About Emily Edlynn, PhD

ABOUT

I live in Oak Park, Illinois outside of Chicago with my husband, three children, ages 13, 11, and 8, and two rescue dogs. I earned a Master’s and Doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the child and adolescent program at Loyola University of Chicago. I work in a small private practice with children, teenagers, and adults, specializing in health psychology.

I'm a former English major who feels like there is never enough time to read, and I daydream regularly about being alone in a clean and quiet hotel room just to take a nap. My children and family are my life, and I still find ways to feel alive by being all of me instead of always the Mom part.

MISSION

My mission is helping families find calm in the chaos of modern parenting. I am an academic, practicing therapist, and mother of 3. I deep dive complex parenting topics so you don't have to! I share true confessions to be real about this parenting gig. I do it all to help us all be grounded and more in tune with our instincts.

The most critical piece of parenting is that YOU are fine. Our stress undoubtedly affects our kids, and then they act out and make us even more stressed. So, I totally justify handing my kid an iPad for 20 minutes so I can enjoy the quiet luxury of a shower alone, screen-time warnings be damned!

After several years of juggling a full-time job outside the home and raising young children, I aim to bring even the slightest relief to so many parents treading the waters of unrealistic expectations coupled with overwhelmingly stressful lifestyles.

How often have we heard -- and said -- "I'm such a terrible mother." I would like to change that sentiment to a kinder, "I'm a good-enough mother." Because chances are, that's the truth.

PARENTING "IN REAL LIFE"

I have discovered motherhood as the greatest transformation of identity and self. In a world that values mastery and success, parenting leaves us constantly questioning who we are and what we are doing. And often, hearing about studies on sleep or screen-time or breastfeeding convince us that we are totally failing.

In working with hundreds of parents in my practice and constantly engaging with other parents in my communities, we all express the same questioning, worrying, and fear that we are letting down our children in ways big and small.

So let's get past the one-dimensional Facebook posts that represent the one moment of beauty in a day of chaos. Let's dig into the reality of parenting in this fast-paced, uber-tech, hyper-media world, and remind each other that we are all doing okay by our children because we are doing our best. Not only does science say so, but if we pay attention to the art of motherhood, our instincts tell us so too.