218. 5 Parenting Mistakes With Rules, Curfews, and Screen Time

218. 5 Parenting Mistakes With Rules, Curfews, and Screen Time

Author: Therese Connolly December 11, 2025 Duration: 8:13

Feeling like the only parent trying to enforce rules while your co-parent plays it loose with curfews, screen time, or even vaping? The holidays make it worse — but there's a better way.

When co-parenting dynamics clash, especially during the high-stress holiday season, many single parents feel like they’re swimming upstream. If you're the one holding the line while your co-parent is more relaxed (or even oppositional), you're not alone — and you don’t have to parent from a place of frustration or fear. There’s a clear, calm, and research-backed way forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  1. How to stay emotionally steady even when the other house has completely different rules
  2. What to say to your tween/teen to keep connection strong without pulling them into the middle
  3. A holiday script that prevents arguments, avoids triangulation, and protects your child’s emotional health

Press play to discover how you can hold loving boundaries with calm confidence — and give your tween the emotional safety they truly need this holiday season.

⭐Got screen time problems at home, get the Tech Reset Agreement here 👉Mindful Kids and Families

⭐️Join the Family and get your weekly Mindful Kids and Family Journal here: https://www.mindfulkidsandfamilies.com/join-the-family (Get ready for lessons, podcast leads, offers for parents, and ways to win free parent coaching or masterclasses)

📧Connect with Therese (Tess) Connolly, LCSW, CCC here👇: therese@mindfulkidsandfamilies.com Website: www.mindfulkidsandfamilies.com

🆘 Need 1:1 Support? Book right here to connect with Tess for a 45-minute FREE “Parent Reset” session: Parent Reset Call

⭐Got screen time problems at home? Get the Tech Reset Agreement here 👉Mindful Kids and Families

⭐️Join the Family and get your weekly Mindful Kids and Family Journal here: https://www.mindfulkidsandfamilies.com/join-the-family (Get ready for lessons, podcast leads, offers for parents, and ways to win free parent coaching or masterclasses)

The Single Parenting Reset Show supports single moms, working moms, and all parents with practical parenting tips on screen time, emotional regulation, co-parenting, stress relief, setting boundaries, building trust, and raising confident tweens and teens, while tackling tech addiction, behavior problems, and parent burnout with conscious parenting strategies for stronger family connection.

#singleparents #parentingtweensandteens #ScreenTime #behaviorproblems #Communication


Navigating the tween and teen years alone comes with a unique set of daily tests, from managing defiance to negotiating screen time in a connected world. Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens is here for that journey. Hosted by Therese Connolly, a licensed clinical social worker and family coach, this podcast moves beyond theory to offer actionable steps you can use immediately. Therese draws on both professional expertise and a genuine understanding of the solo parent reality, where you’re the only one setting boundaries and mending fences. Conversations focus on turning behavioral challenges into opportunities for growth, finding realistic ways to pull kids from their devices, and fostering a home where communication actually works. You’ll hear strategies for building your own confidence as a parent while strengthening your family’s connections, all without the sugar-coating. This is a space for single moms and dads seeking real-life support, where every episode aims to provide a practical reset for the week ahead. Tune in for a blend of compassionate guidance and concrete tools designed specifically for the solo parent raising adolescents.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens — Manage Behavior Problems, Reduce Screen Time & Improve Communication
Podcast Episodes
185. Good Enough Parenting: Why Teens Don’t Need Perfect Parents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:08
Are you a single parent lying awake at night wondering, Am I messing up my kids? You’re not alone—and the truth is, perfect parenting doesn’t exist.Parenting tweens and teens as a single parent can feel overwhelming. Bet…
182. How to Reset Your Tween or Teen’s Routine for the School Year [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:28
Struggling to get your tween or teen back on track before school starts? Late nights, nonstop screens, and zero structure don’t magically disappear when that alarm clock rings.In this episode, we dive into exactly how si…
181. Screen Time During the School Year: How Parents Can Set Limits [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:41
Feeling anxious about screen time as school looms closer? Wondering how to avoid device drama without becoming the “bad guy”?In this practical and timely episode, we tackle the top screen-time challenges single parents f…
177. 5 Ways to Reduce Screen Time Without Fighting With Your Teen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:25
Tired of constant power struggles over phones, video games and tablets? Feel like your tween is slipping away behind a screen?If you are a single parent dealing with tech tantrums, disrespect, or that sinking feeling tha…
176. Teen Behavior Problems: Why Not Everything Is Trauma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:27
Are we raising strong, resilient kids—or fragile ones who crumble under pressure?In today’s culture of over-pathologizing every discomfort as “trauma,” many well-meaning single moms are unknowingly disempowering their ch…