Loading...

PODCAST

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments

Michelle Kenney, M. Ed

Are you sick of parenting with the ideas of yelling and shame and looking for something that feels better, is different, but still has a sense of boundaries and limits?Welcome to Peace and Parenting! Michelle is a former teacher, counselor, certified parenting coach, mom of two teens, recovering yeller, and perfectionist who parents without using punishments altogether. And guess what? It works! On this show, you’ll learn the how behind having kids who are entirely UNPUNISHED but who are also

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

24:12

The Back-to-School Reset

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/10/06

Back to school time. We brace the kids for a new teacher, a new schedule, and earlier wake times. We purchase the backpack and walk them through it, and tell them they can do it. But no one gives the parent any information about what is ahead. The earlier wake times are also yours. The forms, the pickups, and getting six things in before Friday. You have a hundred more decisions per day now compared to in July, and your own tank is getting low.When your child walks through the door and breaks down

en

20:13

What Punishments Really Do

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/09/29

Most of us were programmed to do the same things when children misbehaved. The time-out. Taking something away. The consequence. Nobody in that chain was a villain; they were tools passed down by people who loved us. And we were told they teach. That the time-out builds patience, the consequence builds responsibility, that in these little moments we're building character.But here's the real question. Did any of it actually work, or did it just get quiet for twenty minutes? Punishment is very

en

28:04

Your Teen Isn’t Pulling Away From You

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/09/22

Somewhere around eleven, twelve, thirteen, something shifts. The kid who used to tell you everything starts giving you one-word answers. They stop looking for you and wanting to spend time with you. The door that used to stay open is closed. And the thing that makes sense for us in that moment is the scariest one: my teenager is pulling away, and I'm losing them.I felt exactly that in my own house, and it's one of the many reasons I came to this work. But here's what I learned. The

en

16:10

Stop Saying "We Can't Afford It"

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/09/15

You're at the checkout, almost done, and your child grabs something and asks, "Can we get this?" And four words come out before you've even thought about them: "We can't afford it." It feels honest. Responsible, even. Like you're teaching them the value of money. Most of us say it without a second thought, because our parents said it to us.But that little phrase can quietly plant something much bigger. A child doesn't hear a temporary cash-flow issue. They hear

en

26:32

Your Toddler Is Doing Better Than You Think

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/09/08

We've been handed a story about toddlers. They're testing you. They're manipulating you. They're trying to win. And if you comfort them too much, you'll raise a spoiled kid who runs the house. So the advice comes fast and hard in these years: don't pick them up so much, don't negotiate, let them cry it out, show them who's in charge.That story is wrong, and it's aimed at you hardest right now, because the toddler years are when fear sells best. A two-year-old on

en

20:13

There's No Such Thing as a Perfect Parent

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/09/01

When you lie awake at night, what do you replay? Not the hundred things you got right that day. Not the lunches, the drop-offs, the bedtime story you were too tired to read but read anyway. You replay the one moment you lost it. The snap. The raised voice. The look on their face. And you carry it like it's the whole story.Most of us believe that guilt is proof we're good parents. That our mistakes need to be paid for. That if we ever forgive ourselves, we'll stop trying. But it works the

en

19:31

Kind and Firm: Hold a Boundary Without Losing Connection

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/08/25

We were told boundaries and connection sit on opposite ends of a dial. Slide toward strict and you get control but lose warmth. Slide toward gentle, and you get closeness but lose the floor. So we spend our days inching back and forth, guilty when we're too hard, exhausted when we're too soft, certain we have to pick one.Here is what Peace and Parenting coach Tim learned by raising four kids, after getting it wrong in both directions. Connection and a boundary were never on the same dial. A

en

29:44

Case Study: What If You're Already Enough?

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/08/18

Most of us carry a quiet belief that we have to be everything for our kids. If the other parent isn't showing up the way we wish they would, we tell ourselves it's on us to fill every gap. To be the nurturer and the rough-and-tumble one. To make up for what they didn't get, so they never feel the lack we felt. And we run ourselves into the ground trying.In this conversation, Mary, a mom of three, brings Michelle exactly that ache. She feels responsible for holding every role, and

en

23:54

Your Kid Doesn't Need Two Houses That Agree, They...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/08/11

We've all been told the same thing. Kids need consistency above everything else. The same rules, the same bedtime, the same consequences in every home they live in. So when the other parent won't get on the same page, we panic. We send the articles. We lecture. We build the case. We pour ourselves into a fight we were never going to win, and we call it love.But here is the truth. Your child is not destabilized by two different sets of rules. They already know the rules at school are not the

en

10:16

Rewards Are Punishments in Disguise

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/08/04

For years, I thought I was doing everything right. I had left the yelling behind. I praised my girls constantly; I made star charts. I was a trained teacher and a school counselor, and I believed with my whole heart that catching kids being good was the kind, positive way to parent. I thought I was building my daughters up. What I could not see was that I was quietly teaching them that my warmth was something they had to earn.The thing that cracked it open for me was watching my sensitive oldest,

en

18:38

Play Instead of Punishment

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/07/28

When your child is being hard, what is the first tool you reach for? A countdown. A consequence. A lecture. A raised voice. Almost every one of those is a version of the same instinct: when my child gets hard, I get harder. It makes complete sense, because that is exactly what we were taught to do. In this episode, I am making the case for the opposite. The single most powerful thing you can do in your hardest parenting moments is not bring more pressure. It is to bring more play.I know exactly what

en

20:34

Your Neurodivergent Child Doesn’t Need a Different...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/07/21

