021 - A healthy foundation for less meltdowns - With Keri Cooper

Parenting the Intensity · Nov 21, 2023

Transcript

SPEAKER_01

00:00:00

Welcome to Parenting the Intensity, where we'll talk all about how we can drop the general parenting advice that doesn't work with our emotionally intense kids anyway, and let go of the unrealistic expectations society puts on us as parents. Together, we'll find solutions and ideas that work for you and your kids. Chances are, deep down, you know what they need. But you need a little encouragement to keep going on harder days and permission to do things differently and help you fully trust that you already are a wonderful parent to your exceptional but challenging kids. Do you read all the things, listen to all the things, take all the courses, and you know a lot of things about parenting but you struggle to actually apply them in your real life? Then you're in luck. I just started the Parenting the Intensity Community, which is a monthly group support for parents of emotionally intense kids. The goal is exactly that, to take all the information you learn from the podcast and from all the other sources and adapt them so that it works for your child and your family, your reality. Because things can work, but not always the same way for everybody.

SPEAKER_01

00:01:39

So the same thing might need to be adapted to work for you. And sometimes it's hard to sort through everything to choose the right things so that you can really enjoy your life and your kids. Not always being afraid of the next outburst. You can join by clicking on the link in the show notes or on the website. Hi, Kerry. Really glad to have you on the podcast today.

SPEAKER_00

00:02:06

Thank you so much for having me. So today we're

SPEAKER_01

00:02:10

going back to basic. And I think it's something that we often forget when we have emotionally intense kids because we focus on those intense moments. We focus on the struggle, on the tantrum, on the meltdown, and we try to make that disappear by focusing on that. And so today we're taking a step back, I would say, and we're building the foundation. Because I think that's easy to let slide when things are harder. Yes. On an everyday basis.

SPEAKER_01

00:02:40

Absolutely. So first, can you tell us a little bit about what you do and why you do it?

SPEAKER_00

00:02:46

So I have a private practice in northern New Jersey. I've been a therapist for probably 20 years at this point and an author of two books and a speaker. And all my career has been with children and adolescents. That is what I've always loved. And it probably comes from my own background. When I was growing up, I saw so many of my friends struggling and not having that adult to really turn to and talk to without judgment, to be able to give them that guidance. So I think that's what really drove me to be a therapist. And when I started out in the world of therapy, I really felt like we were missing something.

SPEAKER_00

00:03:22

I was very classically trained. And, you know, every time I'm like, we're missing something here, something just isn't right. And it wasn't until really 10 years into my career that through my own daughter with a dairy insensitivity that massively impacted her mood when she was young, did I realize we need to look past just the symptoms. What are we eating? And then, you know, how are we sleeping? And then I went to all of this. How are we building up our foundations to really help us feel good and to have the most really stable mood that we can? Because all of that impacts our mood. Yeah. So unfortunately, all my years of training never did somebody say to me, make sure your clients are hydrated. But we actually have studies that show that kids are more focused when they're hydrated, that kids are less angry when they're hydrated. So, yes, like you said before, we always jump to the crisis in front of us. And it's hard to remember we need to build the whole foundation up first.

SPEAKER_01

00:04:23

And it's so difficult to take that step back. And it kind of feels the opposite of what we want when we're in the middle of a chaos and someone tells us, have you taken enough water today?

SPEAKER_01

00:04:36

And I'm like, what are you even talking about? That's not the problem. We can dismiss that so easily. It

SPEAKER_00

00:04:42

feels weird. Because it seems so simple. It seems so simple. And, you know, it's not simple, though. It's very hard, actually, to live a healthy lifestyle. I'm trying, but it's not that easy. No, it's not that easy. But I think people are forgetting how important it is.

SPEAKER_00

00:04:57

And that's really why I wrote my books and why I do my talks, because we can set our kids up and ourselves up for more success.

SPEAKER_01

00:05:05

And that's just water. I mean, there's so many other

SPEAKER_00

00:05:08

things. There's so many other things.

SPEAKER_01

00:05:10

Just water and even just drinking enough water. It's not easy. It's not easy. And what would you say are those basics?

SPEAKER_00

00:05:20

So some of the base my books are broken down into 10 foundations, five of them physical and five of them more like mental. And the physical ones are hydration, food, which is a huge one, especially today, sleep, which especially since covid has been a nightmare for most kids, exercise and meditation. Those are really the five principles. And when I say meditation, there's so many different ways you can go about doing it.

