Angie Weber Podcast Interview with Dori - May 21 2026

[00:00:00]

Dori Durbin: Welcome to That's Good Parenting, the podcast where we search for simple steps to reduce your parenting stress. I'm your host, Dori Durbin. I'm a children's book illustrator, book coach, author, and of course, the podcaster of That's Good Parenting. I help parents and professionals turn emotional concepts into language that kids can actually understand and use in kids books.

Dori Durbin: And today's conversation feels especially important because I feel like so many parents are carrying this quiet guilt or fear underneath the surface. One of it might be, what if I'm becoming the kind of parent that I never wanted to become? Today, I'm joined by Angie Weber, parent coach, speaker, CEO of the Parent Toolbox, and host of The Moms Essential podcast.

Dori Durbin: Angie helps parents build calmer communication, regulate emotions, and strengthen connection with their kids through her calm approach to parenting. Angie, I'm so glad that you're here today. 

Angie Weber: I'm so excited for this conversation. Even just that little part, I'm like, "Ooh, this [00:01:00] is gonna be a good one." 

Dori Durbin: I think it is a huge fear because parents wake up sometimes and they, they say to themselves, "Oh my gosh, did I just say what I promised I would never say?"

Dori Durbin: I, I love my parents, but even in my own mind, there were fears of like, am I gonna be just like my mom or my dad? You want to have your own reaction and be yourself. So first of all, before we get into it too thick, can you tell people why you ended up parenting people through these very fears? 

Angie Weber: And that's one thing that I hear from parents all of the time is, "I don't want to parent how I was parented." And I too had a great childhood. My parents have been married for over 45 years. I mean, so really great role models. And there, of course, are some things that I look back on and thinking, "Mm, I wanna do that differently."

Angie Weber: And so really my story kind of came out from my healing journey that I went through for a few years after some trauma, and I started learning more about our emotions, [00:02:00] mental health, how to tune in better with our bodies to understand this stuff, which a lot of us, because of our upbringing, disconnected from.

Angie Weber: And, uh, emotions are so contagious, and, uh, they're one of the things that can make us feel really guilty and shame. We go into that spiral kind of that you were talking about. "Did I just say that? Did I just do that? Why did I yell again?" And I started incorporating these tools into my own home, and I saw this really amazing ripple effect of how it was changing my relationship with my kids.

Angie Weber: It was changing my relationship with my husband. And as he started to adapt some of the strategies and tools as well, I saw the relationship with him and our kids change as well. So I was actually already serving and helping families in kind of a different avenue with holistic products, natural things, um, because I felt so passionate about that.

Angie Weber: And then I started kind of incorporating some of these tools and strategies into those teachings. And, um, after a class, I remember [00:03:00] so many moms saying, why did we not know this before? Like, why are we not out there teaching our kids?" And that's really when I decided to, you know, change and kind of pivot my business, rebrand it to The Parent Toolbox, and really help those parents through these difficult times because we want to enjoy our time with our kids.

Angie Weber: And we wanna look back and say, "Oh, they had a great childhood, and I had a great experience raising them." But, you know, the tools that we have have been handed down from generation to generation. And I don't say that we have to eliminate all of them, but we have the opportunity today with different support and different knowledge and studies to really upgrade our toolboxes with those tools that we've been handed down.

Dori Durbin: It's such a natural response to go to what you know. 

Angie Weber: Yes. 

Dori Durbin: And it, I feel like sometimes as a parent, the reaction happens because of the emotion that's coming out, but you don't even realize that you're reacting. Like, it's so fast. Yes. So what is the biggest reason that we get [00:04:00] these triggers to automate on our bodies, but we can't do anything about it?

Angie Weber: Yeah. Well, the first thing, you already nailed it right on the head, is that we- we're very reactive because we live in a very reactive society. You know? E- even with our health, like, "Oh, we have a stomach ache, let's take care of it now. Oh, this happened, let's take care of it now," versus trying to be proactive.

