[REPLAY] How to Not Over-Function | CP266

Over-functioning happens when we step in and do things our children are capable of doing themselves, often because it feels easier than dealing with frustration, resistance, or a potential meltdown.

In this episode of Connected Parenting, Jennifer explores why parents fall into this pattern and how fear, exhaustion, past experiences, and the desire to protect our kids can influence how much we do for them.

Jennifer explains why giving children opportunities to struggle, follow through, and accomplish difficult things helps build independence, confidence, responsibility, and grit. She also shares practical ways to step back without removing support, helping parents find the balance between being there for their children and allowing them to discover just how capable they really are.

Jennifer's Takeaways:

• Defining Overfunctioning (00:00)
• Why Parents Overfunction (04:34)
• Benefits of Avoiding Overfunctioning (12:56)
• Strategies to Stop Overfunctioning (20:43)



MEET JENNIFER KOLARI

Jennifer Kolari is the host of the “Connected Parenting” weekly podcast and the co-host of “The Mental Health Comedy” podcast. Kolari is a frequent guest on Nationwide morning shows and podcasts in th US and Canada. Her advice can also be found in many Canadian and US magazines such as; Today’s Parent, Parents Magazine and Canadian Family.

Kolari’s powerful parenting model is based on the neurobiology of love, teaching parents how to use compassion and empathy as powerful medicine to transform challenging behavior and build children’s emotional resilience and emotional shock absorbers.

Jennifer’s wisdom, quick wit and down to earth style help parents navigate modern-day parenting problems, offering real-life examples as well as practical and effective tools and strategies.

Her highly entertaining, inspiring workshops are shared with warmth and humour, making her a crowd-pleasing speaker with schools, medical professionals, corporations and agencies throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

One of the nation’s leading parenting experts, Jennifer Kolari, is a highly sought- after international speaker and the founder of Connected Parenting. A child and family therapist with a busy practice based in San Diego and Toronto, Kolari is also the author of Connected Parenting: How to Raise A Great Kid(Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really) Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011).

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