The Confidence Chronicles

I spent an entire school term working as a counsellor at a primary school. 19 kids on my roster. And what I learned sitting with them changed how I think about what parents need to know right now.

In this episode I break down the 3 biggest things I saw coming up over and over again: 

screen time and what it is really doing 

why so many kids have stopped talking to their parents and 

why what your child is doing online is not as safe as you think. 

I share what worked in my sessions, what I heard from parents and teachers, and how this experience has shaped what I want to do next.

If you are a parent doing your best and still feeling like something is off with your kid, this episode is for you.

📚 Books referenced in this episode:

→ The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary

→ Loving What Is by Byron Katie

→ No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz

Chapters

00:00:00 Three Things Parents Need to Know: Opening Insights from School Counseling
00:01:07 Welcome to the Confidence Chronicles and Episode 500 Celebration
00:02:58 Going Back to School: My Journey to a Bachelor's in Psychotherapy
00:05:30 Slowing Down to Speed Up: Structure and Systems in Business
00:07:15 Choosing the School: From Prison Work to Primary School Counseling
00:08:24 19 Kids and a Rotating Door: The Reality of School Counseling
00:10:35 Lesson One: Screen Time Is Destroying Our Kids and We Don't Know How to Stop It
00:11:55 The Vertical Video Slot Machine: Why Your Kids Need Phone Boundaries Now
00:13:58 Lesson Two: Communication Breakdown and Why Your Kid Won't Talk to You
00:15:19 The Family Meeting Rock: Creating a Culture of Communication at Home
00:16:42 Teaching Kids About Their Bodies and Strange Behavior
00:18:19 We're Not Really Strangers: Games That Build Family Connection
00:19:30 Lesson Three: Online Safety and the Roblox Problem Parents Don't See
00:23:01 Australia's Shocking Child Safety Statistics and Internet Dangers
00:23:58 Setting Boundaries: Being the Mom Who Checks the Chat
00:24:30 The 16-Year-Old Social Media Ban: Why Laws Won't Protect Your Kids
00:25:09 Teaching Life Skills: Mindset, Communication, and Emotional Intelligence
00:25:39 The Power of Just Being There: Why One Safe Adult Changes Everything
00:26:00 Abandonment Issues and Guilt: Processing My Own Childhood Wounds
00:26:38 How Kids Actually Want to Talk: Toys, Games, and Shoulder-to-Shoulder
00:27:31 Girls, Confidence, and Body Image: The Struggles No One Talks About
00:28:15 The Demand Is Overwhelming: Why Every School Needs a Permanent Counselor
00:28:36 High-Need Kids and Triage: Understanding Why Some Children Are Prioritized
00:29:06 From Prison Dreams to Kid Calling: Why This Placement Wasn't a Mistake
00:29:31 The Last Day Tears: Parents, Teachers, and Kids Saying Thank You
00:29:58 Did I Do Enough? Wrestling with the Need to Serve More
00:30:32 No One Knew I Was the Queen of Confidence: Being Someone to Those Kids
00:31:03 The Juggling Act: Running Kids, Family, Business, and Life
00:31:53 Single Parents Are Queens: Taking Off the Crown for You
00:32:18 Placement 2028 and What's Brewing: The Future of This Work
00:32:38 Keep Talking to Your Kids: Final Advice for Parents
00:32:47 Resources: Dr. Shefali, Byron Katie, and Pouring Into Yourself First
00:33:20 Join the 500 Episode Virtual Party: Thank You for Listening

🙏🏽 ENJOYED THIS EPISODE?

If this episode helped you, please consider dropping me a review! It takes two seconds and it means the world.

→ Becoming Magnetic: https://shop.thequeenofconfidence.com/collections/book

→ Follow Erika on Instagram: @thequeenofconfidence

→ Website: https://thequeenofconfidence.com

🥹 We just hit 500 podcast episodes.

And I’m not celebrating this milestone alone I need YOU there!

We’re hosting a live, interactive virtual podcast party where you get to be in the room.

Not watching, not listening but actually part of it.

🎉 YES! You will be my podcast guest.

