172: You Are Not A Sh*tty Parent with Carla Naumburg

Are you a shitty parent?

Or do you ever think you might be?

Parenting today is so hard, and there are so many models of 'perfect parenting' available on social media that we can compare ourselves against that provide 'evidence' that we're not doing it right.

Things can get even more difficult when we believe in respectful parenting, because we have a model for what we know we want parenting to be like - and every time we fall short of that ideal, the voice is there:

"You don't know what you're doing."

"You'll never be able to do it right."

"You're a shitty parent."

My guest today, Carla Naumburg, is the author of the bestselling book How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids, which was conveniently released just before a global pandemic started when we suddenly all started losing our shit with our kids.

Now she's back with a new book: You Are Not A Sh*tty Parent which helps us to understand:

Where these stories about ourselves come from
How we can stop believing these stories
Ways to treat both ourselves and our children with more compassion


Carla was kind enough to send an advance copy of the book to a member of my community who said that she would read a sentence in it and think:

“But you don’t know me; I actually AM a shitty parent!”...and then in the next sentence it was almost like Carla had read her mind and was prepared to address the member's precise concern. So if you ever feel anxious about your ability to parent in a way that's aligned with your values and think it's all about your failures, Carla has ideas to help.

Please note that some swearing is inevitable when you're talking about Carla's books but apart from that the conversation was remarkably restrained on the language front!

Carla Naumburg's Books

You Are Not A Sh*tty Parent

Affiliate link to How to Stop Losing Your Shit With Your Kids (Affiliate links)

References

Yarnell, L.M., Stafford, R.E., Neff, K.D., Reilly, E.D., Knox, M.C., & Mullarkey, M. (2015). Meta-analysis of gender differences in self-compassion. Self and Identity 14(5), 499-520.

Jump to Highlights

01:53 Introducing today’s guest0

02:52 Exploring various types of struggles in life and parenting and the importance of distinguishing between them

08:54 Discussing self-compassion, distinguishing it from what it isn't

14:18 Exploring the difficulties of practicing self-compassion in a world of constant comparison and negative self-talk

20:07 Recognizing thoughts, acknowledging the separation between ourselves and our thoughts

29:57 Fostering compassion by first being kind to yourself, speaking compassionately to your kids, and adjusting your self-talk about them

40:06 Embracing the ever-changing seasons of life helps us release unrealistic expectations, find gratitude in the present, and accept the natural flow of experiences

44:53 Balancing compassion with power is essential for a just society

50:05 Self-compassion as a lifelong journey, not a destination

56:50 Wrapping up the discussion