Playful Connection Podcast
This is a podcast where a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with children and teens will be discussing practical and effective ways for adults to connect with children and teenagers using therapeutic techniques inspired by play therapy. These episodes will come in the form of simple steps of research based skills that you can implement today in order to better connect more meaningfully with the children and teens in your life!
Episodes
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips on how to connect with your child or teen after a death.
1. Make Space for Their Feelings Without Fixing
2. Use Art or Writing to Process the Loss
3. Maintain a Sense of Routine and Stability
4. Honor the Person Who Passed Together
Supporting a child or teen after a death is like becoming a light...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and applicable activities that will build and strengthen resilience in children and teens.
1. “Challenge of the Week” Activity
2. Storytelling Through Difficult Moments
3. Emotion Regulation Through Art and Movement
4. Role-Play Resilience Scenarios
Using resilience-building activities with children and teens is li...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips on how to connect with your anxious child or teen.
1. Acknowledge and Normalize Their Feelings
2. Offer Co-Regulation Through Calm Presence
3. Create Predictable Routines and Gentle Transitions
4. Use Play or Creativity to Talk About Worry
Connecting with your anxious child or teen is like being ...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical ways to respond instead of react.
1. Pause and Breathe Before Responding
2. Use Reflective Language
3. Validate, Then Set Limits
4. Model Calm Problem-Solving
Responding instead of reacting is like steering a boat through choppy waters with a steady hand on the wheel. You can’t control the waves, but ...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple tips on how to stay calm in a chaotic environment.
1. Use a Grounding Technique in Real Time
2. Name and Normalize What’s Happening
3. Build in Visual or Verbal Cues for Calm
4. Reflect and Repair After the Storm
Staying calm in chaos is like being the eye of the storm—while everything swirls and spins around you,...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips on how to more meaningfully connect with your child or teen during times of transition.
1. Acknowledge and Normalize Their Feelings
2. Create a Transition Ritual Together
3. Give Them Ownership in the Process
4. Keep Some Things Consistent
Connecting with your child or teen during transitions is...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips on how to teach children and teens to develop intrinsic motivation and how doing so will boost your relationship with them.
1. Praise Effort, Not Outcome
2. Give Meaningful Choices
3. Encourage Reflection Over Validation
4. Model Passion and Curiosity
Teaching intrinsic motivation is like helpin...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical ways on how to choose appropriate rewards while building stronger connections with the children and teens in your life.
1. Make Rewards Personal and Meaningful
2. Focus on Experiences Over Material Rewards
3. Use Surprise and Spontaneity Occasionally
4. Encourage Intrinsic Motivation Alongside Rewards
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips that you can apply today to help your child or teen to feel grateful to be in your family.
1. Create Meaningful Family Traditions
2. Express Gratitude for Each Other
3. Encourage Contribution to the Family
4. Share Family Stories and History
Helping children and teens feel grateful to be in thei...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple tips on how to become a supportive presence in your child or teen’s life.
1. Listen Without Fixing
2. Show Up Consistently
3. Encourage Their Strengths and Passions
4. Be Their Safe Place
Being a supportive presence is like being a sturdy bridge—strong, reliable, and always there when needed. Just as a bridge help...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and applicable tips on how to create a mindful environment at home.
1. Establish a Daily Mindful Check-In
2. Create a Calming Space for Relaxation
3. Model Mindfulness Through Your Actions
4. Incorporate Mindful Activities into Daily Routines
Creating a mindful home is like building a warm and sturdy lighthouse. J...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips on mindful activities that can be applied today.
1. Create a Daily “Pause” Moment
2. Turn Everyday Activities into Mindful Experiences
3. Use Movement as Mindfulness
4. Encourage Mindful Storytelling or Journaling
Practicing mindfulness with children and teens is like tending a campfire. At firs...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical tips on how to engage in storytelling, even if creativity isn’t your forte.
1. Make Up a “Tag Team” Story
2. Retell Real-Life Events with a Twist
3. Create a “Story Jar”
4. Use Storytelling to Problem-Solve
Think of storytelling like planting a garden. Even if you don’t feel creative, every word you ...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will go over the top 5 lessons learned from the first 50 episodes of Playful Connection, as well as reflecting on how implementing these lessons will strengthen your relationship with the children and teens that you love and care about.
1. Connection Over Perfection
2. Play is a Child’s First Language
3. Emotions Need to Be Felt, Not Fixed
4. Rep...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple tips on how to implement more specific and playful ways to incorporate and encourage creativity in the lives of children and teens.
1. Create an Open-Ended Art Space
2. Storytelling Games and Prompts
3. Incorporate Movement into Creative Expression
4. Encourage Creative Problem-Solving Challenges
Encouraging creat...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four practical and simple tips on different affirmation routines, along with examples of how to playfully incorporate them into your daily life with your children or teens.
1. What Is an Affirmation Routine?
2. Make It a Game
3. Create Visual Reminders
4. Incorporate Movement
Building an affirmation routine is like planting a...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple and practical ways to avoid shame talk in your interactions with the children and teens in your life, as well as some examples of each tip.
1. Avoid Comparisons
2. Model Self-Compassion
3. Reframe Negative Thoughts Together
4. Establish a Safe Space for Mistakes
Removing shame talk is like lifting a weight off a y...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four practical tips of how to teach self-reflection to your children and teens and strengthen your bond with them.
1. Feelings Journal
2. Three Good Things Exercise
3. Letter Writing
4. Daily Reflection Questions
Self-reflection is like holding up a mirror in which children and teens can see their true selves, free from exter...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four practical and simple tips of playful ways to teach problem-solving skills that will also help strengthen your connection and relationship with them.
1. Guided Brainstorming with a Timer
2. Building Challenges with Blocks or Legos
3. Mystery Box
4. “What Would You Do?” Game
Imagine building a bridge across a river: every ...
In this episode of the Playful Connection Podcast, Eddie Shin will share four simple tips on how to apply non-verbal communication in positive ways, and how applying these tips will help strengthen your connection with the children or teens in your life.
1. Eye Contact
2. Active Listening
3. Facial Expressions
4. Physical Touch
Non-verbal communication is like stars in the night sky. Even though t...
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