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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:

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Purchase my course The Emotionally Aware Parent.

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All Episodes

Reflective Parenting Podcast by Curious Neuron

Reflections on the Hidden Risks Inside Kids' Group Chats

July 14, 2026 • Cindy Hovington, Ph.D. • Season 9 • Episode 7

0:00 | 31:59

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What does Toy Story 5 have to do with raising emotionally healthy kids?

Trigger warning: masturbation is mentioned in this episode.

Much more than I expected. After watching the movie with my children, I found myself reflecting on something far bigger than screen time: the conversations we're not having about friendship, group chats, and cyberbullying.

In this episode, I share the true story of a Grade 6 classroom that left me speechless, explore what research tells us about the long-term impact of cyberbullying, and offer three simple reflection questions you can use to start meaningful conversations with your own child. If we're going to hand our children devices, we also need to help them build the emotional skills to navigate the digital world.

Join our book club for only $9.99 for an entire year!
https://reflectiveparentclub.circle.so/checkout/reflective-parenting-podcast-book-club

Read my blog post about cyberbullying:

https://curiousneuron.com/2026/07/12/research-finds-that-cyberbullying-harms-kids-mental-health-over-time/

Read the scientific article I shared with you here:

Traditional bullying and cyberbullying in the digital age and its associated mental health problems in children and adolescents: a meta‐analysis

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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):