When Cammie's son began struggling with school, anxiety, and sensory challenges, she heard the same message so many parents hear: maybe he needed a different approach. But instead of abandoning connection, she leaned into it, and watched something remarkable happen.In this episode, Coach Cammie shares her family's journey, from heartbreaking school drop-offs to the moment her son was finally ready to walk into school on his own. Together, we explore why neurodivergent children don't need

en

24:37

Your Child is Not Disrespectful, They Are Dysregulated.

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/07/14

For years, I believed that when my daughters pushed back, they were being defiant. Then one afternoon at the American Girl store, my youngest daughter had a public meltdown that completely changed the way I understood children's behavior and my role as a parent.In this episode, I'm sharing why behavior is communication, not defiance, and how learning to read the message beneath your child's actions can transform your relationship. I'll walk you through the mindset shifts and

en

18:16

Breaking the Cycle: How to Parent Differently Than...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/07/07

If you've ever caught yourself saying the very words you swore you'd never say to your child, you're not alone. I've been there too. In this episode, we’re sharing why breaking generational parenting patterns isn't a matter of trying harder or having more willpower. It's about recognizing the blueprint you inherited and learning how to write a new one. Through personal stories, research, and years of coaching parents, We’ll help you understand why old reactions surface so

en

18:30

The Quiet Child Nobody Worries About: What's Actually...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/06/30

Most of us were raised to believe that a "good" child is a calm child, who does not push back, does not melt down, does not make the adults around them uncomfortable. We have spent generations praising children for the absence of need. But the absence of need is not the same as the absence of pain. There is a kind of child (and you may have one in your house right now) who looks easy from the outside. But underneath, she is doing a job. She is scanning the room. She is reading your face when

en

18:02

The Hidden Cost of Emotionally Immature Parents (And...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/06/23

Many of us grew up in homes where emotions were dismissed, mistakes were punished, and children learned to manage the feelings of the adults around them. As parents, we often recognize those patterns intellectually, but recognizing them and changing them are two very different things. In this episode, Michelle explores the long-term effects of growing up with emotionally immature parents and why awareness alone isn't enough to break the cycle.In this episode, we share the practical work of

en

18:38

Why Calling Your Kid "Difficult" Changes Who They Become

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/06/16

Somewhere along the way, maybe out loud, maybe just in your own head, you started calling one of your children the difficult one. The intense one. The spirited one. The one with the issues. And you love them, of course you do. But quietly, where no one can see, you have wondered if something is wrong with them. Or with you. Or with both of you. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone, and there is nothing wrong with you. This is one of the most invisible patterns in modern parenting, and it takes

en

14:48

The Manipulation Myth: What's Really Happening When...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/06/09

I had been told the same story since I became a mom: “children are manipulative”, “They do that on purpose”. I believed it. I bargained and threatened, my daughter melted down harder, and the wall between us got higher. I had been told kids push their parents because they want the power, so I tried to take the power back. It didn't work. It actually never works, because that is not what is really happening,In this episode, I'm walking you through what is actually happening. We'll cover

en

12:29

Why Your Child Listens to Everyone But You (And What...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/06/02

Why does my child listen to everyone but me? I remember being there myself. I was a teacher and counselor for thirteen years before I had kids, and I could not get my own oldest daughter to cooperate for five minutes. I thought, I am trained for this. What is wrong with me? Nothing was wrong with me. And nothing is wrong with you.The truth is, what most of us were taught about cooperation is wrong. Cooperation isn't something you demand, it's something you grow. In this episode, I'm

en

21:11

What You're Doing to Keep Them Safe Is Making Them...

Peace and Parenting: How to Parent without Punishments ·

2026/05/26

The week before my oldest daughter left for college, I caught myself reorganizing her room, repacking her bags, sending her articles she didn't ask for. And I realized standing in her doorway one night, she was ready. She had been ready for a long time. I was the one who wasn't ready to let her go. What hit me hardest wasn't the goodbye. It was the recognition that for years, I had been fighting the same quiet battle inside myself: the pull to manage, the pull to control outcomes, the

en

166 results

Similar Podcasts

கதை நேரம் | Tamil Kids & Family Bedtime Stories

Bhargav Kesavan

Short Stories for Kids: Bedtime ~ Car Time ~ Downtime

Short Stories for Kids

Peace of Mind for Pet Parents: Navigating Life With Aging or Ill Pets

BrightHaven Caregiver Academy

Dad V Girls After Hours

The Fellas Studios

Popular Bedtime Stories

Aram L