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 from the work world, behavioral science, and faith, Julie unpacks what it means to be “impeccable with your word,” build trust through integrity, and create a home where your teen’s nervous system feels safe.
If you’ve ever worried you’ve “messed up” trust, this episode offers encouragement, restoration, and practical tools to rebuild it—one trustworthy moment at a time.
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 decision-making), and how to live them out with teenagers in real, practical ways. I share simple tools like value “experiments,” family check-ins, and repair scripts—plus a reminder that this is not about perfection. It’s about honesty, integrity, and creating a home where truth and grace can grow side-by-side.
Let’s dive in.
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 usually before school, enjoying a delicious breakfast (waffles, lattes) that was usually out of the question on a school day.
This episode walks through the big picture of Date Day, and reinforces the key concept that decreasing distance increases influence. I share some tactics and strategies that can help get you started creating a tradition of connection of your own, including what to do when it's hard to connect at all.
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 impact. How can we build meaningful connection, moving beyond the demands of everyday life to real connection? This episode offers some specific ways to create connection, explores connection through several lenses, and acknowledges that the whole thing can just be hard. But: we can do it, and I believe in you.
Let's dive in.
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 personal experience, tools from corporate leadership, evidence-based insights from social science, and the wisdom of faith traditions to help us hold it all together on this journey.
I know I said I wouldn't cry when I told the story about my daughter's graduation season--let me just say, bear with me on this first episode's editing. You'll hear the voice of a devoted mom as she's launching her kids into this big wide world. I edited out the tears.
And if nobody's told you this lately: what you're doing matters so much.
-----
Welcome to the very first episode of Plot Twist Parenting!
I’m Julie Workman—mom, community advocate, and your fellow traveler through the wild twists of raising teenagers. If you’ve ever felt like a total pro in other parts of life, but find parenting teens to be the most humbling (and sometimes hilarious) role of all—this space is for you.
In this episode, I talk about:
I’m not here with a rulebook. I’m here with stories, reflection, and an open invitation to walk through this season together. If your heart feels cracked open by parenting, mine does too.
Stick around—we’ll laugh, cry, and maybe even find joy again in the middle of this wild ride.
Connect with me at julie-w.com
.
I’d love to hear what you’re carrying, what questions you’re asking, and what moments have surprised you along the way.