Empowered to Connect Podcast

The Empowered to Connect Podcast a place where we come together to discuss an attachment rich, healing centered approach to engagement and well being for ourselves, our families and our communities.

Empowered to Connect Podcast is a kids podcast hosted by Empowered to Connect, with 262 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Empowered to Connect hosts Empowered to Connect Podcast, a kids show with 262 episodes published.

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  Episode #244

  [E244] Redefining the Parent Report Card with Nicole Barlow

  Aug 11, 202655 min

  What if the parent report card you've been grading yourself on this whole time was never actually yours to fill out? Episode summary bullets: Nicole Barlow, longtime foster and adoptive mom and one of our Cultivate Connection facilitators, shares how she went from feeling like a "rockstar" foster parent to realizing she was in way over her head. Why the peer-to-peer model at the heart of Cultivate Connection matters: none of us are exempt from putting these tools into practice in our own homes. The weight of being watched. Nicole opens up about neighbors, strangers, and offhand comments that shaped how she saw her own parenting. How Nicole's understanding of Scripture around obedience and discipline shifted over time (a perspective she shares from her own faith journey). Redefining success: from "my kids are compliant" to "does my adult child still call me, even from a hard place?" Why a compliant kid isn't always a regulated kid, and what Nicole wishes she'd noticed sooner in her own home. Dysregulation isn't disobedience: a look at fight, flight, freeze, and fawn, and why repair matters more than perfection. Nicole and Jesse's honest conversation about social media, comparison, and the images of parenting we quietly measure ourselves against. Nicole's closing encouragement for any parent white-knuckling their way through this season: "It's not yours to carry." Resources mentioned: Cultivate Connection On-Demand course: https://empoweredtoconnect.shop/products/cultivate-connection-on-demand Connecting Practices Handbook: https://empowered-to-connect.myshopify.com/products/connecting-practices-handbook-ebook-spiral Timestamps: 00:00 – Meet Nicole Barlow and her foster and adoptive journey 09:53 – From "I've got this" to feeling completely in over her head 18:13 – Faith, obedience, and the pressure of what other people think 26:31 – What "successful mom" used to mean to Nicole, and what changed 33:08 – Why her most compliant kid taught her the most about trauma 39:07 – Redefining success as relationship, not response 48:36 – Nicole's word for any parent white-knuckling it right now Connect line: Find more trauma-informed parenting tools and connect with our community at http://empoweredtoconnect.org or follow along on Instagram @‌empoweredtoconnect. Chapters (00:00:05) - Empowered to Connect: Nicole Barlow on Foster Parents (00:03:22) - How to Train the Trainer (00:10:07) - Coming soon: Learning to Love Yourself (00:10:31) - What Made You Feel Bad About Your Parenting? (00:19:21) - Anglicans on Parenting (00:26:46) - Paula on Being a Successful Parent (00:35:59) - Fight or Flight: Dysregulation and How to Support It (00:39:10) - What Does That Look Like to Be a Successful Mom? (00:41:20) - "So Much of Success Is Staked on Connection With My Child (00:48:38) - It's Not Your Parents' Report Card

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  Episode #243

  [E243] The Risk of Winning

  Jul 28, 202656 min

  Ever notice how a bedtime standoff, a backtalk moment, or a flat-out refusal can turn into you against your kid? Jesse sits down with Mo & Tona Ottinger for an honest look at what happens when parenting starts to feel like a competition, and why "winning" a moment can quietly cost you the relationship. This one includes real, unfiltered stories (including a New Year's Eve bedtime battle that's now family legend) and a simple mindset shift that changes how you handle the next hard moment. What we cover in this episode Why parenting can start to feel like you're on opposite sides of the net from your own kid, and how to get back on the same team The difference between winning an interaction and being "rightly related," and why the second one matters more long term A real, unfiltered bedtime story about doubling down that went sideways (and the do-over that followed) What to do when your expectations and your child's needs are out of sync, especially with kids who struggle with big behaviors A simple practice for slowing the moment down mid-conflict so you can respond instead of react Resources mentioned Cultivate Connection On Demand : ETC's parenting course, referenced for its "before, during, and after" framework Connect with us Have a question or topic you'd like us to cover? Send your idea to info@empoweredtoconnect.org Chapters (00:00:00) - The Risk of Winning in Parenting (00:05:49) - On Winning and Losing (00:09:15) - What Does It Look Like to Support a Child's Bedtime Sleep (00:15:07) - How to Be Right All the Time with Your Child (00:17:52) - How To Approach a Parent's Bedtime (00:26:20) - Alexandra on Collaborative Parenting (00:35:25) - The Importance of Helicopter Parenting (00:43:00) - Slow Down With Your Child (00:50:51) - Slow Down in the Moment

