Cari Newman Coaching

08/20/2026

So this is the week I am taking both of my kids back to college.

One of them already went, and one of them is about to go.

And one of them said
to me, “Thank you for making me do hard things. I didn’t always like it when you made me do hard things.” But now I know I can.

So this is just to say sometimes it’s our role as parents to push our kids to do hard things, even if they don’t want to, even if they push back.

If we know it’s right for them to really stretch them, that’s where they grow, and then they know they can do hard things.

Also at the end, I was like, “Wait, can we go back to the part where you told me that I did a good job?”

08/13/2026

I’m working on a new resource for clients to help you figure out when to use which tools when your kid starts melting down, because it is really hard to figure out why certain approaches work one minute and then don’t work the next, like saying, “Wow, it is really upsetting that you
didn’t get the thing you want,” can be so soothing to our kids one day, but  really provocative the next making the tantrum way worse.

The good news? 

I have observed or overheard minute details about thousands of meltdowns, patterns start to emerge and it starts to look way less random.

So I’m working on getting all of that down on paper and recorded so I can add it to the emotion regulation section of the program.

If you’re curious about my program and how it’s helping parents just like you or how they are using private coaching, let’s hop on a call.

It’s totally free. You’ve got nothing to lose, and it could really alter the course of your meltdown response.

So link in bio, and I hope to talk to you soon.

08/06/2026

Have you ever asked yourself? Did I cause this? Am I the reason?

If your kid’s nervous system is completely fried, here’s something I want you to hear.

It is not your fault.

And if I sound like that scene in Good Will Hunting, it’s because I’m channeling it for you. It is not your fault.

This week’s newsletter is all about how, as parents, we can help our kids with dysregulation. And we certainly don’t want to make it worse. But I want you to remember that you didn’t cause it. You didn’t make it happen.

This is not because of you, and it’s not your fault.

So sign up for my newsletter. And this message will be in your inbox too. And when you sign up, you’ll have access to all past newsletters straight from the archive. See you there!

08/04/2026

If you have a newborn or toddler, it's your lucky day! YOU can join parent coach extraordinaire Jessica Klein Dickson in her three-part Parenting with Heart and Chutzpah series on August 25 (in person, Dunwoody) and September 1 & 8 (virtual), in partnership with , MJCCA, Nurture, and JF&CS.
Curious? More info and registration at

Parenting little ones can be joyful, exhausting, meaningful, and overwhelming—all at once. Join certified parenting coach Jessica Dickson for a practical and supportive 3-part series designed for families with children ages 0–3. Explore communication, boundaries, big feelings, and more through a...

07/30/2026

Which one are you?

I started to notice patterns in people’s faces. There are people that do this a lot, like, have a little wrinkle here, because this is their concentrating face, or maybe their
concerned face. 

And mine, I’ve noticed is this. And I think it’s because I am constantly in shock. I am deeply surprised every single day by how hard parenting is. I know I do this all day, every day, and I literally wrote the book, but I still find myself going like this multiple times a day, just in absolute shock about how hard this is. And I think part of the reason that I am in such shock all the time is because I’m a logical person, I expect input to impact output. 

And in parenting, what I notice is that sometimes the output has absolutely nothing to do with the input. So a parent can do everything right, can do like textbook parenting, and still the outcome goes completely off the rails.

The good news is that you don’t have to do this alone. There is help, there’s support. There’s a community of people doing it together.

And I hope that you’ll reach out through my link in the bio connect with the rest of us that just live in shock.

07/23/2026

There are a lot of tweens and teens asserting their independence right now.

And that’s great. Mostly, sort of, right?

Here’s the thing. We want our kids to think for themselves and to take ownership for their lives, but when they do, it turns out that maybe we want them to do it just around the parts that we’re okay with and in the ways that we’re okay with.

But teenagers are not built like that. They are built to question our authority, to push our boundaries.

