Parenting Doctors Podcast: What We Were Never Taught

Dr. Daniel van Ingen
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Parenting Doctors Podcast has evolved beyond parenting alone into a broader conversation about family life, relationships, and emotional well-being. This podcast now explores the emotional and communication skills many of us were never taught — skills that shape parenting, relationships, marriage, conflict, healing, resilience, and personal growth. Through honest reflection and practical insight, the show focuses on helping individuals and families build stronger emotional connection, healthier communication, and more resilient relationships. While parenting remains an important part of the conversation, the focus now includes the full emotional ecosystem of family life — how we connect, how we repair, and how we grow together through life’s challenges.

  1. Jun 21

    The Conversation Most Couples Never Have: How to Talk About Hurt Without Creating More Hurt

    Episode #6: The Conversation Most Couples Never Have How to Talk About Hurt Without Creating More Hurt Most couples don't avoid difficult conversations because they don't care. They avoid them because they don't know how to talk about hurt without escalating conflict, triggering defensiveness, or creating even more pain. In this episode of What We Were Never Taught, Dr. Dan explores one of the most important—and least understood—skills in relationships: how to communicate hurt in a way that creates understanding rather than distance. You'll learn: • Why conversations about hurt so often go wrong • How defensiveness silently damages connection • The difference between blame and vulnerable communication • Practical strategies for bringing up painful topics safely and effectively • How couples can move from protection and reactivity toward connection and repair Whether you're married, dating, divorced, co-parenting, or hoping to build healthier relationships in the future, this episode will give you practical tools to navigate difficult conversations with greater clarity, compassion, and confidence. Because relationships rarely fail from a lack of love. More often, they struggle because we were never taught the emotional skills required to sustain connection. Join Dr. Dan as he helps you build stronger relationships, stronger families, and a life marked by greater clarity, connection, and confidence.

    29 min

  2. Jun 14

    You Think You’re Explaining Yourself—But You’re Actually Losing Them

    Episode #5: You Think You’re Explaining Yourself—But You’re Actually Losing Them In most relationships, disconnection doesn’t happen in big, dramatic moments—it happens in small conversations where defensiveness takes over before understanding can land. In this episode of What We Were Never Taught, I explore why defensiveness is one of the most common and most damaging patterns in relationships, and how it quietly blocks emotional connection even when both people care deeply. I introduce the “Impact First Method”—a simple but powerful communication shift: pause, reflect emotional impact first, and then respond. This small change interrupts the reflex to defend and creates space for real understanding instead of escalation. We go beneath the surface of defensiveness to understand what is actually happening emotionally and neurologically in those moments—shame, fear of being misunderstood, fear of being wrong, and past relational injury—and why the nervous system often reacts before we even realize it. This episode blends personal reflection, clinical insight, and real-life relationship patterns to help you not just understand defensiveness, but change what you do in the exact moment it shows up. If you’ve ever felt misunderstood, or noticed conversations shifting from connection to conflict faster than you intended, this episode gives you a practical way to slow it down and stay emotionally connected when it matters most.

    38 min

  3. Jun 8

    Why Some People Cling and Others Pull Away: The Attachment Styles We Were Never Taught

    In this 4th episode of What We Were Never Taught, we explore one of the most recognizable patterns in relationships: why some people tend to cling when they feel disconnected, while others pull away when emotions become intense. Drawing from attachment theory in a simple and accessible way, this episode breaks down how different attachment styles—secure, anxious, avoidant, and fearful-avoidant—shape the way people respond to closeness, conflict, and emotional stress in relationships. Through clinical examples and real-world relationship patterns, we explore how these dynamics are not personality flaws, but learned strategies for managing emotional safety and connection. Many couples find themselves caught in a pursue–withdraw cycle, where one partner seeks reassurance while the other seeks space—both trying, in their own way, to feel safe. The episode emphasizes a key message: attachment styles are not fixed identities or life sentences. They are learned patterns of relating that can be understood, worked with, and changed over time through greater emotional awareness and communication skills. This conversation continues the core mission of the podcast—helping people understand the emotional skills they were never taught, so they can build stronger, healthier, and more connected relationships.

