How often do you show your playful side at home? This episode of “The Parent Pep Talk” is about the power of laughter and joy. Improv teacher Jen Jurek shows how a simple improv game called “Yes And” can help parents reduce stress, improve relationships and better connect with their kids and partners.

Jen has been working in theater professionally since 1999. She is the lead coach, director and founder of Hallet’s Cove Theater (TM) and Astoria Women’s Improv, which she started as a direct result of needing a place to reconnect to her community when she became a mom. Jen’s work was recognized in BORO Magazine in March 2018 and continues its mission in bringing laughter and neighbor lovin’ to Queens and surrounding neighborhoods. This past summer, Jen has advised and worked with Harlem Hospital on an IRB approved study using improv to measure improvement in well-being in patients suffering from chronic or severe mental disorders.

Also in the podcast, a panel of kids talks about how they notice when parents are stressed out, and one dad shares a story about how agreeing to jump from some rocks into a river finally broke the ice with his kids.

”The Parent Pep Talk” is a heartfelt and humorous podcast filled with advice and understanding from empathetic experts, honest parents and teens who are willing to talk. It’s for all parents looking for a little perspective, a few well-tested tips and the feeling that you’re probably doing a lot better than you think, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.