The holidays are a magical time, but they can also be overstimulating and stressful for children, particularly for those with strong-willed or highly sensitive personalities.

 In today’s episode, we dive into the joys and challenges of the holiday season—especially when it comes to managing big emotions and behaviors in kids.

Jennifer's Takeaways:

• Why gladiator kids often struggle during big family gatherings.
• Front-loading expectations for both children and adults.
• Manage gift exchanges, overstimulation, and sibling conflicts with calm and confidence.
• The importance of maintaining routines
• Set boundaries and limits without compromising the holiday spirit.
• The transformative power of the Calm Technique to connect with your kids

Meet Jennifer Kolari



Jennifer Kolari is the host of the “Connected Parenting” weekly podcast and the co-host of “The Mental Health Comedy” podcast. Kolari is a frequent guest on Nationwide morning shows and podcasts in th US and Canada. Her advice can also be found in many Canadian and US magazines such as; Today’s Parent, Parents Magazine and Canadian Family.

Kolari’s powerful parenting model is based on the neurobiology of love, teaching parents how to use compassion and empathy as powerful medicine to transform challenging behavior and build children’s emotional resilience and emotional shock absorbers.

Jennifer’s wisdom, quick wit and down to earth style help parents navigate modern-day parenting problems, offering real-life examples as well as practical and effective tools and strategies.

Her highly entertaining, inspiring workshops are shared with warmth and humour, making her a crowd-pleasing speaker with schools, medical professionals, corporations and agencies throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

One of the nation’s leading parenting experts, Jennifer Kolari, is a highly sought- after international speaker and the founder of Connected Parenting. A child and family therapist with a busy practice based in San Diego and Toronto, Kolari is also the author of Connected Parenting: How to Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really): Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011).