SPEAKER_00

00:05:48

And I explained that in my book. Like you don't need to lay there for 30 minutes and meditate. You could just focus on deep breathing. You could focus on relaxing your muscles. You could do a mindful walk. Like there's many different opportunities.

SPEAKER_01

00:06:01

It's mindfulness in any way, basically.

SPEAKER_00

00:06:04

Yes, just really the practice of mindfulness is to bring you back to the present. When we focus on being on the present, there's normally not anxiety or depression. Because in this exact moment, normally everything is OK. You know, when kids come into my office and they're like, I'm so stressed. I'm like, tell me why they're telling me about things that may or may not happen. Yeah, future.

SPEAKER_00

00:06:23

I'm like, what's going on right now? It's so hard to come back.

SPEAKER_02

00:06:28

SPEAKER_00

00:06:29

that's why that foundation is so important. And in terms of mental health, we need to make sure our kids are independent. They need to be able to have good boundaries and say no. They need to be able to deal with disappointment. These are really important for their self-esteem. So those are my mental health foundations in there as well. That your kids need to be able to say no. They need to be able to have boundaries. They need to be able to be disappointed. These are normal things that I think sometimes as parents, it's hard to always instill with them.

SPEAKER_01

00:07:01

Yeah, yeah. And for so many reasons.

SPEAKER_00

00:07:06

Yes, one of my favorite ones is boundaries. When I talk to kids about being able to say no, whether it be to friends or activities or whatever they really don't want to do and is kind of burning them out. We always talk about normally it's the moms of how much they're saying yes to when they don't want to. And they're burning themselves out. And that's what kids are really seeing. And then of course it creates a huge issue in the home that the parents are burnt out and lack of patience. And then it is harder to make a healthy dinner and to do everything that you need to do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

00:07:38

And drink enough water.

SPEAKER_00

00:07:39

Right. Right. When you're running around, you know, it's hard to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_01

00:07:44

Yeah. I honestly can say that I realized at some point when I was working in an office, I was a social worker. And when I was at work and I was at my desk part of the day and when I was, I was drinking more water than when I was at home.

SPEAKER_00

00:07:59

Right.

SPEAKER_01

00:08:00

It was kind of easier because my bottle was on my desk and I was there and like typing and I was going in and out of my office, but my bottle was there.

SPEAKER_01

00:08:07

But at home, it's like I would need a glass of water at 10 place in the house to think about drinking that water. Yes. So it's not that easy. This is probably the easiest of them all, but it's still not that easy.

SPEAKER_00

00:08:23

It's still not that easy. Right. And that's why I wrote a workbook as well so the kids can really start implementing it. Because at a certain age, parents unfortunately don't really have the control they would like to have. Oh, definitely. And I always tell parents, listen, you know, you can control what they eat in the house because they're not going food shopping. You are. So you do have control over that aspect, but especially as they get older and older and they're out more with their friends, that's a battle. You're just not going to win.

SPEAKER_01

00:08:50

No, no.

SPEAKER_00

00:08:52

And that's okay.

SPEAKER_01

00:08:53

This is the reality I'm living. I have a child, I will prefer not eat instead of eating healthy things I have in my house. And he will find a way to eat something else if he needs to, but he will not eat what I don't even remember the last time he ate a vegetable. I cannot tell you. It's total refusal right now. So what can parents do in a situation like that when kids are not at all on board with any of those things? Right.

SPEAKER_00

00:09:23

Well, if you have a pickier eater and many kids are just pickier eaters, I always encourage parents to get them involved in the meal prep and the meal planning process. And, you know, look at what they do like and try to expand on that into a healthier area. You know, the kids who love chicken nuggets. Okay, great. Can we get them next to eat a chicken cutlet? Because it's pretty similar.

SPEAKER_02

00:09:46

SPEAKER_00

00:09:47

it's like trying to make easy jumps for them, but also to have some of it in their control. So, okay, what vegetables do you think you might like to try? What do you want to make a smoothie?

