More Human More Kind: Practical Guidance for Allyship and Parenting LGBTQ Teens
Heather Hester
Recent Episodes
Are you feeling pulled between preserving family peace and protecting your mental health this holiday season?
You're not alone AND you're not doing it wrong. The holidays are often an emotional minefield, especially for parents of LGBTQ+ kids navigating outdated traditions, family dynamics, and identity stress. This episode is your permission slip to pause, breathe, and make room for something more aligned.
Heather Hester offers a powerful, practical conversation about what it means to evolve, not erase, traditions that no longer fit who you or your family are now.
Whether you're a mom, dad, caregiver, or fierce LGBTQ+ ally, you'll learn:
- How to recognize when a tradition has shifted from comforting to constricting
- Scripts for setting boundaries without guilt or apology
- Why honoring your truth is an act of love, not rejection
- How to build new, inclusive rituals rooted in empathy, safety, and healing
- What your child’s nervous system really needs from you this season
This episode offers more than parenting advice, it’s a reframe of what real love looks like during the holidays.
When you, as a parent or ally, set boundaries with clarity and compassion, you model inclusion, emotional regulation, and authenticity. You show your LGBTQ+ child and yourself that they belong just as they are.
You’ll also hear:
- A 5-step “Boundaries With Love” framework you can use today
- Real-life examples from Heather’s own parenting journey
- Tools to dismantle the myth that sameness equals love
- Gentle encouragement to prioritize your family's unique needs
Listen now and take one simple, powerful action: Release the guilt. Embrace the boundary. Rewrite the tradition.
Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!
Become a private client
Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A
Invite me to speak at your workshop or event
Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.
Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!
Connect [email protected]
Watch on YouTube
Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!
At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.
If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.
Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.
More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast and space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy
Are you an LGBTQ+ parent, ally, or advocate feeling exhausted by the emotional and logistical weight of the holiday season?
You’re not alone. Many parents and caregivers, especially those supporting LGBTQ youth, enter this time of year overwhelmed, overextended, and overstimulated, unsure how to protect their own peace while showing up for others.
In this powerful solo reflection, Heather Hester invites you to rethink everything you’ve been told about self-care.
Forget the candles and curated routines. This episode explores what your nervous system actually needs to feel safe, grounded, and connected, especially as an LGBTQ+ parent or ally navigating complex family dynamics, grief, or societal pressure.
You’ll discover:
- Why traditional “self-care” often fails LGBTQ+ parents and moms
- How to recognize which type of rest you really need (emotional? sensory? social?)
- The biological and emotional reasons this season feels harder and how to shift it
- How rest, boundaries, and breathwork become tools of love, empathy, and inclusion
What if your rest and regulation were a form of allyship?
When you, as a parent or advocate, honor your limits, you create a safer emotional space for your LGBTQ child or loved one. You model softness, stability, and trust just by being more human and more kind.
In this episode, Heather offers:
- A science-backed 1-minute breath technique to lower stress (no meditation required)
- A breakdown of the 4 emotional “seasons” and how to align your care with each one
- A practical guide to identifying your rhythm: motion, depletion, or recovery
- Gentle encouragement to release perfection, guilt, and performance-based love
Breathe with us. Then take one tiny, tangible step toward true rest. Listen now and rediscover the allyship that starts within.
Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!
Become a private client
Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A
Invite me to speak at your workshop or event
Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.
Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!
Connect [email protected]
Watch on YouTube
Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!
At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.
If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.
Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.
More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast and space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy
Feeling the pressure to find the perfect gift for your LGBTQ+ teen?
In this soft, grounding episode, Heather shares what really matters to LGBTQ+ kids this time of year and how your presence and thoughtfulness can be more powerful than anything wrapped in a bow.
- Discover 5 human-centered gifts that build connection and joy
- Learn how to create belonging through slow rituals and shared presence
- Get practical tips for meaningful, low-stress gift-giving even on a budget
- Unlearn the myth that more gifts = more love
Tune in now and walk away with a heart-centered plan to gift with meaning, not pressure. Your presence is already enough.
Key Takeaways
- Presence is the gift. The most meaningful thing you can give your LGBTQ+ teen is the feeling of being seen and safe.
- Intentional gifts build trust. Gifts that reflect identity, interests, or emotional needs foster connection not just excitement.
- Rituals matter. The 13 Sacred Nights tradition offers a grounding space for reflection, bonding, and family storytelling.
- You don’t have to spend a lot. A mug, a journal, a game, a handwritten note, or a shared recipe can say: I love who you are becoming.
- Performative gifting doesn’t equal love. True generosity is rooted in connection, not cost.
Links mentioned in the episode:
Etsy for mugs, recipe cards, and an apron
Games - Hitster and Who's Most Likely to...are two faves (instructions for Fishbowl are below)
13 Sacred Nights Oracle Deck and 13 Sacred Nights Ritual
Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!
Become a private client
Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A
Invite me to speak at your workshop or event
Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.
Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!
