The Happy Human Life

Are you struggling to manage screen time in your household? Wondering how much is too much for your kids? In this episode, we explore the often asked question, "How much screen time is appropriate for my kids?" and we share our personal experiences and tips on finding the right balance. The American Academy of Pediatrics provides guidelines and limitations, but like many parents, we often find that screen time can be a valuable tool. Whether it’s bonding over a family movie or using a kid-friendly show to keep them occupied while we handle essential jobs, screens can play an important role in our daily parenting practices. It's all about setting limits while also being flexible and understanding the needs of your family. ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

“I’ve heard about helicopter versus free range parenting and I’m having a hard time finding a balance. How much freedom should we give our kids?” In this episode, we dig into the world of parenting styles as we discuss helicopter vs. free-range parenting. If you're struggling to find the right balance of freedom and guidance for your children, this one's for you! We start off with a quick overview of what helicopter parenting and free-range parenting involve, and then discuss how much freedom is too much. We dive into the challenges of balancing control with independence, and how to tailor your approach to best suit your kid's age and maturity. You’ll gain practical tips on how to be supportive of your kid’s interests and self-expression without overstepping, learning how to model flexibility, acceptance, and support. Let's dig in! ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this episode, we dive into a topic that every parent grapples with: kids testing boundaries. We discuss the challenging moments when our kids push limits and how we should respond to them. Is constant kindness and support realistic? Should empathy and understanding be unconditional? We all face those tough parenting moments when our kids are confrontational or are just getting under our skin and it's natural to wonder if we need to maintain a facade of “perfect” patience and understanding. Whether you’re a new parent or have been in the trenches for years, we provide insights into managing and understanding our kid’s boundary-testing behaviors. Let's dig in! ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this "burning question" episode, we remind ourselves that our young children are still in the process of developing a slew of skills, so even though they don’t always follow directions immediately, we need to approach these situations with patience and empathy. We discuss the importance of first connecting with your child, spending a few minutes in their world before expecting them to engage in yours. Our goal is to move away from traditional fear-based parenting and towards more connection-based parenting. But what does this look like in practice? We provide actionable tips like breaking tasks down into small, manageable steps, as well as offering choices to tap into their innate need for autonomy and control. Whether you're struggling to get your child up in the morning or battling the dreaded bedtime resistance, we’re here to help! ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this "burning question" episode we talk about how we can ease sibling rivalry and dial up the sharing. We dig into why being a bit possessive is totally normal and how to gently steer our kids toward more sharing. We encourage cooperative play (think fun stuff like building forts and playing board games) to build the skills of turn-taking, teamwork, compromise, and flexibility. Also, we share how we should lead by example (i.e., model the behaviors we want to see) and set clear family expectations around the concept of sharing. ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this "burning question" episode we dig into the common (yet challenging) area of preschooler behavior. If you're struggling with your 3-year-old's emotional rollercoaster, just know… you're not alone! It's totally normal to feel overwhelmed when our little ones are pushing, hitting, or roaring, but our first major takeaway… Let’s forget the idea that your kid needs “fixing”... and instead… let's focus on how we can adapt their environment to better meet their needs. We share our own toddler’s journey at preschool where some simple adjustments transformed his experience and also discuss the power of co-regulation (e.g., offering calming activities and support to guide them through their storms). ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this "burning question" episode, we share strategies to nurture your kids' self-esteem. We discuss how we need to first validate their feelings while promoting a growth mindset that encourages effort and perseverance. From specific praise to modeling confidence and resilience, we share our practical tips that’ll help your child develop a more positive self-image like engaging in confidence-boosting activities and the importance of celebrating small wins to promote self-efficacy. ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Come explore all of our self-paced workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this "burning question" episode, we discuss common triggers that lead to sibling conflicts and offer practical strategies to support your kids (and yourself) during these challenging moments. It's important that we reframe these conflicts as opportunities for learning rather than viewing our kids as being "mean". Understanding that they're still developing conflict resolution skills can help us approach these situations with a bit more empathy and some much-needed patience. When we’re in the middle of a conflict, the most important thing that we can do is stay calm, and as we like to say, “stay on their team”. We need to remember that their emotional regulation and problem-solving skills will be lacking in the moment, so we should focus on helping them regulate their emotions instead of assigning blame or dishing out punishments. Proactively, we can model what collaborative problem-solving looks like by engaging in cooperative activities that promote teamwork and communication. By practicing “getting on each other's team” in low-stakes situations, we'll be helping them build the skills of flexibility and compromise that they’ll need to resolve conflicts throughout their lives. ✨ Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Access all our interactive workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, you’ll better understand how to guide your family through smooth transitions using the following three tips: Tip #1: Establish Predictable Routines Tip #2: Communicate and Explain Tip #3: Involve Your Kids in the Decision-Making ✨Looking for more support? Come grow with us in The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community. ✅ Come explore all of our interactive workshops, live virtual meetups, and group chat threads free for 7 days! Tap here to learn more. Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this video we dig into a common concern among parents who grew up in homes where yelling was the norm and offer practical strategies to break the cycle of yelling. By acknowledging how we were raised and understanding the triggers that set us off, we can begin to move beyond our default emotional reactions and better show up as the calm and supportive parents that we want to be. We offer strategies for managing outbursts in the heat of the moment, but also touch on what we can do proactively to make it so those outbursts happen less and less. Let’s break free from the cycle of generational yelling! Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Access our interactive workshops, live virtual meetups, and support threads within our membership community! Tap here to join us free for 7 days! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this "burning question" episode, we talk about the underlying causes behind our kids’ angry expressions, emphasizing that it's not about defiance but rather a lack of developed communication skills and immature brains (specifically the frontal lobes). We discuss how to initiate a mindset shift, which is crucial for maintaining your composure during these kinds of heated moments, and dig into the power of modeling calm communication to set the tone. We discuss the concept of co-regulation and the importance of validating your child's feelings in order to help them feel seen and heard. This will calm their nervous system which is likely in “fight or flight” mode. But we don’t stop there. We discuss actionable steps to help them develop better communication skills proactively, like using play to simulate challenging situations and practice how to use alternative responses that will help them develop the skills they need to self-regulate. Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Access our interactive workshops, live virtual meetups, and support threads within our membership community! Tap here to join us free for 7 days! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

