Supporting vs Enabling: L' Shawn's Journey with Supporting her Daughter from a Coaching Lens

Supporting vs Enabling: L' Shawn's Journey with Supporting her Daughter from a Coaching Lens

From Coaching as Benevolence by L'Shawn Howard and Eryn Elder

February 11, 2026 · 42 min · Season 7 · Episode 12

About this episode

L' Shawn and Eryn discuss the distinction between supporting and enabling in parenting, drawing from L' Shawn's experiences with her daughter who has PDA.

L' Shawn and Eryn explore the complex distinction between supporting and enabling loved ones, particularly in the context of L' Shawn's experience with her daughter who has PDA (Persistent Desire for Autonomy). L' Shawn shares how she navigates her daughter's medical and educational challenges while maintaining a collaborative parenting approach, which contrasts with her own upbringing in a more authoritarian household. Through a coaching exercise involving breathwork and heart awareness, Eryn helps L' Shawn gain clarity on how to recognize when she is supporting versus enabling her daughter. They discuss how coaching can provide valuable perspective and clarity to parents facing similar challenges, emphasizing the importance of creating spaces for reflection, understanding roles and responsibilities, and accessing appropriate resources while maintaining an equal partnership with their children.

People in this episode

Hosts: L' Shawn Howard, Eryn Elder

Topics covered

  • supporting vs enabling
  • parenting
  • coaching
  • collaborative parenting
  • medical challenges
  • educational challenges
  • breathwork

Keywords

  • supporting
  • enabling
  • PDA
  • coaching
  • parenting
  • breathwork
  • collaboration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PDA

More episodes of Coaching as Benevolence

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Coaching as Benevolence podcast page.