More Human. More Kind. | Parenting LGBTQ Kids, Unlearning Fear, Becoming More Human

Your kid has a feed full of people they've never met, and some of those people are quietly teaching them what joy looks and feels like. Do you know what they're learning?

For LGBTQ teens especially, finding creators online who live and love the way they do can be genuinely life-changing. But not all joy is created equal. The most successful queer creators have discovered something worth understanding: authentic, lasting joy comes fr...

You don't need a complete overhaul to start recovering from ally burnout. You need one small, doable thing.

Interest: This week's quick follow-up to our episode on ally burnout and compassion fatigue gives you something tiny and real to carry into your week, no grand gestures or new routines required.

Desire: In this episode you'll learn how to:

• Name your own stress pattern out loud, in one sentence
• Protect one non-negotiable need ...

My Raw Reaction to This Week's SCOTUS Rulings

A note before you press play.

This isn't a normal episode. There's no outline, no structure, no neat takeaways. It's me, talking through what I'm feeling after two days of Supreme Court decisions that I'm still trying to process myself.

If you've been doom-scrolling the news the way I have, you already know some of what's in here. The trans rights ruling. Birthright citizenship. Campaign f...

Talk to other parents who are experiencing burnout, too. Learn more about the Kindred Collective.

Loving your child through a hard season can quietly burn you out, and most allies never see it coming.

When a child comes out and struggles, parents often carry an invisible weight: vicarious stress, ambiguous grief, and a nervous system stuck on high alert. This episode names what compassion fatigue looks like for allies, and why it sho...

What if the support you've been looking for was one conversation away, right where you work?

PFLAG National's Jamie Henkel joins the show to talk about Creating Pride in Families, a brand new resource library designed to help parents and caregivers of LGBTQ+ people build peer support networks inside their workplaces. Whether your company has a thriving ERG or you're starting from scratch, this episode will show you what's possible a...

Check out in depth essays, meditations, and tips and strategies on the More Human More Kind Substack!

Your kid changed how they describe themselves again, and some part of you is still waiting for the "real" answer.

This Friday Reset picks up where Tuesday left off. One small shift, one word, one line you can carry into the week for the moments when not-knowing feels like too much, and you need a gentler way to hold it.

In this episod...

Find connection with other parents in the Kindred Collective!

Your kid said something different about who they are than they did six months ago, and some part of you panicked.

For a lot of parents, fluidity feels like the hardest version of this journey, not because it's harder to love, but because it doesn't offer the relief of a finish line. This episode is about what happens when you stop needing one. It's about a conversation tha...

Join me on Substack for deeper conversations (and extra tools and reflections for paid subscribers!)

You already love your child deeply. But love that lives only inside you is invisible to the person who needs it most.

In this Friday Reset, Heather offers one small, powerful shift: moving from loving to demonstrating. For parents of LGBTQ+ kids, the difference between feeling love and making that love visible can be the difference be...

Be part of a private community filled with parents just like you! Learn more about the Kindred Collective.

You love your LGBTQ+ child. But does your child actually feel that love? And if there's a gap between the two, what does it cost them?

In this episode, Heather explores the difference between loving your child and your child feeling loved. Research tells us that felt family acceptance is one of the strongest protective factors f...

Learn more about the Kindred Collective - a private community for parents of LGBTQ kids

Your LGBTQ teen trusted you before they trusted the world. But what happens when parent allyship has to stay quiet?

When your queer or gay teen is only out to a small circle, you're doing the emotional work of affirming parenting without any of the visibility. This episode is parenting guidance for that specific loneliness: how to be a true ally a...

Be part of a community of parents just like you!

As parents of LGBTQ teens, most of us want our children to feel loved, accepted, and supported. But what if there’s a difference between being a supportive parent and practicing true allyship?

In this episode, Heather explores the important distinction between private support and active LGBTQ allyship. While creating a safe and affirming home environment is essential, LGBTQ teens...

Learn more about the Kindred Collective Community

What happens when parents have different comfort levels, beliefs, or timelines around Pride and LGBTQ support?

For many parents of LGBTQ teens, Pride season can bring underlying family tensions to the surface. One parent may be ready to advocate, celebrate, and show visible support, while the other may still be processing fear, confusion, grief, or uncertainty. In this episode, Heathe...

Learn more about the Kindred Collective Community

Are you wondering how to help your LGBTQ teen enjoy Pride safely without turning every conversation into a lecture?

Pride events can be joyful, affirming, and life-changing for LGBTQ teens, but they can also be overwhelming, emotional, crowded, and unpredictable. Many parents want to support their child’s experience while also making sure they’re prepared and safe. In this...

Learn more about the Kindred Collective Community

How do you talk to your LGBTQ teen about staying safe at Pride events without making them afraid to attend?

Many parents want their LGBTQ teens to experience the joy, connection, and belonging that Pride offers, but also worry about safety, visibility, and the realities of today’s world. In this episode, Heather shares practical guidance for having calm, age-appropriate safety c...

Join me on Substack for more tools to stay human in a complicated world.

What if the exhaustion you feel has less to do with who you are and more to do with how long you’ve been pretending?

In this Friday Reset: The Butterfly Effect, Heather reflects on her powerful conversation with Stef Vachon and explores what happens when survival mode slowly disconnects us from our authentic selves.

So many people learn early that b...

Learn about The Kindred Collective

Before you hang the Pride flag or post your support online, have you asked your LGBTQ teen what actually feels supportive to them?

Many loving parents and allies want to celebrate their LGBTQ child openly during Pride Month, but visible support can feel empowering for some LGBTQ teens and overwhelming for others. In this episode, Heather explores the importance of emotional attunement, collaborative...

What happens when someone spends decades surviving instead of truly living?

In this deeply moving conversation, Heather sits down with queer figure skater, advocate, father, and podcast host Stef Vachon to talk about shame, bullying, identity, healing, and what it means to finally come home to yourself.

Growing up in a small French Canadian town in the 1970s and 80s, Stef endured relentless homophobia, isolation, and abuse while purs...

Download Panic to Plan Here

What if you already got it wrong with your child… or you’re terrified you’ll say the wrong thing next?

In this episode of More Human. More Kind., Heather Hester explores two of the biggest fears parents face when supporting LGBTQ+ or questioning teens:

• “I think I already messed this up.”
• “What if I say the wrong thing?”

You’ll learn why fear often ...

Download Panic to Plan Here

What if you already got it wrong with your child or you’re terrified you’ll say the wrong thing?

In this episode of More Human. More Kind., Heather Hester explores two of the biggest fears parents face when supporting LGBTQ+ or questioning teens:

• “I think I already messed this up.”
• “What if I say the wrong thing?”

You’ll learn why fear often creates dista...