Today I’m excited to bring you not one but two amazing guests. Cynthia C. Muchnick, M.A. & Jenn Curtis, M.S.W. are the co-authors of The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness and Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World. You might be wondering right now… just what is the Parent Compass? Well, I’m glad you asked! During our conversation, Jenn and Cindy share how and why they wrote their book. They will also provide their expert advice for helping our teens learn how to develop grit and resilience and why nothing matters more than our relationship with our teens. Be sure to stick around until the end when they talk about our number one job as parents. Along with advice and insight, after listening to our conversation, you’ll walk away with actionable steps that you can put in place today.
About Cynthia Muchnick
Cynthia is a graduate of Stanford University and has been working in education for the past 25+ years as a former Assistant Director of College Admission, high school teacher, educational consultant, and author of five other education-related books. She speaks professionally to parents, students, teachers, and businesses on topics such as study skills, the adolescent journey, college admission, and now the parent compass movement.
About Jenn Curtis
Jenn earned a BA from UCLA and MSW from USC and has been an educational consultant and professional speaker for the past 13 years. As the owner of FutureWise Consulting, she has worked with hundreds of students across the nation on every aspect of the college admission process. With a background in research and mental health, she is particularly passionate about empowering teens to approach life with intention and educating parents about using their parent compass.
Episode Highlights
- The origin of the parent compass
- What exactly is the parent compass?
- Helping your teens hop off the high school hamster wheel
- Parents need to examine their own behavior
- Our teens can help us become better parents
- It’s not too late to change how we parent
- Mistakes are where the growth happens
- Our relationship with our teens is what matters most
- Focusing on the effort more than the outcome
- Teaching our teens to adopt a growth mindset
- Goal setting helps teens set intention
- We need flexibility and empathy to help our teens
- Parents can find support through friends or a therapist
- Why are some parents still behaving badly?
- Not every teen has to or should go to college
- Our #1 job as parents
- Cindy and Jenn’s advice for parents
Resources
Book Club Guide
*Invite Cindy and Jenn to visit your book club!