Discover our lineup of speakers at the Greater Wellness Holistics Expo

Are you watching your own patterns rise up in your children? Worried that the struggles you inherited will become theirs, too? I see you. Parenting isn’t just about what we intend to do, it’s what actually happens in small, emotionally charged moments that shapes what kids carry forward. And waiting until we “fix ourselves” isn’t an option—parenting is happening now.

What if the answer isn’t about doing more, but doing less—differently? Parenting is exhausting—not because you’re doing too little, but because so much of what we’ve been taught doesn’t work. In 2010, Mary Willcox Smith found herself in the trenches, watching her own anxiety and depression surface in her daughters.

Determined to break the cycle, she dove into neuroscience, child development, and the growing mental health crisis facing children. She uncovered what many experts missed: small, intentional shifts—what she calls MicroSteps—hold the key to doable, yet profound, lasting change.

With a unique blend of humor and vulnerability, Mary shows why those “sticky moments” matter so much, how your own history gets activated in them, and how small, intentional shifts can change what gets wired over time.You’ll learn a simple, three-part MicroStep sequence—Connection, Leadership, Confidence—that helps you respond differently in the moments that matter most.

Not by doing more. But by showing up differently, some of the time.