Public views of the family are shifting, and not necessarily in an optimistic direction. Today, more Americans feel uncertain about marriage and parenthood than confident. In fact, 40% say they are somewhat or very pessimistic about the future of marriage and the family. Only 25% feel optimistic. And when asked what leads to a fulfilling life, people place higher value on job satisfaction and friendships than on being married or having children.
Hesitation is strongest among adults under 40. Among those unsure about having children, the concerns are clear: 23% point to the high cost of raising a child. Another 17% worry they wouldn’t be good parents, and 17% say parenting simply feels like too much work. Some fear it would derail their education or career (9%), while 10% cite climate and environmental uncertainty.
Together, these concerns reveal a clear truth. Many people feel overwhelmed by the idea of raising a family. And for those who are already parents, the pressure has not eased. Parenting often feels like juggling emotional survival with daily logistics. Many feel they are moving too fast, reacting more than responding, and trying to avoid burnout.
This broader uncertainty is the environment in which Holly Swenson, Founder and CEO of Live Your Glow LLC, wellness advocate, and award-winning author of Stop, Drop, Grow & Glow, developed her work. She understands what modern parents are experiencing. Her approach does not deny the reality of stress or exhaustion. Instead, she offers tools that help parents slow down, reset, and reconnect with themselves so they can respond with presence rather than pressure.
Her philosophy is simple but powerful. Parenting becomes more manageable not through perfection but through inner steadiness. As she explains, her work is “about helping parents pause, reset, and build awareness so they can respond to their children with clarity instead of overwhelm.”
Her upcoming online course is an extension of that mission. Built from the four-step framework in her book, it guides parents from survival mode into a more grounded and intentional way of living. But this framework did not begin as a curriculum. It began with Holly’s lived experience, her childhood, her healing, and her desire to parent with more awareness and compassion.
Holly’s message lands with clarity. Meaningful parenting does not require more pressure. It requires more presence. And presence is something every parent can learn to cultivate, one pause at a time.
A Childhood That Shaped a Philosophy
Holly’s approach is rooted in both soul and science, integrating evidence-informed methods with the wisdom gained from her own personal experience. Growing up, she didn’t always have a consistent maternal presence. That absence shaped her view of connection and emotional grounding. Instead of letting the void define her, she used it as direction.
“My parenting philosophy was born from both pain and purpose,” she explains. “Growing up, there were large stretches of my life where maternal presence was absent… Rather than allowing that absence to harden me, I used it as a catalyst for growth and adopted a victory over victim mindset.”
That mindset led her toward emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and conscious communication skills she later translated into her four-part framework: Stop, Drop, Grow, & Glow.
A Framework Built for Real Life
Unlike traditional parenting models that focus on managing behavior or enforcing rules, Holly’s method asks parents to start with themselves. It’s practical but also introspective, which makes it useful in the messy moments of everyday family life.
Here’s how the framework breaks down:
Stop: Create space before reacting.
This isn’t about ignoring problems; it’s about giving your brain a moment to shift out of fight-or-flight. Even a three-second pause can change the tone of a conversation.
Drop: Let go of old patterns, unrealistic expectations, or emotional baggage.
Holly describes it as “dropping what no longer serves us”, the stories or habits that fuel frustration rather than connection.
Grow: Choose growth through emotional awareness, communication skills, and health-centered habits. This is where parents build new tools and practice them consistently.
Glow: Live in alignment with what matters.
Glow isn’t perfection; it’s the feeling of ease that comes when your actions match your intentions.
Holly explains, “Parenting is not about mastery and perfection, but about becoming.”
Why She Created a Course And What It Includes
When Holly started her company in 2023, her goal wasn’t to build a brand. It was to offer parents a resource she wished she had earlier in life. “My mission is to promote mindfulness, wellness, intentional living, and joy for parents and children alike,” she says. But doing the work daily, showing up, writing, and teaching have been intense. “Even on days I feel tired, I still try to show up because the work I am doing is soul work.”
Her upcoming course, Glow Forward: Parenting with Presence and Purpose, is meant to give parents a structure they can return to regularly, not another checklist, but a guide for shifting out of survival mode.
The course centers on:
- Creating pause and awareness in high-stress moments
- Releasing emotional clutter and outdated expectations
- Building communication and regulation skills that help both parent and child
- Integrating habits that support long-term calm and connection
It offers reflection prompts, mindfulness tools, and real-world strategies that families can use immediately.
A Practical Balance: Tools and Inner Growth
What makes Holly’s approach accessible is that it doesn’t ask parents to overhaul their lives. It asks them to start with awareness. For example:
- Before reacting to a child’s meltdown, practice a three-second stop.
- When frustration builds, notice whether the trigger is the situation or an old belief about how things “should” be.
- Replace automatic reactions (“Stop crying”) with grounding statements (“I’m here. Let’s breathe together.”).
- Build one small daily habit like a morning intention or an evening check-in that strengthens connection.
Holly says, “Parenting is not just about managing behavior; it’s about nurturing wholeness in both parent and child.” The practical skills matter, but the inner work is what sustains them over time.
Long-Term Impact Starts with Small Daily Shifts
Holly doesn’t view her course as a quick fix. She sees it as a seed for long-term change for parents and for the next generation.
“When parents learn to pause, self-regulate, and respond with presence instead of reactivity, they model emotional intelligence, resilience, and compassion for their children,” she explains. These skills don’t just improve the home environment; they shape how children show up in the world.
Her hope is for parents to break patterns of disconnection and build homes where both adults and children feel seen, supported, and safe. “Ultimately, this course is about legacy,” she says. “The time is now for this deep shifting to take root.” Her framework offers parents a way to slow down, reset, and create families where thriving becomes the norm, not the exception.