Steady Ground Parenting
A podcast for parents raising children through hard seasons.
If you’re a parent raising a child through hard seasons, you’re in the right place. Steady Ground Parenting is Speak Up for Kids’ parenting podcast, equipping foster, adoptive, kinship, and trauma-aware parents with practical tools to help children impacted by foster care, childhood trauma, and family disruption heal, grow, and thrive.
Children who have lived through abuse, neglect, foster care, or family disruption often experience the world differently. Traditional parenting approaches don’t always meet their needs. Each episode offers practical strategies, expert insights, and honest conversations. Steady Ground Parenting helps you better understand behavior; strengthen connection; navigate attachment, emotional regulation, and challenging behaviors; and parent with greater confidence and compassion.
Whether you’re a foster parent, adoptive parent, kinship caregiver, or a parent seeking trauma-informed parenting strategies, you’ll gain practical tools you can begin using right away. Every episode is designed to help you look beyond the behavior, build trust, and create safe, steady relationships where healing can happen.
Hosted by Speak Up for Kids and driven by student leaders, this podcast extends our mission of mitigating trauma and cultivating self-worth in the lives of children impacted by foster care. Find more information about our mission at impact at https://speakupforkidspbc.org.
Find us on social media:
Facebook: Speak Up For Kids
Instagram: @speakupforkidspbc
TikTok: @speakupforkids
YouTube: @speakupforkidspbc2586
If you are interested in joining us on the podcast, please email inquiries to parents@speakupforkidspbc.org.
Episodes
90 episodes
Every child needs someone who won’t walk away | Trish Zenczak & Maddie Harris
What does it mean to be the steady ground a child needs when life gets hard?After nearly five years of Healing Hearts, we're beginning a new chapter as Steady Ground Parenting—a podcast for parents raising children through hard seasons. ...
A podcast for parents raising children through hard seasons.
Healing Hearts is now Steady Ground Parenting!Welcome to the next chapter of the Speak Up For Kids podcast for parents raising children through hard seasons. We’re continuing the conversations you know and love, but with a deeper focus ...
How to stop reacting and start responding as a parent | Christina Brown
When family life, work, relationships, and a million other things are all competing for your attention, it's easy to react instead of responding the way you want to.Christina Brown is a Catholic life coach, speaker, podcaster, and mother...
Your teen needs this, not a perfect parent | Sophia Vale Galano
Is your teen struggling with anxiety, but every step you take to help only seems to push them further away?Supporting an anxious teenager can be exhausting and overwhelming, leaving you unsure whether you’re saying the right thing. Licen...
How to talk to your teen about anxiety without pushing them away | Sophia Vale Galano
Maybe your teenager has opened up about feeling anxious, but the conversation seems to end in frustration every time you try to help. Or, maybe they don't talk about it at all, which keeps you up at night worrying about their wellbeing.S...
Why teenagers push back, and how parents should respond | Will Dobud
Most parents feel like they’re constantly correcting and disciplining their teens, yet their behavior never seems to change. If every conversation turns into an argument, or it feels like you're losing your relationship with your teen, this epi...
How to Reach a Struggling Teen When Nothing Is Working | Will Dobud
Maybe you’ve tried therapy, but your kid goes, barely says a word, and quits after the second session. Dr. Will Dobud has spent two decades working with families who had been in that situation. In wilderness programs, clinical setti...
Speak up for your kids! The power of advocacy through ACEs, trauma, and developmental challenges with Paula Yost
“How can I advocate for my kid when everything seems to be against me?” “How do adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect kids, and how can we help them recover?” — Advocacy is tough and often feels like an uphill battle. Whether you...
How to build resilience and avoid burnout in sports: The Goal of the Game with Harvey Araton (Part 2)
“How can I help my kids manage stress and pressure in youth sports?” “How can I encourage my kids without adding undue pressure?” — Two weeks ago, we heard Harvey Araton’s expertise on character building through youth sports and the pr...
The benefits and unintended impacts of youth sports: The Goal of the Game with Harvey Araton (Part 1)
“How to reduce pressure on young athletes?” “How can I support my kids in youth sports?” “How do sports shape character in kids?” — Kids worldwide engage in team sports, and for years it has brought joy to the players. Recently, though...
From surviving to thriving: The power of expression for children healing from trauma with Tiffany Tyler
“How to help my child heal from trauma?” “What are some trauma-informed parenting techniques?” “What are ways to help children cope with trauma?” — The toll that trauma takes on a child extends far beneath the surface. Trauma impacts p...
