Athletics Ontario Running Podcast · John Shep

EP 205: Jennifer Kolari, Connected Parenting - The Runner-Parent's Guide to Connection, Emotional Regulation and Finding Balance

·37 min·2 clips

Jennifer says parents function as a “substitute frontal lobe” for kids.

1. Athletics Ontario Running Podcast episode 205 pairs John Shep with Jennifer Kolari and her Connected Parenting approach to runner-parent balance. 2. John Shep hosts, Jennifer Kolari guests, and her running background matters because she uses the same calm, reflective discipline in parenting advice. 3. The episode asks how a runner-parent can support kids, set limits, and stay emotionally regulated without losing connection. 4. Kolari says she has been running “for a long time,” usually alone, because it is “very meditative” and helps her stay calm. 5. She says she runs wherever her RV is parked, including hiking territory, beaches, and neighbourhood routes, and she prefers nature because she is “solar powered.” 6. Kolari says she loved running in the winter, the cold, and “the rain,” but now spends part of the winter in Mexico and has to adapt to heat. 7. In response to a listener question from iRun editor Ben Kaplan, she recommends a family framework of “must do” and “can do” activities. 8. She uses karate as a “must do” example and says children can try other activities, like team sports or Irish dance, for a season before deciding whether to continue. 9. Kolari says that sticking with something through “the ups and downs” teaches commitment and lets kids experience “the joy of getting to the other side of it.” 10. She says kids should not be pushed into loving what parents love, because they need to find “something that speaks to their heart.” 11. On martial arts, she points to “regulation and control and mastery and patience” as reasons the practice works well for children. 12. She also praises the dojo’s reverence, the bowing ritual, and the repetition of katas as good for school skills like math and memory. 13. Kolari says martial arts can help children who are worriers or overthinkers because they cannot drift off while learning sequences. 14. When John Shep asks about pushing children who want to quit, she says temperament matters and some kids are naturally grittier than others. 15. She recommends mirroring, calm validation, and neutrality before telling a child that sport or practice is a “must do.” 16. Kolari warns that “I told you so” does not work after a child returns from an activity, and she recommends being proud, neutral, and supportive instead. 17. Later, she explains that parenting has swung between old-school control and an era where children had too much say, and she argues for a middle ground. 18. She describes the tone as conversational, practical, and emotionally specific, with John Shep using listener questions and personal parenting examples to keep it grounded. 19. Runners who are parents and want concrete emotional-regulation tools. 20. Listeners wanting pure training talk without parenting content.

As heard by us

A grounded discussion of running, family, and the difference between invitation and obligation.

John Shep's new-year intention comes through as a quiet push toward being a more self-aware parent, while Jennifer Kalari frames running as something that belongs to her own inner life as much as to fitness.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want your running to help you show up better at home.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Athletics Ontario Running Podcast