Connected Families Podcast

Listen in as Connected Families Co-Founder Lynne Jackson and Christina Spaeth-Harrer, pediatric occupational therapist, share their expert insights on improving family sleep. From managing bedtime routines to incorporating sensory-friendly activities, Christina and Lynne offer practical tools for common sleep challenges. They also discuss the importance of emotional connection and integrating faith to build healthy sleep habits. You’ll feel equipped and encouraged to help your family rest well. Mentioned in this podcast: Transform Bedtime Struggles into Nighttime Snuggles (Sleep Ebook) – Free Download Psalm 46:10 Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! We invite you to join the transforming work God is doing in families across the globe. Donate to Connected Families today! Got a second? Rate the podcast on your favorite listening platform! Guest Bio: Christina Spaeth has over 20 years of experience providing sleep consultation, holistic, sensory integration, developmental, and aquatic occupational therapy. She has worked in a variety of settings, including clinics, schools, group homes, foster care and home care, and private practice with children and adults. Christina lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children. You can learn more about the services she provides on her website.

Are you a teacher working to create a nurturing classroom environment while managing behavior well? Whether you teach in a school or volunteer at church, this conversation is for you. Dr. Cindy Wilson, Partnership Program Manager at Connected Families, and Maggie Rocke, a kindergarten teacher, and Connected Families Certified Parent Coach, join us to explore how to effectively apply the Connected Families Framework in the classroom. Maggie shares practical applications for the classroom while Dr. Wilson explains how the 4 messages of the Framework can build resilience in students and address underlying issues they may experience. We’re excited for you to hear how the Connected Families Framework can transform classrooms. Mentioned in this podcast: Discipline That Connects in the Classroom LIVE webinar December 2nd – Register today–it’s FREE! Ministry Partnership Program – Register for a Discovery Session to learn more Framework Posters PDF (5 posters in all) ABCs of Affirmation Matthew 12:34 Galatians 6:1 Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! Give a gift to Connected Families and support transformation in families around the world. Help others discover the Connected Families Podcast–take a second to rate the show on your favorite platform. Guest Bio: Cindy Wilson, PhD., CFLE, is a Certified Connected Families Parent Coach and a Certified Family Life Educator with 20+ years in ministry and academia. She helps churches and other organizations integrate the Connected Families Framework into their communities. Cindy lives in Florida with her husband of 31 years. They have three adult children, one son-in-law, one grandson, and a farm full of animals. Cindy’s specialties include leading parenting workshops on the Connected Families Framework and other topics, training children’s ministry volunteers, helping churches integrate trauma-informed practices into their ministries, and organizing church-based foster care ministries. You can find out more at http://www.familylifesolutions.org. Maggie Rocke is a Connected Families Certified Parent Coach and teaches kindergarten at a Christian school. This is her 11th year in the classroom, having previously taught kindergarten, special education, and preschool. She loves utilizing the Connected Families Framework in the classroom and encouraging other teachers to do the same. She and her husband have an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old at home.

Dr. Nicole Wilke joins us to talk about what it takes to raise kids who can overcome everything from daily challenges to childhood trauma. Nicole discusses nurturing resilience by reframing challenges positively and the importance of fostering your child’s connection with God. She emphasizes modeling resilience for your kids and integrating resilience-building moments into your daily conversations and chores. Listen in to grow your understanding and feel equipped to help your kids become “overcomers” ready to face life’s challenges. Mentioned in this podcast: Overcoming: What Scripture & Science Say About Resilience by Dr. Nicole Wilke & Dr. Amanda Hiles Howard Connected Families Partnership Program Free webinar: Discipline That Connects in the Classroom Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! Were you inspired by this podcast? Donate to Connected Families today! Take a moment to rate and review! Guest Bio: Nicole Wilke, Ph.D., is a researcher, missionary, author, and marriage and family therapist dedicated to improving care for vulnerable children and families globally. She currently serves as Director of the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ Center on Applied Research for Vulnerable Children and Families, bridging research and practice to improve care for vulnerable children and families around the globe. Her passion for this work stems from her family’s experience with adoption and fostering. Having lived on four continents, Nicole currently resides with her family in Peru, where they work to improve the system for children in alternative care. The Quick Guide for Parenting It’s parenting made clear with biblical wisdom to better equip you to lead your family with grace. GET THE GUIDE The Quick Guide for Parenting It’s parenting made clear with biblical wisdom to better equip you to lead your family with grace. GET THE GUIDE