Healing requires consistency, not perfection: Overcoming trauma in parenting with Marcia Earhart (Part 2)
“Why does it feel like we aren’t healing?” “What actually works for healing trauma?” “Is my child’s trauma un-solvable?” — Two weeks ago, we heard Marcia Earhart’s story through adoption, parenting, loss, and healing from trauma. Today...
You’re not what happened to you: How to overcome trauma in parenting with Marcia Earhart (Part 1)
“What is RAD?” “How does trauma affect my children?” “What can I do to best support my family without getting burnt out?” — Even in the darkest of storms, the blue sky remains behind the clouds. Traumatic experiences come and go, but w...
How to create a safe and supportive home environment: Breaking the cycle of trauma with Eddie Acosta (Part 2)
“How do I build trust with a kid who has gone through trauma?” “What can I do to help my child open up to me?” “Why does it feel like my child isn’t healing from trauma?” — Two weeks ago, we heard Eddie Acosta’s story going from an abu...
How to break the cycle of trauma: Eddie Acosta’s powerful story going from abused to advocate (Part 1)
“How can I break cycles of generational trauma?” “How can I stop my Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) from reflecting onto my kids?” — Almost everyone experiences trauma in their lives, and it weighs heavily on each of us. 33% of pe...
You’re on Fire, It’s Fine: the unknown keys to parenting teens with self-destructive behaviors with Katie K. May
“How can I help my teen get through self-harm and suicidal behavior?” “Am I harming my teen when I’m trying to help?” “Is healing actually possible?” — The pain, fear, and hopelessness you feel when your teens act out, shut down, or se...
The missing piece — It’s crucial that we talk about trauma: Benjamin Perks Part 2
“Why does no one talk about trauma?” “What are the real effects of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?” “How can we recover?” — Two weeks ago, Benjamin Perks told us how important love and connection is in healing trauma, ...
You aren’t doing it wrong — The importance of connection in trauma-informed parenting with Benjamin Perks (Part 1)
“Why does my kid have disproportionally big responses to things that happen?” “How can I help my child heal from trauma?” — There’s a taboo around trauma that cannot seem to be lifted, but it is crucial that we lift it so that we can h...
7 College Planning Tips That Every Parent Should Know with Shellee Howard
“How can I help my kid find the right path?” “How can I pay for college while avoiding student debt?” “What is the right college for my kids?” — The college admissions process seems daunting; your baby is making decisions that will cha...
The 5 Key Things Kids Need from Their Parents During Emotional Breakdowns: Transformative Parenting with Todd Sarner, Part 2
“How can I stay calm when my child is having a breakdown?” “What does it mean for me to be an emotional anchor for my kid?” — Most parents struggle with their children's emotional regulation; you are not alone. Last episode, we heard f...
Parenting Isn’t About Perfection, It’s About Presence: Transformative Parenting with Todd Sarner, Part 1
“Why don’t discipline or behavior systems work for my child?” “Why does my child shut down so easily?” “What is trauma-informed parenting, and how can I apply it?” — Parenting is tough, and sometimes it feels like we’re doing it all wr...
Second Chances, Healing from Trauma, and Family Support — Rebuilding After Incarceration with William Freeman
“My foster child’s biological parents are incarcerated; how can I guide them through this difficult time?” “My child’s guard is up after trauma, how can I help take the walls down?” “How can I help a child transition out of Department of Ju...
Dr. Amanda Trovato, PsyD Part 2: Routines, Compassion, and Collaboration to Build Confidence
“How do I stop feeling like I’m failing when my child has a hard day?” “How can I balance seeking professional help with trusting my own instincts as a parent?” — We’ve already heard from Dr. Amanda Trovato, who told us about communica...
Dr. Amanda Trovato, PsyD Part 1: Cultivating Growth and Supporting Mental Health in Children
“How can I help my child with emotional regulation?” “Is my child’s behavior a sign of something more?” “Who can help me as I parent a child with developmental differences?” — As parents, our children’s behavior can be frustrating and ...
Josie Mae Wells Part 2: Being Who Kids Need, Building Support Systems, and Going One Step Back To Go Two Steps Forward
“I’m struggling as I parent my foster kids, I feel at a loss and overwhelmed.” “I feel all alone, how can I build a support system?” “Am I being the parent my kid needs me to be?” — We heard from Josie Mae Wells in part one of this ser...