Parenting With Psychology

Posting your kids online feels harmless — a cute photo, a proud caption, gone in the time it takes your thumb to move from camera roll to send. But most parents are moving faster than they realize, and the research on what that actually creates for your child might surprise you.

This podcast breaks down exactly what's happening every time you hit post, why the instinct behind it is a good one even when the follow-through isn't, and the one three-second habit that turns posting from a reflex into a real family decision.

A 2024 study of 228 parents published in the Italian Journal of Pediatrics found that 93% had no idea there was legislation or real risk tied to sharing their child's content online, most parents genuinely don't know what they don't know.

In this podcast:
→ The reflexive thoughts that feel harmless but move faster than the thinking
→ What's actually happening to your child's digital footprint every time you post
→ The one specific question that fixes this in three seconds
→ What it looks like in real life, at two different ages
→ What changes for your family once this becomes a habit
💬 Comment ASK below if you're going to try the three-second question next time you go to post.

Grab my free Family Meeting Guide 👉 https://www.drlindsayemmerson.com/meeting

There are four recognized parenting styles, and most parents have never been told which one they default to, or what the research actually shows happens to kids raised inside each one. This video breaks down all four, in plain language, with no shame attached.

You'll learn the difference between rules that build respect and rules that just build compliance, why "being the fun parent" can quietly backfire, and the one style researchers consistently find produces the best outcomes for kids on every measure that matters.

Researchers followed adolescents raised in all four styles and found one pattern stands out clearly above the rest, and it's not the one most parents assume.

In this podcast:
→ The strict style that gets obedience but not always trust
→ Why being the "fun parent" can work against you long-term
→ Where "gentle parenting" actually lands and why it's not always what parents think
→ The style almost no parent means to fall into
→ The one style the research consistently points to as the winner (and what gentle parenting looks like when it's done right)
→ The one shift that moves you toward it, starting today

Reserve your seat in my free workshop 👉 https://www.drlindsayemmerson.com/workshop

When your child prefers one parent, that stretch where they suddenly only want one of you — it's one of the most common and most misunderstood phases in early parenting. Most parents respond by accidentally gamifying it, and that's the exact thing that makes it worse.

In this podcast, a licensed clinical psychologist breaks down why treating "who do you want tonight?" like a contest backfires, and what to say and do instead so both parents feel valued, and your child learns that love isn't something you win.

Research on infant-parent attachment shows preference patterns are a normal, temporary part of development, but how parents respond to them determines whether the pattern fades or gets reinforced.

In this podcast:
→ The bedtime habit that's accidentally training your child to pick favorites
→ Why cheering for the "winner" makes preference worse, not better
→ The Interchangeable Parent Rule, and the exact words to use tonight
→ What to do when your child protests the parent they didn't pick
→ How this connects to raising a child who thrives long-term

Grab my free Better Behavior Guide 👉 https://www.drlindsayemmerson.com/better

When another child hits your toddler, the instinct to snap at the other kid — or tell your own child to hit back — is completely understandable. Neither one teaches your child what actually helps. This video walks through what to do instead, including the honest answer to the question almost every parent asks at some point: should you ever teach your child to hit back?

Physical aggression in toddlers peaks around age 2 to 2.5 before declining — the child who hit yours is very likely going through the same developmental stage most toddlers pass through, not something uniquely wrong with them (Tremblay et al., 2004).

In this podcast:
→ The 3 A's Method, applied to the moment your child gets hit
→ The honest answer to "should I teach my child to hit back?"
→ How to manage your own protective anger in the moment
→ What to do when it's the same child hitting yours, over and over
→ The exact words to use with your child afterward

Grab my free Family Meeting Guide 👉 https://www.drlindsayemmerson.com/meeting

Another child takes your toddler's toy, and you freeze or you feel your blood pressure spike at the other parent standing right there, not stepping in. This video walks through exactly what to say and do, whether or not the other parent gets involved.

Toddlers as young as 20 months already actively assert ownership, and by 30 months they're standing their ground against a peer's attempts to take what's theirs, which is part of why these moments feel so constant and so charged (Ross, 2013).

In this podcast:
→ The 3 A's Method: Acknowledge, Anchor, Alternative
→ What to say when it's clearly your child's toy or turn
→ Exactly what to do when the other parent doesn't step in
→ Why freezing teaches the opposite of what you want your child to learn
→ The one line that speaks up for your child without starting a parent-to-parent conflict

Stop tantrums and meltdowns. Start here 👉 https://www.drlindsayemmerson.com/start