SPEAKER_00

00:09:55

There's all different options. And I love it when kids start cooking as well and start experimenting in the kitchen because they find it to be fun. And they're way more likely to eat something that they made. Yeah. Something that's being given to them. Definitely. That's true. It's something that worked

SPEAKER_01

00:10:13

better for sure here too. Not going to say it's always perfect, but it's definitely helpful. Yes. And for mindfulness, for example, how would you go about starting that with children? If you start young. Everything. Everything is easier if you start younger.

SPEAKER_01

00:10:27

Yeah. I'm kind of a four year old and I have teenagers and like mindfulness was not something I was aware of when I was younger. I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a

SPEAKER_00

00:10:35

four year old. I'm going to

SPEAKER_01

00:10:38

start with a four year old. I'm going to start with a four year old. So I started with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old.

SPEAKER_00

00:10:57

And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I was like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. So I'm like, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to start with a four year old. So to do it as a family is really important because also the parents need to buy into everything. So to do it as a family is really important because also the parents need to buy into everything. You can't just tell your kid what to do.

SPEAKER_00

00:11:33

You really need to kind of walk the walk. So if you're telling your child, screen time isn't great, you shouldn't be on your phone all that much. So if you're telling your child, screen time isn't great, you shouldn't be on your phone all that much. You can't be on your phone all the time either. You know, we have to lead by example. If we're telling our kids to exercise, we need to be exercising. If we're telling our kids to exercise, we need to be exercising. If we're telling them to be outside, we need to be outside. If we're telling them to be outside, we need to be outside.

SPEAKER_01

00:11:51

And I think that's a big part of the struggle because we have so busy life, I think, those days that it's very hard to apply all those basics to ourselves because it does apply to ourselves as parents also. And I think that's a big part of the struggle because we have so busy life, I think, those days that it's very hard to apply all those basics to ourselves because it does apply to ourselves as parents also. And I think that's a big part of the struggle because we have so busy life, I think, those days that it's very hard to apply all those basics to ourselves because it does apply to ourselves as parents also. And I think that's a big part of the struggle because we have so busy life, I think, those days that it's very hard to apply all those basics to ourselves because it does apply to ourselves as parents also. And that goes back to parents setting up boundaries for themselves as well. And that goes back to parents setting up boundaries for themselves as well. You may not be able to volunteer for 10 different things at your kid's school and that's okay.

SPEAKER_00

00:12:06

You may not be able to volunteer for 10 different things at your kid's school and that's okay. Because you have to be putting your self-care and the care of your children first. Because you have to be putting your self-care and the care of your children first. So if you volunteer, if you want to volunteer, that's great, but you can't overload your schedule. So if you volunteer, if you want to volunteer, that's great, but you can't overload your schedule. And you can't overload your kid's schedules. It's not healthy. And you can't overload your kid's schedules.

SPEAKER_02

00:12:22

And

SPEAKER_00

00:12:23

you can't overload your kid's schedules. And you can't overload your kid's schedules. It's not healthy. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01

00:12:31

And you won't be able to do those things anyway if you're not taking care of yourself first. And you can't overload your kid's schedules. It's not healthy. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01

00:12:39

And you won't be able to do those things anyway if you're not taking care of yourself first. And I think that's

SPEAKER_00

00:12:42

always something we need to go back to. Always. And it's become so hard with the schedules and these kids are really over-scheduled. Where almost nobody's having like a family dinner anymore. Where almost nobody's having like a family dinner anymore. Family dinners are important. And it's important to connect. The research shows us like family dinners, kids have a healthier weight. Kids have a healthier weight. They have less drug use. They have better grades in school. Because they need to sit down and they need to connect. And they need to be heard. And of course then they're also having a nice healthy meal.

SPEAKER_00

00:13:09

So it's a win on every angle. But so many parents will tell me, well their schedules are crazy. But so many parents will tell me, well their schedules are crazy. Do their schedules really need to be crazy or are they over-scheduled? Do their schedules really need to be crazy or are they over-scheduled?

SPEAKER_01

00:13:19

Yeah, that's also a question. It's a basic and foundation question also to ask ourselves before. It's a basic and foundation question also to ask ourselves before. It's a basic and foundation question also to ask ourselves before. And I think that's sometimes one of the reasons of all those meltdowns. And I think that's sometimes one of the reasons of all those meltdowns. It's because kids are just too tired. It's because kids are just too tired.