Angie Weber: And kind of as I mentioned, you know, we really, because of our own upbringings, I'm sure maybe you, I know I did, probably a lot of your listeners, heard things when it came to emotions like, "Why are you so upset? It's not a big deal. Do not get angry," "Don't let anyone see you cry." And these were messages that, I'm not putting shame on our parents, I always like to put that little caveat because they did the best with what they had.

Angie Weber: But what ended up happening to us as children when these emotions came up, we weren't being told how to express them or how to deal with them. In a sense, we were being told, "You're wrong for feeling that way." And so what that did is we're like, "Oh, I'm wrong. This is uncomfortable. I don't know how to deal with it.

Angie Weber: [00:05:00] I'm just gonna push it down." And so even as we continue to age and get older, and now we're in adulthood We still don't understand how to really recognize those emotions or how to express them properly, and that's a lot of times where that reaction comes out, and then we're like, "Oh gosh, did I just say that?"

Angie Weber: Or, "Did that just happen?" And then we go into shame, and we go into guilt, and it's just this vicious cycle. Um, and then we also expect our children, these little tiny humans, to understand how to regulate their emotions, and we get upset when they can't do it. But then we have to look at ourselves and say, "Wait, am I regulating mine?"

Angie Weber: Because they're watching me. They're soaking up what I do. They're really just kind of a reflection of me. So we need to do the hard work as parents first to really understand that and make better choices. Because I hear from parents all the time like, "Yeah, Angie, a pause sounds great. Like, I wish I could pause, but I don't know what to tell you.

Angie Weber: I can't do it. I go from zero to 60. There's no changing." And you know what? It's [00:06:00] taken us a lot of little steps to where we have gotten to, and it's gonna take us a lot of little steps and that practice and grace to get us to where we wanna be. 

Dori Durbin: That's so good. I- and I appreciate the perspective that you're giving of the parent of feeling, like, overwhelmed.

Dori Durbin: Like, "I know what I'm supposed to do. I know what the actions are supposed to be. I know I'm supposed to take a break, but I just can't do it." Right. And I feel like that happens so much to so many people. Um, so is there a best way to... I don't want to say just to pause, 'cause it's not even just that. It's like, how do we start to recognize- Yeah

Dori Durbin: that this is an emotional reaction, not a logical reaction? Like, where, where is that piece that comes into it? And then I guess the second thing that comes to my mind is because you mentioned the guilt and shame, how do we handle that kind of, that guilt, you know, afterwards? So we, we might know what we're supposed to do.

Dori Durbin: We don't do it, and then we immediately feel really rotten about how we, [00:07:00] how we did react. So I guess start with, like, how do you know? And then what do we do? 

Angie Weber: Yeah. Well, a lot of it's becoming, again, more in tune with your body, um, because our emotions are sending us cues and signs all of the time. But again, it's hard for us to recognize it.

Angie Weber: And so one of the pieces of my CALM approach, every letter stands for a different foundational piece that I really tailor to the family's goals, needs, and wants, because every family is so unique and every child is so unique and different. Um, I'm a mom of twins. I have boy/girl twins and, um, my goodness, they are completely opposite in a lot of ways.

Angie Weber: So I know that I need different tools for my son than I do for my daughter, even when I want the same outcome. And so the L of the CALM approach stands for learning emotional regulation, and that's probably one of my favorite pieces to really dive into. And I work specifically one-on-one with the parents because, again, we've been hardwired for so long that we're gonna need to really work on ourselves again before we can expect our [00:08:00] children to magically know how to do this stuff.

Angie Weber: Sure. I love teaching parents to kind of start slow and do it, again, with grace, no judgment, but start tuning in with our body. So there's five different areas that I teach them to really focus on when they start feeling like emotions are coming up, or maybe they're just reflecting on it afterwards because, again, they're in the position where they're like, "Oh, there's no way I could stop and do that."

Angie Weber: But now that I'm looking back on it, maybe I can become curious about what was happening. So I tell them, think about what your body sensations are. So where is it showing up in your body? Is your stomach fluttering? Are your shoulders getting tensed? Does your face feel like it's getting flushed? Then your body movement.

