Speaking Events
Offering expertise on parenting, child behavior and mental health, and pathways to a healthier family life.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
My mission is helping families bring balance, common-sense, and joy back to parenting.
I’m passionate about integrating science and common-sense in parenting guidance to support healthier and more sustainable lives for parents. I’m an award-winning author of the book, Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent Confident Children, and an international speaker. I wrote a regular parenting advice column for Parents.com and serve on their medical review board. I co-host the popular Psychologists Off the Clock podcast and my writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Scary Mommy, Good Housekeeping, Motherly, Psychology Today, and more. I have been featured as an expert on NPR and NBC News Daily and regularly guest on podcasts to speak about parenting and raising healthy children in our modern world. I challenge today’s unhealthy and unscientific parenting trends in my speaking and writing, including for my Substack. My book earned a Foreword Reviews’ 2023 Indies Book of the Year Award and 2024 Praiseworthy Award.
Testimonials
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“I’ve been attending this [Glenbard Parent] Series for 30 years and this talk was the best of the best.”
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"As a parent and also a teacher, Emily’s presentation helped me reflect on the kind of structure and guidance that best helps children to grow. I appreciated her specific examples, especially as it related to rewards and consequences. I literally was able to successfully implement a strategy the minute I returned home and it worked!"
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"We invited Dr. Edlynn to present to parents at our church and we are so glad we did. I was incredibly impressed with her presentation style and loved that it was applicable to all ages of children. Dr. Edlynn had tons of real life examples of how to tackle parenting smarter that are easy for any parent to implement. It seems that sometimes it's all in how we say things. I give her presentation a 10/10 and would strongly recommend all parents to attend a talk in the future."
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"Parenting is difficult and it’s hard to find the right balance between being supportive, allowing autonomy, and keeping kids safe in a scary world. Tonight was some guidance on how to navigate a middle ground, and release some pressure on parents at the same time."
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"Dr. Edlynn is an excellent resource and her parent education talk was very well received at our school. She made research backed parenting approaches easy to understand and everyone left with strategies to start using right away. Highly recommend her talks for parents of both elementary and high school students."
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"Dr. Edlynn offered a thoughtful and relevant presentation to our PK-8th grade parents. She has the unique ability to speak as both expert with solid research backing her advice and mom-next-door who has "been there." She is a speaker parents will want to hear! "
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“I learned so much from Emily’s talk on autonomous parenting—the lecture was clear, concise, engaging, and truly delightful. A key takeaway from the parenting pendulum is the importance of recognizing how our style differs from our parents’, and leaning toward the middle so our kids can build confidence in their independence while still feeling deeply supported emotionally.”
My Speaking topics
Areas of Expertise
Parent Smarter, Not Harder: Autonomy-Supportive Parenting
New Ways to Parent Around Technology and Social Media
How to Boost Your Child’s Motivation for School
Raising Emotionally Healthy and Resilient Children
PLACES I’VE SPOKEN BEFORE
I have spoken for audiences of parents at schools, advocacy organizations, academic medical centers, and more.
I participated in the Institute of the Arts and Ideas panel, The Great Rewiring of Childhood, as a panelist debating The Anxious Generation author, Jonathan Haidt. I have spoken to professional organizations and foundations about the importance of supporting autonomy in children and adolescents to promote health and wellbeing.