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Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens

Casey O'Roarty

Welcome to the Joyful Courage Podcast - a place where parents of tweens and teens come to find inspiration, information and encouragement in the messy terrain of adolescence

This season of parenting is no joke - and while the details of what we are all moving through might be slightly different, we are having a collective experience.

This is a space where we center building relationship, nurturing life skills, and leaning into our own personal growth.

My name is Casey O’Roarty, I am a parent coach, Positive Discipline LEad Trainer, and captain of the adolescent ship over at Sproutable. I am also a speaker and published author. I have been working with parents and families for over 20 years and continue to navigate being a mom with my own two young adult kids.

I am honored that you are here… Please give back to the pod by sharing it with friends, or on social media, and rate and review on Apple or Spotify - work of mouth is how we grow!

Thanks - enjoy the show!

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#647
Yesterday · 31 min
Eps 679: Executive Function in High School
If your high schooler waits until the night before and pulls it off, or doesn't, this is for you. In part two of my series on executive function in high school, we look at what's happening in the teen brain and why the last-minute kiddo deserves a closer look. I walk you through repairing a homework dynamic that's worn thin, then handing over the wheel so your teen's systems become their own before they launch, including for kiddos with ADHD. For more info and show notes, go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-679-executive-function-in-high-school/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#678
October 27 · 34 min
Eps 678: Executive Function Middle School Edition
Your middle schooler can remember every word of a song they heard twice and still have no idea how long the science project will take. That's development. In this solo show, I dig into executive function in middle school, the brain's air traffic control system, and why the skills middle school leans on hardest are the last ones to develop. Ages 10 to 15 bring a rapid burst of growth, and our ADHD kiddos get there on a later timeline. For more information and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-678-executive-function-middle-school/ Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#651
October 20 · 49 min
Eps 677: Out-of-Control Teenagers with Scott Sells.
If your house doesn't look like the ones in the parenting posts, this one's for you. Dr. Scott Sells has spent 30 years with families parenting an out of control teenager. We talk about where typical teen behavior ends and extreme begins, and how we can unknowingly feed our kiddo's anxiety. Scott walks us through his 30-day positive teen report and why he has parents do dress rehearsals. We cover when it's time to call in a professional. Guest bio Dr. Scott Sells is the founder of two evidence-based treatment models, Parenting with Love and Limits and Family Systems Trauma, used by therapists across the U.S. and Europe. He holds a PhD and an MSW from Florida State, has taught social work at the university level, and is the author of three books, including Parenting Your Out-of-Control Teenager, which has sold more than 100,000 copies and is now out in a revised edition. He has spent 30 years with families at the hardest end of this work. He lives in Montana with his wife and twin sons. Find him at https://extremeteen.com/. Find more info and show notes at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-677-out-of-control-teenager/ Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#676
October 13 · 56 min
Eps 676: Amber Traina, Positive Discipline Today
Positive Discipline has been the book so many of us reach for since 1981, and now there’s a new edition. My guest Amber Traina, granddaughter of Dr. Jane Nelsen, worked alongside Jane on the revision and the new chapter on technology. We talk about why kind and firm sits at the heart of it and the difference between niceness and kindness. Amber shares the tech audit and why connection is what brings our teens to us when they mess up. Find more info and show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-676-positive-discipline-today Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
October 6 · 44 min
Eps 675: When Your Teens Grades Start Slipping
It's that time of year... The grade portal shows a pile of missing assignments, and taking the phone away feels like the only leverage you have. In this solo show I start in that moment with a teen who's behind in school, then work outward through the intentional ecosystem. We look at how your house runs and how connected you and your teen are, then at what you make those grades mean. I cover mistaken goals, executive functioning, natural consequences, and when to get help. For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-675-when-teen-grades-start-slipping Join the Living Joyful Courage Membership program now to take advantage of 30% off and the 6 week PD for parents of teens class. Go to ⁠www.besproutable.com/ljc ⁠and use code PODCAST30 at checkout. Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#653
