Just getting back from another amazing camping trip with Miranda Leitsinger’s Family Adventure Squad and wanted to share a Parenting by connection moment. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do when our child is crying… is nothing. ❤️ Well, not nothing. But maybe a lot less than we think. While playing with his awesome camping friends my son had a little fall. He was crying HARD. Instead of asking a million questions, trying to distract him, or rushing to make it better, I simply opened my arms. He fell into them and cried. I held him and said, “I’m right here.” After a few minutes, he showed me his scraped hands. We got some Band-Aids, and off he went to play. A few minutes later, he pulled off the Band-Aids and announced, “I’m feeling better!” Here’s what I love about this moment: He got to experience something incredibly important: 💛 I can feel something really hard. 💛 Someone can stay with me while I feel it. 💛 I can move through it and be okay. This is how children begin to develop emotional regulation. Not by being talked out of their feelings, but by having the safety and connection to move through them. In Hand in Hand Parenting, we call this Staylistening. And it’s one of five powerful tools that help us navigate everything from tantrums and hitting to power struggles and everyday parenting overwhelm. And the best part? We don’t have to be perfect parents to use them. Tomorrow (Monday!) at 12 PM, I’m hosting my next Little People, Big Feelings Parent Club! It’s a small, supportive group (just 6 parents max!) where we bring our real-life parenting struggles, learn practical tools, and support each other in putting them into practice. Because parenting was never meant to be done alone. ❤️ ✨ Drop in for one group, try the membership free for two weeks, or join our 3-month deep dive for ongoing support. Comment “FEELINGS” and I’ll send you the details! And I’m curious: When your child is really upset, what’s hardest for you — staying calm, resisting the urge to fix it, or knowing when to hold a limit?

Little People, Big Feelings Parent Club meets Monday 10/5 at 12pm PT on Zoom. Bring your real-life parenting questions and struggles — from how to bring more play into parenting, to what to do when your child is melting down, tantruming, resisting, or having big feelings. This is a small, supportive drop-in space for parents of kids under 10 to feel less alone, get practical Hand in Hand Parenting tools, and leave with more connection and confidence. You don’t have to do this alone. Come get support. REGISTER HERE: https://luma.com/o4vpef6j

Parenting can get so serious. We’re trying to set limits, get out the door, manage meltdowns, stop sibling fights, get teeth brushed…and somehow stay regulated ourselves through all of it. But one of the most powerful tools we have with our kids is something they already know how to do: PLAY. ❤️ 🍕🍷 Join us THIS FRIDAY for Pinot, Pizza & Playful Parenting! Nauser and I are hosting an in-person evening for parents where we’ll eat pizza, enjoy some wine (or a non-alcoholic drink!), connect with other parents, and actually play together. We’ll show you how playful parenting can help turn frustrating, stuck moments into opportunities for connection, cooperation, emotional release, and learning. This isn’t a lecture about how to be a “better” parent. It’s a chance to experience what happens when we bring more connection, warmth, humor, and play into the moments that usually make us want to pull our hair out. Pinot, Pizza & Playful Parenting 📅 This Friday in Orinda ❤️ With Karen Wolfe, LMFT & Nauser Wolfe, LMFT REGISTER HERE Can’t make it Friday—or ready to dive deeper? I’d love to have you join me for the next 90-Day Little People, Big Feelings Parent Cohort, beginning October 5. This is for parents who want more than a few good parenting tips. Over 90 days, we’ll practice changing what actually happens in those hard moments with our kids. We’ll explore how to: ❤️ Stay connected when your child is melting down, refusing, hitting, or pushing every button you have 🧠 Understand what’s happening in your child’s brain and nervous system when emotions take over 🤝 Set limits while protecting connection 🎈 Use play and laughter to release tension and build cooperation 🌱 Work with your own triggers so you can respond more intentionally 💛 Create the kind of relationship with your child that you want to carry into the years ahead Your membership includes: ✨ Live calls every other Monday at 12 PM Pacific

Last Chance to Enroll in my Hand in Hand Parenting Professionals Intensive: 8 week course Tuesdays 11am-1pm Sept 22 - Nov 10 Zoom Video Conference $135 per week One spot left! Includes: 22CEU's 4 Months of ongoing support after the course Forever access to the course videos and reading materials Ability to market yourself to lead a Hand in Hand Parenting Resource Group "When I am supporting a family, I discuss the importance of listening to and empathizing with children’s feelings. As a parent, this is hard to do if your cup is already running on empty.It's just as important for you as a person and as a parent to have some listening time to vent about all of the frustrations and challenges in your life. What I mean by venting is what it's defined as in the dictionary, the expression or release of a strong emotion, energy, etc. Parenting is both beautiful and challenging. You don't have to hold it all on your own. You can create what hand in hand parenting calls a Listening Partnership” -Jerrica Danhoff, LMFT in OaklandParticipant in Karen’s Hand in Hand Parenting Professionals Intensive "The kind of listening I got through the Hand in Hand Professionals Intensive training was so different than any other kind of therapy or healing modality I'd experienced before. It was so fully embodied, so permissive of all of who I am, and left me feeling more resourced to meet the challenges of day to day life, relationships, and holding for others in therapy. It's my number one way to work through difficult feelings and situations of all kinds now and don't go more than a week without it! This kind of listening is different than what we are taught as therapists, mothers, teachers and it really takes learning it from the inside to be able to teach it to others.There is something magical about helping parents learn to get real deep listening support from other parents in our overly-individualistic advice-ridden society."- Karen Wolfe, LMFT Certified Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor