Mamas Tell Their Stories

Follow the Show

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Everywhere else

Today (for the first time ever!) I’ve invited a couple of mamas onto the podcast to tell their stories of taking the Emotionally Healthy Kids parenting class. 

I am so excited for you to hear straight from other moms who have been exactly where you might be right now. They’ll tell you all about why they signed up, their experience in the class and the impact it had on their parenting and beyond.

Be sure to listen to the full podcast episode to hear Nicole’s and Kristin’s stories in their own words.

Nicole’s Story

“If you could give your class to every parent ever, I think we actually could change the world for generations.”

When Nicole first found me, she felt like she was totally failing as a mom. Everything was a little out of hand and overwhelming, and she wasn’t showing up as the mom she wanted to be. 

She was trying to run a business, be a spouse, maintain friendships and care for herself…all while her daughter was starting to show some behaviors that Nicole wasn’t prepared for, like bedtime defiance and outbursts.

What she was doing wasn’t working. She was wasting her energy and upsetting her daughter even more. She wanted a better way, but she just didn’t have the tools. Like many parents I work with, she just wanted me to tell her how to get her kid to behave. 

Nicole’s first “aha” moment came when she learned to reframe her daughter’s behavior. Her daughter isn’t a bad or defiant kid. She’s having really big emotions. Nicole realized that she was having a lot of big feelings, too, and she wasn’t dealing with it. She was the one who had to do the work. 

The class shined a light on ways that she and her husband were showing up on default - generational things they hadn’t been aware of before. Now, they’ve shifted them into more intentional ways of responding, and it’s brought so much more peace to their household. 

The second big realization was that she was not taking good enough care of herself physically or emotionally, and it was impacting her ability to get regulated, stay regulated and help her child through her big feelings. 

She says, “As I have shifted a lot of that for myself, I'm showing up the way that I want to, and [it’s] magical, exactly how I want to actually be as a mom.” Learning how to connect with empathy for her child has given her so much more confidence. 

An unexpected result of the class is that Nicole has also seen her marriage improve because of the way she can regulate herself and tune in to how her husband is feeling.

Nicole says the simple structure of the 4-step Calm Mama Process, along with clear tools and scripts are what helped her make a change and share what she was learning with her husband. 

Her goal is for her daughter not to need a class like this when she grows up, because Nicole can learn it, practice it and do it now and teach her daughter these emotional regulation skills when she’s young.

“That's what I think is so beautiful about your model,” Nicole shares, “is we have room for our emotions as humans, which we all are (news flash!). And then there are still also strong boundaries, consequences when there need to be, lessons learned, but with much greater impact than any of the yelling or lecturing or frustration or blow ups were ever doing. And it's just so beautiful how it's impacted our family.”

Kristin’s Story

"Working with you…each time, I get more clarity. I feel more confident, empowered."

Kristin is a mom of five kids, ranging in age from 7-11, including twins and kids with sensory issues. She also owns and runs multiple small businesses, some of which are childcare centers and preschools. 

Despite her professional experience with early childhood education, Kristin struggled in parenting. It just didn’t come easy for her. She says she spent a lot of years being really frustrated and overwhelmed as a mom.

Before the class, Kristin experienced a lot of shame and guilt. She admits, “I’ve always felt like kind of a fraud…I’m the person who owns preschools. I’m working with kids, and I’m losing my mind at home with my own children.”

Parenting felt complicated, and as her oldest entered middle school, she was afraid she’d wasted too much time or spent her energy on the wrong things.

She’d read in parenting books before that she needed to be calm...but that just made her more angry because it wasn’t clear how to actually do it. 

The small group format in the Emotionally Healthy Kids course felt like a safe space to Kristin. It helped her see that she wasn’t alone. Other moms could relate to what she was going through, and she was able to learn from the other families in the group, too.

And the realistic, compassionate approach of the CALM step in the Calm Mama Process gave her practical, actionable tools to manage her stress response.

Now, she is more confident and able to connect to her kids. She knows what to do. It feels clear, simple and easy.

Her family has also benefited from more structure, smoother routines and transitions.

Kristin says that, in the past, talking to her friends or her husband about parenting often felt like “the blind leading the blind.” She needed a teacher she could trust to walk her through it.

As a busy mom and business owner, Kristin appreciated the simplified, easy-to-understand approach and time commitment of 1 hour a week for 6 weeks. She could show up, learn the material and immediately start applying and practicing it. 

“I feel like I’ve won the jackpot…I cracked the code. I spent so many years being frustrated and confused and really stressed out. And I think as I've gotten older, I've gotten wiser and realized, no - find your teacher and use those tools and just make it simple. So this really has been really wonderful.”

Will You Be Next?

There are two things that really stood out to me from Nicole’s and Kristin’s stories. 

The first was how much confidence they each had after taking the Emotionally Healthy Kids class. 

That feeling of not knowing what to do, how to handle challenging situations with your kids and not being sure if you’re doing it “right” is so exhausting. It makes you feel fatigued and confused, and you can’t show up the way you want to. 

Having a clear process and steps to follow, with personalized guidance for your unique situation takes away the uncertainty and confusion, so you can show up as the mom you wish you could be.

The other thing that struck me was how much these mamas believe that what they learned in the class is going to help their children long term. I loved hearing how inspired and hopeful these moms felt. This goes WAY beyond the 6 weeks of group classes. 

The transformation, confidence and hope that Nicole and Kristin shared is possible for you, too. You don’t have to be in the worst possible scenario for this class to take you to the other side of peace, ease, joy and having the family that you’ve always wanted.

If you connected with either of these stories…
If you felt compelled by the things that these amazing moms said…
If you had thoughts of, “Oh, that’s me,” or “I want that,” or “Wow, I didn’t realize it was so easy”...

Then I invite you to join us in the next round of the Emotionally Healthy Kids course. 

We meet as a small group, once a week for 6 weeks. I go through the whole Calm Mama Process, you can ask me questions directly and, after the class ends, you get to continue working with me for 6 months while you practice your new tools and skills. 

It’s a great way to get the foundation you need in order to create the peaceful home that you deeply desire, feel calm and confident in your parenting and have a clear plan that’s easy to implement. 

Click here to learn more and sign up. I would love to see you there.

You’ll Learn:

• Stories of two mamas from the Emotionally Healthy Kids course (in their own words)
• Their experiences before and after the class
• How what they learned has changed them and their families

Connect With Darlynn: 

• Learn more about working with Darlynn
• Book a call with Darlynn
• Sign up for love notes and learn about The Calm Mama Club at www.calmmamacoaching.com
• Follow me on Instagram @darlynnchildress for daily tips 
• Rate and review the podcast on Amazon