HeyJaredThe Almost Empty Nest—Letting Go, Redefined: Parenting Teens and Finding Yourself Again—with Small Jar Coach
Are you stuck between wanting to guide your teen or college kid and knowing it’s time to start letting go?Welcome to The Almost Empty Nest Podcast, where moms of teens and college kids reframe what ‘letting go’ really means and stop second-guessing themselves to feel more…
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 24
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- Sep 23, 2026
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- Jul 4, 2026
Latest episodes
“I Feel Like a Failure as a Mom”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 290 (opens the original)
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When your big kid is struggling, pulling away, or making choices you don’t understand, how quickly does your brain start asking, “What did I do wrong?” In this episode, I’m talking about the way we moms can use our kids’ choices, struggles, relationships, and happiness as evidence of how well we’re doing in motherhood. That gets especially painful as we move through parenting teens and the empty nest years, when our instinct to help is still strong but our ability to control the outcome has chan
Why the Right Boundary Can Still Feel So Wrong When Parenting Teens and Adult Kids | Ep. 289 (opens the original)
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What happens when you set a boundary, hold it, communicate it clearly… and absolutely nothing changes? In this episode, I’m talking about why boundaries can feel so confusing when you’re parenting teens, college kids, and adult children. At this stage of motherhood, we often judge whether a boundary “worked” by looking at what our kid does next. Did they change the behavior? Take it seriously? Learn the lesson? I’ll help you rethink what a boundary is actually meant to do, so you can stop overth
“I Can't Stop Worrying About My Kid”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 288 (opens the original)
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Have you ever checked your big kid’s location, reread a text, or offered one more piece of advice because you were hoping it would finally help you relax? I’ve been noticing this in my own life lately, and it made me curious about what’s really underneath all that worry. In this episode, I’m exploring why anxiety can feel so hard to put down during the parenting teens and empty nest years, and why constantly seeking reassurance rarely gives us the certainty we’re looking for. I’ll help you see t
Mindset Traps of Parenting Teens and the Empty Nest—Trap #12: The Approval Trap—Why Your Big Kid’s Disapproval Makes You Doubt Yourself | Ep. 287 (opens the original)
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How many times have you felt clear about a decision as a mom, only to watch that confidence disappear the moment your big kid became upset? As we parent teens and navigate the empty nest, our kids’ disapproval can feel like evidence that we’re setting boundaries incorrectly, damaging the relationship, or failing at motherhood. Before we know it, we’re overexplaining, backpedaling, or changing a decision just to keep the peace. In this episode, I’m unpacking the Approval Trap and why letting go o
“Nothing Matters to My Kid”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 286 (opens the original)
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Have you ever walked away from a conversation with your teen thinking, Did any of that even register? Maybe you set a boundary, explain why you’re worried, or tell them how much something hurt you… and all you get back is a shrug, an eye roll, or a flat “okay.” In this episode, I’m exploring what happens when we interpret our big kid’s reaction as proof that they don’t care, haven’t learned anything, or that we’re no longer getting through. I’ll help you see why their outward response may tell y
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