What We Say, What We Mean, What We Mend
PARENTreads Issue No. 7: Essays on conflict, connection, and the everyday work of communicating well
Family life is full of competing needs, crossed wires, and moments that ask more of us than we expected. This edition of PARENTreads gathers essays that explore the many angles of family dynamics and the work of communicating well within them—through tension, repair, humor, and the small choices that shape how we live together. Each piece sharpens the picture of how families truly function and what it takes to meet one another with greater clarity and compassion.
Turning Holiday Chaos into Connection: Simple Scripts for Handling Lazy Guests, Judgmental Aunts, and Boundary-Pushing Grandparents - by Anita Rogacs | A Mother’s Blueprint
This clever guide offers easy negotiation scripts to defuse judgment and transform holiday chaos into authentic connection.
» Read here
When Family Time Feels Like Going Through The Motions - by Leo Rule | Align Your Fam
Being together isn’t the same as being connected. When your family can see what everyone’s working toward, competition becomes collaboration and family time becomes meaningful.
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My Partner Keeps ‘Parent-Splaining.’ Send Wine and a Therapist. - by stacey yates sellar | The Spicy Kid Survival Guide
A thoughtful look at why parenting suggestions can feel triggering—and how ego, doubt, and burnout shape our reactions. This essay offers a simple pause-and-reflect framework to turn tension into teamwork.
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An Evidence-Based Strategy for Dealing with Sibling Rivalry - by Elena Bridgers | Motherhood Until Yesterday
An honest (and humorous) look at sibling rivalry during major family upheaval. This essay reframes constant fighting as a stress response to transition—not a parenting failure—and offers relief, context, and solidarity.
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I Hear You, But I Don’t Understand You! - by GOT KIDS? | GOT KIDS NEWSLETTER
A gentle reminder that some kids aren’t defiant—they’re confused. This essay shows how abstract language can trip up children with processing challenges, and how clearer, concrete words can change everything.
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6 Lessons from Parenting an Only Child - by Joy Netanya Thompson | Midweek Joy
Having an only child is a unique parenting experience. In this essay, Joy shares her unexpected path to having an only and what’s helped her “triangle family” survive—and sometimes even thrive.
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The Parenting Skill No One Talks About—But Everyone Needs: Even the Best Parenting Intentions Collapse Without Clarity - by Erin Miller | unpopular PARENT
This essay explores why kids need clarity more than flawless parenting, showing how emotional steadiness and clear expectations help children feel safe, grounded, and confident in who they are.
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Can Your Teenager Really Tell You Anything? - by Lori K Walters | Peace in My Parenting
Every parent wants their kids to feel like they can tell them anything. Here’s how teenagers actually gauge your approachability and three ways to become that open, safe, welcoming place for them.
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Calm the Chaos: Why Predictable Routines Help Kids Thrive - by Laura Dimler, PhD | Development Decoded
During the holidays, chaos and lack of structure are the name of the game. But how do we calm that chaos—both during the holidays and beyond?
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Holidays, Boundaries, & Estrangement, Oh My! - by Megan Walsh 🫶🏻 | Not Fine, Thanks
A compassionate holiday essay for anyone bracing for complicated family dynamics. This piece offers clear, grounded language for setting boundaries, taking space from parents, and protecting your peace—without guilt or self-betrayal.
» Read here
“Listen! It important!” - by Nancy E. Holroyd, RN | Hands On Nursing in a Germ Factory
A tender essay about repetition, communication, and learning to truly listen. Through the story of Sheila, this piece reframes “perseveration” as meaning-making—and asks what we miss when we rush past what someone is trying to tell us.
» Read here
The Unwinnable Game: Understanding the Double-Bind in Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) - by Scapegoat Healing Rebecca LMFT | Healing the Scapegoat Wound: FSA Education E-Publication
A powerful, clinical-yet-compassionate essay unpacking family scapegoating through the lens of the double-bind. This piece names the no-win traps survivors face—and offers language, clarity, and a path toward self-validation and freedom.
» Read here
Looking for a holiday gift that supports your child long after the wrapping paper is gone?
Author Dannielle Levy (aka Danni) has written two beautiful children’s books centered on emotional honesty and connection. The Sad Princess is a modern fairytale for all ages that gently makes room for both sadness and joy. Happy & Sad FunBook for Your Emotions is a colorful, hands-on resource filled with prompts and activities that help kids—and the adults who love them—build emotional awareness and healthier communication together. Learn more HERE.
On Substack, Danni Levy writes How to Live This Life, a deeply human space about connection, community, and what it means to live fully and honestly—together.
The Holidays Are Never Just One Thing
The holidays have a way of amplifying everything—wonder, stress, longing, connection, conflict, and the pressure to make it all “meaningful.”
School, Learning, and Everything in Between
No two kids learn the same way—and education isn’t what it used to be. Between shifting methodologies, new technology, and the growing rise of alternative and home-based learning, parents today are rethinking what “school” even means. This edition of
What matters to me about Erin’s work is that she doesn’t just analyze conflict — she actively shapes how it’s handled. She steps into comment threads when criticism turns unfair and resets the tone. She curates entire posts devoted to essays that examine family tension, repair, and responsibility rather than rewarding outrage or spectacle. That’s a deliberate intervention in the culture.
She does this even when doing so could cost her approval, reach, even subscribers. When no one is watching, she stands up for people. When silence would be easier, she leads.
If you care about where public discourse is headed, she’s someone worth paying attention to.
And yes — thank you, Erin, for the standards you keep setting.
Erin, Thank you so much for your love and support. Aside from my books, I think that it is really important to approach the holidays with a super dose of intention this year. I am reminding all of us. It isn't news to any of us (especially us parents) that we are all getting completely lost in our phones. Connection is drowning, even connection with the people we love the most, even with our kids. I have noticed that because of this, not only are we forgetting how to interact, we are forgetting how to have fun, how to be playful. Maybe because playfulness requires full attention. Maybe because we are all so hypnotized by our devices that we cannot keep our attention long enough to really get involved in an activity and play with one another. This is what the holidays should be mostly about. Spending quality time together. This is what we need most. So I invite all of us to make an extra effort to have fun with our family and friends, to put our phones away, to sing, dance, tell stories, read, cook/bake... or use the Happy & Sad Funbook for your emotions to get to know one another better. It is a completely interactive book created to start fundamental conversations in a fun way. Lets give our kids something better to do than play video games, post selfies, or text with friends who are in another place not interacting with the people in the room with them. Happy Holidays. Erin, thank you again. Sending love and gratitude. xo