You can ask me a question.
Get coached live.
Share your favorite episode or moment and help shape the future of the Confidence Chronicles podcast.

This is not a webinar. This is not a replay.

🚨 This is a LIVE celebration.

If you’ve ever listened to this podcast… this is your moment to be part of it Queen.

🎟 Only 100 spots available

📅 Sunday April 19
⏰ 10AM AEDT

👉🏽 RSVP here:
https://thequeenofconfidence.com/500-episodes-virtual-party-signup/

If you want to come on screen, ask me something, or just be part of the energy… you need to be in the Zoom room.

I can’t wait to celebrate this with you.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to Episode 500: A Milestone Celebration
00:01:39 From the Car to 3.2 Million Downloads: The Origin Story
00:02:49 Thank You for Making This Podcast What It Is
00:03:19 The Mission: Helping Women Own Their Confidence
00:03:56 Grateful and Still Ambitious: The Mindset That Drives Success
00:04:34 You're Invited: Virtual Podcast Party Announcement
00:04:49 Let's Co-Create the Future: What Do You Want to Hear?
00:05:50 This Show Raised Me: The Personal Journey
00:06:19 A Heartfelt Thank You: You Made This Show
00:06:57 Join the Celebration: April 19th Virtual Party Details

📲 CONNECT WITH ME

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/thequeenofconfidence
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/Theconfidencequeen/

If your brand isn't landing the way it should, the answer is probably not what you think it is, and changing your fonts, your colours, or your content strategy is not going to fix it.

I have spent over a decade telling women not to give a shit what people think. And now I'm saying you need to care about how you're perceived. That is not a contradiction. In this episode I'm getting into the real reason your brand feels off, what it is actually reflecting back to you, and why the women who are getting the opportunities you want have dealt with something you might still be sitting on.

This one is for the woman who is good at what she does, has done the work, and still can't figure out why it's not clicking out in the world.

👑 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE TO THE CONFIDENCE CHRONICLES → Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MUxtupRLNGB8cuNC9mwXI → Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confidence-chronicles/id1439434022 → YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtf2VIsUYg-vkERa16r_VcFNz3Bt6kLI → All platforms: https://thequeenofconfidence.com/podcast/

📖 GET ERIKA'S BOOKS → Becoming Magnetic (Penguin Random House, 2025) → Confidence Feels Like Shit (2020) Available here: https://shop.thequeenofconfidence.com/collections/book

📩 GROW YOUR FANBASE → https://courses.thequeenofconfidence.com/offers/TKhTxM3n/checkout

🎤 BOOK ERIKA TO SPEAK → https://thequeenofconfidence.com/speaking/

📲 FOLLOW ERIKA → Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thequeenofconfidence/?hl=en → LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-cramer-queenconfidence/ → Website: https://thequeenofconfidence.com/about/ → TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thequeenofconfidence

💬 ENJOYED THIS EPISODE? Subscribe so you never miss one. Leave a review on Apple or Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it means everything.

This episode is such a good one.

I’m joined by the incredible Emma Dunwoody — human design expert, author of Human Design Made Simple, and host of one of the leading human design podcasts in the world.

If you’ve ever been curious about human design but felt overwhelmed, confused, or like it all sounded way too complicated… this conversation is for you.

We break human design down in a way that actually makes sense.

We talk about what it is, how it works, why so many people feel deeply seen by it, and how it can support you in your life, business, relationships, parenting, and self-trust.

This conversation also goes deep into what it means to stop forcing yourself to live like everyone else and start understanding the way you are designed to move through the world.

Inside this episode, we talk about:

What human design actually is

Why so many people feel overwhelmed by it at first

How Emma made human design simple and accessible

The difference between types, profiles, centres, strategy and authority

How human design helps you understand your energy

The role of authenticity in business and life

Why your success strategy has to be your own

How human design can support parenting and relationships

The shift into a new paradigm and why self-trust matters more than ever

Emma also shares her own story of discovering human design, the moment it clicked, and why she believes this work is here to help people come back home to themselves.

If you’ve been trying to do life, business, leadership or motherhood in a way that feels forced, this episode will open something up for you.

