Forming Healthy Boundaries to Manage Family Stress with Tracie Braylock

Parenting under constant stress and busyness takes a real toll, not just on our health, relationships, and spiritual well-being, but also on our children.

In this episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, Tracie Braylock, holistic nurse educator, wellness consultant, and author of Radical Relaxation: Releasing the Stress You Were Never Meant to Carry, joins host Sarah Cowan Johnson to talk about the real and lasting impact of stress on parents and children. Drawing on her expertise in mind-body-spirit wellness, Tracie explains how stress shows up in families physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and why the Surgeon General’s recent advisory is a wake-up call for us all.

Tracie and Sarah discuss the societal and cultural pressures that keep families trapped in cycles of busyness, the myths that convince us we have to “do it all,” and the quiet damage that pace inflicts on our bodies, families, and homes. This is a must-listen as they share practical ideas for breaking free from cultural norms that increase stress in families and instead creating rhythms of rest and sabbath in family life.

This episode is both grounding and hopeful, reminding parents that small, intentional changes can bring more peace, connection, and health into their homes.

Listen to the full conversation now.

This episode highlights the following themes:

✅The physical, emotional, and spiritual impact of parental stress on families
✅Practical ways to recognize, manage, and reduce stress at home
✅The biblical wisdom of sabbath rest and boundaries

Links from the episode:

✅Learn more about Tracie Braylock (traciebraylock.com/)
✅Read Radical Relaxation by Tracie Braylock (www.ivpress.com/radical-relaxation-ebook)
✅Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson (www.ivpress.com/sarah-cowan-johnson)
✅Read Teach Your Children Well (ivpress.com/teach-your-children-well) by Sarah Cowan Johnson
✅Read the Surgeon General’s Advisory here (www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/parents-under-pressure.pdf)
✅Learn more about Sarah’s family sabbath practice here (drive.google.com/file/d/11IvyT3aSXCgs9LXT8rBU7F9u8NPiHEv5/view) or on her website (sarahcowanjohnson.com/practice-of-the-month)
✅Read the transcript here (drive.google.com/file/d/1NTFEWQn52Wykj0sBuYJfN421wO34E5jx/view)
✅Take the survey here (forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx)

Credits

✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com (ivpress.com) and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.
✅Producers: Kaitlin Borek, Helen Lee, and Travis Albritton
✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts (honestpodcasts.com/)
✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne
✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard
✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

=== Time Stamps ===

00:00 - Introduction
04:04 - About Tracie Braylock
06:19 - Mind, Body, and Spirit in Mothering
09:04 - How to Recognize Signs of Stress
11:55 - Emotional and Spiritual Signs of Stress
13:54 - The Parent-Child Stress Cycle
17:47 - The Impact of Busyness
22:27 - Impact of Busyness on Children
25:03 - The Way of Jesus vs. the Way of the World
27:10 - Why Is Rest So Challenging?
29:50 - Fear and Busyness
32:47 - Parenting Question: Simple Changes a Parent Can Make to Live From a Place of Peace
37:29 - Steal This Idea: Embracing Family Sabbath

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.