
How to Be the Parent You Never Had (And Why It’s the Hardest—and Most Important—Work You’ll Ever Do)
From After Bedtime with Big Little Feelings by Dear Media and Big Little Feelings
April 1, 2026 · 39 min
About this episode
This episode explores the challenges of parenting and the importance of self-regulation and reparenting to raise emotionally healthy children.
If you’ve ever asked yourself “Why am I so triggered by my child’s emotions?” “Why does this feel harder for me than it does for everyone else?” Or “How do I raise emotionally healthy kids… when no one taught me how?” This episode is for you. Kristin and Deena go beneath the surface of parenting and into the work most of us were never taught to do: regulating, repairing, and reparenting yourself while raising your child. You’ll learn: The real reason parenting feels so hard (it’s not you - it’s your nervous system) The science behind regulation and how to actually build it in real time What generational healing looks and feels like - in messy, everyday moments Why grief is a part of parenting when you’re doing it differently than you were parented The 4 tools to start breaking cycles, even when you’re overwhelmed This is the episode that helps you understand yourself. And when you understand yourself, you stop blaming yourself. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be the parent you needed. This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or…
People in this episode
Hosts: Kristin, Deena
Topics covered
- parenting
- emotional regulation
- generational healing
- self-understanding
- reparenting
Keywords
- parenting
- emotional health
- nervous system
- grief
- self-regulation
- generational cycles
- reparenting
Sponsors
Arey, First Day, Jones Road Beauty
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