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Parenting Smarts

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix

Parenting Smarts! We need them, and sometimes we feel them. Our host, MaryRuth Hackett, is a mom of four with a doctorate in educational psychology, specializing in child development. Parent...

Episodes

20 of 100 episodes

133: Popular Questions and Season Wrap

Mary Ruth tackles common questions parents have about spiritual life as she wraps up this season.

37:36Apr 22, 2026

131: Prayer Changes Everything

Shannon Wendt joins Mary Ruth to share how prayer changed everything in her family life as well as encourages us to pray even when it's mess...

37:30Mar 25, 2026

130: Parenting Different Ages - Part 2

Nell O'Leary joins Mary Ruth for an authentic conversation about the realities of family life and offers perspective on how to navigate it.

52:50Mar 11, 2026

129: Parenting Different Ages - Part 1

Emily Jaminet joins Mary Ruth to share tips and experience for parenting kids of different ages.

33:46Feb 25, 2026

128: Forgiveness

Fr. Ignatius Mazanowski joins Mary Ruth to talk about forgiveness - how to live it, to teach it to children and to cultivate it in family li...

48:27Feb 11, 2026

127: Temperaments and Connection

Rose Sweet joins Mary Ruth to help us understand the four temperaments and how they affect family dynamics.

32:28Feb 2, 2026

126: Fostering Connection

Meagan Martinez joins Mary Ruth to share how to connect deeply with our kids at any age.

55:51Jan 14, 2026

125: Recap of first half

Mary Ruth reflects on the first half of the season with a recap of the episodes on connection.

36:22Dec 31, 2025

124: Connecting Through Community

Jennifer Ellis joins Mary Ruth for a conversation on the importance of belonging and how to build community.

47:36Dec 17, 2025

123: Connecting through Movement

Shalini Blubaugh joins MaryRuth to discuss the benefits of movement for spiritual, physical and mental well being.

55:49Dec 3, 2025

122: Connecting Through Service

Service pulls us outside of ourselves and helps us connect. Melissa Mazzella DeLaney shares her incredible story and the importance of servi...

01:11:56Nov 19, 2025

121: Connecting Through Art

MaryRuth sits down with Bishop Dolan to talk about his love for art. Together they explore how art connects us to God and to each other.

40:10Nov 5, 2025

120: Connecting Through Nature

Abigail Poole joins MaryRuth to explore how nature helps us connect to God and to each other.

44:47Oct 22, 2025

119: Welcome to Season Eight

MaryRuth welcomes listeners to a new season of Parenting Smarts with a look at what's ahead.

28:46Oct 8, 2025

118: Discernment

Stephanie Burke joins MaryRuth to talk about how to help children understand the spiritual world in age-appropriate ways.

38:28May 14, 2025

117: Faith

MaryRuth dives into the virtue of faith and ways to nurture it in ourselves and in our families.

30:09Apr 30, 2025

116: Patience

MaryRuth is joined by Jennifer Ellis to reflect on patience, what they have learned and how to practice it in family life.

30:39Apr 16, 2025

115: Wisdom

How can we choose our words, listen to the Lord and discern well? Fr. Will Schmid joins MaryRuth to discuss how to allow wisdom to permeate...

48:25Apr 2, 2025

114: Courage

Gail Davis, MaryRuth's mom, joins the program to help us learn how to cultivate courage in ourselves and our families.

40:16Mar 19, 2025

113: Kindness

Olivia Spears joins MaryRuth to explore how to cultivate kindness in our families.

31:32Mar 7, 2025