Episode 7: Permission to Pursue Virtue Based Parenting
Virtue based parenting
On today’s episode of the podcast, Micaela Darr and I discuss virtue based parenting. We all want to be good parents and figuring out exactly how to go about that can be challenging. Micaela shares openly about her parenting journey. Over the years, she and her husband ran the gambit of parenting styles from super strict, to way too permissive. But, they have found their own style of parenting, focusing on parenting for virtue first! So, if you are interested in learning how she makes virtue her focus in parenting, you won’t want to miss this episode.
Get to know Micaela
Micaela is a happy Catholic wife and a mother of many: 7 on earth and 5 in heaven. Her days are spent helping her older daughters navigate high school, and homeschooling her school-aged kiddos. She is passionate about God and the truth He reveals here on earth. She spends her evenings discussing politics and the state of the world with her husband, and working behind the scenes on ministry: the Catholic women’s Fiat Conference and Take Up & Read Scripture Studies. Her weekends are spent enjoying the beauty of Southern California, and sometimes photographing families and other such beauty in between baseball games and Mass.
At her heart, Micaela would simply define herself as a Catholic woman, a daughter to the one True King, and she seeks to acknowledge every day how great He is and how blessed and undeserving she is.
Don’t undermine the graces God is giving you by thinking you don’t know or you’re not capable. God can give you the graces to do what you need to do in your parenting if you allow him to come in.
Micaela Darr
Find what you want to hear
Micaela’s Parenting Journey
[5:00] Meet Micaela. In this section, Micaela encourages mothers to get comfortable parenting in their own style. She shares about her parenting journey and how her style of parenting has changed over time. And, she shares how her children adapted to those changes.
Three parenting class takeaways
[18:50] In this segment, Micaela shares 3 takeaways she learned from a parenting course she and her husband took years ago called Family Enrichment.
- Learning more about the brain and emotional development of children
- Understanding the concept of being “flooded” with cortisol.
- Anger is often the result of an unmet need.
Virtue based parenting
[23:21] Micaela shares here how she came to see virtues as the “lost language of our faith.” It’s so much more precise to talk about issues with childrearing under the lens of virtues and not just being good or bad. Teaching your children about virtues and vices helps them to identify specific areas of growth and becomes much more helpful. And, Micaela makes it practical, giving examples of how she parents at home.
Parenting in community
[36:50] In this segment, Micaela talks about parenting in community. Also, she shares about the importance of finding community so you can support one another as well as the benefit of learning from other moms. If, for some reason, you are unable to find community, you need to double down on your prayer and sacramental life.
Following your instincts in parenting
[44:00] Sometimes, it can be difficult to parent when we don’t believe we have good instincts. We all come to our parenting journey with a wide variety of experiences. And, don’t always feel equipped to deal with what comes up as we parent our own children. We all carry various wounds into our parenting. Based on those wounds, it can be hard to discern what’s right and wrong.
But, Micaela encourages us that if we trust God to guide us and we sincerely seek his guidance in prayer, we will be made ready for all the challenges parenting sends our way.
Connect with our guest and find resources discussed
Ministries and services
- Connect with the ministries Micaela contributes to: Fiat Conference, Take up and Read, Catholic All Year
- Parenting Classes through Family Enrichment of Los Angeles
Book suggestions
- The Virtues for Catholic Youth by Catholic Sprouts
- The Temperment God Gave you
- The Temperment God Gave your Kids: Motivate, Discipline and Love your Children
- A Spiritual Growth Plan for Your Choleric Child
Leave a rating or review
Leaving a positive rating or review on the podcast helps spread the word out about the podcast so it can bless more moms out there. The more positive ratings and reviews I have for the podcast, the more Apple Podcast will recommend the show to new listeners. It’s so easy to do!
- Click here to go to the podcast page.
- Click on Listen on Apple Podcasts under the podcast name.
- When it launches, click on Ratings and Review under the podcast name. Then you can leave a rating or review!
Thanks so much for your reviews!
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Welcome
I’m Jeanette, a former high school Theology teacher turned home educator, navigating the difficult transition from career to home.
I write about marriage, motherhood, discernment, home education following the Charlotte Mason method, and how God works his way into every corner of my life. I’ll be sharing about all those things here and I hope you come along.
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One Comment
A MUST podcast for Catholic mothers or ANY Christian Mother seeking to grow in holiness and love for God. Each episode is filled with wisdom, host Jeanette knows exactly what to ask. The women who are interviewed are true witnesses of Christ’s love for us and how that plays in their pursuit of all things motherhood & womanhood. I feel so uplifted and inspired each time I listen. Thank you for making this for the world!!!