DeepSummary
The episode begins with Glennon Doyle introducing the topic of parenting, emphasizing its universal relevance even for those without children, as everyone was once parented. The episode features conversations and stories on various aspects of parenting, including biological, adoptive, and bonus parenting, reparenting oneself, and nurturing others.
Abby Wambach shares a personal story about her struggles with addiction and becoming a mother, highlighting the challenges and joys of early parenting days. The episode also includes insights from guests like Tracee Ellis Ross on rejecting societal expectations around womanhood and motherhood, and Michelle Obama on finding a sense of enoughness within oneself.
Dr. Becky Kennedy discusses the importance of repairing moments of disconnection with children, rather than just apologizing, and the impact it has on their self-perception and development. The episode concludes with a heartwarming story about Abby's bonus kids legally adopting her, showcasing the profound love and acceptance within their blended family.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Parenting is a universal experience that impacts everyone, whether they have children or not, as everyone was once parented themselves.
- Nurturing and parenting encompass more than just biological childbearing, extending to adoptive, bonus, and reparenting relationships, as well as nurturing oneself and others.
- Repairing moments of disconnection with children, rather than just apologizing, is crucial for preventing them from internalizing self-blame or self-doubt.
- Finding a sense of enoughness within oneself and one's family is essential for effective parenting and fostering resilience in children.
- Allowing children to experience failures and challenges, while providing reassurance and tools to overcome them, is a better approach than shielding them from all negative experiences.
- Societal expectations around womanhood and motherhood can be limiting, and it's important to challenge and expand these notions.
- Blended families can experience profound love and acceptance, as exemplified by Abby Wambach's bonus kids legally adopting her.
- Pendulum parenting, where parents overcorrect for their own childhood experiences, can lead to imbalances in parenting approaches.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “My attitude towards all that wasn't that it wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't feel like I was entitled never to experience that. But what I had was, I'll show you. I will show you, because I know what failure feels like. I know how to go home and get the reassurance that I need, and I will come back and I will prove all of you wrong. To me, that's a better tool than being hurt or being afraid or shying away from the negative things the world inevitably has waiting for our kids out there in the world.“ by Michelle Obama
- “I told Glennon she better not leave me, because now I'll take the kids. And in the moment, when I was listening to the kids read the letter, and then I opened the letter from the lawyers, of course, I immediately burst into the kind of cry, like, I don't know, it was like a primal cry. And I'm hugging the kids, and then I realize, oh, my gosh, Craig had to agree to this. So then I turn, and Glennon is sitting right beside me. Craig is sitting next to her, and I just, like, let go of the kids, and I grab both Glennon and Craig, and I just, like, wail into both of their arms.“ by Abby Wambach
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Episode Information
We Can Do Hard Things
Glennon Doyle and Audacy
4/12/24