Reframing Me - Self-Development & Parenting Teens for Midlife Moms

Your kids are growing up - but so are you. Reframing Me is the podcast for moms of teens ready to reframe family, identity, and self-development in midlife.

Parenting teens is hard -and parenting while rediscovering yourself in midlife can feel even harder. Reframing Me is the parenting podcast for moms raising teenagers who are also navigating the transition out of hands-on motherhood, identity shifts, and the search for balance, fulfillment, and self-development.

Hosted by Dr. Jennifer Brubaker, a Communication Studies professor, mom of three teens, and intrapersonal communication expert, each episode blends family communication strategies, honest conversations about parenting teens, and self-reflection tools to help moms strengthen family relationships while rediscovering who they are as women.

Together we’ll talk about the issues moms face but don’t always say out loud: changing family dynamics, feeling invisible, letting go of control, and creating new purpose. Through research, theory, and compassionate conversation, you’ll find support, strategies, and a sense of community in this season of parenting and personal growth.

Join the Reframing Me community to connect with other midlife moms, share your stories, and reframe how you see yourself, your family, and your future.

Send emails to jen@reframing-me.com; or on socials: Reframing Me on FacebookAND join the Facebook group Reframing Me: The Podcast Community; @reframingme on Instagram; Reframing Me on YouTube @reframingme on TikTok

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Reframing Me - Self-Development & Parenting Teens for Midlife Moms

My Biggest Parenting Secret? Boundaries, Space and Your Teens

May 02, 2025 • Jennifer Brubaker • Episode 198

0:00 | 31:36

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With summer creeping up, college students about to come home, and teens ready to enjoy summer break at home, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much the dynamic in many of our homes is about to shift. For some of us, the daily routines we’ve gotten used to will be flipped upside down - again. And even though we love having our kids back under our roofs, let’s be honest, it’s not always as smooth or idyllic as we imagine it will be.

So I’ve been asking myself: What’s the one piece of advice I’d give to another parent heading into this season? What is the bang for your buck as close to the secret of parenting teens that I can give you in a one and done answer.

And my answer is actually probably the best change I’ve ever made in myself as a parent. It’s not about new rules, or stricter consequences, or some clever new strategy. It’s about something a little harder to define - but way more impactful.

I made the boundary of our family more permeable.. I gave my teens space. And making family boundaries more permeable might just be the best change you could make, too.

Please help me with my Matrenaissance Identity Theory of Communication research by completing a completely anonymous survey at https://forms.gle/WunxbwZ7L1MmvWEF6

This research has been approved by the UNCW Institutional Review Board.

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