Growing Together- Navigating the Rollercoaster of Adolescence Together with Dr. Kimberley Palmiotto

Middle school can feel like everything is falling apart, but what if it’s not a breakdown at all?

In this episode, Dr. Kim reframes middle school, and puberty a renegotiation in the parent–child relationship. As your daughter’s brain undergoes major developmental changes, she’s wired to seek autonomy, peer belonging, and independence, often before she has the ability to use consistent emotional regulation. At the same time, this stage can activate our own unfinished business from adolescence, making the transition feel deeply personal and emotionally intense.
Drawing on neuroscience, and research this episode explores:
* What’s actually happening in the middle school brain
* Why your nervous system gets activated right alongside your daughter’s
* How autonomy, competence, and connection can coexist
* Why control increases conflict—and connection supports regulation
* How emotionally attuned parenting, curiosity, and repair build long-term trust

You’ll leave understanding that this stage invites you to shift from control to presence and become her home base. Reflective, validating, and deeply supportive, this episode is for any parent who feels shaken by the middle school years and wants to stay connected without losing themselves in the process.
Middle school is hard, but you’re not alone.

www.NurturingGirls.com/RootandRise

The holidays are supposed to feel magical , but for many of us, they also bring overwhelm, moodiness, and emotional meltdowns with our teen girls.

In this episode, we unpack why girls often struggle more during the holiday season and why what looks like attitude or ungratefulness is usually a nervous system that’s reached its limit.

Between overstimulation, disrupted routines, social pressure, and emotional expectations, girls’ developing brains are pushed hard this time of year. And when their emotional bandwidth runs out, it often shows up as irritability, withdrawal, or sudden reactivity.

You’ll learn:
* How to recognize the difference between disrespect and dysregulation
* What research says about emotional overload, routines, and regulation in girls
* Practical, gentle ways moms can support their daughters without escalating conflict
* Simple tools to help both you and your daughter feel calmer, more grounded, and more connected during the holidays

This episode is a reminder that nothing is wrong with your daughter (or with you).
She doesn’t need a perfect holiday, just understanding, predictability, and a safe place to land.

If you’re parenting a tween or teen girl and the holidays feel emotionally intense, this episode will help you reframe what you’re seeing and respond with confidence, compassion, and connection.

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Sheri, from Teen-Wise, to unpack one of the most misunderstood challenges girls face today: relational aggression, the subtle but painful world of exclusion, friendship breakups, drama cycles, and the unspoken pressure girls feel to fit in.
Sheri explains how relational aggression actually begins long before middle school, and then intensifies as girls become more emotionally invested in friendships.

We explore why middle school becomes the “practice arena” for conflict, why even college-aged girls still struggle with mean girl dynamics, and how “mama drama” often reflects unresolved patterns from our own teen years .

You’ll hear us break down:
* Why exclusion hurts so deeply and what’s really happening when girls are ghosted or left out
* Friendship breakups in middle school, why they happen, why they feel shocking, and how girls often use meanness to avoid difficult conversations
*What moms should do first when their daughter is hurting (hint: support before solutions)
* The loneliness spiral — and how to help girls avoid letting loneliness become their identity
* ADHD as a friendship superpower and how girls with ADHD can harness their natural loyalty, enthusiasm, and connection skills without overwhelming peers

It is a jam packed, but quick listen so, If you’re navigating girl drama, friendship changes, or emotional ups and downs in your home, this conversation will give you some clarity and compassion to understand and start helping your daughter.

Middle school is a season of deep change, not just for your daughter, but for you, as her mom. In the final episode of this 4-part series, Dr. Kimberly Palmiotto shifts the spotlight back to the heart of it all: Us as Moms. While your daughter is growing into herself, you may find yourself triggered, exhausted, or wondering where you went in the process.

In this episode, we explore:
* Why middle school can reactivate your own adolescent wounds
* The emotional labor of mothering a tween girl (and why you feel so tired)
* How to avoid self-abandonment while still showing up for her
* The difference between modeling self-sacrifice and modeling self-respect
* Three practical tools for grounding, boundary-setting, and emotional self-check-ins

You'll also be invited into a powerful reflection practice to connect with your future self, the one who’s on the other side of this chapter and grateful for how you stayed grounded in your own growth, too.

Because you’re not the same mom you were when she was little, and that’s a good thing! You're growing, too. And she needs to see that.

She pulls away. ..You try harder. She slams the door... You wonder if you're losing her.
In Part 3 of this 4-part series on navigating middle school, Dr. Kimberley Palmiotto explores one of the hardest parts of parenting a tween girl: how to stay connected when she seems to want nothing to do with you.

You’ll learn:
*Why the push-pull dynamic is wired into her brain and not your fault
*How to shift from control to connection, without losing boundaries
*Tools to build emotional safety, even when your daughter is shut down
*How to model repair after conflict and open the door to communication
*The 3 C’s that transform your relationship: Calm, Curiosity, and Compassion

Whether you’re dealing with eye rolls, slammed doors, or emotional shutdowns, this episode gives you language, mindset shifts, and repair tools to help you be the safe base she still needs, even when she acts like she doesn’t.