Parenting Well Podcast

About Parenting Well Podcast

Welcome to the Parenting Well Podcast with the Parent Engagement Network! I am Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host. This podcast provides perspectives on parenting, so that you can fill your well with information, strategies, and resources that help you raise healthy, happy humans. Filling your well leaves you engaged, educated and empowered to support your children in being strong, resourceful, confident and resilient in the face of life’s challenges and adventures. Let’s fill that well!

Publisher

Parent Engagement Network

Category

education · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Nov 2019

Latest episode

29 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

70 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Sept 2026

   #70 What Love Requires: A Parent's Journey Supporting a Transgender Child with Cat Lindsey

   What Love Requires: A Parent’s Journey Supporting a Transgender Child What does love require when your child’s journey challenges your expectations, fears, and instincts as a parent? In this episode of the Parenting Well Podcast, Dr. Shelly Mahon talks with Cat Lindsey, mother of a transgender daughter, and Cristian Solano-Córdova of Motus Theater about What Love Requires: Stories from Parents of Transgender and Nonbinary Adults. Cat shares her deeply personal journey, from witnessing her daughter’s joy and self-expression, to navigating dysphoria and gender-affirming care, and learning what she needed to let go of as a parent. Cristian explains why Motus Theater uses first-person storytelling to create empathy and connection. At the heart of their conversation is a powerful reminder: “This is not about you. It’s about your child.” In This Podcast We Talk About: Cat’s family journey and her daughter’s joy, creativity, and self-expression What dysphoria looked like during her daughter’s high school years Navigating gender-affirming care and hormone therapy Advocating for your child while also working through your own fears and emotions The expectations parents may have for their child’s future and what it can mean to let those expectations go The experience of seeing a child’s joy and confidence return The importance of allowing young people to express themselves fully Learning when to step back and trust your child The importance of finding support for the entire family The differences between coming out today and coming out a decade ago Why parents' voices and personal stories matter How writing and performing a personal monologue can help others see the world through someone else's eyes The power of authentic storytelling to create connection and empathy Resources: Motus Theater Motus Theater creates original performances designed to facilitate dialogue on critical issues through autobiographical storytelling and community engagement. Visit Motus Theater What Love Requires Learn more about What Love Requires: Stories from Parents of Transgender and Nonbinary Adults, including the stories and performances that make up the project. Learn more about What Love Requires See What Love Requires in Lafayette Motus Theater & the Parent Engagement Network present What Love Requires Saturday, November 14, 20266:30 to 8:30 PMThe Collective Community Arts CenterLafayette, Colorado For more information and event details: Motus Theater Events Cat Lindsey's Monologue, "Joy to the World" Cat's monologue tells the story of a mother celebrating her transgender daughter's innate joy, musical brilliance, and fearless self-expression. She also reflects on how that joy diminished during high school as her daughter experienced dysphoria, and what Cat learned after witnessing her daughter's joy return following gender-affirming care. Cat's story offers an honest look at parenting, advocacy, regret, growth, and the process of learning to see your child's experience through their eyes. Meet Our Guests Cat Lindsey Cat Lindsey is a Colorado native and former professional actor who has spent the last couple of decades working in the nonprofit sector. She now works in the renewable energy industry, a transition she jokes will last “at least until I get replaced by AI.” Cat is the mother of a transgender daughter, and her personal story is featured in Motus Theater's What Love Requires through her monologue, “Joy to the World.” Cristian Solano-Córdova Cristian Solano-Córdova (he/they) is the Director of Communications, Outreach, and Development for Motus Theater, a Colorado-based nonprofit that uses autobiographical storytelling to foster dialogue, build empathy, and inspire social change. Originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, Cristian is a Denver-based DACA recipient who has spent more than a decade working at the intersection of immigrant rights, criminal legal reform, and LGBTQIA+ advocacy. He helped bring What Love Requires from concept

2. 

   9 Sept 2026

   #69 It Takes a Village: Building Stronger Families Through Community Collaboration, with Melanie Piazza and Marinela Maneiro-Goodwin