In this “burning question” episode, we discuss effective strategies to prevent our kids from lying by first understanding their motivations for lying and fostering honesty by creating a safe and supportive environment. When we can discover why our kids are lying, we can address the root causes behind their behavior. If we can create a nurturing home environment where we explicitly show that honesty is valued and mistakes are accepted, we’ll strengthen our bonds with our kids which will encourage them to be truthful. Ideally, we want to avoid punishments, and instead, focus on building trust and connection. Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Access our interactive workshops, live virtual meetups, and support threads within our membership community! Tap here to join us free for one week! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

Let’s all better understand how to begin parenting as a team while recognizing our shared family goals and values as well as meeting each others’ needs. The three actionable tips that we share in this episode are: Tip #1: Schedule Team Chats Tip #2: Define and Divide Responsibilities Tip #3: Prioritize Each Others’ Self-care Needs Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

7. Stop Yelling and Find Your Calm We’ll dig into 3 Actionable Tips that’ll help us all better manage our emotions so we can show up as the calm and regulated parents that we want to be. Tip #1: Discover Joyful Movement Tip #2: Practice Mindfulness and Mind-body awareness Tip #3: Develop Time Management Strategies Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, we’ll all better understand the techniques we can use to support our family’s mental health using the following three actionable tips: Tip #1: Model and Nurture Emotional Regulation (12:17) Tip #2: Establish Routine and Predictability (29:00) Tip #3: Foster Growth Mindset and Resilience (38:15) Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, we’ll all better understand what it means to create a positive home environment. We’ll discuss how we can cultivate a supportive and nurturing space for all family members using the following three actionable tips: Tip #1: Develop mutual respect through modeling (9:58) Tip #2: Build a family community by establishing values (21:06) Tip #3: Nurture positive connection by practicing gratitude (34:42) Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, we’ll all better understand how to replace punishment with connection so we can engage in emotionally intelligent discipline using these three actionable tips: Tip #1: Foster connection by Teaming Up with Your Child (18:23) Tip #2: Discover the problem by Playing Detective (26:16) Tip #3: Problem Solve by Co-creating Solutions (33:38) Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, we’ll all better understand what it means to build resilience in our kids and be able to apply the following three actionable tips to help nurture our families emotional strength and coping skills: Tip #1: Grow their emotional vocabulary through modeling (12:38) Tip #2: Calm the storm through co-regulation (24:35) Tip #3: Be consistent by maintaining healthy boundaries (37:36) Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, we’ll all better understand our kids' tantrums, emotional outbursts, and meltdowns, and be better able to manage them by putting into practice the following three actionable tips: Tip #1: Connect through validation (7:20) Tip #2: Empower them with choice (13:16) Tip #3: Be proactive using five-minute play (19:20) Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg

After listening to this episode, we’ll all better understand what we can do to better manage our stress and overwhelm by putting into practice the following three actionable tips: Tip #1: Reduce demands by learning on your support system (10:13) Tip #2: Balance responsibilities by establishing boundaries (22:17) Tip #3: Experience self-care by finding joy in everyday activities (30:21) Get your “Happy Human Freebies” at happyhumanlife.org Looking to be a part of our membership community? Become a member here! Thanks for listening. 🙂 -Jenilee and Greg