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Navigating modern parenting, Dr. Andrea Mata, Ph.D joins our crew, sharing her knowledge from the front lines of clinical child psychology and tips from her new book The No. 2 Parenting Book: Practical Tips for the Pooped Out Parent. Dr. Mata guides us through strategies to ward off the exhaustion that tip the balance of parental sanity. We reflect on the idea that reaching for "just good enough" is worth more than gold in parenting, and how instilling independence and setting consequences are essential navigational tools for guiding our children's growth and maintaining our own mental health.

About our guest. Dr. Andrea Mata, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, grew up in a gang infested neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. At 11 years old, her life dramatically changed, and it fueled a desire to become a clinical child psychologist who specializes in treating antisocial and aggressive behaviors in children and teens in the hopes that other families would never experience what she went through. In 2021, she left a tenured position to live out her life’s mission of fortifying families by starting BrightSpot Families where she creates and delivers customized workshops on individual coping, relationships, and parenting skills. In 2023, she delivered a powerful TEDx talk, titled From Murder to Mission: How I Found My Life’s Calling, that’s available on YouTube.