Parenting Tips: Young Dad Podcast · Jey Young

Big Feelings, Small Kids: Parenting Through Emotional Storms with Jenny H. | Ep269

·53 min·3 clips

Jenny says kids who are overwhelmed “cannot calm down by themselves” and need a loving adult nearby.

Jay starts with his usual casual welcome and introduces Jenny as someone who works with families dealing with big emotions. He notes her background as a licensed professional counselor out of Virginia. Jenny is also a children’s book author and a practitioner in EMDR and play therapy. Jay frames her as someone who helps families restore compassion and connection at home. The conversation is grounded in the reality of big feelings with young kids. Jenny’s experience gives the discussion weight without making it feel clinical. Jay keeps it tied to the day-to-day pressure of being a dad. He asks her how she got into counseling. The show stays open-ended instead of rushing toward a neat lesson. That fits the way Jay usually works through a topic. The focus is less on perfect technique and more on what parents can actually do in the moment. The middle of the conversation gets into what happens when one parent is already carrying the load. Jay and Jenny talk about having a system with your partner before things get out of hand. They also talk plainly about dads stepping in early instead of waiting too long. The advice is direct and unsentimental. It treats fatherhood as responsibility, not just presence. The episode also points listeners toward Jenny’s book, Made for This. Jay closes by emphasizing that connection matters more than perfection. He encourages parents to keep showing up, keep learning, and keep loving their kids through the hard parts.

As heard by us

Plainspoken parenting advice for handling big feelings at home.

The episode stays close to parenting through big feelings, with the central idea that families do not need perfection to stay connected. Jay and Jenny keep circling back to the same point: when things get hard at home, the goal is to stay present and work through it together.

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Why you'd press play

For the parent who wants calmer words and a steadier response when big feelings take over.

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