Connect [email protected]
Watch on YouTube
Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!
At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.
If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.
Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.
More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast and space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.
Fishbowl Explainer:
Here’s how it works:
First, divide into two teams. Give everyone the same number of paper strips — six per person is a great starting point. Take a couple of minutes to write down words or phrases on your strips. Fold them up and drop them into one big bowl. Anything goes, as long as it’s something you can describe or act out. And trust me when I tell you, anything has been the key word in my house, with them often being hilarious, irreverent, obscure, and at times wildly inappropriate! One of the key ingredients that makes this game so much fun is letting everyone be unabashedly themselves!
Fishbowl has three rounds, and every round keeps going — teams trading turns back and forth — until all the clues in the bowl have been guessed. Each turn is one minute, and you switch clue-givers every time, which keeps it fun and unpredictable.
Round One is the warm-up. The clue-giver can use as many words as they want to describe the phrase. Think Taboo without the pressure.
Round Two gets a little trickier. The same clues go back into the bowl, but this time the clue-giver can only use one word. Just one. It’s always hilarious to see which word people choose.
And Round Three is pure charades — no words at all, just acting, flailing, and a lot of hysterical laughter.
The goal? As a team, guess as many clues as you can each round, and most importantly, enjoy the silliness and connection that happen along the way. Pro tip: playing this game is also a super fun way to bring a significant other into your family’s mix!
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy
Do you pour out gratitude for everyone else, but forget to include yourself?
As the holidays approach, gratitude can start to feel like a performance. In this soulful solo episode, Heather helps you reclaim it, starting with the most overlooked person in your life: you.
- Learn how thanking yourself rewires your brain and soothes your nervous system
- Understand why authentic gratitude embraces both joy and grief
- Try a 3-minute practice to anchor appreciation in your body not just your mind
- Reframe self-directed gratitude as strength, not selfishness
Listen now to remember why you belong on your own gratitude list and how to gently come back to yourself, one breath at a time.
Key Takeaways
- Most gratitude practices leave you out of the equation
- Self-gratitude is not arrogance, it’s acknowledgment
- Gratitude is most powerful in complex emotional landscapes, not perfect ones
- Self-directed appreciation calms the nervous system and supports resilience
- A gentle daily ritual can anchor gratitude into your body, not just your thoughts
- “Gratitude and grief can coexist” and often must, especially during the holidays
Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!
Become a private client
Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A
Invite me to speak at your workshop or event
Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.
Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!
Connect [email protected]
Watch on YouTube
Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!
At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.
If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.
Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.
More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast and space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.
Resource Spotlight
1. UC Davis Gratitude Research (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)
The foundational study demonstrates that regular gratitude practice increases optimism, improves sleep, and enhances overall well-being.
2. Harvard Health Review (2022) – “Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier”
Outlines how self-directed gratitude — including compassion toward oneself — amplifies emotional regulation and resilience.
3. Greater Good Science Center – Gratitude Articles & Practices
A collection of short, accessible research-based tools for cultivating both interpersonal and self-directed gratitude. (greatergood.berkeley.edu)
4. Book: Living in Gratitude by Angeles Arrien
An elegant, spiritual framework for understanding gratitude not as a ritual, but as a lifelong practice.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy
Are you constantly jumping in with advice only to feel more disconnected from the people you love?
Whether you're navigating hard conversations with your LGBTQ+ teen or sitting down at a tense holiday dinner, the urge to "fix" is often fear in disguise. In this calming and powerful solo episode, Heather Hester unpacks why real connection doesn’t come from solving but from seeing.
✔️ Learn a simple, science-backed practice to shift from reactivity to presence
✔️ Discover how to listen without rushing, rescuing, or retreating
✔️ Use Heather’s LISTEN method to guide any difficult conversation with love
✔️ Get grounded tools to calm your nervous system when tensions rise
Press play now to discover the one shift that builds trust, deepens relationships, and reclaims connection, no fixing required.
Key Takeaways:
- Fixing is often rooted in fear, not love
- Silence is not awkward, it’s sacred
- Listening without correcting builds psychological safety, the key to long-term trust
- “Do you want advice or just a listening ear?” can transform your relationships
- You don’t need the right answers, you just need presence
LISTEN Framework Recap:
- L – Leave space: Breathe before responding
- I – Inquire gently: Ask what kind of support is needed
- S – Stay curious: Reflect, don’t assume
- T – Trust the silence: Let quiet be part of connection
- E – Empathize, don’t evaluate: Say “That sounds really hard”
- N – Normalize not knowing: “I don’t have the answer, but I’m here.”
Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!
Become a private client
Attend Friday Reflection LIVE on Substack - guided journaling and Q&A
Invite me to speak at your workshop or event
Receive a free excerpt and reflection guide from my book, Parenting with Pride.
Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!
Connect [email protected]
Watch on YouTube
Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!
At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.
If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.
Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.
More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast and space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Blubrry - https://create.blubrry.com/resources/about-blubrry/privacy-policy