What insights does Hilary Erickson offer about parenting and child development?

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson from The Pregnancy Nurse.

From what I share on Pulling Curls and my podcast, a few big parenting and child-development themes come up over and over:

• Move from fear-based to reality-based parenting: Instead of trying to control every risk (phones, clothes, dating), I focus on teaching skills, letting kids make choices, and then talking through how it went. That builds internal judgment, not just obedience.

• Model the behavior you want: With phones, I openly admit when I’m doom-scrolling and wish I’d made a different choice. Kids learn a lot from seeing us struggle and adjust, not from us pretending we’re perfect.

• Guided independence in tricky areas: Things like clothing, social media, and opposite-gender friendships are handled with simple boundaries (family rules) plus lots of conversation and gradual freedom so they’re not thrown into the deep end at 16.

• Watch out for scarcity mindset: “Only 18 summers” thinking can push us to overdo, overspend, or ignore our own needs. I talk a lot about balancing saying yes to fun with protecting your sleep, safety, and budget—kids also need to see what healthy limits and “making do” look like.

• Communication is the core: Especially as kids get older, open, frequent, judgment-light conversations are what actually shape their development. I’ve seen this most clearly with my third child, where I’ve had more time and experience.

Is there a specific age or challenge you’re most curious about (toddlers, teens, phones, routines, etc.)?