Angie Weber: Um, when we're in our different states of emotions, um, when we're out of what I like to call our sweet spot of emotions, um, it... The energy is trying to get, or the emotion is trying to get out, because it's energy, but sometimes that looks different. So does it feel like we need to pace or we do need to move [00:09:00] our body?

Angie Weber: Or is it that we're so heavy that we kind of feel frozen and, like, our body's a million pounds at that point? Then you're gonna think about the thoughts that you're having. Of course, we can think about, okay, so what ki- what are the thoughts that are going through my head, but also what pace are they coming in at?

Angie Weber: Are they coming in so fast that it's, like, just rapid fire, or is it kind of like, oh, gosh, it feels like molasses and I can't even function to really complete this thought? Then emotions, which again sounds very basic But a lot of times emotions can mask each other. So maybe you just quickly say, "Well, I was really angry in that moment, and that's why I yelled."

Angie Weber: But what's at the deeper root cause of that? Is it that you were actually feeling very insecure, or you were feeling defeated in that moment? Like, what's happening in the different layers of emotions? And then lastly, what's going on with your five senses? Because when we're in these different stages and these different emotions, it's very common for some of our [00:10:00] senses to be heightened and others to be dulled.

Angie Weber: So for example, I know when I am feeling, you know, at getting into my fight or flight mode or my high activation as I call it, um, I know that my leg will go up and down. And I know that my thoughts are coming in really fast, and I'm feeling very anxious in the moment. And I also know that my sight is very locked into what I'm doing, and if my dog barks in the background it could set me off, honestly.

Angie Weber: Like, because my, my hearing is so heightened at that moment too. And so again, I know it sounds like a lot to go through, but once you start practicing it and just kinda doing a body scan, it starts becoming second nature. So then we can say, "Oh, yep, my stomach's getting tight. I can feel my thoughts coming in at a faster pace.

Angie Weber: I'm needing to move around. Like, I'm starting to get very anxious, my fight or flight." So then we have the opportunity to, opportunity to be proactive and say, "Okay, what can I do different in this moment? Do I need to step away? Do I need to start [00:11:00] figuring out that if it's a common person, place, or thing, or situation that's happening that's having me go into this kind of fight or flight mode, what can I do differently?

Angie Weber: How can I be proactive?" So for example, you know, um, kids in the morning, when you're trying to get them ready to go out of the house, um, you know, the kids are moving super slow, and you're like, "Come on, we gotta go. We're already late." You're getting anxious because you're looking at your watch, and you're like, "We're already five minutes late, and they're still trying to tie their shoe, and I told them 10 minutes ago to do this.

Angie Weber: Why aren't they listening to me?" Then you explode because we all lead from emotion sometimes. Then you finally get them in the car, and there's that just lingering kind of silence of, and this tension in the air, and you're thinking to yourself, "Oh, why did I yell again? I said this morning was gonna be different."

Angie Weber: The kids are feeling, you know, dysregulated. it's just an awful way to start the morning. Um, and I don't say that to, again, put shame or guilt onto the listeners, but it's just, it's one of those common things. But inst-un-until we [00:12:00] start being proactive and coming up with different plans, nothing is gonna change.

Angie Weber: We're gonna continue having those moments over and over and over again. 

Dori Durbin: I remember those moments and thinking, "Okay, I, I'm just taking time to, you know, like settle things down in my brain and not react.

Dori Durbin: I'm not gonna, not gonna yell," is my big thing. "I'm not gonna yell. I'm not gonna do that." Um, but like looking back at it, it's really interesting, and this was one of my questions for you, is do kids ever misunderstand or internalize the experience of what's going on in their parents? So it could be the yelling, it could be the quiet, it could be just, uh, a reaction from the mom, like, or dad, like- Uh-huh

Dori Durbin: you know, like are they... Is it common for them to misunderstand what's behind all of that, and then you've, maybe the parents don't even realize it's happening? 