Join us for a powerful conversation with Jim and Lynne Jackson about raising resilient children. They encourage you to focus on the process and long-term perspective of building character and identity rather than focusing on the result of the task at hand. Whether you’re dealing with homework struggles or life’s bigger challenges, you’ll feel equipped with hope and purpose to nurture resilience in your children. Mentioned in this podcast: Blog post: Know a Child Who Gives Up Easily? James 1 Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! Were you encouraged by this podcast? Donate to Connected Families today! Take a moment to rate and review! Guest Bio: Jim and Lynne Jackson are the Co-Founders of Connected Families in Plymouth, MN. With over 50 combined years of professionally helping families and a love for working in the church, Jim and Lynne have been dedicated to bringing reliable, God-centered, research-based parenting resources to all families since 2002. Whether you’re just learning the Four Messages of the Framework or have been at it for years, the Parenting Reminders Bundle can help you parent the way you want to parent! GET YOUR BUNDLE NOW!

You may have heard our exciting news: The Connected Families podcast has reached an amazing milestone – two million listens! 🎉 We’re touched by how many of you have tuned in from across the US and around the world over the past five years. Thank you for listening and sharing with others who could use a little parenting encouragement. Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! Were you encouraged by this podcast? Donate to Connected Families today! Take a moment to rate and review!

Author and artist Ruth Chou Simons chats about life with God, and her first children’s book, Home Is Right Where You Are. Ruth shares insights on pursuing God’s grace daily and passing it on to our children, emphasizing the importance of reminding kids that their true home is with Jesus. She explains how you can have meaningful faith conversations, using her book as a starting point, and encourages you to nurture your heart with God’s grace to guide your children toward their home in God. Mentioned in this podcast: Home is Right Where You Are Foundations – Family devotional by Ruth & Troy Simons Ephesians 2:8-10 Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! Your donation makes this podcast possible. Make a donation to Connected Families today! Take a moment to rate the show and help others discover The Connected Families podcast! Guest Bio: Ruth Chou Simons is a Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author of several books and Bible studies, including her new children’s book, Home is Right Where You Are, Beholding and Becoming, TruthFilled and Now and Not Yet. She is an artist, entrepreneur, podcaster, and speaker, using each of these platforms to sow the Word of God into people’s hearts. Through social media, and her online shop at GraceLaced.com, Simons shares her journey of God’s grace intersecting daily life with word and art. Ruth and her husband, Troy, are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure. https://ruthchousimons.com https://www.instagram.com/ruthchousimons/ https://www.instagram.com/gracelaced/ https://www.facebook.com/gracelaced https://www.pinterest.com/gracelaced/ gracelaced.com Whether you’re just learning the Four Messages of the Framework or have been at it for years, the Parenting Reminders Bundle can help you parent the way you want to parent! GET YOUR BUNDLE NOW!

David and Amanda Erickson, co-authors and Certified Parent Coaches, explore parenting through a Jesus-centered lens. They discuss integrating faith with modern neuroscience to create nurturing environments for children. The duo highlights the importance of balancing biblical teachings with contemporary challenges, like technology use. They also delve into gentle parenting, advocating for compassionate authority over punitive measures. Listeners gain practical tools to foster family growth and community support.

