Ep 20 - We’re on A New Planet: Letting Kids Go, Letting Them Grow - I Hate You. What's For Dinner? | Lyssna här

There are many points in the course of our relationships with our kids when the dynamics will shift. That’s how it’s supposed to happen. But as parents, we don’t always realize or own up to the fact that we have relational needs that we’re trying to meet in our relationships with our kids.

So when shifts happen –– smaller ones like a younger kid wanting to spend more time with peers or big ones like a kid going off to college –– we’re not always great at separating how our behavior is serving ourselves and maybe not so much our children.

Not that we know anything about those experiences personally. Today, we’re having an off-the-cuff friend hang, talking about our big feelings about our changing relationships with our kids as Gillian’s kiddo gets more interested in friends and Rob’s eldest goes off to college, along with unpacking some of our personal neuroses, perspectives on what’s weird about being an only child, and what can happen when you’re an only child and a highly-sensitive kid.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

How becoming therapists entrenched some of our only child weirdness, and also forced us to figure out how engage with others and not take everything personally
The overlaps of being sensitive, only children, feeling like outsiders, and overthinking social interactions
Unpacking the hidden motives behind hyperfocusing on being a “good” parent and getting honest about our relational needs
How Gillian is navigating her feelings about wanting one-on-one time with her kiddo as he’s spending more time with friends
Why attuning to your kids and when they’re ready and able to talk is more important than any influencer’s list of essential conversations