Eps 622: College Reality Check From My Son

Eps 622: College Reality Check From My Son

Author: Casey O'Roarty November 4, 2025 Duration: 46:18
In this episode, I sit down with my son Ian, a college sophomore, for an honest conversation about navigating college life in 2025. We discuss communication strategies between parents and college students, balancing academics and social life, managing finances and groceries, maintaining health and wellness, and building independence. Ian shares what goes through his mind when I reach out, how he stays organized, and his advice for parents wondering what their college kids are really up to. This candid mother-son conversation offers valuable insights for parents of teens preparing for or already in college, revealing what works and what doesn't in staying connected. For more show notes go to: https://www.besproutable.com/podcasts/eps-622-college-reality-check-from-my-son/ For more information and to enroll in the Living Joyful Courage Coaching Week, go to: https://www.besproutable.com/ljccoachweek/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parenting adolescents often feels like navigating a landscape without a reliable map, where the old rules no longer apply and connection can feel just out of reach. Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens, hosted by Casey O'Roarty, meets you right in that uncertainty. This podcast operates from a simple, powerful belief: the challenges of raising tweens and teens, while deeply personal, are also a shared human experience. Instead of offering quick fixes, conversations here focus on the foundational work of building and repairing relationships, fostering essential life skills in our kids, and perhaps most importantly, doing the internal work required of us as parents. You’ll hear honest discussions that blend practical strategies with compassionate insight, all aimed at transforming this demanding season from a battle of wills into an opportunity for mutual growth. Tuning into this podcast feels like gaining a thoughtful, experienced friend who reminds you that courage isn't about being fearless, but about finding joy and resilience within the beautiful mess of family life. It’s a resource for anyone who wants to move beyond reaction and toward a more intentional, connected approach with the young adults in their home.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens
Podcast Episodes
Eps 671: "Is This Normal? Teenage Behavior and What's Underneath It [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:39
Every parent of a teen has asked some version of this: Is this normal teenage behavior, or is something actually wrong? This week I go under your teen's closed door, attitude, screens, and secrecy. What's driving all of…
Eps 670: Knowing Better Isn't Enough [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:50
I thought I knew everything about co-regulation and the nervous system when my daughter texted me from across the country to say she was dropping out. None of it was available to me. In this solo show I get into what hap…
Eps 669: Margot Bisnow on Raising Entrepreneurs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:55
This week I'm sharing a conversation I had with Margot Bisnow, who interviewed more than 70 families raising wildly self-driven kids. She went looking for a formula and found something more ordinary. We get into how to t…
Eps 668: Your 2026 Back To School Reset [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:29
I'm back from a couple weeks off and I'm fired up about the intentional ecosystem, the model I've been carrying around all summer. It's four layers, and you work them from the outside in: you, your relationship with your…
Eps 667: Trish Gower on Regulated Leadership [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:18
Even if you don't run a business, you're running something. In this conversation with business coach Trish Gower, we talk about what happens when your nervous system is driving the car. Over-functioning, boundaries that…
Eps 666: Robynn Powers - Food Without Rules [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:43
Our kids are watching how we talk about our bodies, and they're deciding what that means about theirs. In this episode I sit down with health and wellness coach Robynn Powers to talk about body image, food rules, and wha…
Eps 665: Marriage and the teen years with Shilo Minor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:01
Parenting teens has a way of surfacing everything we've been avoiding in our marriage. This week I'm talking with Shilo Minor about what happens when the connection thins out and you start feeling more like roommates tha…
Eps 664: Parenting and launching your teen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:45
In this solo episode, I answer a question from a mom whose oldest is heading off to college across the country. How do you show up for your kid in the months before and after they launch? I talk through letting them prac…
Eps 663: Moving through crisis without losing yourself [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:28
This week I'm getting honest about being in my own season of crisis and what it's teaching me about the fawn response, that fourth survival instinct after fight, flight, and freeze. If you've ever walked on eggshells wit…
Eps 662: PART TWO of Teen Cannabin Use with Susan Notis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:50
In part two of my conversation with parent coach Susan Notis, we move past the information about teen cannabis use and into what you can actually do about it. We get into regulating your own nervous system before you tal…