From the Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto:

“We will always have permission to be ourselves with each other no matter what. You will always belong here.”

In this episode of The Most Important Thing, we dive into one of the most fundamental human needs: belonging.

We unpack the tension between raising kids with a strong family identity while also giving them the space to become their own people.

Along the way, we explore:

• The difference between fitting in and belonging (thanks, Brené + 8th graders!).
• What it looks like to foster individuation at any age.
• How childhood wounds around belonging shape us as adults.
• The risk of a strong family culture becoming unwelcoming.
• Why tolerance, trust, and dialogue are essential as kids absorb outside influences.
• What we’ve been doing—versus what we might experiment with—when a child comes home with “someone else’s energy.”

TMIT about Belonging is that our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self‑acceptance.