Author: Peyten Williams, Bowbend Consulting
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Practical Parenting Strategies for Every Age, Parent Newsletter, 06/25/2026
A few weeks ago, my 12-year-old — almost 13 — left his lunch in my car when I dropped him off at camp at 9 am. About twenty minutes after drop-off, I was sitting at a stoplight, already running late to an appointment, when I looked down and saw his lunch sitting there. In that…
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New Podcast Episode, How To Help Kids Learn Grammar Without Shame with Patty McGee
In this episode of What Great Teachers Know That All Parents Can Use, Peyten Williams talks with leadership coach, speaker, and founder of Pleasantly Aggressive, Rebecca Malotke Meslin, about why parenting is not just teaching — it is leadership. Rebecca shares practical wisdom from her work coaching school leaders through difficult conversations, emotional regulation, and…
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Navigating Tough Conversations with Kids
One of my favorite things about hosting What Great Teachers Know That All Parents Can Use is discovering how much wisdom from schools applies around the kitchen table. But in my May 15 podcast conversation with Rebecca Malotke-Meslin, leadership coach, speaker, and founder of Pleasantly Aggressive, I was struck by something even bigger: Parenting is not just teaching. Parenting…
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New Podcast Episode, How to Have Difficult Conversations with Kids: Parenting Leadership with Rebecca Malotke-Meslin
In this episode of What Great Teachers Know That All Parents Can Use, Peyten Williams talks with leadership coach, speaker, and founder of Pleasantly Aggressive, Rebecca Malotke Meslin, about why parenting is not just teaching — it is leadership. Rebecca shares practical wisdom from her work coaching school leaders through difficult conversations, emotional regulation, and…
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BIG News! My Book Is Now Available…Perfect Timing For Mother’s Day
Discover the Paradoxes of Parenting with wisdom that blends spirituality and practicality. Available now on Amazon and Westbow Press.
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New Podcast Episode, Parenting with the End in Mind: Raising Children of Character with Chris Cleveland
In this episode of What Great Teachers Know That All Parents Can Use, Peyten Williams sits down with Chris Cleveland, President of Wesleyan School in Atlanta, to talk about what he has learned from more than three decades of working with students, parents, and families. Chris offers honest, practical wisdom for parents who want to…
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Reflection: Capitalize on the Calm Before The Roller Coaster Of “Maycember”, Newsletter 4/23/26
For many of us, the end of the school year comes like the downhill drop of a roller coaster: fast, fun, loud, a little disorienting, and full of twists and turns….Every year, May arrives with its own kind of velocity. We try to be present, keep up, enjoy it, and not let the whole thing…
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New Podcast Episode, Autonomy, Not Pressure: The Secret to Motivated Kids with Chanita Jones
What actually motivates kids? And how do we help them develop a vision for their lives—without controlling or overwhelming them? In this powerful conversation, Peyten sits down with educator and consultant Chanita Jones to explore how parents can raise children who are self-directed, confident, and motivated from within.
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Newsletter 3/19/26, When Should We Start Thinking About College? (Earlier Than You Think, but not so much about when as how)
Let me just say the quiet part out loud. If you are a parent at an independent school — paying real tuition, making real sacrifices — there is a good chance that one of the reasons you chose that school is to improve your child’s chances of getting into a “good college.” You may not…