Your Kids Don’t Suck: Cultivating Closeness with your Kids through Non-Coercive, Conscious Parenting

• Repressed Memories and Childhood Sexual Abuse with Abigail Gunn

  Disclaimer: This episode includes discussion of sensitive topics, including abuse, sexual abuse, and childhood sexual abuse. Although there are no explicit descriptions of child sexual abuse during the episode, please take care of yourself as you listen. If this content feels overwhelming or triggering, we encourage you to pause or take a break. Your safety and well-being matter more than anything we share here.In this potent and deeply personal episode, Cara and Rythea sit down with Abigail Gunn, MsEd, LMHC, LPC, licensed therapist and founder of People Make Sense. Abigail is changing the way we talk about childhood trauma, dissociation, and recovery—with compassion, sharp clarity, and a commitment to truth.This conversation explores how parenting can become a powerful catalyst for facing your trauma. Abigail shares how having children of her own helped surface repressed memories, and how her time in Al-Anon played a key role in awakening her from long-standing dissociation.Rythea also shares her experience of retrieving her own repressed memories through dreams, writing, and reenactment in therapy. Together, Cara, Rythea, and Abby explore what happens when a child is forced to choose between their own humanity and the perceived humanity of the adults around them. They discuss how trauma shapes the developing brain, and how dissociation becomes a survival strategy that can last long into adulthood.Key Topics:Childhood trauma as a profound and formative experienceThe myth of “false memory syndrome” and its negative impact on survivorsTrauma as neurodiversity—and what it teaches us about the brainHow trauma interrupts development and distorts the crucial stage of reality testingThe weaponization of attachment, care, pleasure, and love performed by perpetratorsParenting as a trigger and pathway to memory retrievalReclaiming self-worth by placing responsibility on abusersThe body’s role in healing and bringing forth memoriesAbigail shares how recovering memories of her own childhood sexual abuse led her to challenge dominant narratives in psychology, including the myth of “False Memory Syndrome.” She brings a fierce softness to the conversation—grounded in lived experience—and reminds us that trauma is not a disorder, but a normal response to harm.Get to know Abigail Gunn and People Make Sense https://peoplemakesense.comFollow Abigail Gunn on Instagram & TikTok @people.make.senseSupport YKDS https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuckSupport the podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuckWe (Rythea and Cara) are white, cis-gender, straight, middle-class women living with financial and societal privilege. Our perspectives are limited and do not reflect the realities of all our listeners. We’re committed to featuring guests who differ in gender, race, class, ability, sexuality, and lived experience in order to broaden this conversation and reflect more voices. 25% of proceeds from this podcast go to creators of color who have shaped our growth and healing.Rate & Review: Moved by this episode? Leave a review and help us reach more parents and survivors walking this path. Healing is possible—and no, your kids don’t suck.

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• We Are Frauds: How These Parenting Experts Fall on Their Faces Again and Again

  Cara and Rythea dig into how hypocritical they feel as parent advocates when they fall so short on their own commitment to staying loving. They have a good laugh and some deep process about how childhood wounds and unconscious aspects of self show up when they least expect it.They explore specific situations where they have worked hard to be different, but keep getting triggered into the same kind of reactivity. They brainstorm (and unravel) how the umbrella of non-coercive, collaborative philosophy keeps them grounded and afloat, even as they make constant mistakes.Cara comes clean about the bedtime triggers she faces with her daughter and how demoralizing her trauma responses make her feel. Rythea exposes how a mother-wound with her own parent blocks her from allowing her child to individuate gracefully. Together, they ask: how does the parenting approach we use bring us back to our hearts and playful connection with our children through the long haul? What does it mean to model a process for our children when we’re the ones unraveling? Key Topics:Feeling powerless or threatened by your child’s autonomyParenting from your wounded partsModeling emotional processing in real timeCreating micro-moments of connection, even in ruptureHonoring your child’s developing identity and valuesThe tension between belief and behavior in parentingIf you’ve ever wondered, Am I even doing this right?, this episode is for you. Cara and Rythea remind us that real parenting is messy—and that returning to connection, especially after rupture, is where the healing begins.Tools & Resources Mentioned:The EARS acronym: Empathize, Affirm, Relate, Support/SolveParts Work (Internal Family Systems)Co-counseling techniques for emotional processingBook a parent mentor session with Rythea: https://rythea.com/for-parents Check out Cara’s Relationship Toolkit: https://www.caratedstonetherapy.com/your-relationship-toolkit Support YKDS https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuck It’s important and essential to put our voices (Rythea and Cara) in a context. We are two white, cis-gender, straight, middle-class women living with financial and societal privilege. Because of this, our perspectives are limited and do not reflect the realities of all our listeners. This podcast will feature guests with expertise around conscious parenting who differ in gender, race, class, abilities, sexual orientation, and histories from us, to broaden the conversation and reflect the lives of as many people as possible. 25% of the proceeds of this podcast will go to creators of color who have been mentors and influences on our work and in our growth as parents.Rate & Review Share your thoughts! Your feedback helps us reach more parents looking to embrace collaborative, non-coercive parenting.

