Plot Twist Parenting
Confident in most areas of life—but raising teens feels like a whole different story? Plot Twist Parenting gives you encouragement and real-life strategies to navigate the unexpected with hope.
1 / Hi!
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Is anyone talking about what it's really like to parent teenagers? I think we should. In this first episode of Plot Twist Parenting, I share a bit of my own story, an overview of the five pillars that help me hold on through the ups and downs, and a few hard-won lessons. PTP weaves together personal experience, tools from corporate leadership, evidence-based insights from social science, and the wisdom of faith traditions to help us hold it all together on this journey.
I know I said I wouldn't cry when I told the story about my daughter's graduation season--let me just say, bear with me on this first episode's editing. You'll hear the voice of a devoted mom as she's launching her kids into this big wide world. I edited out the tears.
And if nobody's told you this lately: what you're doing matters so much.
2 / Connection
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What if we were to identify the single most important component of parenting teenagers? I think it would be connection.
Connection can help us decrease distance to increase influence and trust. We know that busyness at work or at home doesn't necessarily translate to impact. How can we build meaningful connection, moving beyond the busyness of everyday life to real connection? This episode offers some specific ways to create connection, identifies ties to how connection helps us succeed at work, and acknowledges that the whole thing can just be hard. But we can do it, and I believe in you.
Let's dive in.
3 / Connection: Date Day
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Connection is one of the five practices that can radically change parenting teenagers.
BUT HOW? How do you connect with a cranky teen, or after a hardship? Or just through routine times? My offer: Date Day.
Date Day is a weekly practice of 1:1 time with an individual teenager. For us it was usually before school, enjoying a delicious breakfast (waffles, lattes) that was usually out of the question on a school day.
This episode walks through the big picture of Date Day, and reinforces the key concept that decreasing distance increases influence. I share some tactics and strategies that can help get you started creating a tradition of connection of your own, including what to do when it's hard to connect at all.
4 / Truth: Knowing and Living Family Values
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What do you really value as a family—and are you living it out in daily life? Truth, the second core practice, is all about clarity and alignment: What do we value, and how do our choices reflect those values?
This episode explores where values come from (culture, faith, and intentional decision-making), and how to live them out with teenagers in real, practical ways. I share simple tools like value “experiments,” family check-ins, and repair scripts—plus a reminder that this is not about perfection. It’s about honesty, integrity, and creating a home where truth and grace can grow side-by-side.
Let’s dive in.
5 / Trust: Being Trustable as a Parent
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Before we can ask our teens to trust us, we have to be trustable. In this episode, Julie shares real conversations with her kids about what earned their trust—and what didn’t go as planned. She explores how trust grows not from authority, but from consistency, care, and emotional safety. Drawing from the work world, behavioral science, and faith, Julie unpacks what it means to be “impeccable with your word,” build trust through integrity, and create a home where your teen’s nervous system feels safe.
6/Trust: Trusting Teens (no, really)
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Consider this plot twist: a surprising shift that transforms parenting: moving from teaching teens “everything” to trusting them to learn, commit, and grow. You’ll hear why trust is a two-way street, how to play the long game, and why letting teens try, stumble, and try again builds confidence for everyone. With practical tools rooted in values, boundaries, consequences, and grace, you’ll learn how trust lowers tension, strengthens connection, and helps your teen become the thoughtful, capable human they’re meant to be.
7 / Joy on Purpose
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Consider this plot twist: Joy might be the most overlooked lifeline in the teen years--for parents and for teens. To say it another way: joy is serious business. In this episode, Julie discusses how joy becomes a protective force in your home, what science says about positive emotion and resilience, and how faith traditions across the world treat joy as an anchor during hardship. You'll also find simple, evidence-backed practices to bring light back into your home… even when things feel heavy.
Joy isn’t a mood. It’s a muscle—and one of the most powerful tools we have as parents of teens.
8 / Unconditional Love: Presence Without Prerequisites
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What does unconditional love actually look like in the messy, emotional, real-life work of parenting teenagers?
In this episode, Julie explores the fifth and foundational practice of Plot Twist Parenting: unconditional love—the steady presence that doesn’t walk away, even when everything feels chaotic.
You’ll hear why unconditional love is not permissiveness, not the absence of boundaries, and not pretending everything is fine. Instead, it’s a posture of care, curiosity, and commitment that helps teens feel safe enough to grow—and helps parents stay grounded when fear, perfectionism, or burnout threaten to take over.
This episode offers encouragement, perspective, and a simple practice to help you notice the many ways you’re already showing up in love, even when it feels invisible. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing enough—or worried you’ve messed it up—this conversation is for you.
9 / But, How?
More details coming soon.
10 / Putting It All Together
More details coming soon.