Angie Weber: Yeah, for sure, and I think we do that as parents, too, is we jump to conclusion. Our kids have a behavior, and we think they're being defiant.

Angie Weber: They're being, you know, just ridiculous right now, and they've got way too much energy type of [00:13:00] thing. And what we forget to do is kind of look at the root cause. Now, our children, especially at young ages, they can't do that. You know, we, there's executive functioning skills that we all have, but children develop them la- you know, at a different stage than obviously we have as adults.

Angie Weber: And so it's hard for them to understand. That's why the repair piece is so important, and I think you kind of alluded to this when we first started talking about it is, you know, what do we do after those moments of guilt and shame? And another step of the CALM approach is awareness and accountability, and that's where we really talk about that repair, where we acknowledge it because it not only helps us have a better relationship and communication with our children of- You know what?

Angie Weber: I know that mom got upset this morning, and I yelled. I really didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry. You don't deserve to be spoken to that way. Next time, I'm gonna take a mommy minute. Those were always my favorite, is I was always tell my kids, like, as long as they were safe, like, "Mommy needs a mommy minute," and I would step outside or I would step in the other room for a few seconds just to [00:14:00] really bring myself back down.

Angie Weber: Um, but it's so important that we continue to do that repair so that we can also teach them on the importance of repairing in their own relationships as they get older. Because, again, I think so many of us grew up thinking like, "Oh, that happened, but now mom or dad are just pretending it didn't happen."

Angie Weber: Like, everything gets swept underneath the rug. We don't really talk about it. And again, then when we go through those emotions, we're like, "Oh, gosh, this is really uncomfortable. I don't know what to do right now," because I was never taught on how to do it. 

Dori Durbin: That's so huge. I think that is the biggest piece that pops out in my head, is that we want to do change.

Dori Durbin: We haven't been taught how to do it. Yeah. And I'm listening, thinking, , I never saw my mom take time out. Yeah. I saw her get frustrated, and we just stayed away.

Dori Durbin: Yeah. There wasn't that recognition of, "I'm taking this time to calm down." And in return, I remember feeling the same way with my kids, so it's like being passed on- Yeah ... generationally. [00:15:00] Like, I'm giving my kids the same s- coping skills, which weren't great. And now, you know, I'm gonna probably see it again.

Dori Durbin: So, just from the perspective of, like, l- long, you know, the- their lives and the longevity of how they handle their life, this is huge, really, Angie. This is huge. It's 

Angie Weber: super huge, and that's kind of one of my whole goals is, like, let's break these generational cycles- Mm-hmm ... that, again, have been handed down from generation to generation.

Angie Weber: But now with the technology, with, you know, the research, with the different types of support. I mean, there was no parent coaches, years ago. Um, it was, you know, the, "Oh, go see a therapist or a counselor," which again, still, I think the pandemic brought a lot of light to mental health practitioners.

Angie Weber: Um, and I think we still have a long way to go. And there's also now different support systems that we can use because I think we have this concept in our mind that we just should know how to parent, right? But the truth is, is we are all terrified when we bring that baby home and we're like, [00:16:00] "How am I gonna keep them alive?"

Angie Weber: Like, "That is my number one goal right now. I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know why anyone left, l- let me leave the hospital with them. Like, what is happening?" Um, we don't... I mean, w- we have the motherly instincts, right? But, like, we don't have everything down. And I think that's one of the coolest things that I've really been able to communicate with my daughter.

Angie Weber: She's gonna be 12 soon. And, um, y- my goodness, preteen girls, holy moly, like, send help, right? Like, it is a battle of its own. Um, and she has taught me so much stuff, but something that I talk to her about a lot is, "I know that you are doing this for the first time. Like, you're trying to understand what's going on, and you're growing, and your hormones are changing, and your body's changing, and you're dealing with all these different things.

Angie Weber: And I need you to know that this is my first time, too. Like, this is my first time parenting, so I'm trying to learn. I'm trying to grow." Um, and it makes me emotional thinking about it, but this last Mother's Day, her card to me said something [00:17:00] along the lines of, like, "Thank you for learning and growing with me, Mom."