September 29 · 50 min
Eps 674: Co-Parenting Boundaries with Amy Armstrong
You can do everything right and someone in your life can still make it hard. In this episode, I talk with Amy Armstrong, LISW-S, founder of the Center for Family Resolution, about co-parenting boundaries and staying grounded when another person's reactivity pulls you off center. Amy shares her own story of chronic conflict, why trying to understand a difficult person rarely brings the control we hope for, and her working definition of a boundary: what you are willing and able to do. We also talk about why doing more is often a fight-or-flight reaction, how to protect kids from conflict without pretending everything is fine, and when teens get a voice in parenting plans. Amy put together a free kit for Joyful Courage listeners, with co-parenting communication scripts, a five-minute nervous system reset, and a guide for boundaries that aren't working: podcast.thecenterforfamilyresolution.com/courage Find Amy at the Center for Family Resolution and on TikTok at Amy Armstrong Conflict Free. Learn more about this episode, sign up for our newsletter and find support for parents of kids of all ages at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-674-co-parenting-boundaries-with-amy-armstrong Join the Living Joyful Courage Membership program now to take advantage of 30% off and the 6 week PD for parents of teens class. Go to www.besproutable.com/ljc and use code PODCAST30 at checkout. Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#673
September 22 · 57 min
Eps 673: Stuart Slavin on Teen Pressure
Dr. Stuart Slavin has spent decades studying what pressure does to young people, and what he found flips the usual conversation. When he cut class time and letter grades at a medical school, depression and anxiety dropped by 80% and board scores went up. A few things from our conversation: → Teen mental health started declining long before smartphones → The average teen in his research sleeps six and a half hours → Maladaptive perfectionism is skyrocketing, in our kids and in us → "Pressure not to disappoint my parents" ranks higher than direct pressure from parents → Aim for the college your kiddo will graduate from For more info and show notes go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/teen-achievement-pressure-stuart-slavin/ Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#672
September 15 · 48 min
Eps 672: Letting Go of the Story
Three weeks ago I told you about the text I got in an Atlanta hotel room. Today I share what happened after I got home, what I tried, and what finally shifted. This is the third show in the series, and the one the others were building toward. We look at all four ecosystem questions at once, the narrative I didn't know I was holding, and the anchor word practice I still use. It's also the last time I'll tell this story. For more info and show notes go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-672-letting-go-of-the-story/ Immersion Week starts Monday, 9/21!! Get in there - www.besproutable.com/immersion Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#771
September 8 · 53 min
Eps 671: "Is This Normal? Teenage Behavior and What's Underneath It
Every parent of a teen has asked some version of this: Is this normal teenage behavior, or is something actually wrong? This week I go under your teen's closed door, attitude, screens, and secrecy. What's driving all of it is belonging, significance, and the private logic your kiddo is writing in real time. I share four questions that tell you where the trouble actually lives, honest signs that it's more than a season, and a three-step practice you can use tonight. For more show notes and info go to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-671-is-this-normal-teenage-behavior/ Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/joyful or use code JOYFUL and get 70% off your first year! To sign up for my Fall Immersion week, go to: www.besproutable.com/immersion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#670
September 1 · 40 min
Eps 670: Knowing Better Isn't Enough
I thought I knew everything about co-regulation and the nervous system when my daughter texted me from across the country to say she was dropping out. None of it was available to me. In this solo show I get into what happens when you flip your lid, why knowing better doesn't protect you, and the three things you can practice tonight so your body has the move loaded when the house isn't calm. This one starts with you, my friend. The teen years are REAL. You're going to appreciate this one. For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-670-knowing-better-isnt-enough/ Also, thank you to our current sponsor, HeyPolo. Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to ⁠https://heypolo.com/JOYFUL⁠ and use code JOYFUL for 70% off your first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#654
August 25 · 50 min
Eps 669: Margot Bisnow on Raising Entrepreneurs
