511: When Nothing Seems To Work: Second Guessing Your Parenting Instincts

Wire Talk with Karen Stubbs

Karen Stubbs

Christianity, Parenting, Parenting Advice, Kids & Family, Christian Parent, Religion & Spirituality, Faith, Motherhood

4.9 • 936 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ever find yourself second guessing your parenting decisions? You’re not alone. In this episode, Karen answers questions from moms navigating school struggles, motivation, and knowing when to step back. We hope you walk away feeling encouraged to trust God with the parenting choices you are making.

Episode Recap:

One parenting decision won’t make or break your child (1:50)
My 1st grader doesn’t work hard in school and I can’t make her care! (2:30)
How do I motivate my 10 year old yellow/green son? (5:00)
My son is reluctant to participate in extracurriculars, how should I handle this? (11:42)
Don’t project your fears and anxieties onto your child (14:15)
Ask God for the wisdom you need to make parenting decisions today (15:00)

Scripture: James 1:5 (NASB)
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him”

Discussion Questions:

When do you find yourself second guessing your parenting the most? What tends to be the trigger?
Are there areas where you might be over-helping (or enabling) instead of allowing natural consequences to teach your child?
What practical systems (routines, checklists etc.) could help your child take more ownership?
Are you projecting fears about your child’s future instead of focusing on what’s true today?
What would it look like to release your parenting decisions to God and trust Him with the outcome?

Resources:

Listen to the rest of our conversation on WT+: boaw.mom/insider
Use A Grown Up’s Guide to Kids’ Wiring to become a better student of your child
Check out our BRAND NEW Bible study: How To Teach Your Kids the Bible
Download our FREE temperaments packet

Want More of This Conversation?
In WT+, we dive into tougher parenting moments: attachment struggles, discipline that isn’t working, and navigating disagreements with your spouse. Plus, you’ll hear Karen’s practical ways to stay consistent when it feels like nothing is sticking.

Head HERE and join us for the full conversation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everybody, welcome to Wire Talk.
0:02.0	I'm so excited for today's episode.
0:04.3	We're going to be talking about what it looks like when you second guess yourself as a parent.
0:09.8	And I think we all fall into this category.
0:12.2	I know I have multiple times over my parenting journey.
0:15.6	You know, sometimes we think we're being too hard, are we being too permissive?
0:19.5	And we just don't know if it's really sticking.
0:21.6	So that's what our topic is today.
0:23.6	So let's get going.
0:28.6	Hey, moms and welcome to Wire Talk.
0:30.6	We are so glad you're here with us today.
0:32.6	Today is going to be an amazing episode
0:34.6	because we're going to be talking about
0:36.6	what happens when you
0:38.0	second guess your decisions that you're making as a parent. And I know that for me, sometimes I wish
0:43.2	I had a little genie on the side of my shoulder that says, am I doing this right? Yes or no,
0:47.5	because we all second guess sometimes. Absolutely. When we are doing the right things, it can be
0:51.7	still so hard. That's right. Even before we started the cameras, Emily was like, I can relate to this so much.
0:58.7	And I can relate to this.
1:00.4	Because, I mean, I'm not in that department now because I'm not doing parenting like that anymore.
1:05.5	But I used to always feel like, is this working?
1:08.9	Am I, are they going to be so angry at me whenever I'm going to send
	...

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