    31 min

  4. Jun 3

    Why Emotionally Unavailable People Attract Each Other: The emotional skills we were never taught about intimacy

    This is my Episode #3 of my new relationship show podcast. Why Emotionally Unavailable People Attract Each Other: The emotional skills we were never taught about intimacy Emotionally unavailable people often attract each other because the relationship feels familiar, safe, and validating of their existing beliefs about intimacy. Familiarity feels like chemistry Neither person has to face deep vulnerability They reinforce each other's core beliefs The pursuit creates intensity Available partners can initially feel boring Intimacy requires the following five emotional skills: Emotional Awareness "How to identify and express emotions" Vulnerability "How to be vulnerable without feeling weak" Direct Communication of Needs "How to ask for what you need" Staying Connected During Conflict "How to stay present when emotions rise" Repair "How to come back together after hurt"

    41 min

  5. May 25

    Why People Stop Listening

    In this episode of What We Were Never Taught, we explore one of the most painful dynamics in relationships: what it really means when people feel like they are no longer being heard. Most people assume the problem is that someone has stopped listening. But in reality, listening often breaks down slowly over time due to emotional overload, repeated misunderstandings, defensiveness, and disconnection. In this episode, we break down why this happens, how communication cycles escalate between people, and why shutting down is often a protective response rather than a lack of care. We also explore what actually helps restore connection, including slowing conversations down, improving emotional awareness, and learning how repair rebuilds trust. This is a conversation about communication, emotional safety, and the hidden patterns that shape how we relate to each other in families and relationships. #Relationships #CommunicationSkills #RelationshipPodcast #EmotionalConnection #Marriage #Family #Parenting #ConflictResolution #EmotionalIntelligence #HealthyRelationships #Healing #Resilience #AttachmentTheory #PersonalGrowth

    33 min

  6. May 20

    What We Were Never Taught

    After spending more than a decade focused on parenting and families, I’m beginning a new conversation about relationships, emotional connection, communication, and resilience. In this first episode, I share parts of my own journey through divorce, shame, growth, and the realization that many couples are never truly taught the emotional and communication skills needed to navigate difficult seasons well. I reflect on the pain relationships can bring, the impact on families and children, and the hope that relationships can often be strengthened when people learn how to reconnect, listen, repair, and communicate differently. This podcast is about honest conversations, emotional growth, healthier communication, and helping people build stronger relationships before disconnection turns into hopelessness.

    40 min

  7. 05/31/2025

    The Power of Connection & the Power of Storytelling

    This is my first parenting podcast in 5 years.  I am returning to encourage a new generation of parents.  I will be drawing from my books. My first Parenting Podcast in 5 years.  I woke up this morning at 3 a.m. and put together my first parenting podcast in a long time.  My greatest gift, my calling, and my purpose is ENCOURAGEMENT.  I came back to this parenting podcast because I want to reach a new generation of parents and give encouragement.  If you listened to me 10-15 years ago, please pass along my podcast to the new generation of parents.  Uniquely, many podcasts are relevant today like the podcast “No Phone at Dinner” delivered on 7/27/18.  For the new generation of parents, here are a few resources:  (1) “You Are Your Childs Best Psychologist: 7 Keys to Excellence in Parenting.”  (2) “40-Day Devotional for Parents: A Parenting Doctor’s Call to Fill Your Children’s Lamp with Oil through Prayer and Action.” Today’s Podcast:  The Power of Connecting & the Power of Storytelling.

    30 min

  8. 11/05/2023

    Voice of Champions: Interview with Addison Ruscoe

    I had the joy of interviewing Addison Ruscoe, Voice of the Riverview Rams.  If you like the art and science of sports broadcasting, this podcast is definitely for you.  If you love sports or the character of sports, this is a good one.  Great life lessons, and the value of discovering purpose is at the heart of today's podcast.  We also discussed Ram Football for 15 minutes toward the end of today's show.

    1h 24m
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About

Parenting Doctors Podcast has evolved beyond parenting alone into a broader conversation about family life, relationships, and emotional well-being. This podcast now explores the emotional and communication skills many of us were never taught — skills that shape parenting, relationships, marriage, conflict, healing, resilience, and personal growth. Through honest reflection and practical insight, the show focuses on helping individuals and families build stronger emotional connection, healthier communication, and more resilient relationships. While parenting remains an important part of the conversation, the focus now includes the full emotional ecosystem of family life — how we connect, how we repair, and how we grow together through life’s challenges.

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