In this episode, Jim and Lynne Jackson talk with Ruth Wharton about the transformative power of “do-overs.” They unpack how this practice mirrors the gospel by encouraging us to give ourselves grace, seek forgiveness, and mend relationships. They share the simple steps involved and how do-overs grow and evolve as your children do. By modeling grace and humility through do-overs, you can start to transform the culture in your home today. Mentioned in this podcast: Discipline That Connects online course – Register Today! Romans 2:4 Acts 3:19 1 John 1:9 2 Corinthians 7:10 Romans 10 Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! We are a listener-supported podcast. Make a donation to Connected Families today! Help others find grace-filled parenting tools! Share this episode with a friend or rate the show on your favorite platform. Guest Bio: Based in Malvern, Worcestershire, Ruth Wharton is the first Connected Families Certified Coach in the UK. She is a mum of five and has a background in primary school teaching. She works part-time for a local charity supporting people with autism. Ruth worked alongside her husband for twelve years as they looked after 60 teenage boys in an English boarding school. She is passionate about parenting with grace and unconditional love. The Connected Families Framework has united her and her husband in the challenge of simultaneously raising our teenagers and toddlers. She’s loved seeing the benefits of connected parenting shape each of her children to become more confident, happy, and emotionally secure. You can find out more about coaching with Ruth at: https://connectedfamilies.org/listings/ruth-wharton/. Ready to dive in and learn more about the Framework? Our 8-session online course, Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart will guide you through each level of the Framework. If you’re looking for a grace-filled way to parent, this course is for you! Parent with Confidence Discipline with Love Take the 8-session online course Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart . REGISTER NOW!

When faced with your child’s misbehavior, it’s tempting to focus on their weaknesses: poor emotional regulation, lack of self-control, or dishonesty. But what if you could see beneath these struggles to recognize the God-given strengths hidden within? At Connected Families, we affectionately refer to these strengths as “gifts-gone-awry.” Listen in as Connected Families Co-Founder Lynne Jackson sits down with 22-year-old Lucy Browning and her parents, Ted and Jill. Together, they share how identifying and nurturing Lucy’s “gifts gone awry” transformed her challenging behaviors into shining strengths that now bless others. Their story will encourage and inspire you. Mentioned in this podcast: Lucy’s Graduation Speech – Chaska High School 2020 (speech begins at 21:11) Luke 16:1-8 Sibling Conflict online course Parent Coaching Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! Your donation makes the podcast possible. Make a donation to Connected Families today! Help others find grace-filled parenting resources – Take a moment to rate and review! Guest Bio: Ted and Jill raised their three daughters in Minnesota, where Jill is an elementary school teacher, and Ted is a mechanical engineer. They are adjusting to life as empty nesters this fall. Their eldest daughter, Lucy, graduated from Wheaton College last spring and now lives in the Washington, DC, area. The Brownings are all about road trips and enjoy a good podcast! Ready to dive in and learn more about the Framework? Our 8-session online course, Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart will guide you through each level of the Framework. If you’re looking for a grace-filled way to parent, this course is for you! Parent with Confidence Discipline with Love Take the 8-session online course Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart . REGISTER NOW!

Have you ever noticed bad behavior increasing the more you attempt to quell it in your child? You might be facing a situation of payoffs, accidental rewards or misplaced “focus fertilizer.” In this episode, Chad Hayenga and Jim Jackson unpack how parents often react and unintentionally reward undesired behavior. They demonstrate how shifting from frustrated reactions to genuine engagement can transform challenging moments into opportunities for connection and growth. Mentioned in this podcast: Discipline That Connects online course – Join or Lead a Small Group! Discipline That Connects online course – Special Pricing for Individuals James 1:19 James 3:13 Romans 2:4 Check out our website for more resources to support your parenting! We are a listener-supported podcast. Make a donation to Connected Families today! Take a moment to share this episode with a friend, or rate the show on your favorite listening platform. Guest Bio: Jim and Lynne Jackson are the Co-Founders of Connected Families in Plymouth, MN. With over 50 combined years of professionally helping families and a love for working in the church, Jim and Lynne have been dedicated to bringing reliable, God-centered, research-based parenting resources to all families since 2002. Chad Hayenga joined Connected Families in 2005. He is married to Carma and has three adult daughters and two sons-in-law. Chad oversees coaching and the Parent Coach Certification Program, which continues to grow in its reach across North America and worldwide. Ready to dive in and learn more about the Framework? Our 8-session online course, Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart will guide you through each level of the Framework. If you’re looking for a grace-filled way to parent, this course is for you! Parent with Confidence Discipline with Love Take the 8-session online course Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart . REGISTER NOW!