The Grief of Letting Go—What No One Tells You about Parenting Teens and Adult Kids | Ep. 245
From The Almost Empty Nest—Letting Go, Redefined: Parenting Teens and Finding Yourself Again—with Small Jar Coach by Master Coach Jennifer Collins
April 18, 2026 · 21 min
About this episode
This episode discusses the grief and emotional challenges of letting go as a parent of teens and adult children.
If you’re parenting teens or standing in the empty nest, you may be feeling a heaviness you can’t quite explain. It might show up as sadness, or frustration. Maybe anxiety, or even disconnection. Whether your relationship with your big kid feels close or strained, this stage of motherhood can bring up emotions that are hard to name. In this episode, I’m talking about the grief that comes with letting go...of who your child used to be, of how your relationship once felt, and even of the version of you who knew your role so clearly. This isn’t something we often talk about in motherhood. But when we don’t understand what’s really happening beneath the surface, it can lead to even more pain and disconnection. What I want to offer you is a different perspective that helps you see this experience not as something to fix, but as something critical to the process of letting go. 💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class . 💪 Curious about coaching with Small Jar? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching program: …
People in this episode
Host: Jennifer Collins
Topics covered
- parenting teens
- letting go
- grief
- motherhood
- emotional support
- self-discovery
Keywords
- parenting
- teens
- grief
- letting go
- motherhood
- emotions
- self-improvement
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Small Jar, Small Jar Coach, Mom 2.0
Places: empty nest
More episodes of The Almost Empty Nest—Letting Go, Redefined: Parenting Teens and Finding Yourself Again—with Small Jar Coach
- Mindset Traps of Parenting Teens and the Empty Nest—Trap #10: The Identity Trap—Who Are You When Your Kid Stops Needing You? | Ep. 261 · June 13, 2026 · 22 min
- “I Feel Like I'm the Only Mom Who Doesn't Have It All Together”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 260 · June 10, 2026 · 22 min
- How to Get Your Teen to Open Up—A Parenting Teens Mindset Reset | Ep. 259 · June 6, 2026 · 24 min
- “I'm Dreading Having My Big Kid Home This Summer”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 258 · June 3, 2026 · 15 min
- Parenting Teens and Adult Kids and Why It's So Hard to Stay Present for Their Wins | Ep. 257 · May 30, 2026 · 19 min
- “I Feel So Alone In This Experience of Raising Big Kids”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 256 · May 27, 2026 · 21 min
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