It's not just about teaching them to fly away from you, but teaching them to be their own voice,

to ask for what they need because being independent isn't about not needing things or not

needing help, it's about being able to ask for help and support when you need them.

Hi, this is Dene. I'm the founder of Simple Families. Simple Families is an online community

for parents who are seeking a simpler, more intentional life. In this show, we focus on minimalism

with kids, positive parenting, family wellness, and decreasing the mental load. My perspectives

are based in my firsthand experience raising kids, but also rooted in my PhD in child development.

So you're going to hear conversations that are based in research, but more importantly,

real life. Thanks for joining us. That voice that you heard at the beginning of this episode

is Sunny Jane, whose pronouns are they then. Sunny is my guest today and they are a lived

experience educator. I will say that hands down they have been my favorite guest of the year.

I have learned so much from them and I am continuing to learn. I spend a lot of time on this podcast

talking about the parent experience, what it feels like to be in the shoes of a parent.

And honestly, that's where I spend a lot of my time thinking because I am a parent and that's

the role that I have right now. Sunny is not a parent but is an adult with a lived experience

of neurodiversity. In their work, they have given me a better understanding of what it feels like

to be a child who is othered as they call it. But aside from helping us have a better understanding

of differences within childhood and how that feels for our kids, I've also looked to them for

advice on how to have meaningful authentic relationships with neurodiverse adults in my chat with

Sunny. I'm telling the story of how I was in kind of an uncomfortable interaction online

with an autistic woman and it helped me to realize pretty quickly that I have a lot to learn.

And maybe you do too. If we're striving to make this world more inclusive and more understanding,

...