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• Parenting as an Act of Social and Racial Justice with Leslie Priscilla

  How is our parenting an act of resistance or compliance to larger systems that harm? How do we know if we are unconsciously carrying out patterns of oppression in our families? What does it look like to step out of what is expected of us and parent from ancestral values?In this episode, Leslie Priscilla shares how being raised by two Mexican immigrants and parenting her own bicultural children inspired her to create Latinx Parenting. She opens up about how parenting in the context of colonization and white supremacy has forced many families of the global majority to adapt their parenting in ways that stray from ancestral wisdom. We talk about how parenting philosophies like attachment parenting and homeschooling are often seen as white-dominated spaces, even though these practices existed in many cultures before colonization disrupted them.Leslie Priscilla is a Queer Neurodivergent Non-Black Xicana/Child of Mexican Immigrants with Rarámuri lineage. She’s a mama of three, a certified Parent Coach with over 16 years of experience, and the founder of Latinx Parenting—a movement rooted in the liberation of familias through nonviolence, reparenting, and ancestral healing.In this conversation, Leslie gets personal about how she has been raising her children and how her family follows a flow of collaboration and organic learning. She brings us into the heart of nonviolent parenting, based on the work of Ruth Beaglehole, and reminds us that "at the root of every behavior is a need that is seeking to be met." Key Topics:Colonization’s impact on parenting across generationsThe erasure of ancestral caregiving practicesNonviolent parenting as liberationParenting as an act of social and racial justiceUnderstanding every behavior as a need trying to be metParenting as a portal to self-healing and collective growthThis episode is a warm, powerful call to the collective healing work needed to liberate future generations—one parent, one family, one kid, at a time.Get to know Leslie Priscilla and Latinx Parenting https://latinxparenting.org/Follow Leslie Priscilla on IG @latinxparentingSupport YKDS https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuckIt’s important and essential to put our voices (Rythea and Cara) in a context. We are two white, cis-gender, straight, middle-class women living with financial and societal privilege. Because of this, our perspectives are limited and do not reflect the realities of all our listeners. This podcast will feature guests with expertise around conscious parenting who differ in gender, race, class, abilities, sexual orientation, and histories from us, to broaden the conversation and reflect the lives of as many people as possible. 25% of the proceeds of this podcast will go to creators of color who have been mentors and influences on our work and in our growth as parents.Rate & ReviewShare your thoughts! Your feedback helps us reach more parents looking to embrace collaborative, non-coercive parenting.

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• Re-release: She’s a Mom of 5 Kids. What’s Her Secret? Featuring Tanisha Henderson

  We heard you and you want to know: How the hell do you collaboratively and consciously parent when you have multiple kids?! Non-coercive, conscious mom-to-five, Tanisha Henderson is here to answer this question and SO MUCH MORE.The episode begins with Tanisha sharing her personal journey to becoming a conscious, collaborative parent. She discusses her inspirations, pivotal moments, and the transformative experiences that led her to embrace non-coercive parenting as her guiding philosophy. She shares how she has come to see each of her kids as a whole person, how she supports the relationships between her children, and guides the flow of a busy and focused household. Tanisha homeschools so her skills are especially impressive when talking about the dynamics of learning and growth. There is no way you will not learn something uplifting when listening to this episode!Tanisha's work extends beyond her own family - listen as she shares her experiences working with other Black families who face specific struggles and triggers that she is has tackled personally and now professionally. We were utterly moved and uplifted by Tanisha’s passion for her purpose and we hope you’ll feel the same!Find Tanisha on her Facebook page: "Kid Advice with Tanisha Henderson" https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095308454472Support YKDS https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuckIt’s important and essential to put our voices (Rythea and Cara) in a context. We are two white, cis-gender, straight, middle-class women living with financial and societal privilege. Because of this, our perspectives are limited and do not reflect the realities of all our listeners. This podcast will feature guests with expertise around conscious parenting who differ in gender, race, class, abilities, sexual orientation, and histories from us, to broaden the conversation and reflect the lives of as many people as possible. 25% of the proceeds of this podcast will go to creators of color who have been mentors and influences on our work and in our growth as parents.Rate & ReviewShare your thoughts! Your feedback helps us reach more parents looking to embrace collaborative, non-coercive parenting.

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• Healing From Toxic Parents with Josh Connolly

  In this powerful episode, Cara and Rythea sit down with Josh Connolly, bestselling author of It’s Them, Not You: How to Break Free from Toxic Parents and Reclaim Your Story. Josh has become a leading voice in the mental health world, known for his no-nonsense approach to healing family trauma and supporting those affected by parental alcohol issues and toxic parents.Together, they discuss the importance of simple, direct language when addressing painful family dynamics—and how that clarity can be life-changing for children. Josh opens up about becoming a father at a young age, and shares how he came to terms with his own traumatic childhood and how that has shaped both his parenting and sense of self. The conversation also explores somatic practices (aka: anything that brings you INTO the body) as a gateway to emotional connection, especially for those socialized as boys who were taught to disconnect from feelings.This episode could be especially powerful for parents who have struggled with male conditioning. Josh talks about self-protection and reactivity as a response to being raised male, being forced to shut down and mask, and finding intense relief from facing the lie and harm of that path.Key Topics:Understanding yourself as a highly sensitive personSupporting boys and men to feel and express their emotionsExplaining what somatic practices areHealing from toxic parents or a dysfunctional childhoodJosh’s grounded presence and emotional honesty offer an accessible invitation to anyone ready to rewrite their story or anyone dealing with a complicated and abusive past. Whether you’re a parent or an adult child looking to heal, this episode serves as both a resource and an inspiration to repair from a place of self-trust.Purchase Josh’s Book: https://www.joshconnolly.co.uk/ Follow Josh on IG @josh_ffwSupport YKDS https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuckIt’s important and essential to put our voices (Rythea and Cara) in a context. We are two white, cis-gender, straight, middle-class women living with financial and societal privilege. Because of this, our perspectives are limited and do not reflect the realities of all our listeners. This podcast will feature guests with expertise around conscious parenting who differ in gender, race, class, abilities, sexual orientation, and histories from us, to broaden the conversation and reflect the lives of as many people as possible. 25% of the proceeds of this podcast will go to creators of color who have been mentors and influences on our work and in our growth as parents.Rate & ReviewShare your thoughts! Your feedback helps us reach more parents looking to embrace collaborative, non-coercive parenting.

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