   “There is a big gap between being welcome and being wanted. It's not just translating something into Spanish so that you feel welcome. It's asking what kind of programs people actually want, because we have things to learn too.” — Melanie Piazza I’m Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today I bring you Melanie Piazza of the Parent Engagement Network and Marinela Maneiro-Goodwin of Boulder County's Institute for Strengthening Families. Episode Description In this episode, incoming Executive Director Melanie Piazza and mental health consultant Marinela Maneiro-Goodwin talk about what PEN has learned over those 25 years, and about the collaboration between PEN, Boulder County's Institute for Strengthening Families, and the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County that is trying to answer an old question in a new way. It takes a village to raise a child, but what does that village actually look like for families today, and why has it been so hard to build one that includes everyone? Marinela brings a candid perspective on the gap between organizations that want to serve Latino families and organizations that Latino families actually trust. She and Melanie talk through what cultural responsiveness looks like beyond translating a flyer into Spanish, the barriers that keep parents from showing up even when help is available, and why being wanted is a different thing than being welcomed. Melanie reflects on 25 years of PEN's work and what she is carrying forward as she steps into leadership, including the belief that connection, not resilience alone, is what actually helps parents feel supported. Together, they make the case that no single organization can be the whole village. Real support for families comes from organizations that are willing to sit down as equals, learn from each other, and build something that could not exist if any one of them tried to do it alone. About Our Guests Melanie Piazza is the Executive Director of the Parent Engagement Network, or PEN, a Boulder County organization that helps parents and caregivers find practical tools, resources, and community support. Melanie previously served on PEN's board and brings a unique perspective to the organization through her experience as an entrepreneur and founder of Family Village, a community center created to support families. She is passionate about building the connections and community that help parents feel less alone. Marinela Maneiro-Goodwin is a mental health consultant, educator, and facilitator who has spent much of her career working with Latino families and communities. With a background in clinical psychology and organizational development, Marinela focuses on strengthening families through culturally responsive education, communication, stress management, and substance-use prevention. She brings an important perspective to the collaboration between PEN and Boulder County's Institute for Strengthening Families. In This Episode, We Cover What Melanie is seeing as the biggest challenges facing parents today, what parents tell her they need most as she steps into leadership at PEN, and what 25 years of PEN's work has taught us about what actually helps parents feel supported, connected, and confident What a village looks like for families today, and why collaboration between organizations with different areas of expertise means coming to the table “as equals” The work of the Institute for Strengthening Families, and the honest history behind this collaboration, including Marinela's reflection that PEN has worked hard to bring the community together but hasn't always succeeded in reaching the Latino community, and that “it is nobody's fault” What meaningful cultural responsiveness looks like beyond simply translating information into Spanish, the difference between being welcomed and being wanted, and the barriers that keep parents away even when resources exist because they don't feel they belong in certain spaces Building real trust with famili

3. 

   31 Aug 2026

   #68_The Conversations Our Kids Need Us to Have, Even Ehen We’re Afraid with Jenna Candreia

   “One thing that kids think is, I don't want to burden my parents with this, this is too much for them. And when we're willing to say, ‘Are you struggling with suicide, do you have a plan, do you want to die by suicide,’ that opens the door for them to say, Wow, maybe I'm not going to burden them. Maybe this isn't that bad. They brought it up to me, so it must be okay.” I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and in today's episode we talk about how most parents can feel when something is off with their kid, but freeze right at the moment it matters most. Do you ask the hard question, or do you wait and hope it passes? Jenna Candreia has spent years helping families move past that fear. As executive director of The Liv Project, Jenna works to bring youth mental health and suicide prevention “out of the shadows” and give parents real, practical language for the conversations they're most afraid to start. About Our Guest Jenna Candreia is the Executive Director of The Liv Project, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on turning the conversation about youth mental health and suicide prevention “out of the shadows.” Jenna leads the organization's work from Colorado. The Liv Project was created in memory of Liv, a 19-year-old who died by suicide in 2019 after struggling with anxiety, depression and a non-verbal learning disorder. Her family transformed their grief into a mission centered on connection, fearless communication, and giving people practical ways to talk about mental health. The organization's work includes The Game That Goes There, creative workshops, digital discussion guides, the My Sister Liv documentary, and the L.I.V. framework (Listen, Identify, Vocalize) for recognizing and responding to mental health struggles. In This Episode, We Cover Liv's story, and how her family turned their grief into a mission built on connection and fearless conversation What “fearless conversations” actually means in practice, and why asking a teen directly about suicidal thoughts doesn't plant the idea The subtle changes parents should watch for when a teen may be struggling, and how to tell ordinary teenage behavior from something that needs more attention The L.I.V. framework, Listen, Identify, Vocalize, and how a parent can put it to use at home Why kids often stay quiet because they don't want to “burden” a parent, and how being asked directly can actually be a relief Moving out of problem-solving mode and learning what it looks like to really listen when a teen opens up How social media shapes belonging, comparison and self-worth, and the “compare/despair” trap Jenna sees in the kids she works with What to say, and what to avoid saying, when a child finally tells a parent “I'm not okay” How to tell when a situation has moved beyond what a parent can manage alone, and how to bring in outside support Approaching a teen's changed behavior with curiosity and “protective mode” instead of “attack mode” Why it's progress, not perfection, and how kids forgive parents who keep showing up The one skill Jenna believes every parent needs to help protect a child's mental health Other Lines Worth Remembering “As parents we get so scared when behavior changes. Our kids see us as coming in with attack mode, but it's really protective mode. Breathe through that, and ask questions.” “It's not perfection, it's progress. Our kids forgive us.” “One of the things I always tell kids is, with social media, you are comparing your insides to everyone else's outsides. You're seeing a snapshot, a picture, that seems so happy and so wonderful, and you're comparing that to how you feel on the inside. That is not apples to apples.” Resources Mentioned & Related Reading The Liv Project: Resources, programs and tools designed to help families and communities have more open conversations about youth mental health and suicide prevention Fearless Conversation Guides: Two action-oriented guides, one for someone worried about themselves and one for som

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

2

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

81