Because the truth is:
you don’t need to become someone else.
You need to understand who you already are.

About Emma Dunwoody

Emma Dunwoody is a leading voice in human design, the host of The Human Design Podcast, and the author of Human Design Made Simple. Her work helps people understand their energy, trust themselves more deeply, and build lives and businesses in alignment with who they truly are.

In This Episode

Human design explained simply

Human design in business

Human design and authenticity

Human design for relationships

Human design for parenting

Strategy and authority

Defined and undefined centres

Self-trust and energetic alignment

The new paradigm

Building success your own way

Connect With Emma

🌐 Website + Free Chart
emma-dunwoody.com

📘 Book: Human Design Made Simple
Available in Australia, Europe and the US

🎙 Podcast
The Human Design Podcast

📱 Instagram
@the_human_design_coach

Connect With Erika

👑 The Queen’s Table
High-level mentorship for women ready to build authority, visibility and legacy.
https://thequeenofconfidence.com/the-queens-table/

👑 The Next Level
For women ready to grow their confidence, audience and income.
https://thequeenofconfidence.com/the-next-level/

📖 Becoming The One
https://www.amazon.com/

📱 Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thequeenofconfidence/

⭐ If this episode resonated, send it to someone who’s been trying to understand themselves on a deeper level.

One of the biggest questions I get when it comes to showing up online is this:

“How do I know if I’m being authentic… or if I’m oversharing?”

Where is the line between vulnerability and trauma dumping?

In this episode, I’m breaking down the balance between being raw and real while still protecting yourself and your credibility.

Because here’s the truth:
Authenticity builds connection. But not everything belongs on the internet.

I share how I built my brand by documenting my process of becoming — from recording podcast episodes in my car while broke and exhausted with two kids, to building a global personal brand and loyal audience.

You’ll learn how to share your story in a way that creates connection, trust, and authority without feeling like you're exposing every part of your life.

This episode is for you if you're:

• Scared of what people will think online
• Worried you're sharing too much
• Holding yourself back from being seen
• Trying to build a personal brand or business
• Learning how to tell your story with power

Inside this episode we talk about:

• The difference between sharing from a scar vs sharing from a wound
• How to know if you're oversharing or actually not sharing enough
• The storytelling method I call zooming in vs zooming out
• Why perfection erodes connection
• How vulnerability builds loyalty and community
• The question you must ask before sharing anything online

At the end of the day, your story is yours.

And when you learn how to share it intentionally, it becomes one of the most powerful tools you have to connect, lead, and serve others.

In This Episode

• Authenticity vs oversharing
• Building a personal brand online
• Vulnerability and storytelling
• Trauma dumping vs healed sharing
• Personal branding and content creation
• Confidence and showing up online

Chapters

00:00:00 The Authenticity Strategy That Built My Brand
00:00:29 Welcome to the Confidence Chronicles
00:01:25 The Number One Question About Showing Up Online
00:03:13 When Fear Holds You Back From Being Seen
00:04:19 My Broke, Breastfeeding, Car Podcast Origin Story
00:06:51 When You Have Nothing Else But Your Story
00:07:57 The Loyal Cult-Like Following I Built Through Sharing
00:12:23 Document Your Process of Becoming
00:14:20 Getting Metaphorically Naked on the Internet
00:17:01 The Zoom Out Strategy for Professional Boundaries
00:22:08 The Scar vs The Wound: When to Share Your Story
00:25:49 Intent Is Everything When Sharing Vulnerability
00:30:11 Know Your Audience and What They Need to Hear
00:33:12 The More You Zoom In, The More They Come Closer
00:34:04 Being Imperfect Is Part of My Brand
00:34:42 Thank You for Letting Me Into Your World

Connect With Erika

👑 The Queen’s Table
High-level mentorship for women ready to build authority, visibility and legacy.
https://thequeenofconfidence.com/the-queens-table/

👑 The Next Level
For women ready to grow their confidence, audience and income.
https://thequeenofconfidence.com/the-next-level/

📖 Becoming The One (Book)
https://www.amazon.com/

📱 Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thequeenofconfidence/

⭐ If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.