So how do we teach our kids to go through this phase respectfully and without driving us to the edge?

First, when they come at us guns blazing, on fire about whatever it is on their mind, notice the tone of your immediate response. When someone comes at you fast and furious, it’s hard not to reply in the exact same way. But part of what we’re doing here in this moment isn’t just addressing the content of, whatever they’re bringing to us, but also tinkering with how the interaction feels. So if you don’t like their tone, don’t answer unkind, because that will just teach them, This is the tone we use to get what we need when we need to dig in or want to get our own way.

Instead, do whatever you need to do to soften the interaction and slow the conversation down.

Next, if interactions keep going south, one after another, instead of trying to deal with each one as a separate thing, perhaps it would be helpful to find a calm moment to talk about how our interactions are going in general and see if we can get everyone to agree to try to soften the tone overall. Your kiddo might end up bringing something up that you’re doing wrong too, and that’s okay.

It’s possible that everybody needs to do some adjusting and owning that can give them a win and show you are open to doing the work too.

Jessica and I do this kind of work with parents of toddlers to young adults all the time.

If you have tried everything and nothing is working, hop on a free 30 minute call with one of us and let’s figure out what support could look like.

 You don’t need to figure all of this out alone. 

07/17/2026

Want to know the biggest parenting thing I noticed while overseas the last week and a half?

I did not see children out in public on devices. When kids were waiting in restaurants, they were just waiting, coloring, or talking. When they were in stores, they weren’t in a shopping cart or a stroller looking down at a phone. They were looking out into the world. And, when they were in cars, they were just looking out the window.

I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. I’m not saying it’s better or worse. I’m just saying I didn’t see it, and it was really interesting.

Let me know what you think in the comments or DMs.

07/07/2026

Found another winner in the journal.

This one’s from October 25, 18 years ago.

It says tonight when I was rocking a little, they said I love you. And then I said it back and they smiled so big and snuggled in like I really got it. And then Big said, I am not using scissors today or tomorrow. These two days I am extremely done with scissors.

Welcome to the world of a 2 year old and a 4 year old.

Do you have a cute story to share?

07/02/2026

So I read two journal entries back from 2010 back to back, and one of them made me kind of cringe, and the other one made me realize how much work I’ve done.

So the first one involved me yelling at my child, and then when my other child yelled at that child, me turning to the other child and saying, we don’t talk like that to each other, and then realizing, oh, actually we do. And the shame spiral that came after that.

But then a few days later, there was an entry that said, after school today, I was late to pick everyone up, and little threw their backpack into the middle of the hall and insisted that I pick it up. And after some back and forth with no progress, I decided to lead with emotions like I had learned to do. So I got down on their level and said, it was a really long day. I missed you. I know you’re pretty tired. Would you like some love? And they softened and said, yes. So I suggested, how about we hug and kiss a ton, and then you can grab your bag and we’ll go? And that’s exactly what we did.

These two journal entries really hit home for me about how much work and intention this takes and how much progress is possible. If you feel like you’re ready to do some of the work and make some of the progress, you don’t have to do it alone.

I hope you’ll reach out.
We can do it together.

06/30/2026

Do your kids ever say something like, I won’t turn off the TV unless you come play with me, or if you don’t fill up my water bottle, I’m not taking it to camp?

It’s totally normal if you feel completely paralyzed in these moments because on the one hand you want your kid to take their water bottle to camp, but on the other hand, you don’t like feeling as if you’re in a hostage situation. If the kid would have just asked, hey, can you fill up my water bottle for me? You probably would have said yes.

But that’s not how it went. So what now?

It usually becomes a power struggle where the kid has drawn the lines, and it’s a battle until someone gives up or stomps out of the room crying. 50/50 odds about whether it’s the parent or the child.

Do you have a go to move in this situation? I’m really curious what it is and if it works. So send me a message. And while you’re at it, sign up for my newsletter in the bio and let’s be friends.