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Family dynamics can feel especially intense around the holidays and one of the most challenging patterns many parents face is the triangle between you, your partner, and your mother-in-law. In today’s episode, Dr. Tracy Dalgleish returns to the podcast to help us make sense of this dynamic with compassion, clarity, and evidence-based tools.

In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. Tracy Dalgleish, psychologist and author of You, Your Husband & His Mother, to unpack why the mother-in-law / daughter-in-law dynamic is so emotionally charged and how it quietly strains couples.

We talk about boundaries, guilt, generational differences, cultural expectations, and what couples can do to stop feeling divided and start acting as a solid team.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why this family dynamic is uniquely triggering
• How boundaries get misunderstood and what actually works
• What to do when your partner shuts down or minimizes the issue
• How to recover after a difficult family gathering
• Why connection comes before problem-solving

Join me for a free Webinar on December 17th at 8pm (and get the replay!):

https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/ce962dd904

You can purchase Tracy's book, You, Your Husband and Your Mother in Law, in the US or in Canada. You can also get her first book (which I also highly recommend called "I didn't Sign up for This" in the US or Canada

Support the show

Do you find yourself reacting in ways you wish you could change when your child is upset? Learn how to stay calm, manage your emotions, and respond in a way that actually helps your child.

Get your FREE emotional awareness training for parents and kids below (comes with a poster, workbook and video):

https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/84371dc0b2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4iEbFRZ5QQ&t=12s

Or purchase our course, join the next 8 week group cohort in April 2026 below:

https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/

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If you’ve ever ended a night thinking, “Why did I snap again?” — this episode is for you.

Today, we’re diving into what’s really happening in your brain and body when your child pushes your buttons. Because those intense reactions? They aren’t proof that you’re a bad parent. They’re signals from a nervous system in overdrive — and once you can recognize those signals, you can change the way you respond.

We’ll talk about:

• Why your child’s emotions can feel like a threat to your brain
• The science behind emotional flooding (in both you and your child)
• How stress, exhaustion, and self-expectations reduce your window of tolerance
• What “repair” looks like — and why it matters more than getting it perfect

You’ll walk away with practical reflection questions and simple shifts that help you move from snapping to connecting — even on the hard days.

Join next week's FREE webinar (or get the replay):

https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/ce962dd904

Read the full article:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24392687/

Share your thoughts and questions with me:

https://form.typeform.com/to/Dadaa8ns

Read a blog post about this:

https://curiousneuron.com/2025/12/03/why-you-still-snap-even-when-youve-done-the-work/

Support the show

Do you find yourself reacting in ways you wish you could change when your child is upset? Learn how to stay calm, manage your emotions, and respond in a way that actually helps your child.

Get your FREE emotional awareness training for parents and kids below (comes with a poster, workbook and video):

https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/84371dc0b2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4iEbFRZ5QQ&t=12s

Or purchase our course, join the next 8 week group cohort in April 2026 below:

https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/

Send us Fan Mail

Hi Reflective Parents! This week, we are talking about something I keep hearing from parents which is snapping at our kids even when we are working on ourselves by learning about parenting or even going to therapy.

You are not failing your child. You are still learning many skills that lead to you becoming more aware of your own state before you snap.

In this episode, I walk you through 3 steps that might help you catch yourself the next time you snap (notice I didn't say BEFORE you snap....that isn't always realistic).

I would love to find a way to communicate better with all of you. Share your story that is related to this episode in the link below OR ask a question to help me create a future podcast episode.

https://form.typeform.com/to/Dadaa8ns

Support the show

Do you find yourself reacting in ways you wish you could change when your child is upset? Learn how to stay calm, manage your emotions, and respond in a way that actually helps your child.

Get your FREE emotional awareness training for parents and kids below (comes with a poster, workbook and video):

https://tremendous-hustler-7333.kit.com/84371dc0b2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4iEbFRZ5QQ&t=12s

Or purchase our course, join the next 8 week group cohort in April 2026 below:

https://curiousneuron.com/reflective-parent-club/