Dori Durbin: Like- 

Angie Weber: Oh, fun ... oh my gosh. Like, even though she, has... was sassy the day before, I was like, "Holy moly, this makes it all worth it." And so it's just those little things of not putting ourselves on this, like, big pedestal of having to be absolutely perfect all the time, because there is no perfect parent, and our kids don't want a perfect parent.

Angie Weber: They just want us, and they wanna feel safe and supported. And our job as parents is to create that space for them while also teaching them how to be really good human beings as they continue to grow. 

Dori Durbin: Oh my gosh, you almost made me cry. Um- 

Angie Weber: I know. And I do wanna say, like, I am definitely not the perfect parent.

Angie Weber: If they were here right now, they would probably tell you plenty of things- ... that I do to embarrass them and how I've messed up and, you know, all those things. So it's, it's not, again, about being the perfect parent, but it's about learning and growing and, and really filling up your parenting toolbox with different strategies that are going to benefit [00:18:00] everyone in your whole entire family.

Dori Durbin: And do you feel like, by parents spending the time investing in their own awareness, that... I know that you think that this is modeling for the kids, but I'm wondering how much stronger it feels for them. Because they're growing up with it. 

Dori Durbin: It's part of their life toolbox, their life skills, right? 

Angie Weber: Yeah, absolutely, because as we're growing our tools, and again, I always say you don't need a mirror, you need a child, because they will show you the best and worst parts of yourself. Um, and there are so many times, me and my husband do this all the time, where the kids will say something or they'll react some way, and then I'll either be like, "Oh, man yep, that, yep, that's a mini-me.

Angie Weber: I totally know where she got that from." Or like, my son will do something, and my son is like very, um, inquisitive and like you can ask him the simplest thing, but he always wants to find a different way to do it. Like, "Ooh, I have an idea," is what he always used to say. And it's like, "I, I just literally need you to bring me down the broom.

Angie Weber: Like, I don't need you to create a pulley system to do it, I just..." You know, but he's [00:19:00] like very mechanically minded that way, and so is my husband. And so I'm always like, "I wonder where he got that from. Like, he got that from you." So we can see these things in our children all of the time. Um, and so really what we're doing as parents is upgrading these toolboxes, but again, the kids are creating their own toolboxes that are gonna continue to grow with them as well.

Angie Weber: So we wanna make sure that we're putting the best high-quality strategies and tools for them in there, and that they can continue to grow on so that they don't have to do as much hard work as we do right now as parents. Because you're parents listening, if you're doing the hard work, if you're feeling, you know, That shame and that guilt and you're, and you're taking steps to make those changes, it's difficult.

Angie Weber: It's overwhelming sometimes, and it's a lot of work. Mm-hmm. And you're doing something really amazing, too. So give yourself a pat on the back for doing that. But what if we could teach our kids at a younger age so that they don't have to go through as much hard work? There's enough hard stuff that's waiting for them as they go through [00:20:00] life.

Angie Weber: And again, if we have those tools, which also include problem-solving skills and resilience, and there's so many things that go into it that I think we can both agree if we knew that at a younger age, we would probably feel a little bit better off as well, 

Dori Durbin: E- especially if it's natural for them to go to those tools instead of being something that they've had so many issues they need them now.

Angie Weber: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. 

Dori Durbin: Can we, um, go back to CALM just for a second? And I, I wanted to ask you what each letter stood for the audience to hear it. I know we, we went through the L and the R, but we missed a couple letters. 

Angie Weber: Yeah. So the C is for compassionate communication. So obviously in this pillar we talk about different ways to communicate, um, you know, like help versus heard, we're mirroring, things like that.

Angie Weber: Um, but it also talks a lot about that connection piece. Um, you know, we live in a reactive society. We already talked about that, but our schedules are really busy, and we can go through a whole month of being like, "What just happened to that month?" Like, when did we really spend quality time together? And, um, sometimes we let our [00:21:00] schedule run us versus us running our schedule, and it's so important that we carve out that intentional time.

