Welcome to your home away from home for parenting support. As a child and parenting expert, I'm here to chat about all things child development, mental health (both parent and child’s), and parenting strategies based on science and preserving our critical human connection to our children.
48. Why Kids Are Anxious: Understanding Their Nervous Systems
Why does it feel like so many kids are anxious, overwhelmed, and melting down lately?
I break down what’s really behind the rise in childhood anxiety — and it’s not just behavior, temperament, or “bad habits.”
Children’s nervous systems are biologically wired for slowness, rhythm, predictability, and unstructured play, yet modern life moves at an adult pace: rushed mornings, packed schedules, overstimulating screens, and constant transitions. This mismatch is leaving kids disregulated — and their anxiety often shows up through sleep struggles, meltdowns, stomach aches, emotional outbursts, and difficulty handling small challenges.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why anxiety in kids shows up in behavior, not words
- How overstimulation and packed schedules dysregulate the nervous system
- The hidden cost of too many transitions and activities
- Why unstructured play and boredom are essential for emotional regulation
- How parental stress directly impacts a child’s nervous system
- Why doing less, not more, is often the solution
- Simple ways to slow mornings, afternoons, and bedtime routines
- How to create rhythm without rigidity in your home
Subscribe to Help Them Bloom:
Follow us on Instagram: @hatchandbloomco instagram.com/hatchandbloomco
Visit our website: https://www.hatchandbloom.co/
Produced by Haynow Media: https://haynowmedia.com/
13 Jan 2026
47. Friendship in Your 30s & 40s: The Real Talk We Needed as Moms
What if friendship isn’t meant to look the same in every season of your life?
In this deeply honest and affirming episode of Help Them Bloom, host Evelyn Mendal sits down with Rebecca Smith, founder of Mamala Organics, for a powerful conversation about adult friendship, motherhood, identity, and the invisible emotional labor women carry – especially after becoming moms.
From postpartum isolation and “playdate friendships” to soul-level connections and modeling healthy relationships for our children, this episode explores why not every friend can meet every need – and why that realization can be incredibly freeing.
Friendships exist for reasons, seasons, and lifetimes. Together, Evelyn and Rebecca unpack how women can release guilt, comparison, and unrealistic expectations – and instead build intentional, values-aligned friendships that support who we are now.
This episode is for any woman who has ever thought:
“Why do friendships feel harder now?”
“Is something wrong with me?”
“Will I ever find my people again?”
✨ Spoiler: You will.
About the Guest: https://linkin.bio/mamala
Rebecca Smith is the founder of Mamala Organics, a line of organic, functional support snacks created to nourish women through postpartum healing and beyond—because women deserve food that supports their bodies, not just their kids’.
Learn more about Mamala Organics: https://www.mamalaorganics.com/
Follow Mamala Organics: https://www.instagram.com/mamala_organics
Chapters:
00:00 Setting the stage: friendship, motherhood & seasons of life
08:55 Introducing Rebecca Smith, Founder of Mamala Organics
011:45 Why adult friendships feel different after becoming a mom
12:45 The isolation of early motherhood & misaligned life timing
14:20 Can you really make lifelong friends later in life?
16:45 Releasing disappointment & categorizing friendships by purpose
17:15 Seeking value-aligned friendships intentionally
19:30 “Your partner can’t be everything” — redefining emotional support
21:30 Letting friendships ebb and flow without guilt
24:10 The power of women’s circles & intentional female community
25:45 Choosing the right energy around your kids
26:35 How adult friendships shape children’s social blueprints
31:15 Belonging vs. authenticity (for kids and adults)
32:30 Preparing kids for social challenges at every age
35:15 Mamala Organics: postpartum nourishment & food as medicine
Subscribe to Help Them Bloom:
Follow us on Instagram: @hatchandbloomco instagram.com/hatchandbloomco
Visit our website: https://www.hatchandbloom.co/
Produced by Haynow Media: https://haynowmedia.com/
16 Dec 2025
46. Transform Your Parenting by Healing Yourself First & Breaking Generational Patterns | Andrea Paola
What if the hardest parts of parenting have nothing to do with your kids—and everything to do with what you carry?
Andrea Paola, psychologist and parent coach reveals why modern parenting feels so overwhelming—and what’s actually underneath the guilt, burnout, and emotional triggers so many of us experience.
Andrea opens up about her personal journey through intergenerational trauma, family constellations, inner child work, and breaking the patterns she inherited—especially after becoming a mother to her daughter, Violeta.
In this episode of Help Them Bloom with Evelyn Mendal, you'll learn:
- Why parenting activates our deepest wounds
- How our 0–6 childhood years shape everything
- Why “mom guilt” is so universal
- What family constellations revealed about Andrea’s past
- How to stop parenting from the wounded child within
- How curiosity—not perfection—creates healing
- Why true parenting transformation starts with us, not our kids
Learn more about Andrea's work: https://linktr.ee/iamandreapaola?utm_source=linktree_profile_share
Timestamps:
00:00 The Reality of Parenting
02:38 Generational Patterns and Their Impact
05:28 Family Constellations: A Path to Healing
08:13 The Inner Child and Parenting Dynamics
11:10 Navigating Fear and Anxiety in Parenting
14:07 Creating Safe Spaces for Children
16:55 The Journey of Self-Discovery
19:43 Building New Family Dynamics
22:46 Choosing What to Carry Forward
25:38 Empathy and Connection in Parenting
Subscribe to Help Them Bloom:
Follow us on Instagram: @hatchandbloomco instagram.com/hatchandbloomco
Visit our website: https://www.hatchandbloom.co/
Produced by Haynow Media: https://haynowmedia.com/
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
33,724
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
12 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
10 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
67
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
71
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