Wendy Kihiu, MA, LMFT · Therapist · Author · Speaker
Rethinking Parenting for the Launch Years
Steady, grounded guidance for the messy middle of raising young adults — ages 10 to 25. Where research, faith, and lived experience meet.
“Parenting doesn’t get easier in the launch years — but it can become clearer, steadier, and more meaningful.”
— Wendy Kihiu, LMFTAbout Wendy
Wendy Kihiu, MA, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, speaker, and creator of Rethinking Parenting. She has spent years walking alongside preteens, teens, young adults, and their parents in the messy middle of real life.
In her private practice, Wendy specializes in working with adolescents, college students, couples, and families — integrating attachment science, trauma-informed care, and Christ-centered hope. Her work helps clients understand not just what they are feeling, but why — and how to move forward with clarity and steadiness.
She is especially passionate about helping parents shift from fear and frantic fixing to wise, grounded mentoring — particularly during the “launch years,” when children are stepping into adulthood but still growing emotionally and spiritually. She lives in New Palestine, Indiana, with her family.
The Core Framework
A simple but powerful framework that gives parents a clear lens for the launch years — guiding growth, building resilience, and preserving connection along the way.
Young people take healthy risks and recover from failure when they know they are unconditionally loved. Connection is the foundation everything else is built on.
Growth requires discomfort. Parents who allow struggle — without rescuing — raise young adults who can face difficulty with confidence and grit.
The goal is not compliance — it’s capability. Young people need increasing ownership over their lives, choices, and consequences to become grounded adults.
Because the goal is not just raising compliant kids —
but preparing grounded, capable adults.
Speaking & Events
Wendy speaks at churches, parent groups, schools, and conferences — delivering teaching that is clear, grounded, and immediately applicable.
Why parenting feels harder than it used to — and how to navigate it with clarity and confidence.
A shift in posture that reduces power struggles and builds responsibility without losing connection.
What’s really happening in the brain — and how to respond in ways that calm, not escalate.
A framework parents can use immediately to guide growth, build resilience, and maintain relationship.
A grounded approach to integrating emotional health and spiritual formation.
How to support young adults without over-functioning, rescuing, or withdrawing.
Rethinking Parenting — The Book
Wendy is the creator of Rethinking Parenting — a collection of books, workshops, and resources built around one core framework: helping young people feel Loved, Stretched, and Responsible.
Drawing from attachment science, trauma-informed care, and Christ-centered hope, this resource equips parents to raise adults — not just manage children — while preserving connection along the way.
Her work centers on the launch years (ages 10–25): the window when children are stepping toward adulthood but still need wise, intentional parenting. It’s the season that matters most — and where parents most often feel lost.
Join the Book WaitlistWhat People Are Saying
Wendy’s talk was the most practical, grounded parenting message our church has heard in years. Parents left feeling equipped, not condemned.
— Church Event Organizer, IndianaShe helped me understand why my teenager was pulling away — and what I could actually do about it. The Loved, Stretched, Responsible framework changed how I parent.
— Parent, Individual ClientWendy speaks from a place of both clinical knowledge and real-life experience as a mom. She earns the room immediately and holds it throughout.
— Conference OrganizerGet in Touch
Whether you’re booking Wendy to speak, interested in the Rethinking Parenting resources, or want to join the book waitlist — this is where to start.
Wendy speaks at churches, parent groups, schools, and conferences across Indiana and beyond.
Parenting doesn’t get easier in the launch years — but it can become clearer, steadier, and more meaningful.