The Whole Parent Podcast

In this episode, Jon explores what we often call “bossy” behavior and reframes it as leadership energy colliding with an underdeveloped social brain. Through vivid playdate moments and real parent questions, he unpacks why telling kids to stop being bossy misses the point—and how correction can quietly turn into shame, especially for strong-willed kids. Parents will walk away with a clearer way to distinguish control from influence, language that builds social awareness without dulling confidence, and a grounded reminder that the goal isn’t to soften a child’s intensity, but to help them learn how to lead in ways others want to follow.
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To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
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This episode is for the parent quietly watching from the sidelines, wondering if their child is falling behind socially—or if they’re the only one who seems worried about it. We step into those moments where your kid hangs back, plays alone, gravitates toward adults, or misses social cues, and we slow the whole story down. Instead of rushing to labels or fixes, this conversation reframes social “lag” as temperament, context, and skill development unfolding on its own timeline. We explore how easily our own childhood wounds sneak into our fears, how extroversion gets mistaken for health, and why opting out isn’t the same thing as being excluded. Most of all, this episode offers relief: a way to see your child more clearly, respond with curiosity instead of panic, and trust that many of the traits that worry us at six can become strengths later—if we don’t shame them out of existence first.
Send us a text
Support the show
Links to help you and me:
To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
Follow Whole Parent on Instagram,
Tiktok,
Facebook,
Youtube

This episode is for the parent quietly watching from the sidelines, wondering if their child is falling behind socially—or if they’re the only one who seems worried about it. We step into those moments where your kid hangs back, plays alone, gravitates toward adults, or misses social cues, and we slow the whole story down. Instead of rushing to labels or fixes, this conversation reframes social “lag” as temperament, context, and skill development unfolding on its own timeline. We explore how easily our own childhood wounds sneak into our fears, how extroversion gets mistaken for health, and why opting out isn’t the same thing as being excluded. Most of all, this episode offers relief: a way to see your child more clearly, respond with curiosity instead of panic, and trust that many of the traits that worry us at six can become strengths later—if we don’t shame them out of existence first. 
Send us a text
Support the show
Links to help you and me:
To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
Follow Whole Parent on Instagram,
Tiktok,
Facebook,
Youtube

In this episode, Jon sits with one of the most charged moments in parenting—the car door open, practice about to start, and a child saying, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” Through personal story and real parent questions, he explores why quitting is rarely about laziness or lack of grit, but about how kids experience overwhelm, unfairness, and frustration in their bodies.
Parents will walk away with a steadier way to tell the difference between healthy discomfort and too much, language for guiding kids through hard beginnings, and permission to think in smaller units—finishing the chapter, not the whole book—as they help their children learn perseverance without sacrificing trust or connection. 
Send us a text
Support the show
Links to help you and me:
To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
Follow Whole Parent on Instagram,
Tiktok,
Facebook,
Youtube

In this episode, Jon addresses one of the most loaded questions parents ask quietly: what does it mean when my child wants to play guns, war, or “bad guys”? Grounded in the idea that most parents aren’t reacting to the play itself, but to the meaning they’re afraid it carries, he looks beneath the behavior to what high-arousal play is actually doing in a child’s brain. All of this plus "What to actually do...." 
Send us a text
Support the show
Links to help you and me:
To support the Podcast, Subscribe on Substack
Get Jon’s Top Five Emotional Regulation Games
Get Jon’s Book Punishment-Free Parenting
Preorder Jon’s Children’s Book Set My Feelings Free
Follow Whole Parent on Instagram,
Tiktok,
Facebook,
Youtube