This week, we’re digging into self-compassion—not just as an idea, but as a practice we’re actively building at home.

Our starting point: “We will teach you compassion by practicing compassion with ourselves first; then with each other.” Because if we want to raise kind, resilient kids, it starts with how we treat ourselves.

We each took Dr. Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion Test 💝 to see where we’re growing—and where we’re stuck. Greg thinks about self-compassion often, but practices it poorly. Danielle scored high on self-kindness and self-judgment. We talk through what that means and how we’re each working to shift.

Then we each designed a small experiment:

• 🟨 Danielle’s Pause Pass: a little laminated card she holds up when she’s overwhelmed. It’s her way of saying: “I’m not shutting down. I’m resetting.”
• 🧠 Greg’s Public Naming: saying out loud when he’s starting to veer off track, so he can catch himself before spiraling.

We also explore the difference between tender and fierce self-compassion, how our kids absorb the way we talk to ourselves, and why this modeling really matters.

Because the way we treat ourselves teaches our children how to treat themselves.

• 🎧 Listen to Episode 13: Compassion
• 💝 Take the Self-Compassion Test (under 5 minutes)
• 🟨 Make your own Pause Pass – a simple visual tool for “I need a moment.”
• 📘 Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown – where our definition of compassion begins

Courage usually gets the Gladiator treatment.
We picture epic battles, high-stakes wins, and shirtless heroics.

But in real life?
It’s not just about “being brave.”

This week, in Episode 12: Courage, we’re talking about what makes it possible for families to practice courage—not just in big moments, but to show up persistently courageous, day to day.

🧱 The Most Important Thing:

Courage needs scaffolding.
Kids don’t learn to be brave just because we tell them to. They learn it through preparation.

🧠 What We’re Learning:

🏗️ Deliberate practice builds confident action.
Whether it’s a spelling bee, a tough conversation, or a hockey tournament, we can rehearse for hard things—together. As Bill Belichick says: “Practice execution becomes game reality.”

🔁 Mistakes aren’t failure—they’re feedback.
From Peloton instructors to portfolio managers, high performers in every field know: You’re not winning every time. You’re learning. Federer only won 54% of the points in his career—and still won 80% of his matches.

🎧 In This Episode, We Unpack:

• Why “just be brave” isn’t enough
• How preparation turns into courage
• What it looks like to normalize mistakes at home
• Why we want our kids to stay in things long enough to get good
• The family cheer, family meetings, and other everyday ways we build a culture of courage

💡 Experiments We’re Trying:

• Roleplaying how to handle disappointment before it hits
• Naming acts of courage in family meetings
• Writing down the “misses” to normalize the process
• Helping our kids shift from outcome-thinking to process-thinking

✨ Favorite Quote:

📚 Further Reading:

• The Art of Winning by Bill Belichick
• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

🎙️ Episode 11: Worthiness

In our newest episode—Worthiness—we’re continuing our journey through Brené Brown’s Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto.

📜 “I want you to engage with the world from a place of worthiness.”

🌱 Worthiness = A grounded feeling and core belief that says, “I deserve to take up space in this world.”

This one hits close to home.

We have a child who is easygoing, adaptable, the family peacemaker. And yet—we’re learning that those same qualities can lead her to shrink. To accommodate. To keep the peace and stifle her wants.

So this week we’re asking:

How do we raise kids who believe they are worthy—without needing to be helpful, quiet, agreeable, or easy to love?

How do we help them trust that it’s safe to rock the boat and still belong?

🎧 In this episode, we talk about:

- How worthiness differs from loved and lovable

- Why adaptable ≠ low need

- The invisible ways some people learn to disappear—and how we as a family can support them in claiming space

Each person in our family deserves to know they don’t have to earn their place. They belong—not because they’re easy or exceptional—but simply because they’re here.