Parenting Without Permission is the unfiltered parenting podcast where host Isabel Lopez brings on a new guest each episode to spill the beautiful, messy, triggering, and sometimes dark truth about raising humans. No fake perfection. No mom-shaming. Just raw stories about surviving, healing, breaking cycles, and parenting through chaos. If you've ever felt like you're winging it while unpacking your own trauma....welcome home!!!
Explicit language, emotional triggers, unexpected tears, and uncomfortable truths ahead.
In this episode of Parenting Without Permission, we talk openly about postpartum depression; the thoughts, emotions, guilt, isolation, and parts of motherhood that people are often afraid to say out loud.
This is an honest conversation about what can happen after having a baby, what it feels like when you’re struggling while everyone expects you to be happy, and why talking about maternal mental health matters.
If you’ve experienced postpartum depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or simply felt like you lost yourself somewhere in motherhood, you are not alone, and you deserve support.
Need help?
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (U.S.)
• National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: Call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) — free, confidential support available 24/7
• Postpartum Support International HelpLine: Call or text 1-800-944-4773 for information, support, and resources
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
This episode discusses postpartum depression and other mental health experiences and may be difficult for some listeners. This podcast is for personal storytelling and informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional mental health care.
17 Mar 2026
My Parents Were Always Naked
What happens when the boundaries in a home are… basically nonexistent?
In this episode, Andrea shares what it was like growing up in a house where her parents walked around naked all the time — but not in a free-spirited, open way. It was secretive, confusing, and left her with a lot of questions about privacy, attention, and what healthy boundaries in a family are supposed to look like.
We talk about the difference between nudity and neglect, what it feels like to grow up feeling invisible, and how those experiences follow you into adulthood.
Some parenting dynamics don’t fit neatly into boxes like “good” or “abusive,” but they still leave a mark.
As always on Parenting Without Permission, we’re talking about the messy, uncomfortable stuff that people don’t always say out loud.
Parenting Without Permission is a podcast about real parenting stories, breaking cycles, and having honest conversations about family dynamics.
14 Feb 2026
Valentine’s Day & The Audacity of Mediocre Men
Valentine’s Day has people lowering their standards like it’s a clearance sale.
Let me tell you about the time a man got jealous because a waiter refilled my water.
Sir… you still had water.
If someone feels threatened by basic hydration, imagine what they’ll do when you actually shine.
Red flags don’t turn pink just because it’s February.
12 Feb 2026
Motherhood, Autism & Immigrant Advocacy with Laura
In this episode, I sit down with Laura, director of The Latin Village Colorado Springs. Laura is a social worker, an advocate for immigrant families, and a mom raising a child with autism.
We talk about the work she does supporting the immigrant community, how immigration reform is impacting Latino families in real, everyday ways, and what community care looks like when systems fall short.
Laura also shares about her Spanish-language content platform where she creates space for immigrant voices and conversations that matter.
Connect with Laura and her work:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDgUJc7YJA6uZradwKwwCMg (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDgUJc7YJA6uZradwKwwCMg)
TikTok: @latinvillageofcol
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1462462827808044/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1462462827808044/)
This is a conversation about motherhood, advocacy, and showing up for our communities.
10 Jan 2026
Breaking Cycles Isn’t Gentle or Harsh — Andreea's Story
In this episode, Andreea shares her journey of growing up with an abusive parent, leaving to build a life of her own, and later returning to heal, not just for herself, but for her child.
We talk about what it’s like to break cycles without swinging to extremes, how therapy helped her understand patterns instead of repeating them, and what it means to parent with intention when your own upbringing lacked emotional safety.
This is a conversation about survival, boundaries, healing, and choosing a different path, even when it’s hard.
3 Jan 2026
Still Here: Jake's Story
Trigger Warning:
This episode contains discussions of homelessness, sexual assault, and the loss of a child. These topics may be difficult for some listeners. Please listen at your own pace and take care of yourself.
In this episode, Jake shares his story with honesty and vulnerability, including experiences that are often lived through silently. We talk about survival, loss, and the long road of carrying grief while continuing to show up for life.
This is a heavy conversation, but it is also a deeply human one. Listener discretion is advised.
12 Dec 2025
Dealing With Teen Pregnancy, a Toxic Parent, and a BD… One WTF at a Time
Becca joins me today to talk about the parts of teen pregnancy nobody prepares you for — especially when you’re navigating a toxic parent, a chaotic BD, and trying to grow up while raising a whole human.
