PODCAST · kids
Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers
by Julie Winchester Workman
Confident in most areas of life—but raising teens feels like a whole different story? Plot Twist Parenting gives you encouragement and real-life strategies to navigate the unexpected with hope.
Episodes
-
Perspective Shift
Who would you still be if the scary call came? In this episode, Julie explores how the perspective you practice becomes the person you are. Through the work world, applied science, and faith traditions, she shares quick tools: separate the event from the identity, stick to the facts, and be the...
-
Phrases that Save (the day, relationships, time)
Julie gave a teenager five minutes at a youth leadership retreat, he took a lot longer, and the two-second thing she said next became a lightbulb moment for a fellow chaperone who told me she was nervous around teens. This episode is about the words we reach for when we're tired, worried, or on...
-
College Drop Off - The Rollercoaster
Recorded in real time - you can hear the exhaustion in the recording [insert melting face emoji] In this episode, Julie shares practical, hard-won advice: expect a late-night "emotion dump" phone call, resist the urge to fix everything (or post about it on social media), anticipate personality...
-
Neil the Amazing Adolescent Seal
There's a one-ton elephant seal named Neil currently shutting down towns in Tasmania, and the whole internet thinks he's a rebel — but the scientists know he's just a young creature practicing to become what he's meant to be. In this lighter, breathe-easier episode, Julie makes the case that so...
-
Graduation Season is Weird
Graduation Season: Behind the Curtain When you picture a high school graduation, you probably see the cap and gown, the walk across the stage, the backyard party. That's one version. This episode is about what's actually going on underneath it for a lot of parents — the grief sitting next to the...
-
Be It til you Are It
What do you do when you're supposed to show up as a connected, intentional parent — and you have absolutely nothing left? This is the episode for the depleted days. The ones where Date Day is on the calendar and everything in you wants to cancel it. Where you love your kids deeply but parenting...
-
Mother's Day <3
Why is Mother's Day in May? And is there a better time? Not really--there's no time of year when moms are just chilling. Pick any month and they're carrying so much. And moms of teenagers are doing some of the hardest parenting of their lives in what looks from the outside like the quiet years.…
more -
You’re Doing Better than You Think
A closing reflection on what it actually means to parent teenagers in the long, messy middle. This episode isn’t about doing more or fixing anything. It’s about noticing what’s already happening beneath the surface: the emotional labor, the restraint, the repair, and the quiet devotion that…
more -
When It’s Hard
Parenting teenagers isn’t just challenging—it can be exhausting. Even when you’re doing everything “right,” some seasons are simply hard. In this episode of Plot Twist Parenting, Julie speaks directly to those moments—when trust feels fragile, emotions run high, and you’re wondering if you’ve...
-
Unconditional: Presence Without Prerequisites
What does unconditional love actually look like in the messy, emotional, real-life work of parenting teenagers? In this episode, Julie explores the fifth and foundational practice of Plot Twist Parenting: unconditional love—the steady presence that doesn’t walk away, even when everything feels...
-
Joy on Purpose
Consider this plot twist: Joy might be the most overlooked lifeline in the teen years--for parents and for teens. To say it another way: joy is serious business. You’ll learn how joy becomes a protective force in your home, what science says about positive emotion and resilience, and how faith...
-
Trusting Teens (no, really)
Consider this plot twist: a surprising shift that transforms parenting: moving from teaching teens “everything” to trusting them to learn, commit, and grow. You’ll hear why trust is a two-way street, how to play the long game, and why letting teens try, stumble, and try again builds confidence…
more -
Being Trustable as a Parent
Before we can ask our teens to trust us, we have to be trustable. In this episode, Julie shares real conversations with her kids about what earned their trust—and what didn’t go as planned. She explores how trust grows not from authority, but from consistency, care, and emotional safety. Drawing...
-
Truth and Parenting Teens
What do you really value as a family—and are you living it out in daily life? Truth, the second core practice, is all about clarity and alignment: What do we value, and how do our choices reflect those values? This episode explores where values come from (culture, faith, and intentional...
-
Date Day
Connection is one of the five practices that can radically change parenting teenagers. BUT HOW? How do you connect with a cranky teen, or after a hardship? Or just through routine times? My offer: Date Day. Date Day is a weekly practice of 1:1 time with an individual teenager. For us it was…
more -
Connection with Teenagers
What if we were to identify the single most important component of parenting teenagers? I think, and I come with receipts: it would be connection. Connection can help us decrease distance to increase influence and trust. We know that busyness at work or at home doesn't necessarily translate to...
-
Hi! This is Plot Twist Parenting.
Is anyone talking about what it's really like to parent teenagers? I think we should. In this first episode of Plot Twist Parenting, I share a bit of my own story, an overview of the five pillars that help me hold on through the ups and downs, and a few hard-won lessons. PTP weaves together...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Confident in most areas of life—but raising teens feels like a whole different story? Plot Twist Parenting gives you encouragement and real-life strategies to navigate the unexpected with hope.
HOSTED BY
Julie Winchester Workman
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers have?
Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers currently has 17 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers about?
Confident in most areas of life—but raising teens feels like a whole different story? Plot Twist Parenting gives you encouragement and real-life strategies to navigate the unexpected with hope.
How often does Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers release new episodes?
Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers has 17 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers?
You can listen to Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers?
Plot Twist Parenting: Teenagers is created and hosted by Julie Winchester Workman.
URL copied to clipboard!