parts? Motherhood changes us - and it should - but we need to consider our own emotional health and well-being just as important as that of our kids. My guest this week, mom, and author Alli Worthington, encourages us to be set free from mom-guilt by dropping some common “good mom”-myths. She invites us into confident motherhood where we can love our kids sacrificially and still stay attuned to our own needs. She even shares her Magic Question Habit to help us see ourselves more clearly.  Alli Worthington is a business coach, speaker, podcaster, and overcomer. Her latest book, Remaining You While Raising Them releases August 8, 2023.   Connect with Alli Worthington:  Website:  https://alliworthington.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alli.worthington  Instagram:  @alliworthington  Links Mentioned:   How to Break Busy :: Alli Worthington [Ep 105] Remaining You While Raising Them: The Secret Art of Confident Motherhood by Alli Worthington   Related Episodes: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Practice Self-Compassion :: Kim Frederickson [Ep 188] Focus on Growth vs. Guilt :: Lisa Bevere [Ep 291]  Manage Your Life With Guilt-Free Confidence :: Christy Wright [Ep 192] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

How do you give your kids independence? At what stage do you let kids try and fail?  At the heart of parenting is this job: to give our kids the skills they need to live without us. We know that and we still might spend hours in their rooms trying to help them get to sleep or keeping up with their gym clothes or assignments. We bring our own fears or suppositions about the future to bear on their freedoms. Sometimes this is wise, but sometimes we must stop and watch what God is doing in their lives through difficulty.  We’re taking time this summer (as usual) to be mentored by an experienced mom and benefit from her wisdom. Bonus! My guest for these 6 weeks is both wise AND funny.  Join me for conversations with wife, mom, author, and podcaster Cynthia Yanof. We’ll answer some listener questions, share our experiences, and laugh a lot.  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized  Related Episodes: Freeing your Adolescents to Step Into Adulthood - Ages and Stages - Teens :: Dr. Ken Wilgus [Ep 382] Doubt, Questions and Your Teen’s Growing Faith :: Mary Jo Sharp [Ep 375] Life-Giving Faith in Every Circumstance :: Lisa Appelo :: Summer of Mentorship - Wk 2  Links Mentioned:   Priscilla Shirer Speaking Over her Boys http://www.goingbeyond.com/blog/gods-word-spoken-over-our-children/ The Global Munchkins on Instagram Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

How do you connect with your spouse? And how often?  It’s easy for us to get busy parenting and adulting and then take our marriage relationship for granted. We may think we’ll focus on it when things slow down or the kids aren’t so needy, but actually, a healthy marriage is a great help to our kids.  We’re taking time this summer (as usual) to be mentored by an experienced mom and benefit from her wisdom. Bonus! My guest for these 6 weeks is both wise AND funny.  Join me for conversations with wife, mom, author, and podcaster Cynthia Yanof. We’ll answer some listener questions, share our experiences, and laugh a lot.  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized  Related Episodes: Nurturing Your Marriage :: Brent and Janis Sharpe [Ep 299]  Embracing Your Power in Marriage :: Dr. Juli Slattery [Ep 346] Building Strong Marriages :: Kimberly Beam Holmes [Ep 374]  Links Mentioned:    Genesis Women’s Shelter  Love Nuggets Episode [Ep 299] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

What do you do when your kids are a little sassier than necessary?  How do you respond? Can we shape their responses? When does it really matter? To answer those questions we need both perspective and wisdom.  We’re taking time this summer (as usual) to be mentored by an experienced mom and benefit from her wisdom. Bonus! My guest for these 6 weeks is both wise AND funny.  Join me for conversations with wife, mom, author, and podcaster Cynthia Yanof. We’ll answer some listener questions, share our experiences, and laugh a lot.  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized  Related Episodes: 10 Ways to Stop Meltdowns and Arguments :: Kirk Martin [Ep 139] The Legacy of a Calm Father :: Kirk Martin [Ep 139]  The Respect Effect :: Emerson Eggerichs [Ep 122] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

Who are your close friends? What do you do to cultivate friendships in your life? Friendship as an adult can feel like we’re unicorn-hunting, clinging to some childhood ideal or tv show standard. But real life friendship requires risk and it can come and go in seasons. And it is so worth it.  We’re taking time this summer (as usual) to be mentored by an experienced mom and benefit from her wisdom. Bonus! My guest for these 6 weeks is both wise AND funny.  Join me for conversations with wife, mom, author, and podcaster Cynthia Yanof. We’ll answer some listener questions, share our experiences, and laugh a lot. Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized Links Mentioned:    Find Your People by Jennie Allen  Related Episodes: Be Vulnerable, Find Your People :: Jennie Allen [Ep 354]  Friendship is Hard :: Amy Weatherly & Jess Johnston [Ep 350] Healing from Broken Friendships :: Shundria Riddick [Ep 321] Helping Our Kids Foster Friendships :: David Thomas & Sissy Goff [Ep 338] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

What do you feel when your child is struggling? How do you decide when to step in?  Whether it's fighting for your attention from a new baby or struggling with a new skill there are times for us to intervene and there are times for us to let our kids be uncomfortable. Yes, because we’re limited, but also because, as our summer of mentorship guest puts it, “If I want to raise kids that can stand alone, then I've gotta let them.” We’re taking time this summer (as usual) to be mentored by an experienced mom and benefit from her wisdom. Bonus! My guest for these 6 weeks is both wise AND funny.  Join me for conversations with wife, mom, author, and podcaster Cynthia Yanof. We’ll answer some listener questions, share our experiences, and laugh a lot.  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized Related Episodes: Resolving Sibling Conflict :: Jim & Lynne Jackson [Ep 126] 5 Principles to Guide Motherhood :: Rosemary McFadyen [Ep 44] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors. 