SPEAKER_00

00:13:34

They're exhausted. I would be exhausted if I did what they did during a day. You know, we have to remember they are in school for a very long period of time. You know, we have to remember they are in school for a very long period of time. When we hit high school especially, they have a lot of homework. When we hit high school especially, they have a lot of homework. That is a tremendous amount of time spent just on schoolwork. And unfortunately these kids get schoolwork over the weekends. And unfortunately these kids get schoolwork over the weekends. So they don't even have a weekend off. Like when we go to work, we normally schedule days off. These kids are not having days off. And then add in the clubs and the sports.

SPEAKER_00

00:14:01

And then add in the clubs and the sports. It becomes exhausting. And you know, definitely at the high school level I always say, What is the point of doing this? Is it because you like it? Is it because you feel you have to? Where are we at? Because we need to be able to take time for ourselves. Because we need to be able to take time for ourselves.

SPEAKER_01

00:14:17

And this applies both for parents and for kids. And this applies both for parents and for kids.

SPEAKER_00

00:14:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

00:14:22

Yes. The have to and want to is a big one. The have to and want to is a big one. I think for parents that there's like, if we look at our list of things that we do, there's not much that we do because we want to. Most of them at some point are because we have to do them. And that's a problem.

SPEAKER_00

00:14:39

Right. Because the bigger question is, do you really have to do it or do you just feel like you have to do it? And are you doing things just because everybody else is doing things? You know, when we have eight-year-olds in travel soccer teams, is it because they want to do that? Or is it because we feel like they're falling behind if they're not traveling every weekend because their friends are all on it? And do they love that? And how does it impact our family life and schedule?

SPEAKER_01

00:14:58

It's too much to try to pack into, you know, a day. And for parents that are far from the basic with their kids, and they're not going to be able to do it,

SPEAKER_00

00:15:04

they're going to be like, oh, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. And they're going to be like,

SPEAKER_02

00:15:09

oh,

SPEAKER_01

00:15:10

I'm going to do this. And they're going to be like, oh, I'm going to do this. And for parents that are far from the basic with their children right now, and even with themselves right now, where would you start? What would be the first steps?

SPEAKER_00

00:15:23

It really depends on each family.

SPEAKER_00

00:15:25

Like what comes easier to each one of them. But I find that just being able to make a switch from stopping to buy any energy drinks, soda, juice, just have water in your house. Is one of the easiest steps to take. It requires no money either. Like you're going to save money by not buying the other stuff. Just have water. And, you know, most kids, especially now in school, and parents really should too, have your own reusable water bottle. And you can kind of carry it everywhere with you. That is normally the easiest step to take in order to do something positive. And then the next one is to really be like, okay, at night, what time are we shutting down this house? What time are we kind of saying, like everyone should be in their rooms, no devices, because that's a big one. Your child should not have their device in their room. And I know they're going to fight you on that. So the earlier you start that, the better. But they should not have a device in their room.

SPEAKER_02

00:16:24

That's a hard one.

SPEAKER_01

00:16:26

And I would say it probably got way harder since COVID. The use of technology that I think most families lost the control of. The use of technology during COVID. The older the kids, the harder it was to take back that control after COVID.

SPEAKER_00

00:16:45

Absolutely. And, you know, I say at some point you're going to have to give up that control. Like when they're off in college, you have zero say over that.

SPEAKER_00

00:16:50

You're done. But while they're in your house and they're younger, they really need their sleep. They can't be on FaceTime until two in the morning on a school night. It's not healthy. And it's also not okay for them to be woken up by a friend's crisis in the middle of the night. They are not a crisis line. And when we let our kids have their devices in their room, we are actually putting them in a very bad situation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

00:17:16

Yeah. And that's true that at some point they will call each other. They see that as a real emergency.

SPEAKER_00

00:17:24

But I know so many kids are playing crisis counselors on the phone with their friends in the middle of the night. It's not okay. They're not going to handle that. No, definitely not. And that's a big problem for sure.

SPEAKER_01

00:17:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

00:17:34

Just that all in itself is a complete episode. But I think that's even more true than it was at some point, because back in the days we would have heard the phone ring in the middle of the night. Right. Which is not the case. Now that's not how it is.

