368 Handling Big Mom Emotions

In this powerful and deeply validating episode, Colleen O’Grady talks with returning guest Eli Harwood, licensed therapist, attachment expert, bestselling author, and founder of Attachment Nerd. Eli shares insights from her new book, How to Deal with Your ______ So Your Kids Don’t Have To, and helps moms understand why their own emotions matter so much in parenting.

Together, Colleen and Eli explore how feelings like anger, anxiety, loneliness, judgment, and control can quietly shape the way we show up with our tweens, teens, and young adults. Eli explains that parenting doesn’t just shape our kids—it also sharpens and develops us. She offers a compassionate framework for understanding our emotional habits, attachment patterns, and the ways our own childhood experiences can affect our parenting today.

This conversation is full of hope, practical wisdom, and powerful reminders that you do not have to be a perfect mom to create a secure, connected relationship with your child. What matters most is your willingness to reflect, repair, and keep growing.

3 Takeaways from the Episode

Your emotions matter more than you think.
The way you handle your own feelings teaches your teen how to handle theirs.
Control can cost connection.
When moms parent from fear and control, it often creates more distance instead of influence.
Repair is more powerful than perfection.
You don’t have to get it right all the time—what matters most is coming back, owning it, and reconnecting.

About Eli Harwood

Eli Harwood, MA, LPC is a licensed therapist, bestselling author, educator, and widely respected attachment expert who has spent nearly two decades helping people build secure, healthy relationships. She is the author of Securely Attached, Raising Securely Attached Kids, Uniquely Us, and How to Deal with Your Blank So Your Kids Don’t Have To. Eli is passionate about helping parents become more emotionally aware and connected so they can create the kind of relationships their kids can truly feel safe in. She is also the creator of the popular platform Attachment Nerd. Eli is a mom of three and brings both professional expertise and real-life parenting experience to this conversation.

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attachmentnerd/?hl=en

Learn More at: https://www.attachmentnerd.com/

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