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  Episode #242

  [E242] Torn From the Root: Rhonda Roorda on Honoring the Voice Within

  Jul 14, 20261h 26m

  Some books change the way we see. Rhonda Roorda's In Their Own Voices did that for countless adoptive families, including our own here at ETC. In this episode, Rhonda returns to walk us through her debut memoir, Torn from the Root , and the four questions at its center: who was going to get hurt, what was it going to cost, who would be held accountable, and what hope could there be for repair. It is a tender, unflinching conversation about transracial adoption, the voice of the child within, and what it really takes to belong. Listener-care note : this episode includes honest discussion of trauma, abuse, and mental health within the context of transracial adoption. In this episode Why Rhonda turned the lens on her own story after decades of documenting others, and what it meant to listen to the little girl within her The four questions from her memoir that frame the whole conversation The history most adoptive families never hear, from the 1970 National Association of Black Social Workers statement to the research that shaped current policy How everyday language and labels shape a child's sense of identity and worth The difference between celebrating a child's culture and simply living near it A family "blueprint" approach to belonging, where every member is honored and advocated for What repair actually requires, starting with an honest audit of ourselves How nurture, in ETC terms, shows up in our words, our attention, and our follow-through Resources Torn from the Root: A Memoir of a Black Transracial Adoptee by Rhonda M. Roorda (Temple University Press). Pre-order available now, releasing July 2026. In Their Own Voices , In Their Parents' Voices , and In Their Siblings' Voices , the landmark trilogy Rhonda co-authored with Dr. Rita J. Simon In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption , Rhonda's award-winning solo work Rhonda M. Roorda's website: https://rhondamroorda.com Context referenced in the episode: the 1970 National Association of Black Social Workers position on transracial adoption, and the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994 with the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 Chapters (00:00:04) - Rhonda Rorda on Transracial Adoption (00:07:12) - Transracial Adoption: A memoir (00:13:48) - Rhonda on Transracial Adoption (00:16:48) - Who Is Being Hurt in Transracial Adoption? (00:24:43) - In the Land of Adoptees: Language (00:28:53) - From A Commodity to the World (00:30:49) - Othering Transracial Adoptees (00:37:15) - What Would It Have Been Like to Experience A Real African Family? (00:46:40) - Adoption advocates speak out for equity (00:47:47) - Adoptees Speak Out About the Transracial Adoption System (00:53:59) - African American culture in the Netherlands (00:59:07) - Transracial Adoptions: The Need for Nurture (01:05:02) - Torn from the Root Review (01:12:53) - Telling My Story of the Transracial Adoption System (01:19:11) - From Here to Eternity (01:22:47) - Rhonda's Empowerment to Connect: Where Do We Go

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  Episode #241

  [E241] The Consequences of Consequences

  Jun 30, 20261h 7m

  You said it would be the last warning. You meant it this time. And somehow you are standing in the hallway with your voice raised, wondering how you ended up here again. If consequences have quietly become your first move, and you are starting to suspect they are not actually working, this conversation is for you. What we cover in this episode Why a consequence is so often the first thing we reach for, and what that reach is usually really about What a quick consequence shuts down: the curiosity, the teaching, and your child's chance to learn what to do instead The difference between a punishment mindset and a loving limits mindset, and how each one handles power How the Faris and Ottinger homes actually deal with mistakes now, including the "consequence" the Faris’s friends could not believe was real Small, doable first steps if you want to lean on consequences less, starting with one question you can ask yourself in the moment Resources mentioned Cultivate Connection (the on-demand parenting course where the Collaboration module lives): https://empoweredtoconnect.shop/products/cultivate-connection-on-demand Connecting Practices Handbook (ideas for giving voice, choices, and compromises): https://empoweredtoconnect.shop/products/connecting-practices-handbook-ebook Chapters (00:00:00) - Nick Ferris on Empowered to Connect (00:01:58) - Questions about Consequences in Parenting (00:09:48) - Jesse on Contribution to Consequences (00:15:16) - What Happened When You Changed the Way You Parent Your Kids (00:21:19) - Do Parents Need To Complain About Mistakes? (00:28:46) - What Kind of Consequences Should Parents Have for Their Kids? (00:34:42) - The Limits of Parental Communication (00:37:58) - What is a Punishment Mindset and a Loving Limit Mindset (00:39:36) - The Loving Limits vs Punishment Mindset (00:45:37) - When You Can't Get What You Want (00:46:47) - How to Talk to Your Child About Consequences (00:52:56) - What Do I Want My Children To Remember About Their Childhoods? (00:57:02) - How to Civillate Connection in Parenting (01:00:22) - Closing Thoughts On The Nick Podcast (01:01:38) - Reclaiming the Preciousness of Our Children

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  Episode #239

  [E239] Replay Let's Talk About Lying with Robyn Gobbel

  Jun 2, 202649 minS0

  <p>Why do kids lie, even when the truth would have been easier? This week, we’re replaying an oldie but a goodie: Let's Talk About Lying with Robyn Gobbel. Lying is usually about fear and felt safety, not character. This one will change how you respond.</p> <h3>Chapters</h3> (00:00:04) - Summer Survival Kit(00:01:29) - Robin Goble on Lying(00:04:08) - We Only Lie Because It's Okay to Tell the Truth(00:10:29) - How to regulate the stress brain(00:14:49) - Don't Ask Your Child If He Did or Didn't Take Out(00:20:57) - Talking About Lies With Kids(00:26:30) - When Your Child Li...

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