12What do you do when your kid lies? What about when your kid doesn’t make the team? Is this your failure or theirs…or is it something else?  We’re taking time this summer (as usual) to be mentored by an experienced mom and benefit from her wisdom. Bonus! My guest for these 6 weeks is both wise AND funny.  Join me for conversations with wife, mom, author, and podcaster Cynthia Yanof. We’ll answer some listener questions, share our experiences, and laugh a lot.  Connect with Cynthia Yanof:  Website:  https://cynthiayanof.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.yanof  Instagram:  @cynthiayanof  Podcast: MESSmerized Related Episodes: Focus on Growth vs Guilt :: Lisa Bever [Ep 291] Choosing Connection Over Critique :: Rachel Macy Stafford [Ep 280] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

How does your child’s behavior reflect on you?  That’s a trick question -  it doesn’t. But it’s easy for us to feel that it does. Parenting a neurodivergent child can heighten those feelings of guilt or shame when our child doesn’t behave in an expected way or when traditional forms of discipline or parenting simply don’t work. Pile on top of that everyone’s summer activity and vacation social media posts and you might be tempted to believe the lie that your family is less than somehow, or always missing out.  My guest this week, Carrie Cassell, is mom to some fantastic neurodivergent kids. Her profound encouragement to “go with the child you have, not the child you wish you had” reaches to every mom. Through her honesty with her own emotions and journey through motherhood thus far she reminds us neurodivergent brains aren’t bad or broken, they’re unique.  Carrie created a space online for parents and caregivers of neurodivergent kids, Mosaic Connection. She invites parents into community to free them from isolation and shame, to connect them with themselves and do the inner work so they can help their kids believe the best about themselves.  Connect with Carrie Cassell:  Website:  https://www.mosaicconnection.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089418138152  Instagram:  @MosaicConnectionInsta  YouTube: Mosaic Connection - YouTube    Related Episodes: It’s Not About the Food :: Angie Buja & Carrie Cassell [Ep 173] Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues :: Lynne Jackson [Ep 258] Parenting Sensitive and Intense Kids :: Lynne Jackson and Lydia Rex [Ep 395] When Your Child is on the Autism Spectrum (Part One) :: Terri Conlin [Ep 182] When Your Child is on the Autism Spectrum (Part Two) :: Terri Conlin [Ep 182] ADHD :: Sarah Furlich [Ep 165]   Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

If your God-given assignment is to work outside of your home or the WFH life,  how do you manage the schedules and responsibilities and feelings that accompany those places?  Mothering well is always hard - whether you work outside of the home or not. But moms who do work outside the home can feel a particular kind of difficulty caught between wanting to be the best mom and the best at work. My guest this week, Diane Paddison, gives us great encouragement and insight. As a single mom on a global executive team she zeroed in on what was important and built her schedule from those priorities. Diane has served as global executive of two Fortune 500 companies and is a leading advocate for women in the workplace. She is the founder and president of 4Word Women, a mentoring ministry for Christian women.  Connect with Diane Paddison:  Website:  https://4wordwomen.org/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4wordwomen  Instagram:  @4wordwomen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/4wordwomen   Links Mentioned:   https://4wordwomen.org/  Work, Love, Pray: Practical Wisdom for Professional Christian Woman and Those Who Want to Understand Them by Diane Paddison Be Refreshed: A Year of Devotions for Women in the Workplace by Diane Paddison   Related Episodes: Corporate Working Moms :: Causha Jolly & Stacey McCabe [Ep 205] Working from Home :: Jehava Brown [Ep 288]  Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

What do you feel when you hear, “It’s summertime”? Dread? Excitement? Anxiety? All three?  No matter how many summers you’ve been mom-ing it’s the same - there will be fun and boredom, magical moments and fighting and we’ll be tired of it and wish it wouldn’t end. Join me this week as we talk about how to ENJOY summer, navigate sibling conflict, and much more.  Clips from these original episodes: Summer (& Sibling) Survival Guide :: Kirk Martin [Ep 77] Summer Strategies :: Laura and Courtney [Ep 249]  Links Mentioned: Evil for Evil [DMA BLOG POST] Laura Hernandez Surviving Summer Course Courtney Cleveland All the Best Days Travel Guides, Packing Lists and Bags Kirk Martin Celebrate Calm Reusable Water Balloons Water Gun Activity  Sidewalk chalk Cynthia Yanof, host of the MESSmerized podcast Summer of Mentorship (sign up here for podcast club emails)  Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

What are your patterns of prayer? Has it been hard for you to fall into a rhythm of prayer? We know that prayer matters and works. It changes us, it opens our eyes to where God is at work around us. We want to pray for our kids, for ourselves, for others we love - why does it feel so difficult to jump in? My guest this week is Natasha Miller, The Praying Mama, and our conversation is full of encouragement for your prayer life. Through her own journey into connection with the Lord through prayer, Natasha invites us to know God’s nearness and to leave a legacy of trust in Him.   Connect with Natasha Miller:  Website:  https://natashaannmiller.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashaannmillerlive  Instagram:  @natashaannmiller  Podcast: Her Freedom Podcast  Links Mentioned:    Praying the Scriptures Journal by Jodie Berndt Related Episodes: Praying the Scriptures :: Jodie Berndt [Ep 194] Listening to the Lord :: Kelsey Phillips [Ep 279]  When You Don’t Know What to Pray :: Kayla Craig [Ep 344] Available Now:  Heather’s new book, “Right Where You Belong” is now available wherever books are sold.  Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.