Angie Weber: So we talk a lot about communication and connection, um, and family meetings, um, a huge component for. Um, the A stands for awareness and accountability, so we kind of went over that a little bit, but that's really coming into parenting with curiosity. And I tell parents, it's time to be a detective. Like, let's really figure out what's going on underneath your, you know, the behaviors of your children versus jumping to conclusion.

Angie Weber: And then that, um- accountability piece where, you know, we work on the repairs, but we also, you know, again, it's our job to teach our kids. And discipline means to teach, so that is a huge part of parenting, not punishment- ... but discipline. And so I talk a lot about, okay, choices for kids, but also the consequences, because every choice in life has a consequence, whether it's a natural consequence, you know, you go outside without your jacket, you're gonna be cold, or it's an enforced consequence, "Hey, you didn't do this.

Angie Weber: which again, is [00:22:00] all part of, you know, the communication and connection piece too where we talk about establishing family rules- Yeah ... and really, you know, understanding that for a- everyone involved. Um, the L is for learning emotional regulation, so really talking about your sweet spot of emotions and how to understand when you're getting out of it.

Angie Weber: And then M is for mindful modeling. Um, so one of my other missions is to, uh, really rephrase it of, you know, do as I say, not as I do, to do as I do. Because again, kids are watching us all of the time, and that's where a lot of the coping skills come in. Um, I, I don't, I, I love a glass of wine here and there, um, but mommy wine culture is typically the easiest, you know, one that we can pinpoint of, um, you know, when your kids see you, you know, come home, and you say, "Oh, gosh, I had a stressful day.

Angie Weber: I'm gonna have a glass of wine." And then they see you say, "Mm, you know what? It was pretty bad. I, I actually really deserve that second glass of wine. And you know what? The bottle is already open. I'm just gonna finish it tonight." What that is teaching our kids is that, oh, when I'm an adult and I have stressful situations, I'm gonna drink wine.

Angie Weber: And [00:23:00] so they start making these correlations really young, um, and not the healthiest ways. So we really wanna make sure that we're establishing really safe coping skills for us too so we can be healthier in all the different ways, but then they can see those as well, um, as part of that mindful modeling.

Dori Durbin: You're right. This is, this is work. This is work, but it's good work. Oh, yeah. It's very good work. And you're right too as far as, like, what they see. It's so strange. Like, some of the things that our kids picked up on that now I see as th- they're older, they're adults technically, right? Young adults. And I'm like, "Oh, wait.

Dori Durbin: Yeah, we did do that." So- Yeah ... it just doesn't even phase you at the moment 'cause it's just something that maybe you learned or something that you just became part of your routine. And, um- Yeah ... so yeah. That's amazing, Angie. This is awesome. I just love this. Thank you. You know, my job as a kids' book illustrator and a coach, I spend a lot of time trying to take emotional pieces and turn it into [00:24:00] story.

Dori Durbin: So if you were to think about this with your work, if kids could understand one thing earlier about emotions, repair, reactions, what do you wish that one thing would be? 

Angie Weber: That there are no bad emotions. 

Angie Weber: Tell me more. So you're not, yeah, you're not wrong for feeling an emotion. Emotions are just emotions.

Angie Weber: So, um, you know, I think when it comes to this kind of conversation, I think anger gets a really bad reputation because we always are told it's not okay to be angry or you shouldn't be angry. Um, and as kids, like, and as adults, everyone gets upset. Everyone gets angry. Um, it's not a bad emotion or a wrong emotion.

Angie Weber: It's really how we process and express it. So especially when I talk about anger, I always encourage parents to have three rules around it. One, you can't harm other people. Two, you can't harm yourself. And three, you can't harm property that is not supposed to be harmed. You wanna go tear up a piece of paper in the garbage?

Angie Weber: If that's the way you need to get it out, [00:25:00] then that's the way you need to get it out, but we do not throw the remote at the TV. That is not acceptable. Um, so I think it's just knowing that everyone has emotions and there's no wrong emotion. It's just, how can we calm our body and mind when we're feeling that way?

