In this episode, we speak with Mariel Benjamin, LCSW, about how parenting is currently based in a feeling of fear - fear of messing up one’s children, fear of being judged by others, and fear of failing in helping children reach their full potential. As we speak about, this fear can be detrimental for many reasons. When in a state of fear, we make decisions based on limited information and lots of emotion. This fear-based parenting can have a number of negative consequences for ourselves and our children. We further discuss how to avoid fear-based parenting.  Mariel is DIrector of Groups at Cooper, DIrector of Programs at The Mount Sinai Parenting Center and on faculty at the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount SInai. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of experience at Mount Sinai Medical Center working with families and children. She received her B.A. and B.S. summa cum laude from Northwestern University and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from New York University. She is also a trained facilitator of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. For more information on Mariel and Cooper please visit @your_cooper on instagram and yourcooper.com