This week I'm sharing a conversation I had with Margot Bisnow, who interviewed more than 70 families raising wildly self-driven kids. She went looking for a formula and found something more ordinary. We get into how to tell a real passion from checking out, and what parents do in the moments after their kid fails. She also tells the story of biting her tongue when her son left college halfway through. If you're white-knuckling your teen's path, my friend, this one's for you. Guest bio Margot Machol Bisnow is the author of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams, 99 Stories from Families Who Did, written after sitting down with more than 70 families whose kids grew into wildly self-driven adults. Before that she spent 20 years in government, including serving as an FTC commissioner and as staff director of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Her two grown sons found their own paths: Austin is a musician who founded the band Magic Giant and the folk duo Somewhere in Between, and Elliot founded the Summit conference series for young entrepreneurs and led the purchase and revival of Powder Mountain in Utah. When she isn't talking about parenting, she's traveling or with her family. For more show notes and info go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-669-margot-bisnow-on-raising-entrepreneurs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#668
August 18 · 38 min
Eps 668: Your 2026 Back To School Reset
I'm back from a couple weeks off and I'm fired up about the intentional ecosystem, the model I've been carrying around all summer. It's four layers, and you work them from the outside in: you, your relationship with your teen, your systems and routines, and the in-the-moment tools. This is my answer to the question I get more than any other, which is I know what I'm supposed to do, so why isn't it working? The school year is a real reset. Come listen, my friend. For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-668-your-2026-back-to-school-reset/ Get your updated Back to School Checklist here: bit.ly/teenchecklist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#667
July 31 · 43 min
Eps 667: Trish Gower on Regulated Leadership
Even if you don't run a business, you're running something. In this conversation with business coach Trish Gower, we talk about what happens when your nervous system is driving the car. Over-functioning, boundaries that actually hold, the mental load, and why "I don't have time" is usually a story we tell ourselves. If you're a parent of teens who's exhausted from holding it all together, this one's for you. Come listen. Guest bio: Trish Gower is the founder of Messy Minded Magic and a business coach for midlife women who are done being everything to everyone and ready to build something of their own. She grew a half-million-dollar e-commerce brand and has closed over a million dollars in coaching program sales. Her work centers on helping women get their nervous system out of the driver's seat so they can lead from a grounded place. Her message: regulate your mind, elevate your income. For more info and show notes: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-667-trish-gower-on-regulated-leadership/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#666
July 30 · 46 min
Eps 666: Robynn Powers - Food Without Rules
Our kids are watching how we talk about our bodies, and they're deciding what that means about theirs. In this episode I sit down with health and wellness coach Robynn Powers to talk about body image, food rules, and what gets handed down without us meaning to. We get into keeping food neutral, why restriction backfires with teens, and where to start if you feel like you've already blown it. Come listen. This one is tender and really useful. Guest Bio Robynn Powers is a health and wellness coach with a background in psychology and training as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and pre- and post-natal exercise specialist. She's been in the fitness industry for over twenty years. Using an intuitive eating-informed approach, Robynn helps busy moms step off the diet treadmill and rebuild trust with their bodies, trading rigid rules for nourishment, energy, and self-respect. She's a mom of four, and she believes that when moms feel good in their own skin, their kids tend to follow. For more info and show notes, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-666-robynn-powers-food-without-rules/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#665
July 28 · 54 min
Eps 665: Marriage and the teen years with Shilo Minor
Parenting teens has a way of surfacing everything we've been avoiding in our marriage. This week I'm talking with Shilo Minor about what happens when the connection thins out and you start feeling more like roommates than partners. We get into fawning, self-abandonment, boundaries that actually hold, and why the inner work is worth doing even when you're the only one doing it. If you love your person and still feel alone in the middle of the teen years, come listen. Guest bio: Shilo Minor is the founder of Your Real Life Love Story and the creator of the Real Love Method, a process that helps women build soul-satisfying marriages without couples therapy. Her heart is in guiding good women to break generational cycles of being emotionally neglected and taken for granted, so they can finally get the love, support, and affection they need from the partner they already chose. When she's not doing this work, you'll find her in the garden, in the sauna, or somewhere in the middle of a good conversation. She lives in rural Nova Scotia with her husband and their two small boys. For more info and show notes, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-665-marriage-and-the-teen-years-with-shilo-minor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#664
