Convo

Experts in mental health, relationships, families, and child development.

11/27/2025

Not every conversation needs to be had, and certainly not every person at the dinner table is a true convo partner…there to convo for good. Let me be clear: it is ok to avoid the wrong convo at the wrong time with the wrong person.
But we can’t avoid every conversation, and it seems like we are collectively doing just that.
Good conversation strengthens relationships and moves the world forward. Total agreement is not a prerequisite for conversation to be good. In fact, when a relationship is caring and both people are at the table to make the convo meaningful, disagreement can be exactly the right springboard for something new, something innovative, something unexpected. Try these tips to get the convo started!

10/30/2025

If you’re not sure how to answer a question your child asks, start with this 👆

Many parents worry they’ll say the wrong thing. But when you lead with your why, your guiding power behind your intentions and conversations, you don’t need the perfect words.

You just need honest, developmentally appropriate language, and a clear reason for showing up in the conversation.

And sometimes, you might not have those answers right away. That’s ok too. Being honest and revisiting the conversation when you’re ready is what matters.

10/28/2025

Whether you’re talking about grief, injustice, family changes, or a scary event in the world, remember that the goal isn’t to fix your child’s feelings.

It’s to show them they’re not alone in them.

10/24/2025

When my kids are having a hard time—when the tears are big or the disappointment feels endless—I often find myself coming back to one simple phrase:

“This too shall pass.”

It’s one of my favorite reminders, not because it magically fixes anything in the moment, but because it gently places the hard feeling in a bigger frame. It whispers: This moment won’t last forever. You won’t always feel this way. You are safe to feel it now, and it will change.

Time is one of the most powerful healers we have. But kids don’t have much experience with it yet.

Their world is mostly made of right now. If something hurts, it can feel like it will always hurt. If they’re sad or embarrassed or frustrated, it can seem like that feeling will never end.

But we know it will, and it’s our job to remind them of it gently.

10/23/2025

They’re actually three separate things, though we often squish them together on the internet.

This is how I think the phrase “big feelings” and “deeply feeling kids” came into the world.

🌟 Emotions are a source of information about the world around you; think of them like your spidey sense. They don’t immediately have names or necessarily come in with an explanation.

🌟 Emotionality is the range of emotions--think volume as well as variation. This is the closest idea to “big feelings.” Some people experience a wide range in the volume of their feelings--when they are excited, they feel VERY excited, and when they are sad, they feel VERY sad, while others are less excitable but also feel less sadness or anger.

🌟 Emotion regulation is the process through which people make sense of their feelings and do their best to adapt. Sometimes that means understanding what the information they are taking in is telling them and using it wisely, while other times that means managing the outward display of their feelings to fit the environment they are in.

Understanding the difference between these terms is the first step in understanding how to best serve your child’s needs. Emotion as a whole can feel overwhelming and oftentimes confusing, but breaking it down into its smaller parts will help you understand what your children (and you) are feeling.

10/17/2025

Children are meaning-makers because finding meaning is how humans cope. They want to understand not just what happened, but what it says about the world they live in. If we don’t give them a story, they will write one anyway. Let’s make sure the one they write includes hope, empathy, and a sense of agency.

10/15/2025

Emotional development isn’t just something that happens to a child overnight – It’s a process that takes time, attention, and care, and it’s important to ask the right questions to engage all parts of your child’s mind while working through new and challenging feelings.

It’s more accurate—and more helpful—to think in terms of balance, integration, and flexibility. Healthy development and healing come not from shutting off one part of the brain and turning on another, but from strengthening the pathways that allow different regions to communicate and work together.

10/13/2025

As a parent, you can be a wealth of information for your children, even if it doesn't feel obvious. By sharing your own life lessons and stories, you can impart understandable and personal wisdom to your children from any age.

My new podcast, Raising Souls, is available to stream now on all platforms.

10/09/2025

How do we approach problem-solving with our children as unique individuals? In this episode of Raising Souls, I’m discussing curiosity, uncertainty, and meeting your child as their own person in the face of challenges.

My new podcast, Raising Souls, is available to stream on all podcast platforms.

10/01/2025

All parents have their own superpowers – In this episode of Raising Souls, I explain what unique strengths dads bring to parenting, especially in early stages of child development.

My new podcast, Raising Souls, is available to stream now on all platforms.

09/29/2025

When problems arise, curiosity may not be your instinct – but that doesn’t mean it can’t be. Listen to me explain how creating a habit of curiosity can change your perspective on problem-solving.

Want to learn more? My new podcast, Raising Souls, is available to stream on all podcast platforms.

09/27/2025

Children begin to understand the world in patterns. When the pattern breaks—whether it’s a loud argument, a missed goodbye, or an unfamiliar news story overheard at dinner—children don’t just move on.

They look to their trusted adults and ask, in the ways they know how: What just happened? Is this safe? What does it mean?

This is where our role becomes more than comfort. We become meaning-makers. The stories we tell in those moments—through words, tone, body language, and even silence—help children stitch confusing moments back into the fabric of what they know.

They are not just asking for facts. They are asking: How does this fit with what I thought I knew about the world? And what should I do with these big feelings I now have?

This isn’t about having the perfect answer.

It’s about anchoring the story to your family’s values.

How do you help your child find meaning? Let me know below.

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Farmington Hills, MI

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http://myconvo.org/

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