REPLAY: Parenting, Attachment, and Raising Kids in a Digital Age with Todd Sarner, MFT
What if the most important parenting tool is not discipline, rules, or techniques…but relationship?
In this rereleased and deeply relevant conversation, Ryan Watts sits down with psychotherapist, parenting coach, and author Todd Sarner, MFT to explore the unseen foundations of healthy families…attachment, leadership, and connection.
Todd shares how his own childhood experience in therapy shaped his life’s work, why becoming a father revealed the limits of traditional parenting advice, and how attachment science became the missing glue that brought everything together.
This episode goes beyond managing behavior. It invites parents to reclaim their role as calm, confident leaders…and to understand why children thrive when they feel deeply connected, not controlled.
With technology, screens, and AI now woven into daily life, this conversation feels more timely than ever.
Sign up for Todd's Parenting course here: https://go.transformativeparenting.com/launch-page?am_id=ryanwatts1757
In This Episode, You’ll Explore
• Why attachment is the gateway to cooperation, emotional regulation, and resilience
• The difference between reactive parenting and relational leadership
• What it really means to be in the “alpha” position as a parent
• Why children do not need perfect parents…they need calm, connected ones
• How peer orientation and technology fill the vacuum when parents step out of leadership
• The hidden cost of parents trying to be their child’s best friend
• Why parenting can be one of the most powerful pathways for adult healing and growth
• How screens, AI, and low vulnerability connection impact child development
• What kids are actually seeking when they turn to devices instead of people
• How connection, not control, prepares children to thrive in an uncertain future
Key Themes
• Attachment as the foundation of emotional health
• Parenting as a transformational journey
• Calm leadership over control
• Connection before correction
• Raising children in the age of AI and digital distraction
About Todd Sarner, MFT
Todd Sarner is a licensed psychotherapist, parenting coach, and couples counselor who works exclusively with parents. His work is deeply influenced by attachment theory and his mentorship under developmental psychologist Gordon Neufeld, author of Hold On To Your Kids.
Todd is the founder of Transformative Parenting, where he helps parents become the steady, connected leaders their children need. He is also the author of The Calm and Connected Parent, a guide for raising children with confidence, clarity, and care in a rapidly changing world.
Continue the Journey
If this conversation resonated, you may also enjoy exploring how clarity, connection, and leadership shape personal success beyond parenting.
You are invited to explore either
• A Free 30 Minute Coaching Session at ryanwattslifecoaching.com/schedule
• Or the Free Sacred Shifts Fillable PDF Workbook at ryanwattslifecoaching.com/sacredshifts
Both offers are available for a limited time.