Dori Durbin: That's awesome. I love your rules. I, I really do, um, because I, I think about, I used to teach, and I think about in the classrooms- Yeah ... you know, if, if that was the rule, the kids would probably really have to think about what they were gonna do and whether it was worth that risk or not. Yeah. Um, so that's awesome.

Dori Durbin: Okay. Well, before we ask the last question, I know our listeners are really gonna wanna know how to contact you, you know, what you put out in the world, and how they could work with you. So where can they look for you? 

Angie Weber: Yeah. The best place to go is theparenttoolbox.info. Um, and there you can, yeah, find out more about me, get connected if you have questions, follow me on social.

Angie Weber: All this, all this stuff is right there. 

Dori Durbin: Awesome. And do you have, um, do you have a preferred, email [00:26:00] that you want them to contact you

Angie Weber: Um, yeah, they can go, uh, they can email me at hello@theparenttoolbox.info. 

Dori Durbin: Okay. So Angie, we always like to end this podcast with one simple action step that parents can take as soon as they get done listening.

Dori Durbin: So what is one small thing our listeners can begin doing this week, practicing to start to feel more calm in their homes? 

Angie Weber: Yeah. Ah, I, my first response was gonna be I, I think that, you know, checking in with yourself at the five points. But I'm gonna actually say schedule a family meeting. 

Dori Durbin: Mm. 

Angie Weber: Um, 15 minutes sometime in your week where you all sit down, you let go of the distractions, you turn the TV off, there's no screens, and you start having conversations.

Angie Weber: Um, you know, kind of start with conversations, then look at your week ahead, what's going on, what events do we have, because again, that's gonna be able to tell you a lot of how busy is our week and are we able to get stuff in, are we able to get that quality time in? Um, you can talk [00:27:00] about dinner ideas because I know as a mom, ugh, if anyone asks me what's for dinner again I just wanna scream sometimes because it's, you know, like you only have so many ideas.

Angie Weber: Um, have the family be involved in all of this. And then also talking about those, you know, things that need to be done around the house. Um, no one likes chores. Uh, even as a 38-year-old I don't like chores. Um, but, uh, it's really important that we teach our kids when we live in a house we're all responsible for things.

Angie Weber: So they might not love it, but being able to talk about it beforehand is, um, is really the key piece of it so that we're not feeling like we're nagging them all the time. So I'm gonna say one action item to really bring the whole family together is schedule your first family meeting, um, and see how that really kind of helps instill better communication and connection throughout your whole house.

Dori Durbin: I love that. I love the idea of just sitting down and talking through the week. Like, it helps them, it helps you. You can prepare. So here's an opportunity for everyone to get what they need.

Angie Weber: Yes. Yes. We actually make it a rule that everyone has to share [00:28:00] a dinner idea, um, because I was hearing, "Oh my gosh, we're having chicken again," way too many times. And so that's actually kind of the whole basis of my family planner too, which they can learn more about on, um, on my website. But, um, it just, it's amazing how when we share kind of it with our whole family it, as a parent it feels less overwhelming.

Angie Weber: It's like one less tab that we have open in our brain all the time. 

Dori Durbin: And what an opportunity to really feel calm about what's ahead, um- Yes. 

Angie Weber: Yeah. Yes. It's, it's such a huge changer. I can't even, I can't even describe to you. 

Dori Durbin: Angie, thank you so much for being here today. I think this conversation's really gonna resonate with so many parents, and I appreciate that you have such an, an easy and understandable system that they can find out more about at your website.

Dori Durbin: Um, thank you for your time today. It's really amazing. 

Angie Weber: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. 

Dori Durbin: Absolutely. And thank you to all our listeners for joining us for another episode of That's Good Parenting. If this episode encouraged you, [00:29:00] definitely share it with someone who needs it today.

Dori Durbin: And until we talk again, I'm looking for you to get those small moments that can make a big difference in your life so that you can end your day saying, "Now that, that was good parenting." Talk soon.