Reflective Parenting Podcast by Curious Neuron
You don’t snap at your kids because you’re a bad parent. You snap because your stress builds faster than your awareness, and no one ever taught you how to handle that.
I’m Dr. Cindy Hovington, a mom of three with a doctorate in neuroscience and founder of Curious Neuron. I created The Reflective Parenting Podcast for parents who care deeply, know a lot, and still find themselves overwhelmed in the real moments.
This is not a podcast where I tell you how to be a perfect parent. I’m in it with you.
Each week, I invite you into my own reflections:
- what I’m learning from scientific articles and books,
- what I’m noticing in my nervous system and emotions,
- and what real parents and experts teach me in conversation.
Together, we get curious about why we snap, shut down, or over-function in conflict, and what’s actually happening in our brain and body when we do. We talk about stress, shame, repair, boundaries, playfulness, and the quiet moments no one sees—so you can start to recognize your patterns and gently shift them.
By listening, you’ll learn to:
- notice your stress and body signals earlier,
- understand the lenses and stories that intensify hard moments,
- regulate your nervous system when parenting feels like “too much”,
- and handle conflict with more calm, clarity, and repair.
- But more than that, you’ll have a companion in the work.
I’ll share where I struggle, what I’m practicing, and how I’m trying to grow, so you don’t feel like the only parent who finds this hard.
If you’re ready to move away from “perfect” parenting and toward reflective parenting—where every tough moment becomes data, not failure—pull up a chair.
Let’s learn, feel, and grow together.
Find out which book I will be covering next month:
https://curiousneuron.com/podcast/
Join the private group on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/groups/reflectiveparentingpodcast/
Start training your emotional awareness for FREE:
https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/84371dc0b2
Purchase my course The Emotionally Aware Parent.
https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/
Follow us on Instagram @drcindyhovington or Facebook @curiousneuronparenting
Reflective Parenting Podcast by Curious Neuron
A science-based tool that helps you shift your perspective (and build your resilience)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, we explore the idea of “shifting your lens” — a powerful metaphor grounded in science that helps parents understand how their interpretation of a situation shapes their emotional response. Drawing on the work of psychologist James Gross and his research on cognitive reappraisal, we break down how the lens you’re wearing (like blame, control, or shame) can fuel conflict and dysregulation, especially in moments of parenting stress.
You’ll learn how to identify the lens you’re in, how to shift your lens to something more helpful (like curiosity or compassion), and how this shift not only supports your own regulation but also helps you model emotional intelligence for your child. Real-life parenting examples, practical tips, and reflection prompts will help you bring this tool into everyday moments even when things get messy.
Read our blog post here:
https://curiousneuron.com/2025/08/03/how-to-shift-your-lens-and-stay-calm-in-parenting-conflicts/
Read a science article:
For Whom and What Does Cognitive Reappraisal Help? A Prospective
Study
Watch it on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/TOURlBqtmIc
- Join the Reflective Parent Book Club for only $9.99 for the year: https://reflectiveparentclub.circle.so/checkout/reflective-parenting-book-club
- Watch my Tedx Talk on YouTube called The Over-Educated, Emotionally Underprepared Parent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDYJFY_9K9E&t=19s
- Get your FREE emotional awareness training (comes with a poster, workbook and video):
https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/84371dc0b2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4iEbFRZ5QQ&t=12s
- Grab our course for $99, The Emotionally Aware Parent: https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/
- Or email me to join the next 6-week training, to schedule a discovery call for a 1:1 consult for your and your family or to book some leadership training for your workplace info@curiousneuron.com