We get into the guilt, the survival mode, the patterns we inherit, and the WTF moments that break you and build you at the same time.
If you’ve ever had to parent through trauma, heal while you’re still hurting, or carry responsibilities way too young… this episode is going to hit home.
One cycle at a time. One boundary at a time.
One WTF at a time.
4 Dec 2025
Parenting With a Ghost
Some parents don’t leave… they just stop showing up.
In this episode, we break down what it really feels like to co-parent with someone who is physically alive but emotionally, mentally, or consistently gone — a ghost in your child’s life and yours.
We talk about:
✨ The heartbreak and exhaustion of raising kids with an inconsistent parent
✨ How disappearing acts affect a child’s trust, behavior, and emotional safety
✨ What “ghost parenting” looks like in real life (the patterns we never talk about)
✨ Why you stop chasing someone who should already be present
✨ Rebuilding stability when the other parent drifts in and out
✨ Breaking the cycle so your kids don’t repeat it
If you’ve ever felt alone in a “two-parent” situation, this episode is validation, comfort, and clarity wrapped in one.
You are not imagining it. You are not overreacting.
Parenting with a ghost is real — and it leaves a mark.
New episode of Parenting Without Permission every week.
Follow to stay updated, and share with someone who needs to hear this.
20 Nov 2025
Healing from the Mom You Needed but Didn’t Get
Parenting hits different when the woman who raised you was toxic, chaotic, or emotionally unavailable.
This episode dives into what it’s really like to raise kids while still healing from the mother who left wounds you’re now trying to break.
We talk about:
• Mother wounds and the anger, grief, and guilt they create
• Parenting when you were never emotionally parented
• Being labeled “dramatic” or “ungrateful” for setting boundaries
• Breaking patterns your mom still denies exist
• Becoming the safe parent you needed growing up
If you’re healing while raising, breaking cycles in real time, and trying to give your kids what you never got—this one is for you.
About kids, not for kids.
13 Nov 2025
Dating a Parent: The Reality No One Warns You About
What happens when you fall for someone who already has kids?
In this episode, we’re talking about what it’s really like to date a parent when you don’t have kids of your own — the patience it takes, the boundaries you learn the hard way, the moments where you feel left out, and the emotional growth that hits you out of nowhere.
We dig into the parts no one warns you about: the guilt, the schedules that don’t revolve around you, the love that feels complicated but worth it, and the way you end up learning more about yourself than you expected.
Because dating a parent isn’t just about love, it’s about learning to step into a story that already started, and figuring out where you fit in it.
6 Nov 2025
The Traveling Mom Life: Work Trips, Mom Guilt & Midnight Snuggles
Ever wonder what it feels like to be a new mom while your job keeps you living out of a suitcase?
This week, I sit down with a traveling professional who’s learning how to balance flights, work deadlines, and motherhood — all while trying not to lose herself in the process.
We talk about what no one really prepares you for: the guilt, the exhaustion, the quiet moments of pride that come when you realize you’re actually doing it.
Because the truth is, parenting doesn’t pause when life gets chaotic — you just learn to adjust midair.
This one’s for every parent who’s ever felt torn between showing up for work and showing up for their family.
For anyone who’s ever questioned if they’re doing enough, being enough, or feeling enough.
It’s messy, it’s emotional, and it’s real.
🎙 Parenting Without Permission — about kids, not for kids.
30 Oct 2025
Breaking Machismo: We Refuse to Raise Emotionally Broken Men
We were raised in homes where feelings were weaknesses, boys were told to “man up,” and daughters were taught to serve future kings who never learned how to love. Machismo wasn’t just an attitude, it was the family heirloom nobody asked for.
In this first episode, two Latina moms go raw about growing up around emotionally unavailable men, watching our mothers shrink, and being told “así son los hombres” like it made abuse acceptable. But we’re not raising the next generation of emotionally damaged husbands and silent fathers. We’re raising boys who can love without power trips and feel without shame.
If you were raised by machismo but refuse to pass it on, this one’s gonna hit deep.
➡️ Follow the podcast, share with a cycle-breaker, and leave a review if you're done raising emotionally unavailable men.
🔞 Explicit language, emotional triggers, unexpected tears, and uncomfortable truths ahead.
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