If you’ve ever wondered how to turn ten focused minutes a day into a lifetime of confidence for your kids, this week’s rTalk episode was made for you. Listen to Heidi’s insights, or read about the episonde and takeaways, below.
Empowering Parents & Building Confidence in Children with Heidi Simmons
rTalk: The rConnect Podcast
Empowering Parents & Building Confidence – rTalk with Heidi Simmons
Why we invited Heidi Simmons on rTalk
Heidi spent eight years mentoring at-risk youth before founding Empower & Engage, a coaching company that equips parents—moms in particular—with quick, research-backed tools for building a child’s self-esteem. After watching one intentional hour a week change the trajectory of the teens she mentored, Heidi asked the obvious question:Key lessons from the episode
Consistent attention beats sporadic praise
Research shows that eight to ten minutes of undivided attention is enough to help children feel valued and heard. Heidi recommends setting aside one small block of time each day with no phone and no multitasking. Ask an open-ended question and let your child lead the conversation.
Children learn boundaries by watching adults
If grown-ups yell, children learn to yell. If parents model calm problem solving, children imitate that instead. Narrate your own feelings out loud and describe how you handle them. Doing so gives kids a practical script they can copy.
Start the conversation in elementary school
Foundational habits and beliefs form long before social-media pressure begins. Parents who talk openly about decisions, consequences, and values during the elementary years find that their teens still come back to them when real dilemmas appear.
Inside the course
- Format: Six weeks, five modules, seventeen short videos (each runs six to ten minutes).
- Tools: Downloadable worksheets that turn each lesson into a simple activity.
- Support: A live “mom huddle” on Zoom every week for questions and coaching.
- Launch: February 2, 2:30 p.m. at the Shadle Park Library.
- Bonus: The first ten students receive three private coaching calls at no extra cost.
Heidi’s biggest hurdle
Recording video. Heidi admits that her first few lessons sounded as if she were reading a telephone directory. By the seventh video she learned to speak to the camera as though she were chatting with a friend across the table. Her advice: “Finish the project first; polish it later.”
Next steps
- Listen to the episode using the player above.
- Download Heidi’s free confidence checklist at empowerandengage.com.
- Block eight minutes today to talk with your child. Use an open-ended question such as “What made you smile during recess?”
- Share your experience in the comments so other parents can learn from you.
Confidence is not a grand gesture. It is built one focused conversation at a time.
