Most Recent Episode
Brain-Based Parenting: Love + Limits
When kids understand how their brains grow, they make safer choices. In this episode of Parenting Unfiltered, host Sara Kapp talks with Dr. Crystal Collier—therapist, educator, long-term recovery advocate, and author of The NeuroWhereabouts Guide and Know Your Neuro. Drawing on 25 years with kids and teens, Dr. Collier shares practical, brain-based strategies families and schools can use every day.
You’ll learn why limiting screens supports attachment and self-regulation, how simple rituals like family meals and bedtime reading build resilience, and a three-step emotional literacy script you can use immediately. Plus, she outlines easy school-based approaches that teach executive function and reduce risks from tech, substances, and more. Clear, doable steps to protect a growing brain—this episode delivers.
Navigating Big Feelings with Little Kids
Big emotions aren’t the enemy—they’re the training ground. In this episode of Parenting Unfiltered, host Sara Kapp chats with licensed clinical social worker and mom-of-three Nikki Mundahl of Comfy Couch Counseling. Nikki shares simple, realistic ways to help kids calm down and bounce back when holiday chaos and sibling clashes peak.
From “connection before correction” to quick, ready-to-use scripts, she keeps it practical: validate the feeling, redirect the behavior, and remember—kids are resilient when we give them tools early. Perfect for parents wanting fewer meltdowns and more peace this season.
Building Resilience Through Play
What if the secret to calmer evenings, more confident kids, and fewer battles… is play? Not Pinterest play. Not perfection play. Real, messy, open-ended play.
In this episode of Parenting Unfiltered, host Sara Kapp sits down with early childhood expert Janet Bassingthwaite—who brings 25+ years of experience from Head Start to university classrooms—to unpack why play isn’t a break from learning… it is learning.
Small Routines, Big Resilience: Real-Life Tools for the Early Years
Starting school isn’t just a day—it’s a season of change for the whole family. In this episode of Parenting Unfiltered, host Sara Kapp talks with Missi Baranko, mom of four and Executive Director of USpire, about easing into preschool and kindergarten with confidence.
From building routines that actually work to spotting early red flags and keeping evenings calm, Missi shares real-life tips that help families thrive. Because those first days? They’re just the beginning.
Healthy Habits for Healthy Minds: Screens, Sleep, and Winter Routines
As days get shorter and screens take over, finding balance at home can feel impossible. In this episode of Parenting Unfiltered, host Sara Kapp talks with Dr. Shauna Eberhardt, a clinical leader who turns research into real-life routines families can actually keep.
From screen-time guardrails that stick to bedtime rituals that calm the chaos, Dr. Eberhardt shares simple, guilt-free ways to help kids (and parents) rest and reset.
If your evenings feel like a battle over “just five more minutes,” this is the episode you’ll want to hear—because the small changes she suggests might just change everything.