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
You, Your Husband, and His Mother: Untangling a Tricky Family Dynamic with Dr. Tracy Dalgleish
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Family dynamics can feel especially intense around the holidays and one of the most challenging patterns many parents face is the triangle between you, your partner, and your mother-in-law. In today’s episode, Dr. Tracy Dalgleish returns to the podcast to help us make sense of this dynamic with compassion, clarity, and evidence-based tools.
In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. Tracy Dalgleish, psychologist and author of You, Your Husband & His Mother, to unpack why the mother-in-law / daughter-in-law dynamic is so emotionally charged and how it quietly strains couples.
We talk about boundaries, guilt, generational differences, cultural expectations, and what couples can do to stop feeling divided and start acting as a solid team.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why this family dynamic is uniquely triggering
- How boundaries get misunderstood and what actually works
- What to do when your partner shuts down or minimizes the issue
- How to recover after a difficult family gathering
- Why connection comes before problem-solving
Join me for a free Webinar on December 17th at 8pm (and get the replay!):
https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/ce962dd904
You can purchase Tracy's book, You, Your Husband and Your Mother in Law, in the US or in Canada. You can also get her first book (which I also highly recommend called "I didn't Sign up for This" in the US or Canada.
Listen to my previous conversation with Tracy below:
More ways to become a Reflective Parent with Curious Neuron:
Join our NEW book club for only $9.99!
https://reflectiveparentclub.circle.so/checkout/reflective-parenting-podcast-book-club
Learn about the next books we will be covering:
https://curiousneuron.com/podcast/
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
Grab our course for $99, The Emotionally Aware Parent
https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/
Join the next 6-8 week cohort for parents, kids or teens:
https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/
Or email me info@curiousneuron.com to book emotional training sessions for your organization.