Send Caitlin a Text!

Ever wish you had the exact words when a family member crosses a line? When your kid brings you a scary headline? When your teenager parrots something from a sketchy source?

This episode gives you those words.

Caitlin’s breaking down nonviolent communication (NVC). This practical, four-part framework helps you hold boundaries, protect your values, and model respect during the hardest conversations at home, online, and in public.

• Click here for this episode’s blog post with links to sources and even more content.
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You Need This Episode If...

• You want to talk about politics with your kids without freaking them out
• A family member keeps saying "those people" and you don't know how to respond
• You tried gentle parenting and it felt fake
• You need scripts for de-escalating family arguments in front of your kids
• You want to teach your kids to disagree without dehumanizing people

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What You'll Get

The 4-part NVC framework – Observation, feeling, need, request (with real examples you can use today)

Word-for-word scripts for:

• The living room covered in toys (holding boundaries as a parent)
• When a relative says "those people" (responding without contempt)
• When your kid sees scary news (validating without dismissing)
• When your teen quotes a bad source (teaching media literacy)
• When you lose your temper (how to repair)

Graceful exits – How to leave conversations that cross your line

Simple experiments – One feeling word a day, one rewritten text, one boundary stated out loud

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Your Host

Caitlin is a former middle school teacher, current mom, and someone who has a quick temper and is more often in "oops, I said that" mode than proactive mode. She's here to show you how to do less damage when things heat up—and recover faster when they do.

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Sources & Mentions

• Introduction to Practicing Nonviolence with Children: A Resource for Families and Teachers (PDF) | The Peace Resource Center of San Diego
• The Heart of Parenting: Nonviolent Communication in Action (PDF) | Marion Badenoch Rose, Ph.D.
• The Center For Nonviolent Communication

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What’s Next

Ariella joins me to talk about Media Literacy and how not to get sucked in by your algo. Don’t miss it.

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