Should you shield your child from pain or teach them how to carry it?

In this honest and heart-opening episode, Heather Hester explores one of the most misunderstood parts of parenting: how to share hard truths without overwhelming your child. From navigating her own cancer diagnosis to supporting a child through crisis, Heather reveals what it really means to protect and prepare our kids for life’s hardest moments.

• Learn how to share difficult news in age-appropriate ways that build trust and emotional safety
• Hear how silence and secrecy create fear and what honesty can do instead
• Discover why vulnerability is a strength your kids need to see, not something to hide

Press play now to learn how honesty, vulnerability, and trust can transform your parenting and strengthen your connection with your child.

Resource Spotlight

• Raising Good Humans (Dr. Aliza Pressman podcast) — Honest, practical conversations about how to raise resilient kids by being honest about life’s struggles.
• Common Sense Media — Tools and language for helping parents decide what’s age-appropriate, especially when introducing kids to tough topics.
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) — Guidance from pediatricians on talking with kids about illness, family stress, or other hard realities.
• NPR Life Kit (Parenting episodes) — Accessible, short conversations about parenting through challenges—offering bite-sized wisdom when you need it most.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

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At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ+ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and foster courageous, compassionate connection.

If you’re in the thick of parenting, allyship, or pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in—I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive space where a mom and mental health advocate offers guidance on parenting with empathy, inclusion, love, and open-minded allyship, fostering growth, healing, connection, and empowerment within the LGBTQ community while addressing grief, boundaries, education, diversity, human rights, social justice, and the power of human kindness through a lens of ally support and community engagement.