SPEAKER_00

00:17:54

So, and again, parents need to be modeling this. My phone goes on Do Not Disturb every single night. Yeah. And my kids know that. Unless one of them is sleeping out of the house, then I'll leave it on. But besides that, my phone's on Do Not Disturb. Yeah. Mine is

SPEAKER_01

00:18:12

still there, but their phone can go through the Do Not Disturb at all times. Right.

SPEAKER_00

00:18:18

Right.

SPEAKER_01

00:18:20

There's only theirs and my parents, for example. They can go there in the emergency section.

SPEAKER_00

00:18:26

Yes. You could put your favorites. Yeah. But that's important for parents to be showing their kids, like I prioritize my sleep. Nobody needs me in the middle of the night.

SPEAKER_01

00:18:38

No. Unless it's a real emergency.

SPEAKER_01

00:18:40

And then they'll find you. Yes, definitely. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_00

00:18:45

It's basics.

SPEAKER_01

00:18:47

And it's kind of simple. I would say not necessarily all the time, but yeah, going to water again and sleep, which is a big one, I think. And I would say, and I hear that again and again, and I'm doing that too, lots of parents will go to bed late because it's the only time that they can have me time, basically. I think that's a big one, too. That is a big one. And again, that comes back to like,

SPEAKER_00

00:19:15

are you just over scheduled? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

00:19:17

If you don't have any time in your day to do that, it's because

SPEAKER_01

00:19:20

probably you have too much in your day. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

00:19:26

So we've become just too busy and

SPEAKER_02

00:19:30

too much pressure on these kids as a

SPEAKER_00

00:19:30

society altogether and just a really unhealthy lifestyle. And I think that all combined is really leading to the mental health issues that we have. And I think that all combined is really leading to the mental health crisis that we are seeing in these kids. And it is a crisis. I've never seen it this bad in 20 years of practice. Of course, COVID did not help at all. Anyone who was like hanging on got pushed right off during COVID.

SPEAKER_01

00:19:54

Yeah. And I think in the mental health world, we never really came back out of that. The system and the people in it were on the edge and it just pushed everybody on the other side of the edge.

SPEAKER_00

00:20:10

It really did. Mental health was not great before COVID and it's horrendous during and even after still.

SPEAKER_01

00:20:16

Yeah, I do remember I was working in a hospital, so we were still working. And I remember at some point it was like, when are people going to go and mental health leave for a few months? It was not even if. It was a when at some point because everybody working there was leaving for a few months because nobody was able to do it anymore with their work and the kids at home. And it was just too much. But I think we all said at that point that we would reevaluate everything. But we came back to normal plus more after it.

SPEAKER_00

00:20:55

We did. We jumped right back in.

SPEAKER_01

00:21:00

The big reflection that everybody was having didn't really last long.

SPEAKER_00

00:21:05

It didn't. Everyone really enjoyed the downtime and all the family time and the lack of the schedule and then they just jumped right back in.

SPEAKER_01

00:21:13

We didn't do a real society change. And so can you tell us a little bit more about the books that you referenced during the episode?

SPEAKER_00

00:21:23

Yes, both of my books are on Amazon. I have mental health uncensored 10 foundations every parent needs to know. And that is the book that goes through all the foundations and how to build them up in your house. And then I just came out with my second book, which is mental health uncensored 10 foundations. Every teen needs to know. And it's a workbook for the teens. And it takes them through how to make these changes within a 30 day period. Because if we can get a good habit going for 30 days, we're going to be kind of good to go. So it helps them track their water consumption. Why do you need the water? That way it's not just the parents telling them all the time why you need this. You know, it's why do you need this? Why do you need to sleep? Why do you need to eat well? Why do you need boundaries?

SPEAKER_00

00:22:07

And then how to track all of this. It's also goes into friendships and friendship circles. There's different levels of friendships. And sometimes it's really hard for kids to understand that. That not everyone's going to be all in for you. And that's OK and normal. So who's your inner circle? Who's your outer circle? What are your expectations for all of these friends? That way you're not setting yourself up for disappointment. Friendships are really hard for teens. Yes. Yes. So this workbook was really written for 13 and up. But really, I mean, parents should be using it too. 13 and up. That's what you said. 13 and up. Yeah, 13 and up. There's no limit on the age. It really does help you. And with the picky eaters as well, I addressed that in the book too. And it's like, OK, what do you think you might want to try?

