1KHO 617: The Courage to Be Left Behind | Erin Loecher, The Opt-Out Family

Erin Loechner is back for her third visit with a deeply freeing message for parents: you can step off the conveyor belt and still raise kids who thrive. From TV sets and Disney stages to off-grid cabins and a garden full of slow surprises, Erin has lived a dozen lives—and let many of them go. She and Ginny explore how seasons change slowly, why “success” can be lovingly rejiggered, and how refusing the race no longer meant for you is often the bravest step forward. If you’ve ever wondered whether opting out will leave you behind, this conversation says the quiet part out loud: it won’t. It will bring you home.

Then they get wonderfully practical. Erin shows how to flip Big Tech’s playbook for the good of your family—bringing surprise, challenge, streaks, and shared goals back offline. Think a jelly bean in a coat pocket to reward real-world habits, a “treasure chest” microwave with small delights, fridge trackers instead of app streaks, midnight sundaes, silly-string welcomes, and family projects that build interdependence (yes, decks and ponds count). Along the way, they celebrate the outdoors as the world’s best noise-absorber and soul-reset. This episode is a permission slip to slow down, opt out, and choose a life your kids will actually want to inherit.

Get your copy of Chasing Slow here

Get your copy of The Opt-Out Family here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices