I'm taking a break from podcasting so I can focus on myself, family, and working on my next book. Thank you for your support through the years, and goodbye for now! Links (affiliates included): Parenting After Religious Trauma Membership – https://cindy-brandt.mykajabi.com/partmembership Parenting Forward, the Book – https://amzn.to/3g0LJPn You Are Revolutionary – https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506478302/You-Are-Revolutionary *** EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Producti ..read more

Summer is a busy season when you’re in the church. There are lots of family activities going on, childcare to work out, and, of course, VBS.  Because we’re nearing VBS season, I thought it’d be a good time to talk about whether or not you should send your kids to VBS. Even more so, I want to discuss the bigger question of how we can protect our kids from toxic religion. We must learn how to equip our kids to navigate the world of faith and thought beyond our homes and what that may look like in our day-to-day lives. So, in this episode, I’m going to share all of my thoughts on VBS. Tune i ..read more

If you’ve got a child nearing college or already there, this episode is for you.  We’re going to take a critical look at evangelical colleges and universities and analyze the experience they provide our kids. Having attended the evangelical college Wheaton, I have firsthand experience to bring to the table that we’ll discuss throughout today’s show. Joining me is the host of the Chapel Probation podcast, Scott Okamoto. He grew up in a conservative Christian family but began deconstructing when he went away to college. Eventually, he became a professor at an evangelical university and star ..read more

Ever been triggered by your child’s behavior? It can feel uncontrollable. No matter how hard we try to hold ourselves back when our child behaves a certain way, it immediately puts us into triggered mode. Jen Lumanlan addressed this in her talk at my recent Parenting is Revolutionary conference. Jen holds an MS in Psychology (Child Development) and is the host of the Your Parenting Mojo podcast. She is an amazing reference guide for parents of young kids and shares great parenting advice based on scientific research and the principles of respectful parenting.  In this episode, I’m sharing ..read more

The Parenting is Revolutionary Conference is over! It was an incredible time connecting with other parents and parenting influencers in the online space. I myself learned so much and, though I’m exhausted, I feel so fulfilled by the experience. Throughout many of the sessions of the conference, childhood trauma was discussed. A question popped up over and over in my mind: if our parents had had the resources we have today and access to information on mental health and validating emotions, would we have all had better childhoods? I brought my partner in crime Corey Wayne onto the show this week ..read more

One of my favorite people, Hillary McBride, recently posted this on Twitter: “Spiritual trauma is someone handing you an inner critic and telling you it’s the voice of God.”    I love that quote because it paints the picture of religious trauma so well. Trauma doesn’t always have to involve one disastrous event; it can be the result of the script we were given in childhood that stuck with us.   Matthew Paul Turner is a children’s author who does amazing work towards reversing that harmful script. He is trying to put a better story into the hearts and minds of children, specifica ..read more

Parenting is revolutionary because it not only changes your perspective as a parent but it also impacts your perspective of your kids. Parenting is not just for parents but for anyone who wants to see a better world, not only for the children but for all of us that co-exist. Parenting is revolutionary because it changes us. It evolves us and it demands that we become better people. In this episode, we talk about the five reasons why parenting is revolutionary. One essential thing to note is how parenting teaches us to manage our triggers because the things our kids do that tend to push our but ..read more

Since the pandemic, the world of Christian faith deconstruction exploded into this wonderful kaleidoscope of podcasters and influencers, including the Dirty Rotten Church Kids, Adrian and Josh, who both left their faith but continued to forge and nurture a solid friendship beyond the walls of the church. Once you leave the church that has become a foundational and formative part of your identity, it leaves you with that sense that you no longer have a community or you don't have anyone to talk to. If you’re like many people who want to keep their relationships because they can't stand the thou ..read more

The stigma of having an abortion is still rampant, especially among highly conservative people of faith. This led to Katey Zeh’s passion for navigating how to bridge these two worlds. It is important to provide care and compassion to those who decide to go through abortion because, at its core, abortion is still part of the human experience.  Statistically, most people who have abortions are already parents. And oftentimes, it is a parenting decision they need to make to care for their living children. A lot of times, these are people who have caregiving responsibilities. Regardless of wh ..read more

For years now, I have been on a journey of healing from religious trauma. My inspiration through it all has been to become a better person for both myself and all of the people around me, including my children. Because of this pursuit, I’ve always been on the lookout for people who help others resolve their childhood and religious trauma (which I’ve now come to realize is complex trauma). So, today, I am extremely excited to bring on a guest who does just that. Dr. Tanner Wallace is the host of the Relational Healing podcast. She is also a mentor and a community builder for those with childhoo ..read more