Reflective Parenting Podcast
What if one book could help you see yourself more clearly as a parent?
As parents, we're constantly learning. We listen to podcasts, read books, and consume endless advice online, but real growth happens when we pause long enough to reflect on what we're learning and what it means for our own lives.
Welcome to The Reflective Parenting Podcast, a parenting book club led by neuroscientist, international speaker, mom of three, and founder of Curious Neuron, Dr. Cindy Hovington.
Each month, we'll explore a new book together and reflect on the ideas that can help us better understand ourselves, our emotions, our relationships, and our parenting. Every week, I'll share reflections, insights from neuroscience, and practical takeaways to help you become more self-aware, manage stress more effectively, navigate conflict with greater confidence, and show up as the parent you want to be.
This isn't a book summary podcast. It's an invitation to slow down as parents, think more deeply, and grow alongside your children.
Because becoming a better parent isn't about consuming more information; it's about reflecting on it with me by your side.
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
The Science of How Discipline and Punishment Impact a Child’s Brain Differently
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Parents, this one is big.
Today we’re breaking down punishment vs discipline, what science says, how it impacts your child’s brain, and why so many of us feel stuck in the cycle of punishing even when we don’t want to.
If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t want to yell, spank, or threaten…but it just slips out when I’m overwhelmed,” you are not alone.
Here’s what you’ll learn today:
What studies reveal about how spanking and harsh discipline change the way your child’s brain processes fear, mistakes, and emotions.
Why your nervous system is the most powerful discipline tool you have.
A simple framework from Dr. Lori Desautels’ book Connections Over Compliance that helps you “connect before you correct.”
And if you’re ready to go deeper, join us inside The Reflective Parent Club. That’s where we take this science and make it real in our daily lives, with support, tools, and a community of parents walking this same journey.
Because when you regulate, connect, and guide, you’re not just shaping behaviour. You’re shaping the brain.
Articles:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33835477/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36152947/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34197808/
Read blog post:
Podcast episode with Dr. Bruce Perry:
Start your journey to becoming emotionally aware:
Step 1: Join our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/reflectiveparentingpodcast
or visit our website to know which books I will be covering during the next months:
https://curiousneuron.com/podcast/
Step 2: Get your FREE emotional awareness training for parents and kids below (comes with a poster, workbook and video):
https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/84371dc0b2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4iEbFRZ5QQ&t=12s
Step 3: Join our course for $99, The Emotionally Aware Parent or join the next 8 week group cohort (starting in September 2026)
https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/
Or email me info@curiousneuron.com to book emotional training sessions for your organization.