Good Enough Parenting

Holiday gift shopping stressing you out? I can’t recommend what to get your Aunt Margaret, but I've got you covered in the toy department. Tune in to hear the three categories of toys you want to have represented in your playroom plus favorite board games for fostering self-regulation and sibling cooperation. And don’t worry – Santa is a fan of “Good Enough Parenting” so he’ll make sure to deliver some toy handcuffs if Target runs out…. Happy shopping!To get Carley’s free video teaching you 4 play therapy techniques you can use TODAY to calm your emotional child and bring joy and freedom back to family life click here!http://www.paceparent.com/play And follow her @CarleyCounsels on FB & IG!

This time of year is filled with celebrations, excitement and STRESS. If you're raising young kids, it can feel like a never ending marathon of to dos and temper tantrums. Lack of sleep, too much sugar and disruptions in schedules can lead to big emotional hangovers in kids.Today I share how to do less and be more this holiday season. From delegating to boundary setting to remembering the sacred, tune in to find out how you can have a happier holiday season without burning out.To get Carley’s free video teaching you 4 play therapy techniques you can use TODAY to calm your emotional child and bring joy and freedom back to family life click here!http://www.paceparent.com/play And follow her @CarleyCounsels on FB & IG!

Ever find yourself wishing you could raise kids who think beyond themselves, show emotional resilience, and eat their veggies without a bribe? Well tune in and buckle up. This week on the Good Enough Parenting podcast, I sat down with Sarah Robertson-Barnes, sustainability writer, educator, and host of Sustainable in the Suburbs — and she’s here to remind us that parenting with the planet in mind doesn’t have to mean going full homestead (or giving up take out).We talked about the small, practical ways we can parent more sustainably — and how those choices actually help our kids grow. Turns out, being mindful about waste, food, and nature doesn’t just protect the planet; it builds impulse control, flexibility, and problem-solving skills. Plus, Sarah swears that some sustainable swaps are great for your family budget and your *picky eaters. (Apparently composting can make them feel like magicians??)We also got into the deeper stuff: how connecting kids to the planet helps them move past their natural egocentricity, how to avoid eco-burnout, and why being mindful about our waste and consumption is not about perfection – it’s about progress. So take a deep breath, skip the guilt, and tune in for some down-to-earth wisdom that might just make your next meal — and your next parenting moment — a little greener.You can find Sarah HERE and check out her podcast Sustainable in the Suburbs for more ideas on reducing waste, rethinking consumption, and even throwing a trash-free birthday party (yes, it’s possible).Because hauling your own Tupperware to your favorite restaurant may not solve the climate crisis, but for now it might just be good enough. To get Carley’s free video teaching you 4 play therapy techniques you can use TODAY to calm your emotional child and bring joy and freedom back to family life click here!http://www.paceparent.com/play And follow her @CarleyCounsels on FB & IG!

Hiring a nanny sounds simple—until you realize you’re basically trying to find a magical Mary Poppins who can keep your kids alive and make healthy snacks and not judge the state of your laundry room and somehow feel like part of the family without actually being family. No pressure, right?Enter the magnificent Sarah Davis, founder of Olive You Nanny. On this week’s Good Enough Parenting episode, I sat down with Sarah to talk about the art (and heart) of finding the right caregiver for your family. She’s been in the childcare world for over 25 years and has helped thousands of parents not only find the right person for their family but also figure out what makes a nanny-family relationship actually work.We got into all of it—the interviews, the red flags, the tricky “we adore you but also you work for us” dynamic, and how to set up boundaries that keep everyone feeling respected (and sane).We even explore why having other caregivers for our kids’ lives isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s actually a huge step toward gender equality and sanity for moms.Bonus Gift! Sarah has created The Nanny Playbook, a step-by-step guide that helps families find and build lasting, healthy relationships with their nannies. AND she’s giving Good Enough Parents $50 off this incredible resource! Just use code “playbook” at checkout Get THE NANY PLAYBOOK HEREIf you’ve ever wondered how to find a caregiver you can trust with your kids—or how to keep things smooth once you do—this episode is for you. Because the right nanny doesn’t just support your kids. They support you too. And that’s more than Good Enough. To get Carley’s free video teaching you 4 play therapy techniques you can use TODAY to calm your emotional child and bring joy and freedom back to family life click here!http://www.paceparent.com/play And follow her @CarleyCounsels on FB & IG!

Before I had kids, I was sure I’d never use screens to entertain my kids at restaurants, I’d never threaten consequences without follow through. And I’d never change the core of who I was just because these little beings entered my life. Oh, the confidence of those pre-parenting days.Fast forward to today, and sometimes my reality looks more like threatening to cut my daughter’s hair when she won’t shower or accidentally letting my son stay up all night on video games because I fell asleep on the couch.It got me thinking: what does modern parenting look like to people who don’t have kids? Are we making it look exhausting? Over-complicated? Maybe even a little unappealing?That’s why, in this week’s episode of Good Enough Parenting, I sat down with my longtime friend Jim—someone who doesn’t have children but has watched plenty of us navigate parenthood. Think of him as a cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead-style, observing our parenting world from the outside.We talk about: ✨ What surprises him most when he’s around kids ✨ Where parents may be overthinking—or underthinking ✨ How friendships shift once kids enter the picture ✨ What he wishes parents knew about how their choices affect the people      around themAnd maybe most importantly, Jim reminds us of who we thought we’d be as parents before family life swept us up.This one’s equal parts funny, eye-opening, and a little humbling. I think you’ll love it.Sometimes we need our kid-free friends to help us remember that we were never meant to be the perfect parent – just good enough.   To get Carley’s free video teaching you 4 play therapy techniques you can use TODAY to calm your emotional child and bring joy and freedom back to family life click here!http://www.paceparent.com/play And follow her @CarleyCounsels on FB & IG!