“You’re the worst parent, and you’re probably going to give me away too.”

Those were my 6-year-old daughter’s words this morning after I told her we can’t keep all 14 cats. (You have my permission to laugh)

Threats, power, and big emotions—this experience taught me more about parenting than any book ever has.

My Favorite Headlines This Week

Alcohol as a social tool. While we saw new alcohol guidelines to lower all consumption, some are arguing it’s not just indulgence, but a way people lower defenses and access openness in tightly controlled lives. The real question - which is more harmful - a drink or loneliness?

IRL is back. Dating and networking are moving off screens and back into real rooms.

High performance, high injury. The 49ers’ have more injuries than any other team in football - by a lot - some players are asking questions to see if the EMF waves from the power plant next door are the cause.

Preservatives under fire. Common food additives are increasingly linked to cancer and metabolic disease.

The food pyramid, flipped. New guidance literally inverts decades of nutrition advice.

Big Emotion Energy: How do I react?

Now, after you stop laughing, which I much appreciate,  I have to take you into the moment.

We have a barn. We have a little farm, and we’ve got about 75 animals, from miniature goats to miniature donkeys, our Great Pyrenees, and then all the birds, like chickens and ducks and Sebastopol geese, and our turkey named Tom, and all the guineas that run wild.

Oh, and also the 14 cats.

We know we’ve had a cat problem. We know you can’t let cats continue to multiply, and it has been on me to try and capture these beautiful little terrorists, but I have been unsuccessful until this morning, so as I fed them in a giant dog crate and captured five of them with the hopes of giving them a new home and a new life with new dreams in a new world at least 7 miles away from my house. (I pray that is far enough away)

But somehow it all happened so suddenly, and my little girl was a witness, and you would think I was the Devil himself.

What followed in the next few minutes was my daughter sharing more emotion than I think I’ve ever seen her share and conjuring up threats that I didn’t know she could conjure.

I’ve grown a lot in the last few years, and so I had the privilege to listen with both ears and debate two responses in my mind simultaneously.

The first response was to begin to tell her she should not treat me that way, and say such strong words and hurtful words. You know - put her in her place!

The second response, which I’m happy to tell you won out was to let her be emotional, scream at me, say all sorts of mean things, and lots of threats like - get rid of my clothing and my toys and “even your golf clubs”, and asking me how would I like it if she did this to me to get rid of my stuff like I was getting rid of her “stuff.”

And it taught me the important lesson of being comfortable in my own skin and assessing my behavior, motives, words, and actions to see if there was any truth in what she was saying. It made me realize that it is so easy to be reactive in our world today. I practiced something I preach - reverse roles - put yourself in someone else’s shoes and ask how you would want to be treated - in. that. moment! Oh buddy is this hard.

But the biggest lesson it taught me is that children are outmanned, and outsized by us parents, and even if we don’t intend for something to sound threatening - because we have more power or more resources or a bigger shout or it’s our house or our car or we make the rules - people in positions of power don’t have to threaten really - their position is already threatening perhaps.

I realized when people feel threatened (especially those in positions of weakness) the natural response is to threaten back, and for my beautiful little girl, as I looked into her teary eyes - I could see deep down that she was sad and she was just mustering all of the ideas as possible of what would hurt me and threaten me so that I would stop the heinous act of lowering the cat community around our house. Which I would like to make clear- we feed and house, and it’s basically a feline country club around here.

To all the parents out there, I hope my story can help you pause the next time your child is frustrated or upset, whether they are 6 or 16 or 26 - and if they are little to realize we are 2 to 3 times their physical size, and to be in a situation where you feel powerless doesn’t feel good.

Emotional attunement isn’t laissez-faire parenting.

It’s the discipline of staying steady when someone else can’t - especially when you have the power to shut them down. It’s choosing presence over control when your authority could easily overwhelm someone else’s nervous system - or their emotions overwhelm yours.

My daughter’s and my attorney’s met and we negotiated a settlement - she can keep the other 9 cats…for now. 😉

-Jared

P.S. - My wife has a bangin newsletter where she shares her perspectives on tending the land, recipes, women’s health and more.

I’d love to hear goals for 2026. 👋

I write this newsletter each week because I feel my best when my body, mind and soul are all healthy. I want the same for you. If you feel like you’ve seen something valuable here, please do me a favor and forward this newsletter to a friend or let me know what you think by replying to this email or texting me - (310) 879-8441

P.S. - This newsletter does not provide medical advice. The content, such as graphics, images, text, and all other materials, is provided for reference and educational purposes only. The content is not meant to be complete or exhaustive or to be applicable to any specific individual's medical condition.

Here are a few other links to things that have changed my life:

Whoop - Track your HRV and REM Sleep

Function Health - Optimize Your Health via 160+ BioMarkers

Here are a few topics I think you’ll love if you haven’t checked them out before:

How to Breathe for Better Health

How to Supercharge Your Sleep

The Power of the Sauna