Not every adult child who’s estranged from parents is emotionally immature. But in some cases, emotional immaturity is something that parents who wish to reconcile have to deal with. What is emotional immaturity, and what can you do about it? In this episode, Tina urges you to view emotional immaturity not as a character flaw, …
Read moreEpisode 40: When an Adult Child Seems Emotionally Immature
What’s the difference between estrangement from your biological child vs. an adopted child, particularly when that child is of a different race, or comes from a different country? Eli Harwood of the PASS Center in Denver, Colorado answers that question for us on today’s episode. This episode will be of interest to both adoptive and …
Rejected parents sometimes say things like, “My child has made a lot of bad choices. She’s miserable, and according to her, it’s all my fault.” In other words, the adult child is choosing to blame her parent or parents for her problems. Treating them like garbage because she feels bad about herself. Turning parents into …
Read moreEpisode 19: Is Your Child Blaming You for Her Problems?
While you can’t force your child to communicate with you, there are skills you can employ the next time you do have contact that will help them want to talk to you. This episode outlines three things to get good at if you want to become your child’s (or anyone else’s) favorite confidant. If you …
Read moreEpisode 6: How to Make Your Child WANT to Talk to You
Parents estranged from adult children get plenty of advice from friends and relatives. And that advice tends to come in just two colors: Black and white. It’s usually pretty harsh. “Kick him to the curb.” “Cut off her tuition money, then see how long it takes her to pick up the phone.” “You’re creating a …
Read moreAre You Creating a Monster By Listening to Your Child?
Catching up on a few podcasts during my daily walk this week, I came upon on a Hidden Brain episode that I immediately thought of sharing with you. Mostly I wanted to spread the uplifting message that being intentionally kind to others not only helps them, but heals us as well. In addition, there’s a touching …
The other morning on the freeway, I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw the driver directly behind me, a young woman, holding a cell phone in both hands with her wrists resting on top of the steering wheel. She was focused on the phone, presumably texting (but maybe enjoying a mobile video conference?), …