Reflective Parenting by Curious Neuron
A parenting podcast that doesn't tell you HOW to parent your own child. We teach you how to think during parenting challenges and help you build emotional intelligence skills to lower your stress and help you cope with those challenging emotions that come with parenting.
Neuroscientist, Dr. Cindy Hovington can help you parent your child with confidence and feel competent by helping you understand your triggers, recognize and break your emotional patterns and teach you how to model healthy emotional coping skills for your child.
Cindy is the founder and CEO of Curious Neuron, is an internationally recognized emotional well-being resource for parents with their evidence-based educational content being consumed in over 70 countries! She is a leading thought expert in emotion regulation and parental well-being as well as an international speaker on well-being and emotional development in children.
The goal of this podcast is to help parents gain awareness of their emotional triggers, build your confidence as a parent, understand how their past influences behavioural patterns they can stuck in and help them learn how to model healthy emotional coping skills for their children. We do this by discussing the science of emotional intelligence and effective parenting practices.
Join us every Monday for conversations with leading researchers and best selling authors in parental well-being, childhood adversity, attachment, emotional development, stress management and emotion regulation skills. Past guests include Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Marc Brackett and best-selling authors Dr. Ramani Durvasula and Stephanie Harrison.
Join me and become a Reflective Parent! Subscribe today not to miss next week's episode!
To learn more from Curious Neuron or to join The Reflective Parent Club, visit www.curiousneuron.com.
Follow us on Instagram @curious_neuron.
Reflective Parenting by Curious Neuron
Psychologist shares how learning the skill of validation can transform your relationships
Do you ever wonder why your child’s big emotions feel so overwhelming—or why small conflicts with your partner can spiral? In this episode, I sit down with psychologist Dr. Caroline Fleck to unpack the skill of validation—what it is, why it matters, and how it can radically change the way you connect with yourself, your kids, and everyone you love.
We explore what invalidation really sounds like (it’s often subtle) and why even well-meaning parents can accidentally shut down their child’s emotions. Dr. Fleck shares simple, powerful scripts for validating feelings without condoning hurtful behaviors, and we discuss research showing how invalidation increases the risk of mental health struggles and gets passed across generations.
Whether you’re parenting a toddler or a teen—or just want more connected relationships—this episode will give you tools to break cycles of invalidation and build deeper trust through emotional clarity.
Don’t miss this conversation—because learning to “validate the valid” might be the most important parenting skill you ever master.
Sources:
Caroline's Book: Validation (amazon.ca and amazon.com)
Science Sources:
Examining the intergenerational transmission of parental invalidation: Extension of the biosocial model
Parental Validation and Invalidation Predict Adolescent Self- Harm
More ways to build emotion regulation skills with Curious Neuron!
Record your message to ask a question, share an insight or give us some feedback! https://www.speakpipe.com/ReflectiveParentingPodcast
Start your 7 day FREE trial of the Reflective Parent Club
A science-based course that helps you learn how to cope with emotions, stress, your child's behaviour and your partner! Plus, a weekly coaching call to help you build awareness and practice new tools.
https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/
Not sure if the club is for you? Or need private sessions? Let's jump on a call!
https://calendly.com/curious_neuron/discovery-call-with-cindy
Join our FREE Monthly Parental Well-Being Webinar Series:
https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/989145490b
Grab a Free Resource:
...