July 21 · 33 min
Eps 664: Parenting and launching your teen
In this solo episode, I answer a question from a mom whose oldest is heading off to college across the country. How do you show up for your kid in the months before and after they launch? I talk through letting them practice freedom before they go, keeping routines and contributions in place, holding the both/and of excitement and sadness, and setting up communication that actually works. If you're sending a teen to college soon, this one's for you. For more show notes got to https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-644-parenting-and-launching-your-teen/ To enroll in the Sexy and Regulated Mama Summit, go to https://bit.ly/sexysummit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#658
July 14 · 30 min
Eps 663: Moving through crisis without losing yourself
This week I'm getting honest about being in my own season of crisis and what it's teaching me about the fawn response, that fourth survival instinct after fight, flight, and freeze. If you've ever walked on eggshells with your teen or someone else you love, or have struggled to hold a boundary because you're scared of losing the relationship, this one's for you. I share the Adlerian roots of people-pleasing and a grounding practice called Think Tree to help you come home to yourself. Press play. Find more info and show notes at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-663-moving-through-crisis-without-losing-yourself/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#660
July 7 · 59 min
Eps 662: PART TWO of Teen Cannabin Use with Susan Notis
In part two of my conversation with parent coach Susan Notis, we move past the information about teen cannabis use and into what you can actually do about it. We get into regulating your own nervous system before you talk, communicating without slipping into lecture mode, and how to tell when a consequence is safe to let unfold versus when it's time to call in help. If your teen is using and you feel stuck, this one's for you. Guest bio Susan Notis is a certified parent coach and bestselling co-author of The Perfectly Imperfect Family. She wrote the chapter "The Silent Epidemic: Teen Marijuana Dependency" for Raising Teens Who Talk to You, which Casey also contributed to. With more than two decades of experience supporting children and families, Susan brings a whole-family lens to high-stakes challenges like teen cannabis dependency. She runs the Cannabis Conversation Circle, an online community for parents concerned about their teen's pot use, and her coaching program, Raising by Example. Find more show notes, links and all the things at: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-662-part-two-of-teen-cannabin-use-with-susan-notis/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#654
June 30 · 46 min
Eps 661: Diane Sorensen on Lifelong Motherhood
I loved this convo! My guest, Diane Sorenson shares what shifts when you stop performing motherhood and start treating it as a lifelong relationship. We talk boundaries as an expression of your truth, why holding a firm line is connection rather than its opposite, and how to stay steady when your teen is furious with you. If you've ever folded to make the bad feeling go away, press play. Guest bio: Diane Sorensen has spent over 30 years working with kids and families. A former teacher turned boundary and empowerment coach, she hosts the Chaos to Connection Podcast. Her daughter's mental health crisis at 17 became the catalyst that moved Diane from the "lens of good and right" toward the "lens of connection," work she now shares with parents everywhere. find more show notes and info at https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-661-diane-sorensen-on-lifelong-motherhood/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
June 23 · 58 min
Eps 660: Lori Petro on Obedience Culture
What if the way we treat our babies and teenagers could actually predict whether they grow up peaceful or violent? In this episode, I welcome back Lori Petro to dig into the buried research of Dr. James Prescott, the pull of obedience culture, and how shame around our kids' bodies and emotions shapes who they become. We get honest about parenting teens, sexual development, and choosing curiosity over control. It's messy, it's tender, and it left me hopeful. Come listen. Guest bio: Lori Petro is a writer, educator, and child advocate, and the founder of Teach Through Love. Her own experience growing up as a highly sensitive, neurodivergent kid in an abusive home ignited a lifelong mission to dismantle obedience culture and restore emotional intelligence to how we raise children. She created the Conscious Communication Cards to give parents real-world language that replaces punishment, shame, and control with connection. Her new video series, The Roots of Love and Violence, shines a light on the suppressed research of neuropsychologist Dr. James Prescott. For more info and show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-660-lori-petro-on-obedience-culture/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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