SPEAKER_00

00:22:55

What do you think looks like a healthy day for you in terms of eating? Because I want to give them that power that they're doing it and that they're invested in it.

SPEAKER_01

00:23:05

So I think basically the book for parents is for parents of kids of any age, but then for teens that won't listen to their parents anyway. You put the knowledge in their hand. That's better.

SPEAKER_00

00:23:18

And they do like owning that and having that power and knowledge. And the kids become really proud of themselves when they make these types of changes. And exercise especially, like when they get into a good exercise routine, that's just for them. That makes them feel good.

SPEAKER_00

00:23:32

They get really proud of themselves.

SPEAKER_01

00:23:34

Yeah, yeah. Good. So before we finish, is there anything you would like to add that we didn't touch, Dawn?

SPEAKER_00

00:23:42

I think my biggest takeaway message is to know that you can feel better. Your kids can feel better. They can have a more stable mood. It really does come back down to foundations. And what you said in the beginning that we're constantly putting out fires is correct. But when we get back down to the foundations, we're going to have less fires coming up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

00:24:02

And even if our kids have something else like neurodivergence or trauma or anxiety, it won't all go away, but it will make things easier to deal with.

SPEAKER_00

00:24:14

It will make everything so much easier.

SPEAKER_01

00:24:18

Yeah. Yeah. So it doesn't mean it's a magic trick, but it still means it's going to make things easier. And then you can at least take that part out and you can't work on the rest, but you have part of it that should be getting better. So

SPEAKER_00

00:24:32

you have less to deal with. What I tell everybody is that there is no way you are going to feel well if you're not eating good, if you're not sleeping, and if you're dehydrated, and if you're not moving your body. It's not going to happen.

SPEAKER_01

00:24:43

Yeah. And I can definitely vouch for the fact that if I don't eat, I'm definitely cranky. For

SPEAKER_00

00:24:49

me,

SPEAKER_01

00:24:50

that's automatic. I need to eat protein three times a day and sometimes more than that, because otherwise I have no patience. So dealing with a kid that is in a meltdown when you have no patience because you're hungry, it doesn't go well. It doesn't.

SPEAKER_01

00:25:06

Not at all. Is there any resource that you found helpful in your parenting journey or that you share often with your clients that you would like to share?

SPEAKER_00

00:25:18

My biggest resource, I think, is that you need to be able to connect with a community of parents. And there are so many online resources, meetups, Facebook parent groups. You have to build your tribe because you're all in it together. And I think for me especially, that was the most helpful thing. And I've made really great friendships and we're able to rely on people. I think in the beginning of being a new mom, it's like, oh, I can't ask someone to give my kid a ride home from school. I could just do it and I could just fit it all in. It's like, no, just ask for help. We're all in it together. Just ask for the help. Build up your tribe so you have those people to say, hey, can you grab my kid today? Hey, can you carpool with me to lessen the load for yourself?

SPEAKER_01

00:25:59

Yeah, yeah, I think that's very important and very helpful for sure. And we forget that. We have a very individualized society.

SPEAKER_00

00:26:08

And it's impossible to do everything on your own.

SPEAKER_01

00:26:11

No, the saying, it takes a village to raise a kid, it might be overrated, but it's so true still. It

SPEAKER_00

00:26:18

really

SPEAKER_01

00:26:18

is. So if people want to work with you, know more about you. Where can they find you? Amazon for your books, but otherwise?

SPEAKER_00

00:26:25

Amazon for my books or my website has a host of information. It's Keri Cooper Holistic Therapy.com. And they go on there. And also I'm on Instagram at Keri Cooper Holistic Therapy.

SPEAKER_01

00:26:41

Great. We'll put all the links in the show notes so people can find you easily. Great. Thank you very much for being here today. That was very great to go back to basics. I definitely think I need to look at your workbook for my aunties.

SPEAKER_00

00:26:55

Thank you so much. It was so great being here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

00:27:03

I'm so glad you joined me today and took that time out of your intense life to focus on finding a new way to parent that works for you and your kids. To get the episodes as soon as they drop, make sure to subscribe to the podcast. And please left a rating and review so other parents can find it too. Also, check out all the free resources on my website at FamilyMoments.ca so you can take action on what's the most important for you right now. Take a deep breath. Keep going. We're all in this together.