A lot of us feel alone, as parents. It’s not easy for you or your kids…

However, there are many things that bring me hope.

One of them is my mom’s amazing homemade BBQ sauce.

We all called it “secret sauce”. I wanted to put secret sauce on everything… ice cream, oatmeal, or just drink it straight up!

Secret sauce made everything taste good!

Did you know that there is a secret sauce for parenting that makes everything work?

It’s called Showing Up.

And it’s what Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Tina Payne Bryson talk about in their brand new book and in the Happily Family Conference (Yes! We got to interview EACH of them! Deep bows!)

Here’s what it says in their book The Power of Showing Up

Research says that “one of the very best predictors for how any child turns out—in terms of happiness, social and emotional development, leadership skills, meaningful relationships, and even academic and career success—is whether they developed security from having at least one person who showed up for them.

That’s why we think that Showing Up is the “secret sauce” of parenting.

But HOW do we show up?

That’s what we asked Dr. Siegel in this short video excerpt from the Happily Family Conference.

Showing up is life-giving and life-saving.

Sometimes there are big feelings. It’s not always 🌈 and 🦄. It’s messy sometimes.

Kids, especially teens, need to know that we aren’t afraid of their feelings (or our own). We can hear about tough stuff without freaking out.

Kids need to know they aren’t “letting us down” if they tell us they are struggling. And it’s normal to ask for help.

You don’t have to be perfect at it. You don’t have to have all the answers…

Just show up.